Aeon (Death Metal)

Aeon is a death metal band that formed in Östersund, Sweden in 1999. The band comprises vocalist Tommy Dahlström, guitarists Sebastian Nilsson and Daniel Dlimi, bassist Marcus Edvardsson and drummer Arttu Malkki. The band released its debut album, Bleeding the False, in 2005; and the second album Rise to Dominate in 2007, after signing a record deal with Metal Blade Records. The band's third album, Path of Fire, was released in May 2010.
According to Allmusic, Aeon plays "uncommonly intense, technically proficient, high-velocity brand of death metal".

History

• Formation and Bleeding the False (1999–2005)

Aeon was formed in the Swedish town of Östersund in 1999 by vocalist Tommy Dahlström, guitarists Sebastian Nilsson and Morgan Nordbakk, bassist Johan Hjelm and drummer Arttu Malkki of the newly broken up band Defaced Creation, in order to proceed with more modern style of death metal. A demo was recorded that year including the songs "Return of Apolluon", "Eternal Hate", "With Blood they Pay", "The Awakening", "Bloodlust" and "Hell Unleashed".
In 2001, Aeon released Dark Order EP, with the same tracklist as the demo, via Necropolis Records. That year, Nordbakk was replaced by Daniel Dlimi, who subsequntly started to contribute also as a songwriter. In 2002, after Malkki left the band, Aeon was joined by Nils Fjellström and started to work on a studio album, which was recorded from October 2003 to February 2004 and released in September 2005 under the title Bleeding the False thru Unique Leader.

• Rise to Dominate and Path of Fire (2006–present)

In April 2006, the band toured with Cannibal Corpse in Europe and signed a record deal with Metal Blade Records in July. Hjelm departed from Aeon in mid-2006, but Max Carlberg filled his position in September. The second full length album, Rise to Dominate, was recorded in April 2007 at Empire Studio, mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studios and released in September 2007.] Fjellström joined Dark Funeral on a tour in October 2007, but rejoined Aeon in February 2008.
During 2008, Aeon started to work on the next studio album. In January 2009, the band toured in Europe with Hate Eternal, Misery Index and See You Next Tuesday. In September, Carlberg departed and was replaced by Victor Brandt of Satyricon. The members commented Carlberg's departure: "Being on tour in a not-so-known death metal band like Aeon often means really tough conditions and bad economy. We totally understand that not everyone can put up with this way of life." The band subsequently recorded its third studio album, Path of Fire, at Empire Studio in Östersund, Sweden. Nilsson and Dlimi recorded also the bass, because Brandt did not have enough time to learn the songs. The album was mixed the following month at Mana Recording Studios in St, Petersburg, Florida by Erik Rutan. In January 2010, Brandt departed and was replaced by Marcus Edvardsson of Souldrainer and Santification.
Path of Fire was released on May 21/24 2010 in Europe and on May 25 in the U.S. via Metal Blade Records. In June, Aeon released a music video for "Forgiveness Denied" and Dlimi commented on the theme of the song and video: "There have been a lot of scandals revealed lately, regarding priests (especially catholic ones) who have been abusing children sexually. In my world, there is nothing more innocent than a child, and the ones who abuse a child sexually will never be forgiven. In my opinion, they deserve to die a horrible, painful death. We want to dedicate this song/video to them, the filthy fucking priests who have laid a hand on a child sexually; we hate you, and want you dead."
In September 2010, Fjellström announced his withdrawal from Aeon and from Dark Funeral for personal reasons. The band started to seek a replacement. Malkki rejoined the band in November.

• Musical style and reception

Aeon's music is composed by Nilsson and Dlimi; the lyrics are written by Dahlström. According to Allmusic, Aeon plays "uncommonly intense, technically proficient, high-velocity brand of death metal". Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse stated: "Aeon's musicianship is among the best in death metal, but their songwriting is what truly sets them apart. It's rare to find a death metal band that is simultaneously crushingly brutal and infectiously catchy." Nilsson stated: "Tom [Dahlström] has had his problems with Jehovah’s Witnesses who live[d] by him when he was a little younger. They actually were visiting him a lot, trying to convert him to Christian", which resulted in Aeon's anti-Christian lyrics.

Members

Current members

• Tommy Dahlström – vocals (1999–present)
• Sebastian "Zeb" Nilsson – lead guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
• Daniel Dlimi – rhythm guitar (2001–present)
• Marcus Edvardsson – bass (2010–present)
• Arttu Malkki – drums (1999–2002, 2010–present)

Former members

• Morgan Nordbakk – guitar (1999–2001)
• Johan Hjelm – bass (1999–2006)
• Max Carlberg – bass (2006–2009)
• Victor Brandt – bass (2009–2010)
• Nils Fjellström – drums (2002–2010)

Discography

(lml = Download)

• Dark Order (EP, 2001) lml
• Bleeding the False (2005) lml
• Rise to Dominate (2007) lml
• Path of Fire (2010) lml

Viraemia (Brutal Technical Death Grind)

History

Viraemia; ( vi-ray-me-ah ) the presence of a virus in the blood stream.
Viraemia is a Modern Technical Death Metal band out of Phoenix, Arizona that theme their music on Pathology/Disease. Viraemia was created in early 2008 with the intent of pushing technical death metal to a new extreme.

Members

• Scott Plummer Bass
• Michael Collins Drums
• Josh Hernandez Guitars
• Kyle Moeller Guitars
• Tony Martinez Vocals

Discography
(lml = Download)

• Demo lml
• Viraemia lml

Arch Enemy (Death Metal)

Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup, from Halmstad, formed in 1996. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, and Eucharist to name a few. It was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan Liiva, who were both originally from the influential death metal band Carnage. The band has released nine studio albums, a live album (Burning Japan Live 1999), two DVDs and three EPs. The band was originally fronted by Johan Liiva, who was replaced by Angela Gossow as lead vocalist in 2000.

History

• Early years and Black Earth (1996–1997)

Arch Enemy, the brainchild of Michael Amott (Carcass, Carnage, and Spiritual Beggars) was originally assembled when Michael Amott left Carcass. Guitarists Michael Amott and younger brother Christopher Amott (Armageddon) joined with vocalist Johan Liiva (ex-Carnage, Furbowl, Devourment) and then-session drummer Daniel Erlandsson (Eucharist) in what Michael Amott called "an attempt to merge melody with aggression and technicality".
The band's debut, entitled Black Earth was recorded at Studio Fredman and released by the now defunct Wrong Again Records in 1996. It obtained a fair amount of success in Japan, achieving MTV rotation with their first single "Bury Me an Angel", as well as moderate success in Sweden. At this point, Arch Enemy was more of a "solo effort" than a full band; Michael Amott wrote all the songs himself, and even played bass guitar on the album, contrary to the album's liner notes, which listed vocalist Johan Liiva as handling bass duties. Amott later revealed that he had the credits listed that way to make the album seem more of a "band" effort. Many consider it to be the band's most aggressive album, a trait that was softened to some degree on its following releases, but never abandoned.

• Stigmata, Burning Bridges, and Gossow (1998–2000)

After the release of Black Earth the band switched labels, signing a contract with Century Media. In 1998 Arch Enemy released Stigmata, for which bassist Martin Bengtsson and drummer Peter Wildoer joined the band. The album caught the attention of a wider audience, gaining popularity in both Europe and America. This was also the first Arch Enemy album to be released worldwide.
In 1999, Sharlee D'Angelo assumed the role of Arch Enemy's bassist, and Daniel Erlandsson was once again recruited to handle drum duties, this time on a permanent basis. Burning Bridges was released, and was soon followed by the live album Burning Japan Live 1999, which was initially a release limited to Japan, but later given worldwide distribution due to strong demand.[citation needed] During the touring-cycle for Burning Bridges, Sharlee D'Angelo was temporarily replaced twice; first by Dick Lövgren (Meshuggah, ex-Armageddon) and then by Roger Nilsson (ex-Spiritual Beggars, Firebird, The Quill). Burning Bridges marked a shift in Arch Enemy's core sound, now opting for a more melodic approach, while still keeping the original melodic death metal-sound first heard on the first two albums.[citation needed]
In November 2000, vocalist Johan Liiva was asked to quit the band. Michael Amott stated that the he wanted more dynamics from the band's frontman, and that Liiva's live performance was not up to par with the rest of the band. Liiva was soon replaced by amateur German journalist and death metal vocalist Angela Gossow, who had given a demo tape to Christopher Amott earlier that year during an interview she had conducted with him. Gossow proved to be a competent singer and has been with the band ever since.

• Wages of Sin and Anthems of Rebellion (2001–2004)

The first album with songs featuring Gossow was Wages of Sin, released in 2001. This is also the first album where the band used C tuning, which they have kept until the present, except on several occasions.[citation needed] In December of the same year, Arch Enemy took part in the "Japan's Beast Feast 2002" concert, playing alongside Slayer and Motörhead.
Anthems of Rebellion was released in 2003 and brought some innovations, such as the use of a second voice singing in harmony; such as in the "End of the Line" and "Dehumanization" tracks. In November of the following year, the band released the EP Dead Eyes See No Future, which featured live recordings, along with covers of Manowar, Megadeth and Carcass songs. In June 2004, the band embarked upon Japan touring with Japanese act Edge of Spirit.[2]

• Doomsday Machine (2005–2006)

In June 2005, Arch Enemy finished the recording for their sixth album, Doomsday Machine. In July 2005, guitarist Christopher Amott left the band in order to focus on his personal life. He was temporarily replaced by guitarist Gus G. (Ozzy, Firewind) and then by Fredrik Åkesson in September 2005. Christopher returned on a permanent basis in March 2007, shortly before the band entered the studio to begin recording their new album with producer Fredrik Nordström (who has produced for acts such as In Flames and Soilwork). Åkesson went on to become Opeth's new lead guitarist in May, 2007. An album from Arch Enemy's earlier work, Black Earth, was reissued on April 24, 2007, with Liiva's vocals.

• Rise of the Tyrant (2007–2008)

Arch Enemy's seventh album, entitled Rise of the Tyrant was released on September 24, 2007 in Europe and September 25, 2007 in the United States. Rise of the Tyrant debuted at number 84 on the Billboard 200 chart. This surpassed the Doomsday Machine chart entry, making it the band's highest charting effort to date. Gossow said the new album has more emotion and less double vocals, as well as less vocal processing, yielding a more "raw" presentation.
Arch Enemy played the Bloodstock Open Air Festival in August 2007, between Sabbat and In Flames. They then performed on the Black Crusade tour at the end of 2007 with Machine Head, Trivium, DragonForce and Shadows Fall. With this, as Michael Amott reported on the band's website, "These will be the first European shows we do with Arch Enemy after the release of our new album".[citation needed]
On March 8, 2008, Arch Enemy filmed a live show in Tokyo, Japan for the live DVD Tyrants of the Rising Sun. Arch Enemy also co-headlined the "Defenders of the Faith" tour in April 2008 with Opeth, while DevilDriver and 3 Inches of Blood opened for them. They then headlined the "Tyranny and Bloodshred" tour in May 2008 with Dark Tranquillity, Divine Heresy, and Firewind as supporting acts.

• The Root of All Evil (2009–2010)

Released on September 28, 2009 in Europe, September 30 in Japan, and October 6 in the United States, The Root of All Evil features twelve re-recorded songs spanning the band's career before Gossow joined as vocalist, with some material pre-dating D'Angelo as their bassist. In the first half of 2009, the band toured Europe and South America, and then played at the annual "Dubai Desert Rock Festival" alongside Opeth, Chimaira, and Motörhead. Following the release of The Root of All Evil on September 28, 2009, the band embarked on an Asian and Australian tour, which included their first visit to New Zealand. The tour started at the "Loud Park festival" in Japan on October 17, supplementing other acts including Megadeth, Judas Priest, Slayer, Anthrax, Rob Zombie and Children of Bodom. They also toured in South Korea on October 25, headlining at the Melon AX Hall in Seoul.

• Khaos Legions (2011)

According to a September 2010 interview with Angela Gossow, Arch Enemy entered the studio on December 1 to begin recording their eighth album for a release in June 2011, according to the band's website.[14] The tentative title for the new album is called Khaos Legions. The first single from the album was released on the Century Media website on the 31st of March, entitled 'Yesterday is Dead and Gone'. The albums U.S. release date is June 7th, 2011.

Band members

Current members

• Christopher Amott − guitar (1996–2005, 2007–present)
• Michael Amott − guitar (1996–present), keyboards on Doomsday Machine and Rise of the Tyrant
• Sharlee D'Angelo − bass guitar (1999–present)
• Daniel Erlandsson − drums (1996, 1998–present)
• Angela Gossow − lead vocals (2001–present)

Former members

• Martin Bengtsson − bass guitar (1997−1998)
• Johan Liiva − vocals (1996–2000)
• Peter Wildoer − drums (1997)

Touring and session members

• Fredrik Nordström – keyboards on Black Earth, Stigmata and Burning Bridges
• Per Wiberg − piano, grand piano & mellotron on Burning Bridges and keyboards on Wages of Sin, Anthems of Rebellion and Khaos Legions
• Dick Lövgren − touring bassist (1999)
• Roger Nilsson − touring bassist (1999−2000)
• Gus G. − touring guitarist (2005)
• Fredrik Åkesson − touring guitarist (2005−2007)

Discography

(links up soon)

Studio albums

• Black Earth (1996) lml
• Stigmata (1998) lml
• Burning Bridges (1999) lml
• Burning Bridges Japan Live 1999 (2000) lml
• Wages of Sin (2001) lml
• Anthems of Rebellion (2003) lml
• Doomsday Machine (2005) lml
• Rise of the Tyrant (2007) lml
• The Root of All Evil (2009) lml
• Khaos Legions (2011)

Obscura (Technical Death Metal)

History

Obscura was founded in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer. The band was named after the Gorguts album Obscura. In 2006 Obscura self-released their debut album Retribution and toured alongside Suffocation within Europe. A European headlining tour through East and South Europe followed in 2007. Later that year, drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex-Necrophagist) and bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Pestilence) were added as new permanent members. The group's latest addition, guitarist Christian Muenzner (ex-Necrophagist) came into the ranks early 2008. In September 2008 Obscura signed with Relapse Records and released its second full-length album Cosmogenesis in early 2009. The band started their first-ever North American tour as part of the 'Cosmogenesis Worldtour' in April 2009 alongside Cannibal Corpse. Within one year the band played more than 160 shows all over the world as support for Atheist, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse besides their first headliner tour in the USA. Obscura got the chance to tour Japan as support of Nile & Triptykon in 2010. Obscura released the follow-up album to Cosmogenesis, entitled Omnivium, on March 29, 2011.

Members

Current members

• Steffen Kummerer - guitars, vocals
• Christian Muenzner - guitars
• Jeroen Paul Thesseling - bass
• Hannes Grossmann - drums

Former members

• Jonas Baumgartl - drums (2002–2007)
• Markus Lempsch - guitars (2005–2007)
• Jonas Fischer - bass (2005–2007)

Touring members

• Steve DiGiorgio - bass (Japanese Tour 2010)
• Jacob Schmidt - bass (EU Tour 2009, single shows 2010, 2011)
• Seraph - drums (EU Tour 2007)
• Linus Klausenitzer - bass ( EU & US Tour 2011 )

Discography

(lml = Download)

• (2003) Illegimitation (not released)
• (2004) Retribution (self released in 2004, rereleased in 2006 via VOTS Records, Remastered in 2010 and rereleased via Relapse Records) lml
• (2009) Cosmogenesis (Relapse Records) lml
• (2011) Omnivium (Relapse Records) lml lml

Necrophagist (Brutal Technical Death Metal)

Necrophagist is a German death metal band, founded and fronted by Muhammed Suiçmez; a German-born, Turkish guitarist and vocalist. The band is known for its rapid and technical compositions. The name originates from the Greek roots νεκρο- nekro- ("dead") and -φαγος -phagos ("eater of").

History

 Necrophagist's debut album Onset of Putrefaction has been out of print for years. The percussion on the album was handled by a drum machine. Eventually, a new edition with drum samples recorded by Hannes Grossmann was created. All of the old guitar, bass guitar, and vocal tracks were mixed along with the brand new drum samples. The re-release also features two songs from Necrophagist's 1995 self-titled demo tape. The whole album was also engineered by long-time Necrophagist engineer and producer Christoph Brandes at The Iguana Studios. It was mastered by Bob Katz at "Digital Domain", Orlando, Florida. The re-release was issued in 2004 by Willowtip in the USA/Canada and Relapse in the rest of the world.In August 2001, Necrophagist performed at the Brutal Assault open air festival in the Czech Republic. The band also returned to perform in the years 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2010. On February 10, 2006 it was announced that Christian Muenzner had departed the band due to scheduling conflicts. Later on, he joined the death metal band Obscura. A replacement guitarist was found, Sami Raatikainen, who is from Helsinki, Finland. Sami also plays in the band Codeon. In 2006, the band undertook an American tour called "Carving North America's Epitaph". Necrophagist was joined on this tour by Arsis, Alarum, Neuraxis, Ion Dissonance, Cattle Decapitation and Thine Eyes Bleed. They, along with Dying Fetus, supported Cannibal Corpse on their U.S. tour in the fall, which also included some Canadian venues. In 2007, the band announced on its Myspace profile that after the 2007 California Metalfest, drummer Hannes Grossmann would leave the band. Hannes stated that he was unable to commit to the band's full-time touring schedule. Marco Minnemann (who has played with Paul Gilbert, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman) was the official permanent replacement for Hannes. Necrophagist was a headlining act for The Summer Slaughter Tour in 2007, which featured a wide variety of other extreme metal bands including Decapitated, Arsis, The Faceless, Cephalic Carnage, As Blood Runs Black, and Cattle Decapitation. In April 2008, Necrophagist announced that Romain Goulon would be joining the band as their new drummer, replacing Minnemann, who would still be working with Suiçmez on a side project. Necrophagist played in the "Pillage the Village Tour" in 2008 from August 26, 2008 to September 10, 2008 with death metal bands Dying Fetus and Beneath the Massacre. Shows in some areas also included Carcass, Suffocation, 1349, and Aborted. Necrophagist has begun to work on its next album with new drummer Romain Goulon. According to rumors, two possible names are "The Path to Naught" and "Death to the Faithful". Suiçmez stated that the band would be using seven-string guitars on the album. Muhammed himself will be recording with a new custom shop Ibanez Xiphos guitar with 7 strings, as well as 27 frets. Sami Raatikainen is now an Ibanez Guitar endorsee, using a 7 String RG-Series guitar on stage.

Members 

Current members

• Muhammed Suiçmez – vocals, lead guitar (1992–present) 
• Stephan Fimmers – bass guitar (2003–present) 
• Romain Goulon – drums (2008–present) 
• Sami Raatikainen – rhythm & lead guitar (2006–present) 

Former members

• Jan-Paul Herm – guitar (1992–1995) 
• Raphael Kempermann – drums (1992–1995) 
• Daniel Silva – drums (1995–1998, 2001–2003) 
• Mario Petrovic – guitar (2000–2001) 
• Slavek Foltyn – drums (2000–2001) 
• Björn Vollmer – guitar (2001–2002) 
• Julien Laroche – bass guitar (2001–2003) 
• Christian Müenzner – guitar (2002–2006) 
• Heiko Linzert – bass guitar (2003) 
• Hannes Grossmann – drums (2003–2007) 
• Marco Minnemann – drums (2007–2008) 

Discography
(lml = download)

• Necrophagist DEMO (1995) lml
• Onset of Putrefaction (1999) lml
• Epitaph (2004) lml