Formed as a symphonic metal band with gothic tendencies, later Epica have incorporated into their sound strong death metal influences. Starting from the third album, even progressive metal attitudes have become evident. In addition, the band often uses thrash metal and groove metal riffs, black m...

Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the releas...

Meshuggah stands along. The most inventive and creative metal band of the last 30 years and one of the most widely revered. Meshuggah have been standard bearers for forward-thinking creativity in heavy music throughout their illustrious careers.

Formed in the college town of Umeå in northern S...

King Diamond is a Danish heavy metal band formed in 1985 by vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen and drummer Mikkey Dee. King, Denner and Hansen had recently departed the group Mercyful Fate, and decided to form a new band under the King Diamond ...

Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, lead guitarist Ben Savage, rhythm guitarist Alex Wade, bas...

Since 1983, the name Lizzy Borden has been synonymous with heavy metal music of the highest caliber. With My Midnight Things he has reaffirmed this standing, delivering the biggest, most dramatic, moving and cinematic record of his career, and one of the most essential additions to the genre in 2...

Cirith Ungol was formed in Ventura, California, in the early 1970s, long before the rigid tropes and ironclad traditions that define today’s heavy metal genre had taken shape. Also known as Medieval obscure Epic True Heavy Metal heroes which Bart Gabriel described them. There was no rulebook, no ...

My Dying Bride is a veteran English doom and gothic metal band known for serpentine compositions, dark, brooding atmospherics, beautifully produced recordings and a theatrical stage presence. Though they began as a "slower-than-usual" death metal band with brutal recordings such as 1993's As the ...

Pentagram is an American heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, and the sub-genre of doom metal in particular. As such, they are considered one of the "big four of doom metal," alongside Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble. The band was prol...

Eventually there comes a time when the hype about a band becomes superfluous, and their status alone speaks volumes. Such is the case with Emperor, the black metal gods hailing from Telemark, Norway. Emperor has become known as one of the originators of symphonic Black Metal that Norway is intern...

The brightest star of the symphonic rock scene, Tarja Turunen is certainly the most internationally well-known Finnish voice in the world of music. Soprano, composer and songwriter, she reached international fame co-founding and being for nine years the voice and image of the Finnish symphonic me...

No matter how much everything changes in culture and the world at a large, heavy metal endures. It empowers. It engages. It engenders strength and it outlasts fads. The same can be said for HAMMERFALL. Since forming in Gothenburg, Sweden during 1993, the now quintet of Oscar Dronjak [guitar], Joa...

Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Oslo in 1991. Satyr and Frost have been the band's core members since 1993. The band's first three albums typify the Norwegian black metal style. Since its fourth album in 1999, the band has strayed from this style and included elements of tradi...

Carving their way from their nineties gothic-tinged doom metal to the ethereal post-metal entity they are today, the band led by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström have always been and will forevermore be one thing—a vessel of deep emotion; shrouded in Scandinavian despair and a uni...

Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq.

There simply aren’t enough superlatives to properly acknowledge the contribution Deep Purple has made to rock music. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, there’s little wonder that the respected British radio station Planet Rock named the group the '5th ...

DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002, consisting of vocalist Dez Fafara, lead guitarist Mike Spreitzer, bassist Jon Miller, rhythm guitarist Alex Lee and drummer Davier Pérez.

DevilDriver's music has been widely described an amalgamation of ...

W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notor...

Therion (formerly Blitzkrieg and Megatherion) is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. Its name was inspired by the Celtic Frost album To Mega Therion. "To Mega Therion" is Greek for "The Great Beast" and was a title used by occultist Aleister Crowley. Originally ...

50 years have gone by since the days the juvenile Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs wandered the streets of Hannover, which was just awakening from post war paralysis, with a barrow carrying their instruments and amplifiers. In these 50 years, they have become Germany’s, or rather Co...

Magnum are an English melodic hard rock band. They were formed in Birmingham in 1972 by Tony Clarkin (guitar, songwriter) and Bob Catley (vocals) in order to appear as the resident band at the Rum Runner nightclub in the city. Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years; how...

Elvenking is a heavy metal band from Sacile, Italy. As of 2019, they have released one demo and ten full-length studio albums. Elvenking's music draws inspiration from different genres such as metal, folk, hard rock, pop, prog, and classical music.

Elvenking was formed in late October 1997 by tw...

The band received its earliest recognition in the mid-1990s by touring with My Dying Bride, Tiamat and Atrocity. Much like the latter two groups, the band had begun as traditional death metal, then evolved in an industrial music and gothic metal musical direction on later albums. The band receive...