 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Originally known as Requiem, the Finnish metal band Norther came together as a result of the collaboration of Toni Hallio and Petri Lindroos. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | A melodic power/death/folk metal band delving in Viking legends for lyrical inspiration, Helsinki, Finland's Ensiferum had to continually coexist with various simultaneous metal projects undertaken by its members. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Lead guitarist Esa Holopainen and drummer Jan Rechberger formed the band Amorphis in Finland in 1990. |
 | | 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). |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Finnish metal sextet Finntroll describe their music as trollish hoedown metal, which is to say that it combines the extreme elements of death metal with traditional Finnish folk melodies. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | Pan-European death metal supregroup Nightrage was formed in 2000 by legendary Swedish vocalist Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, The Crown, Disfear, etc. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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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 | | 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). |
 | | Named for a warrior god in Finnish mythology, Turisas are a heavy metal band whose music is an ambitious blend of symphonic metal, power metal, progressive rock, and Finnish folk music. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Following his departure in 2002 from Finnish Viking metal outfit Ensiferum, former Arthemesia vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jari Mäenpäa started a new project called Wintersun, with drummer Kai Hahto (late of grindcore band Rotten Sound). |
 | | Formed in 1995 by cousins Henri (guitar/keyboards/vocals) and Ville Sorvali (bass/vocals), Finland's Moonsorrow traced a path similar to that blazed by their countrymen Amorphis by combining death and black metal with heavy doses of atmosphere and Finnish folk traditions; but theirs was arguably an even more ambitious and epic approach. |
 | | Dimension Zero came into being in 1996 when the guitar team from Swedish metal juggernaut In Flames(Jesper Strömblad and Glenn Ljungström) decided to put together a side project that would allow the pair to pursue some of their more aggressive musical interests. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Based in the Faroes, a group of islands between Iceland and Norway that has been an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948, Týr record and perform in both English and in their native Faroese language. |
 | | Like many heavy metal bands from Denmark, Mercenary had to patiently wait out the early '90s before drawing any record company attention away from the Swedish and Norwegian behemoths raging just to the north. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Finnish folk-metal ensemble Korpiklaani (Forest Clan) formed in 2002 after the members of Shaman decided to update both their sound and name. |
 | | A combination side project and supergroup of the Norwegian black metal scene, Borknagar members Oystein G. |
 | | Originally formed in 2001 with the intention of playing just one show, Germany's Equilibrium quickly changed their minds and, over time, joined scores of new millennium heavy metal bands (Windir, Turisas, Negura Bunget, Eluveitie, etc. |
 | | These Canadians started to rock in 1992 with the mission statement "deliver the most punishing music ever created by combining melody and power into one devastating force. |
 | | Arising from the ashes of the important mid-'90s Swedish death metal band At the Gates and featuring former members of Witchery and Face Down, the Haunted went through countless lineup changes during the late '90s before finally releasing The Haunted Made Me Do It in 2000, confirming the excitement surrounding the band. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Described as "the world's greatest cultural force," the virtual death metal band Dethklok star in the Adult Swim television show Metalocalypse. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Norwegian black metal band Enslaved were formed in 1991 by guitarist/keyboardist Ivar Bjørnson and bassist Grutle Kjellson; a demo titled Yggdrstll followed a year later. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Formed during the late '80s, Swedish death metal band Therion was led by vocalist, guitarist, and composer Christofer Johnsson. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Hailing from Norway's Sogndal region, Windir(meaning "Primal Warrior") combined the vicious fury of black metal with Scandinavia's rich folk music, history, and mythology. |
 | | 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. |
 | | All-star Swedish death metal group Bloodbath was the side project of Opeth vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt, Katatonia guitarist Blackheim and bassist Jonas Renkse, and Edge of Sanity drummer Dan Swano. |
 | | Having a strong interest in the mythological aspects of Norse history, Frode Glesnes (guitar) and Gerhard Storesund (drums) formed Einherjer in early 1993 out of their home country of Norway. |
![One for Sorrow [Limited MFTM 2013 Edition] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/4478613/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "One for Sorrow [Limited MFTM 2013 Edition] Album Cover")
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