 | | Following in the footsteps of the Gathering and Lacuna Coil (goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands with female vocalists), Nightwish was formed in Kitee, Finland, in 1997 by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. |
 | | With the debut of their self-titled 1998 EP, Lacuna Coil (which translates to "empty spiral" in English) turned a lot of heads in Italy's ambient/goth scene thanks in part to Cristina Scabbia's haunting but mesmerizing vocals. |
 | | Originally calling themselves Sahara Dust, Holland's Epica formed in early 2003 when After Forever guitarist Mark Jansen decided to break away from the group he had helped found in order to start an operatic metal project all his own. |
 | | Somehow, leading Norway's Tristania to the top of the goth metal heap wasn't enough for vocalist/guitarist Morten Veland, who unilaterally seceded from the union in the year 2000 to found a brand-spanking-new though similar-sounding band named Sirenia. |
 | | Gothic metal band Leaves' Eyes was born out of the romantic relationship between singer Liv Kristine Espenæs and guitarist Alexander Krull, who met whilst she was fronting Norway's Theatre of Tragedy and he Germany's Atrocity. |
 | | Evanescence filled a niche few knew existed upon their arrival in 2003: the need for operatic goth-pop, soul-baring introspection paired with churning metallic guitars. |
 | | Formed in 1991, the American metal outfit Kamelot did not record its debut album, Eternity, until four years later; Dominion followed shortly thereafter. |
 | | Best known as the female vocalist for Finnish gothic/symphonic metal act Nightwish, Tarja (full name Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen) was born on August 17, 1977, in Kitee, Finland. |
 | | Formed out of Norway's famed black metal scene, Theatre of Tragedy combine elements of goth and metal with an added touch of drama thanks in part to the dual vocals of Raymond I. |
 | | The Belton, Texas-based heavy rock quintet Flyleaf formed in 2000 when frontwoman Lacey Mosley played a string of the dark, hard-edged songs she consistently wrote as a brooding teen for drummer James Culpepper. |
 | | Formed in the early years of the 21st century by guitarist Chris Siemons, bassist Frank Stumvoll, and drummer S. |
 | | Female-fronted symphonic/goth metal band Xandria broke into the German music mainstream in 2004 with their second album, Ravenheart. |
 | | Originating in Holland, After Forever represent a distinctly new-millennium breed of heavy metal band -- one rooted in familiar styles such as doom, Gothic and power metal, but utilizing the seemingly contradictory element of a sweet, female voice to offset the music's reigning aggression. |
 | | The Helsinki, Finland quartet Apocalyptica were initially comprised of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Max Lilja, Antero Manninen, and Paavo Lotjonen; formed in 1993, the group made waves internationally in 1996 with Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which combined their formal background with their love of heavy metal. |
 | | Hailing from Helsinki, Finland and crafting a mix of metal, goth and hard rock they called "love metal," H. |
 | | Forced from his position as keyboardist for Dutch goth rock luminaries Within Temptation due to chronic illness in 2001, Martijn Westerholt worked to get himself back to match fitness, and over the course of the next few years began to write music. |
 | | Regarded as one of the world's premiere goth metal bands, Norway's Tristania have earned their reputation through risk-taking creativity, unquestionable talent, and perhaps more than anything else, an impressive consistency from release to release. |
 | | The U.K.-based power metal sextet Dragonforce formed in 1999 around the twin-guitar assault of Herman Li and Sam Totman, keyboard player Vadim Pruzhanov, and the powerful vocals of ZP Theart; drummer David Mackintosh and bass player Adrian Lambert joined the lineup later. |
 | | New wave revival outfit the Birthday Massacre formed in London, Ontario, in 2000 -- originally dubbed Imagica, the founding lineup was comprised of frontwoman Chibi, guitarists Rainbow and M. |
 | | Following their formation in 1993, Hammerfall underwent numerous personnel changes before settling on their current lineup, which includes principal songwriters Joachim Cans (vocals) and Oscar Dronjak (guitars). |
 | | Finnish prog metal quartet Sonata Arctica specializes in a soaring, orchestral variation on European heavy metal, fusing the sweeping, romantic bombast of bands like Europe with the over-the-top instrumental chops of Dream Theater. |
 | | Siblings Elizabeth and Arejay Hale, the core members of the hard rock band Halestorm, began the group in late 1997 near York, PA, with Arejay on drums and Elizabeth on vocals and keyboard. |
 | | Hailing from the nation of Portugal, the doomy goth metal quintet Moonspell consists of vocalist Fernando Ribeiro, guitarist Ricardo Amorim, keyboardist/programmer Pedro Paixão, bassist Sérgio Crestana, and drummer Mike Gaspar. |
 | | Formed during the late '80s, Swedish death metal band Therion was led by vocalist, guitarist, and composer Christofer Johnsson. |
 | | Edenbridge were founded by guitarist and songwriter Lanvall as a studio project. He had already released three solo albums on the German label Music Is Intelligence (aka WMMS) and Si Wan Records in Korea. |
 | | Michael Romeo formed Symphony X in New Jersey in 1994. The original lineup of the group also included Thomas Miller (bass guitar), Rod Tyler (vocals), Jason Rullo (drums), and Michael Pinnella (keyboards). |
 | | Nevermore straddles the line between power metal, traditional heavy metal, and the contemporary hard rock scene, eschewing the silly theatrics of the "power scene" in favor of a darker tone, while reaping the rewards of melody and the high-flying vocal range of singer Warrel Dane. |
 | | Avantasia was an all-star side project headed by Tobias Sammet, lead singer of the prog-tinged German power metal band Edguy. |
 | | The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal. |
 | | Forming in the small German town of Krefeld, Blind Guardian perfected a fusion of gothic- and fantasy-tinged European power metal with the velocity and technical precision of speed metal. |
 | | Although Helsinki, Finland heavy metal band Stratovarius were formed in 1982 by drummer Tuomo Lassila, the group did not record its debut album, Fright Night, until 1989. |
 | | |
 | | Fashion trends may come and go, but Florida's Iced Earth has remained steadfastly committed to championing the cause of heavy metal through thick and thin. |
 | | Founded in 1999 by Jyri Vahvanen and Mika Kokkola, Finnish heavy metal ensemble Battlelore blend the epic sounds of power, goth, and death metal with imagery from author J. |
 | | Heavy metal band Disturbed came together through the matching of a band with a singer. Longtime friends Dan Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums), and Fuzz (bass) played together in Chicago for some time before hooking up with singer David Draiman around 1997. |
 | | Gothic metal ensemble Elis have earned a passionate international following for their music, which combines the aggressive guitars and explosive drums of heavy metal with accents of orchestral music, folk music, and electronica. |
 | | Formerly known simply as Rhapsody, this acclaimed Italian heavy metal band active since the mid-'90s was forced to change its name to Rhapsody of Fire in 2005, due to copyright issues. |
 | | Creative, classy and highly refined "symphonic metal" outfit from Holland. First album (Always, 1993) was a fairly straightforward death metal album, although heavy use of keyboards made it stand out a bit from other such albums at the time. |
 | | In late 2000, guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski made a surprising and unexpected decision: they left Lifer, an alternative metal band that was signed to Universal and was gaining commercial acceptance. |
 | | The progressive power metal band Demons & Wizards was a side project for Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kursch and Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer; it also featured onetime Iced Earth drummer Mark Prator. |
 | | Born of a chance meeting and the innate musical rapport established between vocalist Maria Brink and lead guitarist Chris Howorth, In This Moment quickly grew from local cult favorites performing in Los Angeles clubs to a MySpace phenomenon before landing a deal with Century Media Records. |
 | | Dream Evil is the pet project of producer Fredrik Nordstrom and guitarist Gus G., both of whom felt they could easily become a strong force in the metal underground if they teamed up. |
 | | Rammstein were formed in 1993 by an assembly of factory-weary proletarians raised in East Germany. They took their name (adding an "m") from the location of a German tragedy where 80 people were hurt and killed as the result of a crash during an American Air Force flight show. |
 | | Over the course of the 1990s, Sweden's Tiamat evolved from a typical death metal outfit into one of the leading lights in "symphonic" black metal. |
 | | The progressive metal outfit Ayreon is essentially just Dutch multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Arjen Anthony Lucassen (formerly of the more mainstream metal band Vengeance), plus a revolving-door cast of collaborators and guest musicians that changes from project to project. |
 | | British black metal band Cradle of Filth were formed in 1991, originally comprised of vocalist Dani Filth (born Daniel Lloyd Davey), guitarist Paul Ryan, his keyboardist brother Benjamin, bassist John Richard, and drummer Darren. |
 | | Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Nocturnal Rites began life as the Swedish death metal outfit Necronomic, which released a demo tape entitled The Obscure in 1991. |
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