Epica

Epica performs a blend of progressive metal, gothic metal and symphonic metal. Another component of Epica's style is power metal; their former guitarist Ad Sluijter having described the band as "a bridge between power metal and gothic metal. Vocalist Simone Simons has expressed a preference for the group to be described as symphonic metal though the founder of the group Mark Jansen notes that they do not mind being called gothic metal.

The music of Epica is aggressive, bombastic and excessive with some songs being "epic, grand and majestic" and others "more subdued and introspective. The band is also known to have progressive tendencies while a gothic atmosphere and sentimentality is also present in their music.

Epica uses a "trademark of many symphonic and gothic metal bands" in contrasting "two extremes, death grunts and brutality on one side, airy female melodiousness on the other." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic notes that the band's "attraction ultimately hinges on exploring the sonic contrasts of light and dark; the punishing intensity of those elephantine guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming cast against the soaring, layered sweetness of the orchestrated strings and keyboards." Simone Simons delivers operatic vocals in a mezzo-soprano range though she has also been known to sometimes sing "with a clear alto voice that has a flawless tone and a lot of emotion." Mark Jansen delivers death grunts "that are secondary to Simons' singing, but very important in terms of balance and variety." The group is also known to employ human choirs and orchestras with additional embellishments such as spoken word recitals and lyrics in Latin and Arabic.

MAYHEM

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway. They are regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene. Mayhem's career has been highly controversial, primarily due to the suicide of vocalist Dead, murder of guitarist Euronymous, and their violent stage performances.

Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, delving at times into areas of dark avant-garde industrial and electronica.

BEHEMOTH

Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate.

Until the late 1990s, the band played a traditional black metal style with heathen lyrical content, but soon changed to that of occult and thelemic themes written by their lead vocalist Nergal and Krzysztof Azarewicz. With the 1999 release of Satanica, the band showed their presence in the blackened death metal scene, while retaining their own signature style characterized by the drum work of Inferno, multi-layered vocals and Nile-style Middle-Eastern influences. Even though Behemoth has been labeled as death metal, black metal or thrash influenced, Nergal has mentioned that he doesn't like the band to be labeled.

EMPYRIUM

Empyrium started as German symphonic folk/doom metal and later neofolk band founded in 1994 by Markus Stock (mostly using the pseudonym Ulf T. Schwadorf) and Andreas Bach, but later many other participated. Their first two albums, A Wintersunset and Songs of Moors and Misty Fields, following a demo entitled ...Der wie ein Blitz vom Himmel fiel..., can be considered doom metal (or, as some will argue, folk metal) with folk and symphonic influences. They combine harsh and operatic male vocals, with deep slow guitar parts and atmospheric sounds.

The following two albums, Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays and Weiland are acoustic, display a constantly heavier neofolk influence. Instead of keyboards, the band switched to acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitars, violins, cellos and the flute. Operatic male vocals are still used, and in Weiland the band uses choir vocals and the piano. Though the music still remains dark and melancholic, Empyrium's music has largely moved away from heavy metal. Many people consider these two albums to be the apex of Empyrium's skill and some accomplishment of the band's - or rather Schwadorf's goal.

The band draws inspiration from nature as some of the album titles reveal. Consequently, Empyrium are often referred to as a dark folk or apocalyptic folk band, expressing in their music (most conspicuously in the last two albums) sentiments akin to those expressed by some other 'legislators' of the genre, as Forseti, Orplid, and Ulver (Kveldssanger). Connoisseurs of dark folk will mention that many of Empyrium's compositions are true representatives of the genre, as, for instance, Dying Brokenhearted, The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost ("Where At Night..."), Heimwärts, Waldpoesie, Die Schwäne im Schilf ("Weiland"). Intricately woven and always impregnated with an exquisite wistfulness or profound, remorseful sadness (Dying Brokenhearted), these compositions may be regarded as a manifesto of the dark-folkloristic gloomy and pantheistic Weltanschauung. The lyrics are mostly in English, though in Weiland only German is performed. After their last album, Weiland, the band decided to stop recording. As Schwadorf himself put it,

DRACONIAN

Draconian is a gothic doom metal band, formed in Säffle, Sweden in 1994. The band consists of Anders Jacobsson (vocals, writing), Lisa Johansson (vocals), Johan Ericson (guitars, writing), Jerry Torstensson (drums, percussion), Daniel Arvidsson (guitars), Fredrik Johansson (bass), and Andreas Karlsson (keyboards, programming).
In May 1994, drummer and vocalist Johan Ericson, bassist and vocalist Jesper Stolpe and guitarist Andy Hindenäs assembled the band Kerberos, initially playing melodic death metal with black metal influences. Seven months later, lead vocalist and lyrics composer Anders Jacobsson joined the band, and its name changed to Draconian.
Their first demo — Shades of a Lost Moon — was recorded in 1995. The demo counted with flutist and vocalist Jessica Eriksson, keyboardist and vocalist Susanne Arvidsson and with a special participation of Andreas Haag on the introductory section of “My Nemesis”. The album was released in February, 1996.

EMPEROR

Emperor were a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. Over the years, the band's music changed to what can be called "extreme symphonic metal" in their later days. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth on drums and Ihsahn on guitar and vocals.

In their youth, Ihsahn and Samoth met at a rock music seminar. The two young men began playing together under various names; first Dark Device, then Xerasia, then Embryonic. The group soon evolved into the now well-known band Thou Shalt Suffer. Soon, however, Samoth began to write music outside of Thou Shalt Suffer, and together with Ihsahn and a new bass player called Mortiis (later of his own eponymous band Mortiis), Emperor was formed. After a short while together, the band released a demo entitled Wrath of the Tyrant. It quickly gained popularity in the underground and attracted the attention of the then-start-up label Candlelight. Soon afterwards, a record contract was signed, Samoth moved to rhythm guitar, Ihsahn continued the vocal duties and lead guitars and Faust was recruited as a drummer. Shortly after, the band was signed to the infamous first black metal label, Deathlike Silence Productions, and planned to release their next cd soon, though the band never managed to release any material while signed to DSP.

IMMORTAL

Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway. The band was formed by Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta after their previous band, Amputation, did not take off.
Immortal's beginnings can be traced to the death metal band Old Funeral, formed in 1988, in which both Abbath and Demonaz were members. The band's frontman Abbath also formed the band Amputation in 1989, releasing two demos before deciding to form Immortal. This new band consisted of band members from both Amputation and Old Funeral. Though remaining members of Old Funeral attempted to keep the band alive, they dissolved prior Immortal's first demo releases.
Immortal's early full-length releases were of a traditional black metal style, but their acclaimed album At the Heart of Winter saw the band begin to experiment with a complex fusion of black metal and German thrash metal. The resulting sound was a style which characterized Immortal's later works. Immortal has been influential to many modern metal artists. The band has arguably maintained the most occult-mysticism image and way of life traditionally credited to black metal. Conversely, unlike many black metal bands, Immortal does not espouse Satanism.

DARK FUNERAL

Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal.
Their lyrical themes have traditionally pertained to Satanism and anti-Christianity - with Lord Ahriman and Emperor Magus Caligula being practitioners of LaVeyan Satanism. In their earlier years their lyrical themes usually revolved specifically around depictions of Hell and Satan, but since Emperor Magus Caligula joined the band their lyrics have focused more on blasphemy and anti-Christian rhetoric although there have been several exceptions to this.
Dark Funeral was founded by guitarists Blackmoon (David Parland) and Lord Ahriman in 1993. Shortly afterwards drummer Draugen and bassist and vocalist Themgoroth joined the band. Their self-titled and self-financed album, Dark Funeral, was recorded in 1994 at Dan Swanö's Uni-Sound studio in January. It was released on May 4, the same day the band performed their first gig at Luse Lottes Pub in Oslo, Norway alongside bands such as fellow live debut band Gorgoroth and Marduk (who performed their first show abroad). After the recording sessions, Draugen left the band and was replaced by Equimanthorn.
In 1995, the band signed up to No Fashion Records and started preparing songs for a full-length album. After an attempt to record The Secrets of the Black Arts at Uni-Sound studios (again with Dan Swanö), the band decided to relocate to Abyss Studio and re-record the entire album. During the break between studio sessions, the band wrote the song When Angels Forever Die. With engineer Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy) on board, the band finally got the production they were looking for. Shortly after, Dark Funeral played their first festival gig, Under The Black Sun I in Berlin. A few weeks prior to this gig Emperor Magus Caligula (Magnus 'Masse' Broberg, the original vocalist of Hypocrisy) replaced Themgoroth and eventually became a permanent member. The band also shot their first video for the track "The Secrets Of The Black Arts", which was well received and played on music channels all over the world.[citation needed] On January 28, 1996, the band's first full-length-album, The Secrets Of The Black Arts, was released and the album was soon licensed to Metal Blade (North America) and Mystic Production (Poland). Equimanthorn was soon replaced by Alzazmon (Tomas Asklund, later renowned for his work with Dissection and Gorgoroth). The line-up of Emperor Magus Caligula, Lord Ahriman, Alzazmon and Blackmoon recorded their versions of Bathory's Call From The Grave and Equimanthorn for the Bathory tribute, In Conspiracy With Satan.(These also appeared later re-mastered for the re-titled re-release of the band's debut In The Sign…). Blackmoon eventually left and founded War a year later. Together with Necromass, the band embarked on the Satanic War Tour I throughout Europe.

NIRVANA

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990.
With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the band's second album Nevermind (1991), Nirvana entered into the mainstream, bringing along with it a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden and also the San Diego based band Stone Temple Pilots had also gained popularity, and as a result, alternative rock in general became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during the early-to-mid-1990s. As Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation," with Nirvana the "flagship band" of Generation X. Cobain was uncomfortable with the attention and placed his focus on the band's music, believing the band's message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenging the band's audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).
Nirvana's brief run ended with Cobain's death in April 1994, but the band's popularity continued in the years that followed. In 2002, "You Know You're Right," an unfinished demo from the band's final recording session, topped radio playlists around the world. Since their debut, the band has sold over twenty-five million albums in the US alone, and over fifty million worldwide.

OPETH

Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining promptly after its inception.
While firmly rooted in Scandinavian death metal, Opeth has consistently incorporated influence by progressive music, folk, blues rock and jazz into their usually-lengthy compositions. Many compositions include acoustic guitar interludes and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both growling and clean vocals. Though they rarely toured in support of their first four albums, Opeth conducted their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park.
Opeth has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two box sets, and two DVDs. The band released its debut album Orchid in 1995. Although their eighth studio album Ghost Reveries was quite popular in the states, Opeth did not experience American commercial success until the 2008 release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, and topped the Finnish albums chart in its first week of release.

JUDAS PRIEST

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since 1989. They have been cited as an influence on many heavy metal musicians and bands. Their popularity and status as one of the definitive heavy metal bands has earned them the nickname "Metal Gods" from their song of the same name. They have sold over 35 million albums worldwide.
K. K. Downing and Ian Hill had known each other since early childhood, as they lived near one another and attended the same nursery and school in West Bromwich. They became close friends in their early teens, when they shared similar musical interests (Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Cream, The Yardbirds) and learned to play instruments. The band was founded in 1969 in Birmingham, England, after a local ensemble named Judas Priest (after Bob Dylan's song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" from the John Wesley Harding album) split up. The band's singer Al Atkins approached Downing and Hill, who were playing as a power trio with drummer John Ellis and asked if he could become their singer. With Atkins now in the band, Downing suggested they change their name to Judas Priest as he had been a fan of the original band.
With Downing as acting leader, the band moved away from their original blues influences to play hard rock and what would later come to be defined as heavy metal.[citation needed] This quartet played around Birmingham and the surrounding areas with various drummers until 1974, sometimes opening for bands such as Budgie, Thin Lizzy and Trapeze. Eventually, financial difficulties and problems with their management, Tony Iommi's company, IMA, led to the departure of Alan Atkins and drummer Alan Moore.
At the time, Ian Hill was dating a woman from the nearby town of Walsall who suggested her brother, Bob Halford, be considered as a singer. Halford joined the band, bringing drummer John Hinch from his previous band, Hiroshima. (It should be noted that only later did Bob Halford become widely known as Rob Halford.) This line-up toured in the UK, often supporting Budgie, and even headlining some shows in Norway and Germany.

ICED EARTH

Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida that combines influences from thrash metal, power metal, progressive metal, opera, speed metal and NWOBHM. Iced Earth has been known to have a volatile and oft changing line-up. Founding member, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer being the only original member who has remained, handling nearly all of the songwriting and leading the band. Current vocalist Matt Barlow and former lead guitarist Randall Shawver are the next longest-tenured members, the only people besides Schaffer to have spent a full decade in the band. Shawver, the first lead guitarist to record with the band, joined in 1988 and remained until 1998. Barlow joined in 1994 and remained until 2003, when he was inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. to leave the band and become a law enforcement officer. However, he returned to the group in late 2007, making his live return at the 2008 Chicago Powerfest. In 1999 Jon Schaffer teamed up with Blin Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch to form a side project called Demons & Wizards and have released two albums to date.

CREMATORY

The band received its earliest recognition in the mid-1990s by touring with My Dying Bride, Tiamat and Atrocity. Much like the latter two groups, the band had begun as traditional death metal, then evolved with an industrial music and gothic metal musical direction on later albums. The band would receive heavy rotation on MTV Germany, and would also make appearances at various extreme metal festivals, including Germany's Wacken Open Air in the years 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2008, in addition to inclusion on Nuclear Blast compilation samplers.
The band re-signed to Massacre Records in 2006 after a 10 year stint with Nuclear Blast; Massacre had been the band's first label.
Active for almost 20 years (with a brief split between 2001 and 2003) they are among one of Europe's longest running bands affiliated with the gothic metal genre.

ANATHEMA

Anathema is an English band from the city of Liverpool, which, together with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, helped to develop the death/doom sound, a subgenre of doom metal. However, their album Eternity was a departure from doom and metal, and signaled their transition to atmospheric rock.

Anathema was formed in 1990 as a doom metal band, initially under the name 'Pagan Angel'. In November of that year, the band recorded their first demo, entitled An Iliad of Woes. This demo caught the attention of several bands from the English metal scene, allowing Anathema to play gigs with bands like Bolt Thrower and Paradise Lost.
At the beginning of 1991, the band adopted its current name, and gained a lot of attention with the release of their second demo entitled All Faith Is Lost, resulting in a four-album deal with Peaceville Records. Their first release under the label was The Crestfallen EP in November 1992. They took the material from that album on the road, touring with Cannibal Corpse.
Serenades, Anathema's debut LP, attracted a lot of mainstream attention, propelling their "Sweet Tears" music video onto the MTV playlist.
Anathema's first European tour was in 1994, and was closely followed by gigs at the Independent Rock Festival in Brazil.
In May 1995, vocalist Darren White parted with the band, eventually forming The Blood Divine. Rather than recruiting a new vocalist, the band decided that guitarist Vincent Cavanagh should assume White's role. This new formation debuted by touring with Cathedral in the United Kingdom.

DARKSEED

Darkseed is a German gothic metal band, formed in 1992. Darkseed, beginning as a death metal band, took a more unconventional song writing method that aimed more towards the gothic experimental route. They changed their music to gothic metal on their first studio album Midnight Solemnly Dance.

Early years, death metal era (1992-1994)
Beginning as a death metal band, Darkseed released two demo albums in 1992 and 1993, playing more gothic experimental routes, not wanting to take the traditional methods of generic death metal, followed by their EP, Romantic Tales, in 1994 which was re-issued in 1998.

Stylistic change, mainstream success, break up (1994-2006)
Serenades Records release Darkseed's first full-length studio album, Midnight Solemnly Dancethey in 1996, in which they changed into a gothic metal act. Nuclear Blast caught up with the band in their second release Spellcraft a year later, in which they continued playing gothic metal having influence from heavy metal music. The album was well received and a critical success. They had several line up changes after their underground success, which resulted in Darkseed's year long hiatus. During this period,a re-issued version Romantic Tales was released. Finally, after several line up changes, the band released their third album Give me the Light in 1999, followed by their next album Diving Into Darkness in 2000 which was well-received by the critics. Lead vocalist Stefan Hertrich left the band in 2003, only to return in 2004 to make "Ultimate Darkness", which was released in 2005. In 2006, he and Martin Motnik left the band again, thus effectively forcing the band to disband.

NIGHTWISH

Nightwish is a symphonic power metal band, from Kitee, Finland, formed in 1996 by songwriter/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. The band has sold more than 7 million CDs, DVDs and online material internationally.
Although Nightwish has been prominent in their home country since the release of their first single, “The Carpenter” (1997) and debut album Angels Fall First, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn, Wishmaster and Century Child, which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Their 2004 album, Once, which has sold more than 1,2 million copies, led to Nightwish video clips being shown on MTV in the United States and inclusion of their music in US movie soundtracks. Their biggest US hit single, “Wish I Had an Angel” (2004), made it onto three US film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as “Sleeping Sun”, from the 2005 “best of” compilation album, Highest Hopes, prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen’s dismissal.
In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman, Anette Olzon, was revealed as Turunen’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album - Dark Passion Play, which has sold more than 980,000 copies. A tour supporting the album is currently in progress. It started on October 6, 2007 and will end on September 19, 2009.. A new E.P./live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), was released in March 2009 as a MCD/DVD.

BURZUM

Burzum is the musical project by Varg Vikernes (under the pseudonym "Count Grishnackh"). It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene. During 1992 and 1993, Burzum recorded four albums; however, in 1993 Vikernes was convicted and imprisoned for the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of several churches. While imprisoned, Vikernes has recorded two albums in the dark ambient style.

From 1988, Vikernes had been playing in the short lived band Old Funeral which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He played guitar in the band until 1991 when Old Funeral dissolved and then he chose to form his one man band, Burzum. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became very involved with the Norwegian black metal scene, being both interested in its music and the ideology. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Burzum began to record for his self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), though still make it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being one of the first albums released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous of Mayhem, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.
Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it so Samoth of Emperor joined the band as their bassist though only appeared on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show. Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore". Therefore, Samoth and Lancelot had parted ways with Burzum. Burzum stayed as a solo project until 1993, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway. Det som engang var was released as Burzum's second album in 1993, recorded in 1992, and was the first of the remaining albums to be released during his incarceration.

MEGADETH

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. Founded by Dave Mustaine and bass player David Ellefson following Mustaine's departure from Metallica, the band has since released eleven studio albums, six live albums, two EPs, thirty singles, thirty-two music videos, and three compilations.

As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s, but experienced numerous line-up changes, due partly to the band's notorious substance abuse problems. From 1983 to 2002, Mustaine and Ellefson were the only continuous members of the band. After finding sobriety and securing a stable line-up, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums, including the platinum-selling landmark Rust in Peace in 1990 and the Grammy nominated, multi-platinum Countdown to Extinction in 1992. Megadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm. However, following extensive physical therapy, Mustaine reformed the band in 2004 and released The System Has Failed, followed by United Abominations in 2007; the albums debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #18 and #8, respectively. Megadeth, along with their new lead Guitarist Chris Broderick, are currently working on their 12th studio album which is scheduled for release in September 2009.

Megadeth is known for a distinctive guitar style, often involving complex, intricate musical passages, and trade off guitar solos. Mustaine is also known for his original "snarling" vocal style, as well as his recurring lyrical themes, often involving politics, war, addiction, and personal relationships.

As one of the most commercially successful of all heavy metal bands, Megadeth has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide, with six consecutive albums being certified platinum in the USA. The band has also received great critical acclaim with seven consecutive Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance. In the band's 24 active years, Megadeth has had 20 official members, with Dave Mustaine remaining as the driving force, main songwriter, and sole original member following the end of his musical partnership with David Ellefson in 2002, due to personal disagreements. Megadeth is hailed as one of the bands among the "Big Four of Thrash," along with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who were responsible for creating and popularizing the genre in the 1980s.

SlipKnoT

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995. Slipknot consists of nine members, the current band members are Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor. Each member of the band wears a unique mask.
Slipknot formed in 1995 and underwent several line-up changes following the independent release of their first demo Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. in 1996. That album featured original lead vocalist, Anders Colsefini. Their self-titled, major label debut, Slipknot, was released in 1999, featuring permanent new lead vocalist, Corey Taylor, and was followed by Iowa in 2001 and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004. On August 25, 2008, the band returned to release their fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone, which debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 charts. The band has released three DVDs, including Disasterpieces, which was certified quadruple-platinum in the United States.

GORGOROTH

Gorgoroth was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus. In 1993, the band released their first demo, entitled A Sorcery Written in Blood. On January 7, 1994, Firda, the major newspaper in the county of Sogn og Fjordane where the band originated from, ran a cover story on the demo, with the headline "Local music with Satanic symbolism". According to the article, the release of the demo and flyers with Satanic symbols led to "concerned parents contacting the Sheriff's Office in Fjaler". After the demo was released, Gorgoroth signed a record deal with Embassy Productions and started work on their debut full-length Pentagram. When bassist Kjettar left the band in 1993, Samoth of Emperor joined Gorgoroth as their new bassist, and participated in the recording of the album. After Pentagram was completed and released in 1994, Goat left the band and was replaced by Frost from Satyricon. The band performed their first concert at Lusa Lottes Pøbb in Oslo, Norway, on May 3, 1994, at a four-day Black Metal Nights festival with bands such as Dark Funeral (who also made their live debut), Dissection, Enslaved, Marduk (who played their first gig abroad), Gehenna and Hades Almighty.
This was followed by gigs with Enslaved in Bergen (in June and September) and in Haugesund (in November), and the band performed their first gig abroad in Annaberg-Buchholz in Germany on December 10, 1994. The same year, the band commenced the recording of Antichrist (originally titled Død), their second full-length album.

GREEN DAY

Green Day is an American rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, vocals), and Tré Cool (drums, percussion) for the majority of its existence.
Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. Its early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned them a grassroots fanbase, some of whom felt alienated when the band signed to a major label. Nevertheless, its major label debut Dookie (1994) became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively. Green Day's 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S. The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released on May 15, 2009.
Green Day has sold over 22 million records in the United States. They have won three Grammy Awards; Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".

EVANESCENCE

Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody.
After recording two private EPs and a demo CD named Origin, with the help of Bigwig Enterprises in 2000, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards. A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which sold more than four million copies.
The band has suffered several line-up changes, including co-founder Moody leaving mid-tour in 2003, bassist Will Boyd in mid-2006, followed by guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007. The later two of the changes ultimately led the band to be on hiatus with only temporary replacements sought in order for the band to finish touring.

NINE INCH NAIL'S

Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock music group, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction. NIN's music straddles a wide range of genres, while retaining a characteristic sound using electronic instruments and processing. After recording a new album, Reznor usually assembles a live band to perform with him. The touring band features a revolving lineup that often rearranges songs to fit a live setting. On stage, NIN often employ spectacular visual elements to accompany performances, which frequently culminate with the band destroying their instruments.
Underground music audiences warmly received Nine Inch Nails in its early years. The band produced several highly influential records in the 1990s that achieved widespread popularity: many Nine Inch Nails songs became radio hits, two NIN recordings won Grammy Awards, and the band has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, with 11 million sales certified in the US alone. In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music." In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Despite this acclaim, the band has had several feuds with the corporate side of the recording industry. In 2007, these corporate entanglements resulted in Reznor announcing that Nine Inch Nails would split from its label and release future material independently.
Since 1989, Nine Inch Nails have made eight major studio releases. The most recent releases, Ghosts I–IV and The Slip, both released in 2008, were released under Creative Commons licenses. Both were initially released digitally, with physical releases coming later. The digital release of The Slip was made available completely free of charge. NIN has been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and won twice for the songs "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery", in 1992 and 1995 respectively.

ARCH ENEMY

Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed in 1996 by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan Liiva, both originally from the influential death metal band Carnage. The band has released seven studio albums, a live album (Burning Japan Live 1999), two DVDs and three EPs. The band was originally fronted by Johan Liiva; frontwoman Angela Gossow joined as lead vocalist in 2000.

Early years and Black Earth (1996–1997)

Arch Enemy, the brainchild of Michael Amott (Carcass, Carnage, and Spiritual Beggars) was originally assembled when Michael Amott left Carcass. Guitarists Michael Amott and younger brother Christopher Amott (Armageddon) joined with vocalist Johan Liiva (ex-Carnage, Furbowl, FurbowlDevourment) and then-session drummer Daniel Erlandsson (Eucharist) in what Michael Amott called "an attempt to merge melody with aggression and technicality."
The band's debut, entitled Black Earth, was released by the now defunct Wrong Again Records in 1996. It obtained a fair amount of success in Japan, achieving MTV rotation with their first single "Bury Me an Angel", as well as moderate success in Sweden. At this point, Arch Enemy was more of a "solo effort" than a full band: Michael Amott wrote all the songs himself, and even played bass guitar on the album, contrary to the album's liner notes, which listed vocalist Johan Liiva as handling bass duties. Amott later revealed that he had the credits listed that way to make the album seem more of a "band" effort. Many consider it to be the band's most aggressive album, a trait that was softened to some degree on its following releases, but never abandoned.

DIMMU BORGIR (Lord Of Black Metal)

Dimmu Borgir (pronounced /ˌdɪmuː ˈbɔrɡɪr/ in English) is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. "Dimmu Borgir" means "Dark Cities" or "Dark Fortresses" in Icelandic and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir. The band has been through numerous line-up changes over the years, with guitarist Silenoz and Vocalist Shagrath being the only founding members left.

Biography

Dimmu Borgir started as a melodic black metal band in 1993. Formed by Shagrath, Silenoz and Tjodalv, the band released an EP in 1994 entitled Inn i evighetens mørke ("Into the Darkness of Eternity" in English). This short EP sold out within weeks, and the band followed up with the 1994 full length album For all tid. This album featured musical contributions by members of Dødheimsgard and Ved Buens Ende. The initial lineup consisted of Shagrath playing drums with Tjodalv on guitar and Silenoz backing vocals, however this changed before the release of Stormblåst (translates to "Storm Blown") on Cacophonous Records in 1996. Stormblåst received high praise from many melodic black metal fans, and is often regarded as a highlight of the band's career. It is also the last album which features all lyrics written and sung in Norwegian.

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

After Stormblåst, Dimmu Borgir's lineup took a sharp turn. Keyboardist Stian Aarstad left the band due to his obligation to serve in the Norwegian army, thus being unable to participate in the 1996 recording of Devil's Path. That period was also marked by the departure of their bassist Brynjard Tristan and the arrival of Nagash. Stian Aarstad returned for the recording of 1997's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. While on tour to support the album, he had trouble attending rehearsals and being on tour, and was subsequently fired. Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was a huge success for the band, and was their first release signed to Nuclear Blast, a well-known German record label. The album was recorded in the Abyss Studios, owned by Hypocrisy's frontman Peter Tägtgren.

Spiritual Black Dimensions and Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia

After the tour for Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, the band recruited new members Mustis on keyboards and Astennu on lead guitar. Dimmu Borgir's following full-length albums Spiritual Black Dimensions in 1999 and 2001's Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, both met critical acclaim.[citation needed]. However, a new line-up change occurred between the two albums; Nagash quit and was replaced by new bassist/clean singer ICS Vortex, as well as Tjodalv leaving (due to his family commitments, and to form the subsequent band Susperia), only to be replaced with Nicholas Barker, fresh out of Cradle of Filth. Astennu was fired from his guitar duties as well due to incompatibility (reportedly, he was speaking ill of the band behind their backs and wanted them to be a Morbid Angel cover band).[citation needed].

Death Cult Armageddon

Despite regular video play on MTV2 and Fuse TV that their follow-up album would receive, the band has stated that they are not "commercially-oriented," and instead, they 'simply wish to spread their message to more people'. In 2003, Dimmu Borgir used their major record label financial leverage to record an album titled Death Cult Armageddon. Sections of the album were recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to enhance the classical arrangements which have always augmented the band's style. However, in multiple interviews Shagrath mentions the many troubles and shortcomings that came along with using the orchestra from Prague. Two full weeks of studio work were spent cleaning up the mistakes. On their following album the band decided to not use a live orchestra instead leaving the duty mostly to the band's keyboardist, Mustis, in the studio. In 2004, Dimmu Borgir headlined Ozzfest.
In 2005, the band did a complete re-recording of the Stormblåst album, featuring Hellhammer of Mayhem fame as the session drummer. The album also featured a dvd with a live performance from the 2004 Ozzfest tour.

In Sorte Diaboli

Dimmu Borgir's newest album, In Sorte Diaboli, was released April 24, 2007. A special edition version was released in a boxed case with a DVD, backward-printed lyrics, and a mirror. The album artwork was released on February 14, 2007 on a promotional webpage for the album. This album features the drumming of Hellhammer of Mayhem, who had to leave the band in mid tour in 2007 because of a neck injury, resulting in limited movement of his right arm. With the release of this album, Dimmu Borgir became the first black metal band with a number one album in their native country.