 | | 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. |
 | | Arguably the ultimate progressive metal band of their day, Atheist's impossibly Byzantine death-jazz proved too advanced even for committed metalheads to stomach. |
 | | Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. |
 | | Offering a complex form of metal that combined the sweeping adventurism of math rock, the oddball tempos of experimental jazz, and the stunning brutality of thrash metal, Meshuggah raised the bar for metal bands everywhere upon their debut. |
 | | The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal. |
 | | 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). |
 | | One of the more melodic death metal bands to expand beyond Sweden and spread their sound across the world alongside peers such as Entombed, At the Gates played a significant role in the death metal genre before breaking up in 1996, leading to the formation of the Haunted. |
 | | Atlanta-based sludge/stoner/alternative metal outfit Mastodon formed in 1999 around the talents of guitarist Bill Kelliher, drummer Bränn Dailor, bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, and guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Between the Buried and Me is a thinking man's hardcore unit hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band began in 2000 after the dissolution of vocalist Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner's previous group, Prayer for Cleansing. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Industrial metal singer/guitarist Devin Townsend was born May 5, 1972 in Vancouver, British Columbia; after picking up the banjo at age five, he moved to guitar at 12, and within a few years was leading the band Grey Skies, later known as Noisescapes. |
 | | Often considered one of grindcore's founding fathers, Carcass were among the first bands of the extreme metal genre to try a different lyrical approach -- one that reflected a fascination with surgical gadgets and peculiar words straight out of a med student's textbook. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth originally formed in 1988 under the name Scum; by the time the new moniker was adopted four years later, the line-up consisted of vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olli Mikkonen and Anders Hansson, bassist Ted Lundstrom and drummer Niko Kaukinen. |
 | | Combining the extreme speed and nihilism of modern death metal with the ancient styling of Middle Eastern music, Nile formed in their hometown of Greenville, SC, in 1993. |
 | | Groups like Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Slayer may have founded death metal in the early '80s, but it wasn't until such disciples as Morbid Angel came along at the close of the decade that the genre was pushed to its most extreme level, both musically and lyrically. |
 | | When prog rock first reared its head during the early '70s, it contained elements of hard rock, but few bands crossed the line into heavy metal. |
 | | 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. |
 | | "If vomit were a movie, this would be the soundtrack," wrote one critic of Cannibal Corpse's music, some of the most extreme, violent death metal sounds and subject matter ever committed to tape. |
 | | Death metal band Suffocation was formed in New York in the early '90s, comprising vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs, bassist Chris Richards, and drummer Mike Smith. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The Faceless are a progressive death metal band from Los Angeles affiliated with the underground metal label Sumerian Records. |
 | | Scandinavian metal legends Entombed were at the forefront of the death metal uprising, releasing their influential debut, Left Hand Path, in 1990, just as the movement was beginning to proliferate internationally. |
 | | Though he initially came to wider attention (at least in the U.K.) with No-Man, his long-running collaboration with Tim Bowness throughout the '90s, singer/guitarist Steven Wilson gained as much of a reputation for Porcupine Tree. |
 | | Holland's Pestilence is generally regarded as one of the leaders of the late-'80s/early-'90s death metal scene, following closely behind Death as innovators in the genre. |
 | | Lead guitarist Esa Holopainen and drummer Jan Rechberger formed the band Amorphis in Finland in 1990. |
 | | Culling its membership from various Norwegian black metal luminaries, Arcturus has been an evolving project for founding keyboardist Steiner "Sverd" Johnsen and drummer Hellhammer (also known as a member of Mayhem, one of the most infamous Norwegian black metal ensembles). |
 | | Gothenburg, Sweden-based death metal outfit Dissection were formed in 1989 by singer/guitarist Jon Nödtveidt and bassist Peter Palmdahl; with the addition of drummer Ole Öhman the following spring, the group recorded its first demo, The Grief Prophecy. |
 | | 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 fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death pushed the envelope of metal to new extremes of ear-splitting intensity, rejecting all notions of melody, subtlety, and good taste to forge a brand of sonic assault almost frightening in its merciless brutality. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Over the course of its decade-plus existence, the Canadian quartet Gorguts has made the transition from being a highly skilled, yet still somewhat run-of-the-mill death metal band, to being one of the most advanced, experimental, and challenging groups in the entire genre. |
 | | 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 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. |
 | | Making a splash on the Montreal death metal scene with their 1993 demo Ungentle Exhumation, Cryptopsy were immediately recognized in Europe after signing to Germany's Invasion Records the following year. |
 | | Five men united by a common musical goal formed Into Eternity in 1997. Those five musicians were Tim Roth, Daniel Nargang, Chris McDougall, Scott Krall, and Jim Austin. |
 | | The origins of Agalloch date back to 1995 and the disintegration of the band Aeolachrymae. As that group died, three phoenixes emerged from the ashes, Sussurrus Inanis, Nothing, and Agalloch. |
 | | Controversy has plagued Florida-based quartet Deicide. During their first tour in 1992, the band was severely criticized for their statements in favor of animal sacrifices. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Considered to be one of the leading death metal bands to emerge from Poland in the 1990s, Behemoth have endured quite a few lineup shifts during their career (especially in the bass department), with founding singer/guitarist Nergal being the only constant member. |
 | | The death metal band Immolation formed in New York in 1986; originally dubbed Rigor Mortis, the group first comprised singer/bassist Ross Dolan, guitarists Robert Vignaud and Thomas Wilkinson, and drummer Craig Smilowski. |
 | | In 1984, Daniel Gildenlow formed the band Reality at the whopping age of 11. The group stayed together under that name for seven years, albeit not without personnel changes. |
 | | Formed in 1990, German progressive metal band Vanden Plas combined the creativity of progressive rock with the aggression of metal. |
 | | The Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy was formed by Peter Tägtgren in 1990 upon his return to Sweden from Florida, where he had been inspired by that state's flourishing death metal scene (bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death, and Obituary). |
 | | Blending black metal's most brutal tendencies, the melancholic beauty of opera, and industrial metal's production techniques, Dimmu Borgir carved a niche in the metal world as one of the most savage and creative acts to hail from the Norwegian scene. |
 | | Formed during the late '80s, Swedish death metal band Therion was led by vocalist, guitarist, and composer Christofer Johnsson. |
 | | After playing for a few years in the "straight" music world as a member of the uniquely virtuosic Washington, D. |
 | | Vader formed in 1986, toiling around the European death and thrash circuit while releasing demos into the metal tape-trading circuit. |
 | | From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. |
![Focus [Expanded Edition] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1446036/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Focus [Expanded Edition] Album Cover")
![Focus [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/499014/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Focus [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
