Finntroll

Finntroll combines black metal and Finnish polka, called Humppa. Although they are from Finland, Finntroll's lyrics are in Swedish (the country's second official language), because Swedish sounds "damn trollish", according to the band's first vocalist, Katla (whose native language is Swedish). History Finntroll was founded in 1997, by Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta (R.I.P. March 16th 2003), guitarist of Impaled Nazarene, and Jan "Katla" Jämsen. Their first demo, Rivfader, was recorded about a year later, in 1998. After the demo recording, the other members of the band, Samu Ruotsalainen (from Barathrum, Shape of Despair and Rapture), Samuli Ponsimaa, Henri Sorvali (from Moonsorrow) and Sami Uusitalo joined the band. The record label Spinefarm got interested in the band then, and made a contract, yielding the album Midnattens Widunder (English: The Beast of Midnight) (1999) as a result. The next step for Finntroll was the album Jaktens Tid (English: The time of the Hunt), which was released in 2001. This album managed to climb to rank 20 of the Finnish album charts, exceeding expectation of band and publisher alike. The following wave of popularity attracted the attention of Century Media, which began promoting Finntroll for the rest of the world. The following summer, the band had their first time playing on open air festivals in Finland and other countries. The year after the release of the album Jaktens Tid proved to be a misfortune for Finntroll: some tours had to be cancelled, and in the aftermath of his problems, vocalist Jämsen had to retire from the band due to a viral-based tumor in his vocal cords which could not be removed surgically; he retired after the release of the album Visor om Slutet (English: Songs about the End). Said album was recorded in early January 2003, in a forest cabin near Helsinki. It was an "acoustical experiment", where Jämsen and the new vocalist Tapio Wilska (of Sethian and Lyijykomppania) shared the singing duties among them. The album was released as a mid-price album and held rank one of the Finnish midprice chart for several weeks. Shortly before the release of Visor om Slutet, Raimoranta died by falling off a bridge in Helsinki after having consumed too much alcohol, according to the official story. Two people who were with him that night revealed in an interview that he had jumped off the bridge, thus committing suicide.[citation needed] Finntroll didn't dissolve after losing one of their founding members, but decided to go on, touring for two weeks in Europe, supported by the group Katatonia. The guitarist Mikael Karlbom was hired as a replacement for Raimoranta. In 2004, the band released an EP, Trollhammaren (English: The Troll Hammer), and an album called Nattfödd (English: Nightborn). In 2005, as Henri "Trollhorn" Sorvali found himself too busy with his other band, "Moonsorrow", he decided to put touring with Finntroll on hold. He is still working with the band, composing etc. For tours, Finntroll decided to find a stand-in keyboard player. Since 2005, Aleksi Virta (Other bands/affiliations: Imperanon) has been touring with the 'trolls. In January 29th of 2006, Tapio Wilska, vocalist of the band since 2003, was fired from the band. In a statement issued on the band's website, Wilska states that he would like to keep the reason for his dismissal private. The latest Finntroll's album, "Ur Jordens Djup" was released on March 30th 2007 with a new vocalist : Vreth. The new album takes a more black-metal approach than the previous albums, heading back to the days of "Midnattens Widunder".

Cryptopsy

Cryptopsy is an influential extreme metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For over 30 years, they have sculpted and pushed the boundaries of their metal genre.

Management: Extreme Management Group: Joann Gullo – EMG.Joann@gmail.com

Revocation

Pushing both the death metal and progressive elements of their signature sound harder than ever, The Outer Ones represents Revocation at their boldest, most aggressive and most complex. "I knew that I wanted to go in a darker direction, and this is our most death metal album to date," states vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson. "Sometimes when death metal bands go down the prog route they lose some of that edge, but we wanted to keep the aggression at the forefront of what we do while still pushing our boundaries." Moving away from the societal and historical themes that informed 2016's Great is Our Sin, this time Davidson has immersed himself in the fantastic, evoking one of the great writers of the sci-fi/horror genre. "The title is my ode to H.P. Lovecraft and the entities of pure cosmic horror that rule that universe he created. Since the new music we were writing was so evil and spacey in sections it seemed to be the right title to fit the overall vibe. But while the lyrical content is largely influenced by such writings, in every allegory there is of course some reflection of the real world, so I enjoy writing in a way that could have one overlaying meaning and then another deeper, symbolic meaning as well."

While the four members of Revocation - Davidson, guitarist Dan Gargiulio, bassist Brett Bamberger, and drummer Ash Pearson - are spread around North America without the convenience of being able to jam, this does not impinge on the creative process. If anything, this ensures that they make the most of the time spent together, and they maintained an even greater level of quality control than on The Outer Ones predecessors. "The songs came together pretty naturally, however, this album has the most revisions to riffs and song structures that we've ever had. I had a lot of material written, and had a good amount of time to work on it between tours, so I used that time to really dissect every part of each song. I might be feeling one riff one day and then the next day have some sort of revelation and would go in a totally different direction. All of those revisions definitely benefitted the final product." True to Davidson's promise that it is their most death metal release, its abrasiveness is evident on first exposure to both devout followers and those new to Revocation. Destroying all comers with opener "Of Unworldly Origin", the fury that seethes through this and the tracks that follow is palpable, and much of it makes for deeply uncomfortable yet always compelling listening. A potent uneasiness bleeds through the swirling, slashing violence of the title track, while the unrelenting edginess and creeping threat of "That Which Consumes All Things" marks it as one of the most demanding yet essential additions to Revocation's arsenal. "I think that that element is a natural product of where I'm at as a musician," Davidson says. "I love the sound of dissonance, and as a songwriter for a metal band I can really play with different textures of tension and figure out how to achieve unexpected releases of that tension. Dissonance doesn't mean that it can't also be melodic, so I always try to think about that when composing. Given the dark direction I wanted to take the album in, it made sense to explore more abrasive harmonies and textures." In many ways, these harmonies and textures draw from jazz as much as they do metal. When not focusing on Revocation, Davidson in fact devotes much of his time to studying the language of jazz, and the influence of this is more prominent than on their previous records. While this contributes to many of the record's more coarse elements it also results in moments of sublime melody, and no more so than on the towering instrumental "Ex Nihilo". Furthermore, those drawn to the more epic tendencies of Revocation are certain to not be disappointed by The Outer Ones, and ambitious closer "A Starless Darkness" takes influence from a variety of sources but ultimately stands in a league of its own. "When it was coming together I knew I wanted to make it the album closer. The intro/outro is influenced by Gorguts and Morbid Angel, other parts were inspired by Ihsahn's writing on his solo records, especially the verse riff with the shifting contrapuntal guitar octaves. When the bridge section hits it sounds like something that could be on 'Chaos Of Forms' (2011), and then it kind of reminds me of Megadeth, but if 'Rust In Peace' was more of a death metal album."

While other heavy bands who demonstrate their devotion to the works of H.P. Lovecraft in their lyrics struggle to truly evoke the spirit and atmosphere of his works, this was not an issue for Davidson. For example, drawing influence from the short story "The Dreams In The Witch House", as well as other folklore surrounding witches and black magic, "Of Unworldly Origin" is "essentially about an individual who is tracking down a sorceress to finally put an end to her witchery, but ends up getting hexed and driven insane by her magic." The short story "The Colour Out Of Space" provides the inspiration for "That Which Consumes All Things", a unique inclusion in the author's canon in that rather than an actual monster, the creature of the story is an amorphous living cloud that devours life. "I thought a dark ethereal force that drains the life of all beings would be perfect fodder for a metal song, plus the verse riff sounds like a black cloud descending upon a village. If music can conjure a specific image it's best to try to represent that in the lyrics as well, to make an even stronger statement." Not every track draws such direct influence, and "Fathomless Catacombs" is a tale of Davidson's own creation. "It's about three grave robbers that break into an old cathedral in search of riches in the crypts below. However, the tombs are cursed and damn anyone that disturbs them to an eternity of wandering the cryptic labyrinth." Suited to the epic feel and scope of the music, "A Starless Darkness" goes beyond the sci-fi/horror themes that inform most of the record, and looks instead to theoretical physics, while retaining an ultimately somber subject matter. "'The heat death of the universe' is the theory that due to dark energy and the expansion of the universe the forces of gravity will eventually become undone. Over the aeons, all stars will burn out and then even black holes will eventually evaporate, leaving the universe frozen and lightless forever."

With producer Shane Frisby (The Ghost Inside, Bury Your Dead) tracking the drums at Brick HitHouse and longtime collaborator Zeuss (Hatebreed, Bleeding Through) handling all other aspects of recording at Planet Z, the record came together easily. "There wasn't too much input necessary, since we already had the songs mostly fleshed out, but it was good to have them as tie breakers if we had a couple different ideas in mind for one part. They were more there to give us feedback or to encourage us to try different things, like with vocal delivery or things of that nature, and it was great working with them." While legendary guitarist Marty Friedman contributed a solo to "The Exaltation" on Great Is Our Sin, this time around the work is entirely the province of the four members, not requiring anyone else's input, and they are determined that The Outer Ones is the record that once and for all establishes them as a headlining band. "We had so many great support offers from the likes of The Black Dahlia Murder and Cattle Decapitation, we didn't get the chance to headline on the last cycle. With this album, we're coming right out of the gate with back-to-back headline tours with full production. We want to really give our fans a show, and we're looking forward to fulfilling that goal."

Sacred Reich

1349

Musically and visually, Oslo's 1349 have roots deeply implanted in the second wave of Norwegian black metal. Their sound, complete with buzzing (rather than roaring) guitars, abundant blastbeats, Satanic lyrics, unclean vocals, etc., is appended by ghastly corpse-paint, leather, spikes, fire breathing, and more, on-stage. Early recordings, such as Liberation and Beyond the Apocalypse, were drenched in lo-fi production, but won fans due to a sometimes-overwhelming physicality and aggression. Though hardly prolific -- they've issued less than ten albums in 22 years -- they are one of the few surviving entities from the era who continue releasing material and touring, while remaining -- with only two exceptions -- close to their sonic and aesthetic origins, as evidenced by 2014's Massive Cauldron of Chaos. Following long tours, overseeing reissues, and a break, 1349 returned with The Infernal Pathway in 2019. Following the pandemic, they returned to touring, and in 2024 released The Wolf & The King. 1349 took their name from the year in which the black death epidemic arrived on Scandinavian shores. Born in 1997 from the remains of black metal quartet Alvheim, 1349 featured vocalist and drummer Olav "Ravn" Bergene, guitarist André "Tjalve" Kvebek, and bassist Tor Risdal "Seidemann" Stavenes. Second guitarist Idar "Archaon" Burheim would join two years later, in time to perform on 1349's second demo (titled "Chaos Preferred") in 2000, and the ensuing eponymous 2001 EP, which established the band's sound as a single-minded throwback to the devastating style of black metal that made Norway the movement's focal point in the early '90s. 1349 made another connection to that seminal period when they recruited Satyricon drummer Kjetil Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad -- to allow vocalist Ravn to roam free on-stage -- which contributed to the band's burgeoning reputation both as players and as performers, thanks to the usual black metal accouterments. A trio of career-affirming albums followed, namely 2003's Liberation, 2004's Beyond the Apocalypse, and 2005's Hellfire, paving the way for a U.S. run (with a different drummer since Frost was denied entry due to a criminal record) supporting the reunited Celtic Frost, and a few years of dedicated touring and major European festival appearances. In 2006, Tjalve left the band to pursue other projects. After several years off, 1349 got back to the business of recording via 2009's Revelations of the Black Flame album. It marked a radical departure in their sound. Produced in partnership with Celtic Frost icon Thomas Gabriel Fischer, he replaced much of the band's old-school black metal with slower ambient and semi-industrial sounds, outraging most fans. The band added guitarist Secthdamon for the purpose of touring. The following year's Demonoir, with only the original quartet, made only token efforts to redress the situation (with numerous atmospheric pieces sprinkled amid the more typical black metal songs) and further polarized 1349's audience, leaving many unanswered questions as to the band's future prospects. Secthdamon returned as a touring member in 2016, and remains part of the live outfit, as does drummer Nils Fjellström, who replaces Frost for U.S. tours. After four years of working on concert and festival stages, they returned to the studio and issued the Dødskamp EP in April of 2019, followed by a second EP in August, Through Eyes of Stone. Both recordings were back-to-basics affairs and were greeted by fans with enthusiasm. That October 1349 released their seventh full-length, The Infernal Pathway. Engineered by Jarrett Pritchard, the set contained guest lyrics by Kenneth "Destroyer" Svartalv, (Nocturnal Breed's bassist/lyricist S.A. Destroyer) on all but one song. The album was celebrated by critics and fans alike as a welcome return to traditional form. The 2020 global pandemic canceled their touring until 2021. They played festivals and toured across Europe. 1349 returned to the studio, two studios actually. They cut tracks and parts at Amper Tone in Oslo, Norway, and finished at Orlando, Florida's New Constellation R.M.P. with producers Jarret Prichard and Ravn; they also recorded and engineered the recording. Prichard mixed and mastered the final takes. Titled The Wolf & The King, the set was issued in October 2024 by Seasons of Mist.~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Gutalax

Månegarm

It all started in Norrtälje, Sweden, 1995. Three old friends began to talk about starting a band. They had all played or growled in different constellations before. The main direction with this project, was to play as fast and primitive metal as possible, and the lyrics had to be in Swedish. No question about that. To get the massive and raw sound they wanted, they only had to find a second guitarist and of course a drummer.

Against all odds they soon found Mårten Matsson, who played guitar in a local metal madness called Scab. He thought the idea sounded interesting and joined up. Mårten also knew a guy who had been playing drums for some months so he brought him along too. And so the first line-up was complete. It was Svenne (Duva) Rosendal on vocals, Jonas (Rune) Almquist and Mårten (Karbylundssvingen) Matsson guitars, Pierre (skägget) Wilhelmsson playing bass and Erik (Jurken) Grawsiö on drums. With the temporary band name, Antikrist, they started to rehearse their very first song "Månljus" in November ´95. A month later they changed their name to Månegarm.

In May ´96 they felt ready to put some of the material on tape. After three days in Underground Studio a four-track demo called "Vargaresa" was created. It was an over average demo with good sound and material. It was sad that so few labels and ´zines received it.

In the middle of the summer, a line-up change was done. Some of the members had become tired and didn't care so much anymore. A new guitarist and vocalist got involved. The Guitarist, Markus Andé, was an old friend to Grawsiö and suited well in the band. Same thing with Jonny Wranning, who had been vocalist in earlier bands with both Wilhelmsson and Almquist. With some fresh blood and new ideas, Månegarm entered the second chapter of their development as a band.

After several months of rehearsing and work with new material, a date was set for the recording of the second demo. Everyone was excited to enter the studio cause the new stuff was the best they´ve done this far. Suddenly a day Wranning calls and quit the band. The only thing to do was to cancel the studio and try to find a new vocalist. They tried a guy from the same town a while after, but it didn't work at all. After talking to Wranning again it was decided that he would do the vocals on the demo anyway. A date was set and the hunt for a vocalist continued.

Two weeks before the recording Månegarm got in contact with a vocalist called Gogge, sadly the time wasn't enough to let him participate on the demo. At last in February 1997 the long awaited demo; "Ur nattvindar" was brought out of Studio Sunlight. It contained three tracks and intro/outro. This was also the first time the violin and female vocals were used. It gave the whole thing a nordic feeling and was a perfect complement to Månegarms music. Compared to the first demo, "Ur nattvindar" reached out to more labels and magazines. The response couldn't have been better. Some months later Månegarm decided to sign for Displeased Records.

After the release of the demo, Goggan took the place as vocalist. It lasted some month but in the end it didn't work out, so once again the hunt began. It ended late the same year when Viktor Hemgren took the role as a firm vocalist. The work with the first album started and ended up as "Nordstjärnans Tidsålder", recorded in Studio Sunlight and released in June 1998. They were very satisfied with the result at that time and the response from the listeners was very good. Janne Liljequist´s violin filled the music along with the voice of Ymer Mossige-Norheim. After the release they all took some months off before the work with the second album started.

In the summer ´99 the recording of "Havets vargar" began. The studio belonged to a friend of them and all went quite good at first, until the studio owner and Displeased couldn't get along. It all ended with a five-month break in the recording. In December they went to Underground studio and finished the album. During the break Hemgren got fired because his lack of interest and Grawsiö took care of the vocals. The five-piece band became a quartet, which turned out to be the best that had ever happened to Månegarm. They finished "Havets vargar" at Underground and released it in late 2000.

Graveworm

Angelus Apatrida

Formed in 2000, Angelus Apatrida (“/'an-je-lus - a-'pa-tri-da/"), have more than earned their reputation as modern thrash metal greats. One of the few Spanish bands to enjoy sustained international recognition. With the always consistent line-up of frontman/guitarist Guillermo Izquierdo, bassist Jose Izquierdo, drummer Victor Valera and guitarist David Alvarez, Angelus Apatrida have steadily evolved, releasing a series of stunning, genre-redefining records that belonged squarely in the thrash metal realm while never sounding quite like any other band.

To fully reflect the intensity and ferocity of their new songs, Angelus Apatrida have recruited revered studio guru Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Overkill, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall) to mix and master the new self titled record. The result of that collaboration is an album that blows the vast majority of modern metal out of the water, with uniquely crushing guitar tones underpinning some of the most inventive but memorable songs the band have ever written.

Not many bands last for two decades with their credibility and passion intact. But Angelus Apatrida are not like other bands: this is state-of-the-art, multi-dimensional and monstrous thrash metal, with a big heart and a skull full of rage. Forged in turmoil but full of the hope that only music can inspire, Angelus Apatrida is the pulverising metal record that the world needs right now. The future may be uncertain, but class is eternal.

The Crown

Thy Light

Einherjer

WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE? We were there when Norwegian extreme metal grew forth and took shape as an enormous cultural export. We played far and wide. At home and abroad. We were part of something new. Something special and innovative. We were there and swung the hammer when Viking metal was forged as a unique expression that later inspired countless bands, worldwide. Now the horns of war sound again... Our Norse heritage is a phenomenon that reaches far beyond what one can hear alone. It is an amalgamation of the mystique and sagas of old, of songs and poems, of woodcutting and sword grinding and the vikings merciless way of life. It’s a cultural patchwork that fills the consciousness with the brutal majesty of the Nordic nature, the elemental strain, of mighty longships plowing the black seas to reach unknown shores. The wisdom of the gods and their Valhalla. Of cultural encounters and trade. Of violence and brutality. Of tough men in a tough time. Our hometown Haugesund also rings with historic sound, and from our own shores on the west coast of Norway the influence of the vikings stretched towards the sea and the world beyond. The adventurers, pioneers, poets and craftsmen have inspired Einherjer to go their own way. The vikings courage and boldness have inspired us to never compromise our vision: A vision that is a unique, self-made, original and modern interpretation of our mighty Nordic heritage.