Artists
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth is a viking-themed melodic death metal band from Sweden founded in 1992 in Tumba, named after a location in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The name means "Mount Doom" in Sindarin, one of Tolkien's Elvish languages. The five Swedish musicians are known for their songs based on Norse Mythology. This is an element that originally emerged as a sub-genre of black metal known as viking metal in the early 1990s, made popular by such bands as Enslavesd, although the band themselves do not actually exemplify the genre's sound.
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American Death Metal band founded in 1988. The band has since released ten studio albums, one boxed set, and one live album. Although Cannibal Corpse has had virtually no radio or television exposure, a cult following began to build behind the group with albums like 1991's Butchered at Birth and 1992's Tomb of the Mutilated. Cannibal Corpse have sold over 1 million records worldwide, including over 500,000 in the United States, making them one of the bestselling death metal bands of all time. Cannibal Corpse have gained some infamy for their horror fiction-themed album covers and lyrics, including gore, mutilation, murder, torture, and death.
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir (pronounced "Di-moo bore-gear") is a symphonic black death metal band from Norway. "Dimmu Borgir" means "Dark/Foggy Castle/Fortress" in Icelandic. The name itself is derived from volcanic formations found on Iceland: "The Dimmuborgir." Dimmu Borgir was originally founded in 1993 by Shagrath, Silenoz, and Tjodalv. Dimmu Borgir trademarks are brutal highspeed parts, catchy hooks, ethereal melodies and complex song arrangements.
In Flames
In Flames is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Through the years they have changed and evolved their style through many influences, especially in their most recent albums. In Flames were honored with the "Swedish Music Export" award at Sweden's Grammy awards, which were held on Febrary 7, 2006 at Cirkus in Stockholm. In Flames were the first metal band ever to win this award. "Thanks to In Flames, Sweden now has a metal band in the absolute world elite," the Swedish economy minister Thomas Östros said of the award.
Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under (often abbreviated as SFU), was a side project band started by Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse and Allen West of Obituary. Originally, the band was intended to just be a side thing, but Chris Barnes decided to pursue the idea of having a groove-laiden death metal band that just wasn't about blast beats and speed. Six Feet Under lyrics are usually apocalyptic and brutal. While their lyrical themes revolve around concepts of violence, gore, and death, many Six Feet Under songs are politically keen and advocate, among other things, legalization of marijuana, overthrow of capitalism, and even anti-war sentiments.
Visceral Bleeding
Visceral Bleeding are one of a handful of brutal death metal bands hailing from Sweden. This style of death metal incorporates very fast razor sharp palm muted staccato runs through their riffs, as well as hammering out an intricate machine code of blast-beat oriented death metal riffs, although (as is common amongst brutal death metal bands) many elements of thrash and even some hardcore influences are also present. Visceral Bleeding also incorporates uncommon time signatures, such as 13/8ths, into their music, making it not only a challenging listen, but extremely difficult to execute on stage.