 | | Born and based in Sweden, melodic death metal/progressive metal outfit In Mourning formed in 2000. The band released a series of demos (five, to be exact) before finally landing a deal with Aftermath Music. |
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 | | Hailing from the town of Kyminlinna, Finland, Omnium Gatherum was formed in late ‘90's by vocalist Antti Filppu, guitarists Markus Vanhala and Harri Pikka, keyboardist Mikko Pennanen, bassist Janne Markkanen and drummer Jarmo Pikka. |
 | | Since they were formed in the spring of 2000 by guitarist Juha Raivio and drummer Pasi Pasanen, Finnish sextet Swallow the Sun (later completed by vocalist Mikko Kotamäki, guitarist Markus Jämsen, keyboardist Aleksi Munter, and bassist Matti Honkonen) have made it their mission to reanimate the corpse of classic late-'80s/early-'90s death/doom -- first via 2003's "Out of the Gloomy Light" demo, and then via their critically acclaimed 2005 full-length debut, The Morning Never Came. |
 | | Not to be confused with French black metal band Nehëmah, Nahemah hails from Alicante, in the southeast corner of Spain, and operates in a hybrid style mixing melodic death metal of the Swedish school (Dark Tranquility, Opeth) with traditional rock songwriting elements, and a progressive, cinematic ambience inspired by the likes of Mogwai and Isis. |
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 | | Sweden's Scar Symmetry was founded in 2004 by vocalist Christian Älvestam, guitarists Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson, bassist Kenneth Seil, and drummer Henrik Ohlsson -- all of them veterans of numerous prior heavy metal bands (Carnal Forge, Centinex, Altered Aeon, Incapacity, etc. |
 | | Finland's Kalmah specializes in a high velocity, classically influenced brand of European death metal similar to that of extreme metal bands like Cradle of Filth and Children of Bodom. |
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 | | Lead guitarist Esa Holopainen and drummer Jan Rechberger formed the band Amorphis in Finland in 1990. |
 | | Toward the end of the '90s, Scandinavian death metal -- or at least one branch of it -- began to evolve into a more accessible amalgamation of death metal intensity, a bit of progressive metal experimentation, and more traditional late-'70s/early-'80s British metal, with its catchy, groove-oriented riffs and twin-guitar lead lines. |
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 | | After leaving Ceremonial Oath to form In Flames, founding member and guitarist Jesper Strömblad saw this project as a way of expressing his songwriting creativity rather than being stuck in the background. |
 | | Brought together in Stockholm by guitarists Peter Lindgren and Mikael Åkerfeldt in 1990, Opeth added progressive influences and acoustic instrumentation to their brand of Swedish death metal. |
 | | Considered by many to be one of the heavyweights of Swedish metal, Katatonia had a long and storied career that saw them move from a rough, sludge-like doom metal sound to a more streamlined approach, losing the guttural vocals and adding a more accessible, riff-based sheen to their brand of gothic doom. |
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 | | Insomnium is a melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland, whose music also reveals links to other, neighboring metallic subgenres like doom, melancholy, and dark metal. |
 | | Living embodiments of music's uninhibited international exchange, Falkenburg, Sweden's Sonic Syndicate perform a commercial brand of metal mixed with hardcore that's most prevalent in America, but whose stylistic roots contain serious influences from the melodic death metal bands produced by Scandinavia ten years earlier. |
 | | Originally launched as a joint partnership between vocalist Christian Älvestam (Scar Symmetry, Incapacity, Solar Dawn, etc. |
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 | | Guitarist Barre Gambling and drummer Jesse Haff formed Daylight Dies in Raleigh, North Carolina as early as 1996, but their first demo was only recorded three years later with the help of session musicians. |
 | | The leaders of Holland's death metal scene, Gorefest built a substantial underground following over the course of the '90s with a powerful, groove-based sound that often paralleled similar innovations by bands like Entombed and Sepultura. |
 | | The challengingly named Mors Principium Est (which roughly translates to "death is the beginning") hails from the town of Pori, Finland, and was formed in 1999. |
 | | Swiss folk-metal band Eluveitie incorporate folk instrumentation such as hurdy-gurdy, flute, and pipes into an otherwise traditional death metal style, also adding a pagan element channeled through lyrics in the Gaulish language (a dead language in the Celtic family that predated Latin throughout Western Europe). |
 | | Hailing from the town of Lulea in the north of Sweden, Duskfall was initially formed as an informal side project by guitarists Mikael Sandorf (ex-Gates of Ishtar) and Glenn Svensson in 1999. |
 | | The Swedish metal sextet Soilwork formed in early 1997, fusing the country's signature ultra-heavy death metal sound with the power-groove riffs of late-'70s, early-'80s British and European metal. |
 | | The Finnish heavy metal band Sentenced released its debut album, Shadows of the Past, in the early '90s on a small French label; dissatisfied with their somewhat commonplace black-metal sound, they hired bassist/vocalist Taneli Jarva to provide more originality for 1992's North From Here. |
 | | Formed by ex-Carnage, Carcass, and Candlemass guitarist Michael Amott (concurrently of Spiritual Beggars) with his brother Christopher (Armageddon), Arch Enemy took a straight-ahead approach to death metal reminiscent of Entombed or late-period Carcass, blending catchy, classic-style metal riffs with crushing grooves for an intense yet accessible sound. |
 | | Taking their name from the original Japanese pronunciation of Godzilla, French heavy metal quartet Gojira have risen from utmost obscurity during the first half of their career to widespread global recognition in the second, including regular mention amongst the genre's leading new millennium upstarts. |
 | | Bridging the gap between Faith no More, Killing Joke and Slayer, New York art-metal troupe Crisis is fronted by charismatic and eccentric vocalist Karyn Crisis, whose schizophrenic vocal stylings (including everything from melodic singing to death-grunts to impulsive squeaks and squawks) simply defied description. |
 | | Combining elements of melodic death metal, power metal, neo-classical, and thrash, Children of Bodom have been one of the world's most expansive and hard to define bands since their formation in 2003. |
 | | Formed in early 1995 in Vorede, Germany, Night in Gales were part of a new breed of death metal bands who combined the music's chaotic intensity and abrasive vocals with classic, structured metal riffs and a surprising sense of melody. |
 | | Formed in 1995 by Jonas Nilsson (guitar/vocals), Torstein Wickberg (guitar), Niklas Sjöström (bass) and Dennis Ekdahl (drums), Stockholm, Sweden's Raise Hell tried on a number of different names and metallic styles before finally recording their first demo, 1997's Nailed while still calling themselves In Cold Blood. |
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 | | Named after the Latin term for a black desert scorpion, Acrassicauda was founded by Faisal Talal (vocals, guitar), Tony Aziz (guitar), Firas Al-Lateef (bass), Waleed Moudhafar (vocals), and Marwan Riyak (drums) in Baghdad in 2001. |
 | | Combining the unrelenting assault of death metal with a melodic edge and technical precision that only sharpen their impact, Sweden's This Ending released their first album in 2007, but the band's membership had been working together for over 15 years by that point. |
 | | Pan-European death metal supregroup Nightrage was formed in 2000 by legendary Swedish vocalist Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, The Crown, Disfear, etc. |
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 | | October Tide were a short-lived side project for Katatonia members Fredrik Norrman (guitar, bass) and Jonas Renkse (guitar, drums, vocals), responsible for releasing a pair of LPs in 1997's Rain Without End and 1999's Grey Dawn (also featuring vocalist Marten Hansen). |
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 | | Guitarist Tobias Buck formed Neaera in 2003, initially as a side project away from his usual death metal band, Münster, Germany's Malzan. |
 | | Proving that death metal knows no international boundaries, Psycroptic hail from the remote Australian island state of Tasmania, where brothers Joe (guitar) and David Haley (drums) came together with vocalist Matthew Chalk and bassist Cameron Grant to form the group in 1999. |
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 | | Vocalist and guitarist Dan Swano was the creative force behind the Swedish death metal band Edge of Sanity, which also included guitarists Dread and Sami Nerberg, along with bassist Anders Lundberg and drummer Benny Larsson. |
 | | Death metallists Vital Remains formed during 1989, and hail from Providence, Rhode Island - influenced by the likes of Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Sodom, and Destruction. |
 | | In the world of progressive, gothic and symphonic metal, Waldemar Sorychta was a pretty big name. He produced work for bands such as the Gathering, Lacuna Coil, Tiamat, Moonspell, and Sentenced. |
 | | Swindon, England's Eternal Lord formed in 2005 by ex members of The Hunt for Ida Wave and Burning Skies. |
