Woe, Is Me

 Biography :

Woe, Is Me was an American metalcore band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2009, the group was signed to Rise Records and its subsidiary, Velocity Records. Their debut album, Number[s], was released on August 31, 2010 and charted at number 16 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. Due to many lineup changes and conflicts, the only original member who remained in the band through its entire run was guitarist Kevin Hanson. The band broke up in September 2013.


History :

* Formation and Number[s] (2009–2011)

Woe, Is Me was founded during the fall of 2009 in Atlanta by former Of Machines drummer Austin Thornton, who started the band along with Kevin Hanson, Cory Ferris, and Ben Ferris, who were all formerly of a local Atlanta-based band named Cheyne Stokes. Tim Sherrill, who played lead guitar of another local group named Shooter McGavin, also joined in. These five members then recruited vocalists Michael Bohn and Tyler Carter, respectively for unclean and clean vocal positions after their departure from A Path Less Traveled, another local group. With this seven-member lineup, the band recorded a three-song demo with producer Cameron Mizell containing the songs "Hell, or High Water", "I" and "If Not, for Ourselves" which were released to their Myspace profile. The group later recorded and released a cover of the Kesha song "Tik Tok", also showcased online within a few months of being a band. Soon after these recordings were released, The Artery Foundation took notice of them. Rise Records, along with their imprint label, Velocity Records, signed Woe, Is Me before even playing their first show. They recorded their debut album, Number[s] during the same month that they were signed. It was subsequently released on August 31, 2010. It reached position No. 16 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. The band's debut tour, the Pyknic Partery tour, was shared with Drop Dead, Gorgeous, From First to Last, Sleeping with Sirens, Abandon All Ships, For All Those Sleeping, and Attila.

Clean vocalist Tyler Carter's soul-influenced voice garnered comparisons to Jonny Craig, who provides guest appearances on the album. The group held an album release show in Georgia for Number[s] on September 2, 2010 with pop punk band Veara as a supporting act. Later in September, the band recorded a cover of the Katy Perry song "Hot n Cold" for the compilation album, Punk Goes Pop 3.

In an interview with radio station The Gunz Show, Carter stated that the band would be recording a music video for "[&] Delinquents" in September 2010. The group embarked on a Canadian tour supporting Abandon All Ships from October 1, 2010 to the 28th of that month. From November 4, 2010 to November 28, 2010, the band was included on a US tour entitled Average Guys with Exceptional Hair Tour in support of A Skylit Drive, along with For All Those Sleeping, Scarlett O'Hara, and Motionless in White. The music video for "[&] Delinquents" was released on the first of December of that year.

* "Fame > Demise" and line-up instability (2010–2011)

By the end of 2010, lead guitarist Tim Sherrill parted ways with Woe, Is Me. The band acquired Atlanta resident Jack Langdell to perform as a touring member and to write & record the single "Fame > Demise" alongside them. Geoffrey Higgins then took up the position in March 2011. Soon after, the group officially released "Fame > Demise" (pronounced fame over demise) through the iTunes Store on March 21, 2011. Carter explained that the song is and would only remain as a single, and would not be part of the band's second album. An acoustic version of the song was also released.

In June 2011, lead guitarist Geoffrey Higgins also departed from the band. The group began their performances on Warped Tour with only Hanson performing the rhythm guitar parts to where leads were backtracked during performances for the time being due to their lack of a lead guitarist. With the band yet again searching for a lead guitar player, the conclusion of their search was made weeks afterward where Abandon All Ships' drummer and guitarist, Dan and Andrew Paiano were kicked from the band. Almost immediately afterward, it was announced that Andrew would be joining Woe, Is Me to play lead guitar. In 2011, clean vocalist, Tyler Carter left the band. He cited an interest in following newer and different objectives than being in a band and went on to state that "[the rock 'n' roll lifestyle] and what it consists of just isn't for me anymore" as the reason for his departure.

* "Vengeance", Number[s] re-issue, and Genesi[s] (2011–2012)

On September 15, 2011, Woe, Is Me announced via-video update their new singer, Hance Alligood. Alligood was once a part of a local Atlanta band, "Oh, Manhattan". Along with this update, the group also played various clips from a new single entitled, "Vengeance", which was released on September 27. On March 7, 2012, Michael Bohn and both Ferris brothers left the band due to personal, professional, and musical differences.

"It came to a point where we could either continue on the path they saw fit, or we could create our own path and find happiness in our own ways," said Bohn and the Ferris brothers in a statement made shortly after their departure from the band. They have since reconciled with former bandmate, Tyler Carter, and created a new band named Issues with their friend, Case Snedecor.

On April 16, 2012, touring members Doriano Magliano (former vocalist for That's Outrageous!) and bassist Brian Medley officially announced they had joined Woe, Is Me. The band is set to enter the studio throughout summer 2012 with a release set sometime later this year. On April 19, 2012, Woe, Is Me were announced as part of the "Scream It Like You Mean It 2012" tour (July–August 2012) alongside headliner Attack Attack! with We Came as Romans, The Acacia Strain, Oceano, Like Moths to Flames, Close to Home, Impending Doom, Abandon All Ships, Secrets, Volumes, For All Those Sleeping, The Chariot, Glass Cloud, At The Skylines, Texas in July, In Fear and Faith, and Hands Like Houses.

* Departure of Austin Thornton, American Dream, and break up (2012-2013)

On March 8, 2013 the band released a statement that they had parted ways with drummer and founding member Austin Thornton, due to personal differences. As of Thornton's departure, Kevin Hanson was the only original member in the band. With the release of the statement, the band also stated that they are planning on releasing a new single in June. On April 25, Woe, Is Me stated on their Facebook page that they will be tracking their new music with Tom Denney. They plan to release it during the summer. A recent interview with the band and lead singer Hance in particular gave insight towards the feel of the new album that they are working on. "The singing/screaming ratio is more balanced, whereas Genesis had a lot more screaming and heavy parts. Doriano and I will share vocal responsibilities and have equal singing/screaming parts. Genesis had lots of breakdowns/chug parts, which don’t get me wrong, were cool. But, the heavy parts on this new stuff will be more riffy and more fun to move to. The choruses will still have the same pop feel to them as the ones from Genesi".

On June 15, 2013, during the first show of Warped Tour, Woe, Is Me announced they would be releasing a new EP later in the year. They later released a new song called "Stand Up," which was announced as the first single from the EP, titled American Dream. It is the first record to not have the Woe, Is Me symbol. It was announced sometime around Warped tour started that David Angle will be the band's new drummer. David Angle played drums for a band called At the Skylines. In a recent Warped Tour update video on the bands youtube page, they showed vocalist Danny Leal (Upon a Burning Body) tracking vocals for the title track.

On August 5, Woe, Is Me's official Twitter page announced that they will be in the studio to record their third album sometime in October.

On August 17, the band released the second song, "American Dream".

On September 18, Alternative Press wrote an exclusive article that the band has broken up. They included a personal post from vocalist Hance Alligood stating that he had "lost passion" for the genre and had decided to leave the band on good terms. As a result, the remaining members decided to disband instead of going through another line-up change.

Alligood also stated in the Alternative Press interview that he will be working on a solo album soon. Brian Medley posted a new song on soundcloud and has a band called Heartfelt in the works. Andrew Paiano has started a dance project titled Modiano which can be found on twitter.


Band Members :

* Hance Alligood - Clean Vocals
* Doriano Magliano - Unclean Vocals
* Kevin Hanson - Rhythm Guitars
* Andrew Paiano Lead Guitars
* Brian Medley - Bass
* David Angle - Drums


Discography :

* Woe, Is Me - Number(s) [2010]
* Woe, Is Me - Genesi(s) [2012]
* Woe, Is Me - American Dream (EP) [2013]


Source : Wikipedia Read More...!!

Coffee to Last Night

Biography :

Coffee to Last Night formed on Januari 2011, we are small group from Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia.
We play some metalcore musics in a group band, and we called our band as "Coffee to Last Night".
It's started when Dwi, Tian, Mbegoock, Anzar, and Agung who want to make their friendship more challenging by playing music.
Unfortunately, because of Anzar’s and Mbegoock’s school programs, they have to leave this band. Finally, we just have three members.
At the last of 2012, we found a suitable bass player, named Anang. Anzar's position is currently being replaced by Vando, one of our guitarists who completed our lineup.
And finally on 2013, we also lost our vocal, Dwi. He resigned from the band and chose to continue his career. Dwi's position is currently being replaced by Wanda, one of our vocalist who completed our lineup.


Band Members :

* Wanda – Vocal
* Vando – Guitars
* Tian – Guitars
* Anang – Bass
* Agung – Drum


Influences :

* As I Lay Dying
* Caliban
* Slayer
* Bring Me the Horizon
* Lamb of God
* Hatebreed
* and More ...

source : Coffee to Last Night Facebook Page Read More...!!

Earth Crisis

Biography :

One of the most anticipated and talked about reunions of 2008 was without a doubt the reformation of EARTH CRISIS. The pioneers of the hardcore, straight edge movement have now officially made the decision to carry on with the band fulltime and are proud to announce a new worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The group have crafted their most angst ridden and unrelenting offering of their already stellar career and this effort is going to serve as a much needed wake up call to the masses.

The Syracuse NY-based quintet EARTH CRISIS’ chugging riffs and barked declarations served as the mouthpiece of America's vegan, straight-edge movement throughout the '90s, detailing the ideas of animal and human liberation, drug-free living, and personal empowerment through hardcore song. Their vicious debut EP, Firestorm, was a landmark release for the hardcore scene that combined staccato, solo-free metal with barking, political, and militant vocals. The lyrics centered around the dangers of drug abuse and bringing "violence against violence" to drug dealers and those who would abuse animals: "a firestorm to purify."

EARTH CRISIS’ message of human, animal and environmental liberation has caused shockwaves that resonated beyond the music industry. They have received national media coverage on CNN (Earth Matters), TBS, FOX (America's Most Wanted), CBS (48 Hours), MTV (Music News) and ABC (World News Tonight). Charismatic vocalist Karl Buechner has spoken in front of members of Congress about teens and substance abuse. EARTH CRISIS epitomizes commitment, fortitude, and resilience and is an established and embraced trademark in the international metal, hardcore and punk communities.

EARTH CRISIS has continued along this path of breaking new ground, constantly working and reaching more people spreading their message to the masses. In 1996, the band released their second full-length album, Gomorrah's Season Ends, a polished and decidedly more metallic affair that produced even more anthems that became sing along worthy staples of their live performances. This exposed the band to a whole new mainstream audience. Their relentless touring has put them in front of countless national and international audiences - from the U.S. to Canada, to Europe, Japan and South America. In October 1999, they played Bogota, Columbia's Rock al Parque Festival for over 120,000 people. They have toured with bands ranging from Sepultura, Misfits, and Downset, to Snapcase, Madball and Skarhead. In 1996, they even appeared on the first ever Ozzfest along with the accompanying live CD and video that resulted from the event.

Buechner’s astounding range and vocal depth has positioned him as one of the strongest voices in rock. The musical backbone of the band has never been stronger from both songwriting and musicianship perspectives. Guitarists Scott Crouse and Erick Edwards’ sometimes pulverizing and jagged, sometimes soothing sonic barrages round out the musical savagery. Bassist Ian Edwards and drummer Dennis Merrick provide the most calculated, spontaneous and convincing percussion backdrop in hard music today. Physically the band is in its best condition ever and is determined to take over every stage, audience, and venue that they invade. In 2009, EARTH CRISIS prepares to unleash a firestorm of epic proportions proving that their message is more viable than ever. Read More...!!

Condemned

Biography :

It began in Imperial Beach, CA in April 2004. Forrest Stedt (drums) and Steve Crow (guitar) wanted to get back into music making. At first, Forrest and Steve played in a garage just throwing around ideas and writing songs. Shortly after, one of their oldest friends Paul Hickey (bass) was added. For a while it was just writing music and thinking up a band name. It was decided on the name CONDEMNED. The name fit well with their ideas. After a little over a year of practicing in Forrest's garage it was decided best to move on to another place to rehearse due to time constraints affecting creativity. They found a rehearsal building shortly after and moved in. CONDEMNED started working even harder and making the band into something more serious thanks to new found freedom and began writing for a future album. In July 2005, Condemned added second guitarist Chris Ben-Judah (guitar).After a considerable amount of time searching for a vocalist, Forrest and Steve decided to write lyrics and share vocal duties on the demo and use it as an ad for a vocalist with the same vision. However, in late September 2005 they received a response from Angel Ochoa (vocals) and decided to try him out.

After a single demonstration of Angel's disgusting ability he was added as the final piece of Condemned. With Angel, CONDEMNED's sound was finally complete and in November 2005, Condemned recorded their "Mass Burial" demo. The demo spread out fast and created a good name for them in the brutal death metal scene. With that, a new brutal death metal band is spawned and ready to destroy. Condemned has since parted with bassist Paul Hickey and guitarist Chris Ben-Judah, and have recruited bassist Mario Pena and guitarist Jerry Williams at the time. CONDEMNED was soon in search of a label to help put out their debut album and was consequentially contacted by Zdenek of Lacerated Enemy Records. After a considerable amount of discussion they signed with LE Records, together they created and released their first full-length album entitled "Desecrate the Vile". in 2007 Condemned have built a strong fan base internationally and have toured through Japan, Europe, and through the U.S. in support of the album. Condemned have since parted ways with 2nd guitarist Jerry Williams and continued to work as a 4 piece. In Fall of 2008, Condemned inked a deal with Erik and Unique Leader Records, and to prepare for the new release of the 2nd coming album entitled "Realms of the Ungodly". In November of 2008, Condemned have ended their long awaited search of filling in the slot for a new 2nd guitarist. They added "Paul Avila" to the Condemned crew as a permanent member, and to be a full part of all that is contained for the future of the band. Condemned has continued to maintain touring and writing for the next release which is expected to be released in mid or late 2010. Read More...!!

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!

Biography :

Named after the '80s classic adventure movie, "The Goonies", French pop punkers of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! combine the energy of punk, the catchiness of pop, and the crushing assault of hardcore into a power party sound. Since forming in 2007 in Paris, they have created grin-inducing, infectious music, winning them friends and fans all over the world.

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! signed a worldwi...de deal with Fearless Records in 2011, releasing a re-mastered version of their album Something for Nothing. The band toured UK and mainland Europe in fall 2011 with Miss May I, Chelsea Grin and Abandon All Ships, before their slot on The Fearless Friends Tour in the U.S. this November and December. They kicked off 2012 supporting Attack Attack! and Chelsea Grin in preperation for their slot on this years Vans Warped Tour.


Band Members :

* Bertrand Poncet - Vocals
* Paul Wilson - Guitar and Vocals
* Éric Poncet - Guitar
* Mathias Rigal - Bass
* Jonathan Donnaes - Drums Read More...!!

Grave Dancers

Biography :

It all started from Martyr and Jabarantas who has been trying to set up a new jamming project alongside with Murph, and K.C, jamming up to play old tunes from Early 80's thrash / speed metal.
Not long after we’re satisfied with the first rehearsal, we're all agreed to make routine rehearsal for this band, name was our main priority on that time, cause we wanna something different to spell it out loudly, several of crappy & ass licking names came out, in the end ,GRAVE DANCERS become our last option.
After a few months of jamming together, the needs of a second guitar player was highly urgent, thus we asked Demon to join us in this club. We're pretty much influenced by oldschool crossover but most of them are overpowering metal, think of 1 part metallic grind added with crunchy hardcore riffs, raw bass sound, fast paced intense drumming, and raw yelling vocals.
Lyrically we are inspired by huge collection of thoughts, human interest stories and social theme. The line has drawn, we're ready to rock, for sure!


Band Members :

* Murphy Boy - Vocal
* KC - Beat
* Demon - Six Strings
* Djabarantas - Four Strings
* Moro - Additional Six Strings Read More...!!

Cyanide Serenity

Biography :

Formed from the ashes of three top Midlands bands (Amenti, Burnt, Fleshhold), hailing from the UK, Cyanide Serenity has already made a huge impact on the metal scene around the world. Originally forming in February of 2008, Cyanide Serenity consisted of John Dugmore (Burnt), Gareth Braddock (Burnt), Jon Knight (Amenti), and Ryan Wyatt (Fleshold). In late 2009, singer Matt McKay (Samara's Will) came on board and newly acquired singer Travis Neal from Century Medias own Divine Heresy joined at the start of 2011, completing the lineup of Cyanide Serenity. Cyanide Serenity has just released their debut EP "Consume Me" in February 2011. With work starting on the album one year ago, it was recorded at Burnt Studios in the UK and self-produced by Cyanide Serenity. The album is a mix of Metal, Hardcore, Deathcore, Melodic and Technical Metal. Their unique sound comes from each members desire, even while in their other bands, to take the sound to a whole new level and in a direction that no one out there is touching on at this time. One of Cyanide Serenity's first shows was supporting IRON MAIDEN in Bangalore, India, supporting them in front of 30,000 people. This opportunity was incredible for Cyanide Serenity, and a chance they will never forget. This one opportunity had gained CS a huge reputation and fan base in the Indian Metal Scene. Their reputation continued to grow worldwide after this performance, gaining them more of a fan base and also getting the attention of the industry side of the scene, at the end of 2010 it saw the band headline their own India tour across the country at huge demand. In 2011, Cyanide Serenity is slated to perform as direct support for huge bands overseas. This is a huge opportunity for CS as will establish an even greater fan base and buzz for the band. CS will also be touring as much as possible in the United States, Europe and worldwide throughout the year. Cyanide Serenity is currently represented by world class booking agency The Flaming Arts, (Behemoth, Cattle Decapitation, Bleed from Within, Blood Red Throne, Hate), within the UK and The Pantheon Agency within the USA. With strong booking agents behind them, the final piece was Cyanide Serenity joining the ranks of Extreme Management Group alongside such metal elites as Suffocation, Origin, and Malevolent Creation. With their strong lineup, new album, incredible buzz, and strong fan base within the worldwide metal scene, Cyanide Serenity is ready to rise and show the world that they have the backing and talent to be one of the best bands to ever grace the metal scene.


Band Members :

Vocals - Travis Neal Vocals - Matt McKay Lead Guitar - John Dugmore Lead Guitar - Gaz Braddock Drums - Ryan Wyatt Bass Guitar - Jon Knight Read More...!!

Vendetor

Biography :

Vendetor is an homage to black band death metal from Surabaya Indonesia, founded in 2008 precisely at the time vendetor first appearance at the New Year January 1, 2008 in Surabaya. Vendetor Vendetta comes from the word meaning of revenge. Originally vendetor play black metal music with influences from Immortal, then through a maturing process vendetor musical genre began to metamorphose into the Black Death Metal band that many kinds terinfluence by the band Behemoth, Nile, and Job For A Cowboy Vendetor founded by Albert ex coffin on bass and Max ex mesmeric on guitar, who later assisted by ex Dollah sadister on vocals and assisted by UnChrist Tartanos (mesmeric) on drums. Four, vendetor began performing at various underground events in the Surabaya event. In mid-2008 vendetor decided to add new ammunition to fill the position of lead guitar aka Gendutch Razinheim officially joined vendetor Over time Dollah out as a vocalist and was replaced by ex Buckets Of Good War. And founder Albert vendetor also ruled out due to working in batam island which was then replaced by the Q-Benk as a bass player, as well as Christ also decided to vacuum from the world of music since married and followed by Good also decided to pull it off vendetor because of the work. During the early 2009 vendetor vacuum and look for replacement personnel to fill the drum position. So far only the remaining two personnel remain vendetor that Ivor and Razinheim. Vendetor began actively moving again in mid-2009 after discovering veteran drummer whose name is familiar in the ears head banger in East Java who are willing to assist the process of recording songs that vendetor Cacoponaz. It makes vendetor're excited to continue working. Vendetor in early 2010 mengebrak headbangers surabaya Surabaya event to appear in Extreme Metal Fest with a new formation in which the ex guitarist secte black, Vioza joined by bass player to fill the position and Razinheim fill the position of lead vocals & guitars VENDETOR In the year 2011 which changes the position of personnel position on the contents of the drum & bass Comenk Chatedral hast filled by HOD, and for the first time appeared within the past year at the Surabaya event Blackened Movement Vocals & Lead Guitar: Guitar Razinheim Eqy: Arief "Mak" Drummer: Comenk ... . .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .................... ...... ............ ......


Band Members :

* Eqy Razinheim - Vocal & Lead Guitar
* Arief "MAK" - Guitar
* Comenk - Drummer


Influences :

* Helloween
* Metallica
* Dimmu Borgir
* Immortal
* Behemoth
* Dark Funeral
* Suffocation
* Cradle of Filth
* Dying Fetus Read More...!!

Redsbloodylips

Biography :

We stood on January 21, 2008 in Tangerang area. and started with a meeting Anggi and Vidy when playing skate in the area tangerang.
Anggi as guitarist / clean and Vidy as vocalist / scream began collecting personnel from their friends.
Finally Anggi adopted Angga as a guitar / lead from one of the band's melodic named "Vinca Minor" to join in this band.
Eventually the three of us gathered to think what material should we create in a song.
Anggi re-recruited as bass player Roby. And the four of us think to be more serious in play and give harmony in music, then we assign a name that we call REDSBLOODYLIPS.
REDSBLOODYLIPS in our sense means the Reds are "Red"which means Brave.
Bloody is the "Blood"which means strength in the human body.
LIPS is a "lip"which means everyone's lips conversation.
When we combine REDSBLOODYLIPS word meaning "brave blend of red blood in our bodies that will be talked about every person conversation. " And mid-March we hired Okky as drummer.
We also started our first perform at the opening of the skate park in the area of Tangerang in February.


Band Members :

Unknown


Genre :

* Metal
* Screamo Read More...!!

K O R B A N

Biography :

Exactly on the 20th March 2009, sparked a shallow thinking of those southern outskirts of Bandung, a desire to work in one particular piece of music on the basis of the soul UNDERGROUND with litter born to a world uprising VICTIM a fairly eccentric band name you think but it means a lot to us and look bad for thinking ahead!
Starting with the genre we Thrashcore stretcher with sufficient initial formation seems to taste, taste of hell!
SEGA: VOCAL Lutfi: BACK VOCAL Saladaeng: Amjad GUITAR: GUITAR FADX: BASS BEURIT: DRUM After quite a long time, shit!
Dispute was kicking our butt, and all our aspirations, just in the year 2010 Lutfi, amjad fadx and resigned, and perhaps the reason it is still a question mark for us!
With the state of limping like a ball player deform the injury affected the way we keep.
We are sick because of the void formation which is not according to taste.
A toast to the coming of injections of Deri (stringfukk head off) SEGA VOKILL Deri AS AS AS STRINGFUKK Saladaeng STRINGSICK U.S. BEURIT BLASTINGSICK once we change the genre of music that became brutal DEATHCORE PROGRESSIVE stretcher.
We spent more time and possibly a series of terror conspiracy many different opinions but we always try solid.
Although in the case of such Influence: SEGA More terinfluence by brutal deathmetal bands from europe.
Saladaeng more likely terinflunce by deathcore bands and metal. Deri monotonous very different assumptions that more terinflunce by western bands swedish punk and punk rock.
BEURIT more oldschool terinfluence by metalion old bands from Brazil.
Damn strings attached because it's always all the differences we're drunk and fell silent disaan flexible monotonous!
This is our little Biografy nothing more than hypocritical lip that kills all souls rot and common mental shallow you! SUPPORT JUST, JUST RESPECT!


Band Members :

* Sega - Fighthroat
* Restu - Stringsick
* Deri - Stringfukk
* Dani - Blastingsick


Influences :

* Mysery index
* Carnifex
* Suffocation
* Dying Fetus
* Sepultura
* Discharge
* Disfear
* Amebix
* Crass
* Pisschrist
* Doom


Genre :

* Death Metal
* Grindcore
* Metal Read More...!!

Sympathy

Biography :

Sympathy is a technical death metal band from Canada, formed in 1991. Sympathy got some notable attention in the Benelux, Germany and Switzerland as those are the countries where their previous label Fear Dark is usually marketing its bands. The band is known for its professional musicianship. Sympathy's albums are distributed in the United States, Europe and Canada through Displeased Records, Deadsun Records, Megarock Records, Facedown Records and The Omega Distribution. Their lyrical themes tend to revolve around subjects such as theology, philosophy, and death. They have released three albums, Invocation, Arcane Path and an EP titled Abyssal Throne. On February 19, 2008, the band was signed to Bombworks Records. The third album titled Anagogic Tyranny was released on November 11, 2008.


History :

Sympathy started out as a five-piece thrash metal band in vein of Celtic Frost and produced its first demo in 1991. One by one the other musicians left Sympathy and eventually it ended up being Dharok's solo project. During the years 1993–1997, the musical style took a more technical death metal direction, and Dharok released the recordings Arrogance and Ignorance (1993), Age of Darkness (1995) and Realms of Chaos (1996).

The band's influences include: Spawn of Possession, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Death, Emperor, Kreator, Cannibal Corpse, and Dimmu Borgir. In 2001, Sympathy signed a record deal with the Dutch extreme metal label Fear Dark and soon recorded its first commercially available studio album titled Invocation. The album received positive feedback in underground metal circles, magazines such as BW & BK, and was mentioned in Metal Maniacs magazine as one of the "reader's albums of the year for 2002".

On the following releases, Tim Roth of Into Eternity, as well as other members from that particular band, and other bands began to fill in the spot. In 2004, Sympathy released its second album titled Arcane Path which took a more technical blackened death metal direction and showcased a more polished production. Arcane Path featured frontcover artwork as well as a new logo design by the reputive Belgian (Flemish) artist Kris Verwimp. The album was well-received and brought them more exposure.

In late 2005, Sympathy released an EP titled Abyssal Throne which featured two re-recorded songs from Invocation, two new songs and a cover of Suffocation's "Torn into Enthrallment". Abyssal Throne was released on the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia, and the packaging artwork was done by the Swedish graphic designer Samuel Durling. Later in 2005, a fellow Canadian, Jeff Lewis, known from his work in Australian band Mortification and his solo project Abolishment of Hate, would join forces with Sympathy.

On February 19, 2008 the band was signed to Bombworks Records. The third album titled Anagogic Tyranny was released November 11, 2008. Sounds of Dead gave it 10 out of 10 points and Lords of Metal gave it 83 out of 100. Tracks from the album were included on the sampler CD's of such magazines as Metal Maniacs and Terrorizer.

On April 2009 the band announced that they have written 12 new songs and are currently recording them, The fourth Sympathy album is tentatively entitled Beast.


Band Members :

* Dharok - Vocals, Rhythm Guitars
* Jeff Lewis - Lead and Rhythm Guitars (Mortification, Abolishment of Hate)
* Jim Austin - Drums (Into Eternity)


Discography :

Albums :

* Arrogance and Ignorance (1993)
* Age of Darkness (1995)
* Invocation (2002)
* Arcane Path (2004)
* Anagogic Tyranny (2008)
* Beast (2010)

Other :

* Covenant (demo, 1991)
* Realms of Chaos (demo, 1996)
* Abyssal Throne (EP, 2005)


Associated Acts :

* Mortification
* Into Eternity Read More...!!

Switchblade

Biography :

Switchblade is a five-piece metal band from Sydney, Australia, formed in 2001. The band has opened for bands like Slayer, Machine Head, Exodus, Trivium and Nevermore and released two albums. They have also appeared at Metal for the Brain and the Come Together Music Festival.


History :

Formation (2001–2003)

Switchblade was formed by guitarist Andrew Najdek, drummer Mat Piccolotto and bassist Ben Bessant in 2001. The trio spent the better part of their final high school years playing metal cover songs and writing a handful of originals which would become early Switchblade demos. Vocalist Chris Apps joined the band prior to the recording of the band's very first demo, but split from the group directly following the recording.

In early 2002 Switchblade recorded a new and much heavier demo and began to audition vocalists. The auditions were unsuccessful, and the group struggled to find a frontman until Piccolotto answered an internet messageboard post by vocalist Colin "Sway" Druery, who shared a similar musical vision and joined the band in 2002. Switchblade began working together on original material, however only a few short months into rehearsals, Sway would permanently damage his vocal cords and was forced to leave. Switchblade was once again looking for a suitable frontman. During this downtime Najdek began using a seven-string guitar, and tuning much lower than he previously did. As a result of this the band's musical style moved away from its thrash metal and death metal core and took on a much more groove metal approach, similar to bands like Pantera, Machine Head and Fear Factory.

Switchblade again found themselves recording another instrumental demo at the end of 2002, the first of the new material written completely on a seven string guitar. Sway got a copy of the demo and was compelled to return to the band. Inspired by this new sound, Sway quickly wrote lyrics for the new Switchblade material, recorded his vocals on the instrumental tracks, and Switchblade's 2003 demo Incoming was released in early 2003.

Incoming (2003–2004)

Switchblade then began doing the rounds on the Sydney metal scene and was soon touring interstate and supporting higher profile local bands like Daysend, Sunk Loto and Dungeon. Meanwhile, Piccolotto also briefly joined local thrash metal band Descend, who disbanded shortly after, and Najdek became a member of local power metal band Friar Rush.

In mid 2004 the band realised its musical output was limited by only having one guitarist, so a second guitarist was added in Scott Bernasconi, who played his first show with Switchblade on June 19, 2004. The band's material was re-worked to make room for a second guitarist. Soon after, Switchblade played a string of shows with now Los Angeles based tech-metal outfit Devolved, Sydney band Daysend, and Machine Head. Switchblade then booked themselves into the studio to record their debut album with Astennu producing.

The End of All Once Known (2005)

The End of All Once Known was released on March 12, 2005, showcasing a more melodic and technical approach than previously.

Switchblade then began a series of shows around Australia to support the album, but Bernasconi and Sway left the band after a final performance Sydney on October 29, 2005. During the final song of the set, Sway was joined on stage by a good friend of the band, Adam Helmrich, who was asked to join Switchblade almost immediately.

In late 2007 Bernasconi was the temporary live guitarist for industrial death metal band The Amenta on their 2007 Australia and New Zealand tour, replacing Psycroptic guitarist Joe Haley.

Comeback (2006)

Following the departure of Sway and Bernasconi, Switchblade took a break to focus on finding a second guitarist. With Helmrich already confirmed as new vocalist, Anthony Delvecchio was announced as the new Switchblade guitarist in early 2006. The new lineup was then booked to make its first appearance at the annual Metalstock Festival, held in Scone, New South Wales over the Easter weekend. Two weeks before the show Bessant relocated to Perth and cut off all contact with the band. Symon Alhaddad, guitarist for Sydney death metal/thrash metal band Vaticide temporarily filled in on bass guitar, eventually joining Switchblade permanently.

With the band's lineup now solidified, Switchblade went on to play a number of key local shows including the 2006 Come Together Music Festival, and a show at the Marquee, Sydney, which was filmed and recorded for a future live DVD. The band ended 2006 by appearing at Metal for the Brain and then supporting Nevermore in Sydney on the same day.

At the start of 2007, Switchblade had originally planned to cease all live shows however they were then offered the opening spot on a tour by Trivium. To capitalise on this appearance, Switchblade then played some tour dates around the country and featured on a national touring metal event billed as the Festival of the Dead.

Invictus Infinitum (Since 2008)

In 2008 Switchblade opted to put all live shows on hold and focus on the writing and recording of the new album. In a 30 July 2008 MySpace blog, Switchblade revealed the title of their follow-up album to be Invictus Infinitum. They also revealed that Alhaddad would be leaving the band, replaced with Gerard Dack of Infernal Method.

Invictus Infinitum was released in Australia on June 6, 2009 on Melbourne-based label AmpHead Music, and was supported by a national tour which included shows with Psycroptic, The Amenta, Daysend, Alarum, Frankenbok and many more. The album was mixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Neil Kernon in the US and featured Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis on the track "Reflective Curse."

On October 15, 2009 Switchblade capped off a massive year by supporting thrash metal band Slayer, for their one-off Australian performance of the seminal album Reign in Blood. It was also announced that the band would be supporting the newly reformed Wollongong-based band Segression, who were one of the most prolific Australian metal bands during the 90's, but had broken up in 2002.

In 2010 Switchblade played a small number of select shows including a Sydney festival for the 30th anniversary of long-running heavy metal store Utopia Records, with bands such as The Amenta, Daysend and more, and also supported thrash metal legends Exodus in Sydney. Soon after it was announced that the band was working on a new release due in 2011, and would be taking a short break from live shows.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Adam Helmrich – Vocals (Since 2006)
* Andrew Najdek – Guitar (Since 2001)
* Mat Piccolotto – Drums (Since 2001)
* Anthony Delvecchio – Guitar (Since 2006)
* Gerard Dack – Bass Guitar (Since 2008)

Past Members :

* Colin "Sway" Druery – Vocals (2002–2005)
* Scott Bernasconi – Guitar (2004–2005)
* Ben Bessant – Bass Guitar (2001–2005)
* Chris Apps – Vocals (2001)
* Symon Alhaddad – Bass Guitar (2006–2008)


Discography :

* Switchblade - Incoming (EP, 2003)
* Switchblade - The End of All Once Known (2005)
* Switchblade - Invictus Infinitum (2009)

Read More...!!

Satariel

Biography :

Satariel is a melodic death metal band from Sweden founded in 1993 in Boden.

The band released their debut album, Lady Lust Lilith, in 1998 on Pulverised Records. Their latest album, Hydra, was released in 2005 in Europe, followed by a US release in early 2006. Hydra was licensed from the owner, Cold Records, to Regain Records for Europe, and to Candlelight Records for the US.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Pär Johansson - Vocals
* Magnus Alakangas - Guitar
* Simon Johansson - Guitar
* Mikael Granbacke - Bass Guitar
* Robert Sundelin - Drums

Former Members :

* Mats Ömalm - Guitar
* Andreas Nilzon - Drums
* Fredrik Andersson - Guitar
* Mikael Granqvist - Guitar


Discography :

* Satariel - Lady Lust Lilith (1998)
* Satariel - Phobos & Deimos (2002)
* Satariel - Hydra (2005)
* Satariel - Chifra (2007)
* Satariel - White Ink Read More...!!

Vomitory

Biography :

Vomitory is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1989 by guitarist Urban Gustafsson and bassist Ronnie Olson. Influenced by bands such as Sodom, Napalm Death, Bathory, Slayer, and Venom, the band has released a total of seven albums, and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Erik Rundqvist - Bass, Vocals
* Tobias Gustafsson - Drums
* Peter Östlund - Guitar
* Urban Gustafsson - Guitar

Former Members :

* Ulf Dalegren - Guitar (1991–2005)
* Jussi Linna - Vocals (1996–1999)
* Thomas Bergqvist - Bass (1993–1996)
* Bengt Sund - Bass (1990–1993)
* Ronnie Olson - Vocals, Bass (1989–1996)


Discography :

Albums :

* Vomitory - Raped in Their Own Blood (CD, Metal Blade, 1996)
* Vomitory - Redemption (CD, Metal Blade, 1999)
* Vomitory - Revelation Nausea (CD, Metal Blade, 2000)
* Vomitory - Blood Rapture (CD, Metal Blade, 2002)
* Vomitory - Primal Massacre (CD, Metal Blade, 2004)
* Vomitory - Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize (CD, Metal Blade, 2007)
* Vomitory - Carnage Euphoria (CD, Metal Blade, 2009)

Demos and Rarities :

* Vomitory - Vomitory Demo (1992)
* Vomitory - Promo (1993)
* Vomitory - Moribund 7" (1993)
* Vomitory - Through Sepulchral Shadows (1994)
* Vomitory - Anniversary Picture Disc (1999) Read More...!!

Thirdmoon

Biography :

Founded by Wolfgang Rothbauer in 1994 it was a few years before their debut Grotesque Autumnal Weepings in 1997. Later, in 1998, they would gain French guitarist Matias Larrede and in 1999 they would sign with Napalm Records. With Napalm Records they released Aquis Submersus (1999) and Bloodforsaken (2000). Then they went on tour with Eisregen.

In 2001 Thirdmoon split with Napalm Records and it would be three years before their next release Sworn Enemy: Heaven. In 2005 they were on tour with Grave and Disparaged. In April 2007 they signed a new deal with German based Label Maintain Records for their 5th album, which was released in autumn 2007.


Band Members :

* Wolfgang Rothbauer - Vocals, Guitar
* Matias Larrede - Guitar
* Dominik Sebastian - Guitar
* Martin Zeller - Drums
* Simon Öller - Bass


Discography :

* Thirdmoon - Grotesque Autumnal Weepings - 1997
* Thirdmoon - Aquis Submersus - 1999
* Thirdmoon - Bloodforsaken - 2000
* Thirdmoon - Sworn Enemy: Heaven - 2004
* Thirdmoon - Dimorphic Cynosure - 2007 Read More...!!

Theory in Practice

Biography :

Theory in Practice is a Swedish technical death metal band founded in 1995, which borrows heavily from progressive metal. The band writes technical and complex songs consisting of a lot of time and tempo changes. After a year of rehearsals and gigs, they recorded a demo called Submissive in the Abyss Studio, and three full-length albums after that. In December 2002, the band went on an extended hiatus and began recording again in February 2003.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Henrik Ohlsson - Vocals, Drums
* Peter Lake - Guitar
* Mattias Engstrand - Bass, Keyboards
* Patrik Sjoberg - Drums on Colonizing the Sun

Former Members :

* Johan Ekman - Guitar, Vocals (on Third Eye Function)


Discography :

* Theory in Practice - Submissive (demo, 1996)
* Theory in Practice - Third Eye Function (CD, 1997)
* Theory in Practice - The Armageddon Theories (CD, 1999)
* Theory in Practice - Colonizing the Sun (CD, 2002) Read More...!!

ThanatoSchizO

Biography :

ThanatoSchizO is a metal group from Santa Marta de Penaguião (Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal), founded in late 1997. Practicing a sound associated with progressive death metal, the band makes various incursions into other musical genres such as black metal, doom metal, world music, progressive rock, atmospheric and electronic music, thus being generically included in the avant-garde musical range.

Initially called Thanatos, the group has a discography that includes four albums (Schizo Level, InsomniousNightLift, Turbulence, and Zoom Code), an EP (Melégnia) and a demo. The band has been with many labels (Rage of Achilles, Divenia Records, Burning Elf Records, Misdeed Records); Presently the group is in the ranks of Italian label My Kingdom Music and Portuguese Major Label Industries, with which a deal was recently signed for the release of an acoustic album, the band's fifth.

The band is currently in studio mixing their fifth album - Origami -, which consists on semi-acoustic remakes of songs of their previous four full-length CDs.


History :

The early years (1997–2000)

The band started in late 1997, continuing a previous cover project, Blind & Lost, by founders Guilhermino Martins, Paulo Adelino, and Marco "China," who were joined by singer Tómané. After a regular series of rehearsals during three months, recorded its first demo, in the studios of Rádio Universidade (Vila Real), which was only used to enable the band to enter music contests. In August 1998, the group was invited to be the opening act for the Swedish Clawfinger and the British Senser in Festival Internacional Praias in Praia de Mira.

In late 1998, the band went to Rec’n’Roll Studios to record the EP Melégnia in three days (it were, in fact, three mornings and two afternoons for the recording and one more afternoon for the mixing). All the material was practically recorded on the first take and resulted on six themes (three of them came from Demo ’98 but now with better arrangements and interpretation), which had an overall more defined sound.

The EP was financed by the group and released on February 1999. It was distributed by many national and international entities and received very positive critiques, mainly because it was a breath of fresh air in a scene that was too attached to the clichés of the symphonic black metal so trendy at the time. In a Top 20 elaborated by the national radio show "Holocausto," the band reached 11th place, as the best Portuguese band.

Melégnia’s promotion on the road entailed more than 60 concerts side by side with bands such as Sinister, Asgaroth, Pandemia, Purgatory, Tarantula, Sirius, and Aborted. During the "Chaos & Disorder Tour" (Melégnia’s promotional concerts) and mainly during the rehearsals where the new material was being composed, it was obvious that a change had to occur, in order to prevent a feared stagnation, and this happened in October 2000: Guilhermino and Paulo stuck together, Tomané and Marco (for health issues) left the band.

The experimentation era (2001)

Schizo Level promotional photo

With the new material practically ready to be recorded, Filipe Miguel (keyboard) and Patrícia Rodrigues (vocals) joined the group respectively; both had worked with the band in the past. For a lead singer, the band invited Eduardo Paulo, an old friend who had previously been in the project Blind & Lost, completing the line-up which would record the first album, Schizo Level.

After some rehearsals and a brief pre-production, the group returned to Rec’n’Roll Studios and recorded its first album during almost a month. Schizo Level is a completely atypical CD: it starts with an aggressive black metal tone and then wanders through atmospheric music, doom metal, world and electronic music. The necessity to create something really unique lead to the decision to invite some musicians that could play trumpet and horn in the opening song "RAW", which resulted in a cacophony of extreme black metal with wind instruments; or, in another case, a flute in "Nightmares Within." The album was released by Misdeed Records, a recently formed independent label that had previously worked with the band for distribution of the EP. After finishing the recording process, the band started to look for a bassist. Guilhermino had recorded the album’s bass lines; now Miguel Ângelo joined the group

When the CD was released (in digipack), it was very well received but probably misinterpreted. Critics analyzed it from a monochromatic perspective thought it was a black metal album, proof that they had only listened to the first three tracks (these were indeed black metal songs) and neglected the rest of it.

Anyway, a first place was reached in a listener’s poll for the best international album of 2001, once again on the Portuguese radio show "Holocausto." On a poll counting the votes of the producers from this radio show, Schizo Level got fifth place. Moreover, the album was included in a top 20 list voted by the readers of the Portuguese magazine LOUD!.

Adulthood (2002-2003)

InsomniousNightLift promotional photo

If Schizo Level’s material was practically composed when Eduardo joined the band, the same couldn’t be said about InsomniousNightLift. He started to take his acoustic guitar to the rehearsal room very early and suggested many riffs, which made him the band’s main composer. Almost unconsciously trying to get rid of the black metal stereotype brought by the previous album (too narrow to the members’ eyes), the band started to compose very homogeneous themes in a progressive doom/death metal style. The musical ambiguity from the past was now followed by a very consistent work.

From this point on the band started to value the "song" format and to pay more attention to the voices. Eduardo began to make more use of his clean vocals and Patrícia became more important in the group’s sound. If the previous tendency was to deconstruct, the idea now was exactly the opposite.

In early 2002, the recording of InsomniousNightLift’s began at Rec ‘n’Roll Studios and Luís Barros was once again the producer. The whole process took about two and a half months, during which the band signed a contract with the British independent Rage of Achilles and thus assured the worldwide release of the album in January 2003. The Portuguese audience would have access to a pre-release in September 2002 through Misdeed Records. Kerrang! and Metal Hammer (both British publications) valued InsomniousNightLift with 4 out of 5 possible stars. This last one even wrote that the future of the doom/death metal would cross ThanatoSchizO’s freshness and originality.

When the national press made a balance at the end of 2002, ThanatoSchizO reached an important first place in the list of the best national/ international albums in the now dead site “Metal Open Minded” and, in LOUD! magazine 5 out of 7 collaborators selected InsomniousNightLift as one of the best national albums. The Portuguese edition of Rock Sound emphasized the group in a poll for the best albums (voted by its collaborators) and placed Miguel Ângelo (bass) and Filipe Miguel (keyboard) in the top 10 musicians’ pool of that year.

Intense promotion of InsomniousNightLift garnered the group a supporting act position when Katatonia and Finntroll played in Portugal in April 2003.

The return to a heavier sound (2004-2005)

Turbulence promotional photo

Having the same line-up as the previous record for the first time, the band felt the necessity to sharpen its death metal side for the third album, Turbulence. Eduardo changed from acoustic guitars to electric ones, reinforcing its importance in the band’s sound.

From late 2003 to April 2004, the band returns to Rec’n’Roll Studios. Tommy Newton, a well-known German producer, was in charge of the mastering. The record had a special pre-release in Portugal through Misdeed Records in July 2004. Limited to the national territory and in a digipack format, it included a multimedia section with a studio diary, many promotional photos and a video with several episodes shot during the recording process. The international release was taken care of by the Australian Burning Elf Records and not by Rage of Achilles, a deal which had ended abruptly.

Turbulence was very well received by the fans and the specialized critique. The high point occurred in January 2005, when LOUD! magazine published the votes for "the best of the best" from the past year: the readers chose the album as the best national release, the band as the second best Portuguese group (right behind Moonspell), and Guilhermino as the third best national musician. Moreover, the radio show "Holocausto" nominated the third album of the group as the second best international release of 2004. Also, the Portuguese magazine Underworld - Entulho Informativo listed the group in a poll for the best albums of 2004.

The band headlined some events, was the opening act for the Swedish Nightrage in Festival Outubro Negro 2005, and was invited by the well-known Portuguese journalist António Freitas to be part of the itinerant Festival Alta Tensão, side by side with Moonspell and Ramp.

Decoding (2006-2007)

ThanatoSchizO recorded Zoom Code at Rec'n'Roll Studios between February and May; it was mastered by Tommy Newton at Area 51 Studios (Germany). The group was also the opening act for the Israelite Orphaned Land (Lisboa and Braga, 6 and 7 July respectively) and the Swiss Samael (Corroios, 14 July) for their Portuguese gigs.

Moreover, Gauchos de Acero—the Argentine group aged between 10 and 14 that became famous through Youtube, due to their Sepultura and Iron Maiden covers-–recorded an interesting version of the song "Suturn" from ThanatoSchizO’s first album Schizo Level.

Zoom in (2008)

ThanatoSchizO inked a deal for the release of their fourth album, Zoom Code, with My Kingdom Music. The worldwide release date was April, 11. Zoom Code was produced by Luís Barros (Tarantula), mastered by Tommy Newton (Conception, Helloween), and features guest appearances by Timb Harris (Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3) and Zweizz (Fleurety, ex-Dødheimsgard).

In May, Mexican label Sun Empire Productions released a special deluxe edition of ThanatoSchizO's first album Schizo Level, in digipack format. On May 17, ThanatoSchizO celebrated their 10th anniversary at Liperske IV Festival, with Before the Rain, Pitch Black, Daemogorgon, Loss Spectra of Pure, My Eyes Inside, and Primordial Melody. The band performed songs from all their releases and played for almost two hours. That same week Zoom Code went straight to the first place of the metal magazine LOUD! Broadcast Top List. On June 28, ThanatoSchizO performed at Metal GDL Festival (Grândola, Portugal) right after Krisiun and Devildriver, as the only Portuguese band on the main stage. During September and October, the band headlined Berço Fest (Guimarães, Portugal) and presented live a semi-acoustic version of the songs in Zoom Code at the Fnacs in Lisbon and Porto.

On the end of the year balances from the international press, Zoom Code has collected numerous praises, being the nominations on the sites Metal District and Metal Imperium a good example of that. On a national level, the voting from LOUD! magazine's readers pointed out ThanatoSchizO as the fourth best band of 2008. In the same magazine, the album was mentioned on the top 5 by 3 of its collaborators.

The fifth step (2009)

On the 28th of February, ThanatoSchizO sold out the Vila Real (district) Theater while performing an entirely semi-acoustic set for 80 minutes.

The group has also headlined/co-headlined three festivals: Barreiro Metalfest (Lavradio, Portugal), Metal Horror Picture Show 2 (Fundão, Portugal) and Silent Night - Christmas Metal Fest (São Pedro do Sul, Portugal) and played at Festival Ilha do Ermal with Sepultura, Obituary and Blind Guardian as the main attractions.

Presently, the group is mixing its fifth record - Origami - which will consist on acoustic remakes of songs from the first four albuns. The recordings took place at Teatro de Vila Real and at the band's own Blind & Lost Studios. The production is being handled for the first time by Guilhermino and the album will be released in the last months of 2010 by Portuguese Major Label Industries.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Eduardo Paulo – Vocals, Guitar, Percussion
* Filipe Miguel – Keyboard, Sampling
* Guilhermino Martins – Guitar, Sampling, Vocals
* Miguel Ângelo - Bass
* Patrícia Rodrigues - Vocals
* Paulo Adelino – Drums, Percussion

Former Members :

* Marco "China" - Bass
* TóMané - Vocals


Discography :

Thanatos (earlier name) :

* Thanatos - Demo '98 (Demo, 1998)
* Thanatos - Melégnia (EP, 2001)

ThanatoSchizO :

* ThanatoSchizO - Schizo Level (2001)
* ThanatoSchizO - InsomniousNightLift (2003)
* ThanatoSchizO - Turbulence - (2004)
* ThanatoSchizO - Zoom Code - (2008) Read More...!!

Vital Remains

Biography :

Vital Remains is an American death metal band from Providence, Rhode Island formed in 1988.


History :

Created in 1988 by Paul Flynn , Vital Remains' first line-up, consisted of guitarists Paul Flynn & Butch Machado, vocalist Mike Flynn, bassist Tom Supkow and drummer Chris Dupont. Searching for better musicians Paul decided to search the local music scene. He came upon Tony Lazaro they met at a local show, who in turn referred vocalist Jeff Gruslin to the band. From there the band became a driving force in the local death metal scene. Lazaro and Flynn shared the writing duties in these early days.

Soon after forming the band released a pair of demos (1989's Reduced to Ashes and 1990's Excruciating Pain) which led to a contract with French label Thrash Records, who in turn released the single The Black Mass in 1991. Shortly after the release of the single, which proved to be the band's first and only release with the label, the band signed to Peaceville's subsidiary, Deaf Records. A pair of releases followed for the Peaceville label, 1992's Let Us Pray and 1995's Into Cold Darkness. However after poor distribution and a lack of promotion from the label the band requested their contract be dissolved. At this stage, in 1997 the band's founder, Paul Flynn left Vital Remains. After a ten year hiatus he would return to the scene, and go on to found 2005s Godless Rising, an old school death metal band with original Vital Remains vocalist Jeff Gruslin. They quickly signed to Pathos productions for a self funded demo release, from that they were offered a full deal with Moribund records out of seattle, Washington. Due to the financial hardships and lack of support from other members Paul would leave this project also.

Two years later the band signed a two album deal with French label Osmose Records. In order to complete the line-up which at this stage lacked a permanent drummer, bassist and lead guitarist, Dave Suzuki was brought in. He would fill all of these roles as well as that of lyricist and backing vocalist. This led to the release of 1997's Forever Underground and 2000's Dawn of the Apocalypse, the latter of which marked a significant step towards a new, heavier sound which would become more prominent on their following albums.

Vocalist 'Thorn', who had handled vocal duties on Dawn of the Apocalypse, was soon after fired from the band. This led to the addition in 2001 of Deicide frontman Glen Benton on vocals along with original member Tony Lazaro on guitars and Dave Suzuki on bass, drums and lead guitars . The band's first album with Benton, 2003's Dechristianize, was released to much critical acclaim. The band's next album, released in 2007, was Icons of Evil. Vital Remains also put out its first live DVD, Evil-Death-Live, the same year, in Europe on 9 July, and in the US on 31 July through Polish label Metal Mind Productions.

On November 21, 2007, Vital Remains announced they are seeking a bassist and lead guitarist. No further information was given.

On March 29, 2008, the band announced their latest tour line-up, excluding Dave Suzuki. It is presently unclear whether Suzuki is removed from the band permanently or if he is merely unable to tour for the time being.

Tony Lazaro is the only original member of the band.

In an interview with Metal Assault, Tony Lazaro announced that the band has new material and would be recording in late 2010 with an album release around December 2010.


Style :

Vital Remains earlier work was considered to be blackened death metal, with minor use of keyboards and ambient noise. After Forever Underground they went for a purely death metal approach. One element of their music that distinguishes them in their genre is the use of acoustic Spanish-style solos.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Tony Lazaro – Rhythm Guitars (1988 - present)

Live :

* Scott Wily – Lead Vocals
* "Gator" Collier – bass
* Eddy Hoffman – drums

Studio :

* Scott Wily - Lead Vocals

Former Members :

* Paul Flynn - Guitars
* Mike Flynn - Vocals
* Jeff Gruslin - Vocals (1989 - 1996, 1999)
* Taylor Fishman - Session Lead Guitars
* Joe Lewis - Vocals, Bass
* Tim Yeung - Drums
* Marco Pitruzzella - Session Drums
* Rick Corbett - Drums
* Chris Dupont - Drums
* Ace Alonzo - Drums
* Kyle Severn - Session Drums
* Derek Boyer - Session Bass
* Istvan Lendvay - Session Bass
* Kelly Conlon - Session Bass
* Anthony Geremia - Live Vocals
* Thorn - Vocals (1999 - 2003)
* Damien Boynton - Live Vocals
* Brian Hobbie - Live Bass
* Antonio Donadeo - Live Drums
* Glen Benton - Studio Vocals (2003 - 2009)
* Dave Suzuki - Lead Guitars, Studio Drums and Bass (1997 - 2009)


Discography :

* Reduced to Ashes (Demo, 1989)
* Excruciating Pain (Demo, 1990)
* The Black Mass (EP, 1991)
* Let Us Pray (1992)
* Into Cold Darkness (1995)
* Forever Underground (1997)
* Dawn of the Apocalypse (2000)
* Dechristianize (2003)
* Horrors of Hell (Compilation, 2006)
* Icons of Evil (2007)
* Evil Death Live (DVD, 2007)
* Untitled New Album (Holidays 2010)


Associated Acts :

* Deicide
* Incantation Read More...!!

Waltari

Biography :

Waltari is a band from Finland, known for their diversity and combination of music styles, frequently combining alternative metal, progressive metal, death metal, hard rock, heavy metal, hip hop, industrial, pop, punk, rap, symphonic metal, techno and thrash metal.

Most of the band's music is written by Hatakka. Waltari's lyrics often deal with personal feelings of anxiety, loneliness and the cruelty of the world, often with heavy irony and sarcasm.

The name Waltari is a reference to the popular Finnish author Mika Waltari, a favourite author of guitarist Jariot Lehtinen.


History :

Waltari was formed in 1986 in Helsinki, Finland, by Kärtsy Hatakka (vocals and bass), Jariot Lehtinen (guitars) and Sale Suomalainen (drums). Sami Yli-Sirniö joined as second guitarist in 1989, a year after the release of their first EP, Mut Hei ("But, hi!").

Their first album, Monk Punk was released in 1991. As the title suggests, this album was mostly punk. Their next album Torcha! (1992) was the album that Waltari started blending various musical styles into the sound that would become their own.

After releasing a compilation of early work under the title Pala Leipää ("A Piece of Bread") (1993), the band went on to release So Fine! (1994), an album similar to Torcha!. Their next album, Big Bang (1995) is to date their biggest success. The album concentrates on mixing techno with heavy metal.

In 1995 Roope Latvala (current second guitarist of Children of Bodom) joined the band, replacing Sami Yli-Sirniö. During this time, Hatakka was working with conductor Riku Niemi on a project combining heavy metal with classical music. This project eventually became known as Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C. The show was performed in 1995, and the album was released in 1996.

The year 1997 saw Space Avenue, a more progressive work containing more electronic drums, as well as a collaboration with Apocalyptica. In 1998, in honour of the band's ten-year anniversary, the band released a compilation titled Decade.

In 1999 Hatakka was working on yet another metal/classical collaboration, and this gave rise to the stage show Evangelicum (Evankeliumi). This production differed from Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! in that it contained more than just music: the stage show contained music, ballet and a light show. Also, this spectacle featured a new opera singer. The guest vocalist was Tarja Turunen, who was the lead vocalist of the still young band Nightwish. An album of Evangelicum was not released.

Waltari's next album Radium Round (1999), featured a strong pop influence. After Radium Round, the band passed out of the public eye, working on less main-stream releases such as the Metal / Yoik crossover Channel Nordica (2000) and the punk EP Back To Persepolis (2001). However, these releases were very hard to obtain, and for a while Waltari only survived through its live shows. In 2001, the band's old guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö returned, and Roope Latvala left the band.

In 2004 Waltari came back with an all-new studio album, Rare Species. The album was well received by critics, and an extensive tour put Waltari back on the map.

Album "Blood Sample" was released in 2005. 2006 saw the release of "Early Years", a double album presenting remastered versions of first album "Monk Punk" and "Pala Leipää", containing additional tracks from the 80s, never released before and recorded in autumn 2005 by the original trio: Jariot, Kärtsy and Sale.

Waltari released the album "Release Date" in 2007. This album includes bonus track "Spokebone", a collaboration with Amorphis singer Tomi Joutsen and Finnish ethnic band Värttinä.

Their latest album is "Below Zero" , released in 2009.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Kärtsy Hatakka - Bass, Lead Vocals, Keyboards (1986 - )
* Jariot Lehtinen - Guitar, Backing Vocals (1986 - )
* Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitars, Backing Vocals (1989–1995 and 2001 - )
* Ville Vehviläinen - Drums (2005 - )
* Janne Immonen - Keys, Noises, Backing Vocals

Former Members :

* Sale Suomalainen - Drums (1986–1990)
* Janne Parviainen - Drums (1990–2002)
* Roope Latvala - Guitars (1995–2001)
* Tote Hatakka - Live Keyboards
* Mika Järveläinen - Drums (2002–2005)


Discography :

* Waltari - Mut Hei (EP, 1989)
* Waltari - Monk Punk (1991)
* Waltari - Torcha! (1992)
* Waltari - Pala Leipää (compilation, 1993)
* Waltari - So Fine! (with Angelit, March, 1994)
* Waltari - Big Bang (1995)
* Waltari - Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C (1996)
* Waltari - Space Avenue (1997)
* Waltari - Decade (compilation, 1998)
* Waltari - Radium Round (1999)
* Waltari - Channel Nordica (with Angelit, 2000)
* Waltari - Back To Persepolis (EP, 2001)
* Waltari - Rare Species (2004)
* Waltari - Blood Sample (2005)
* Waltari - Early Years (double album, remastered +add. tracks 2006)
* Waltari - Release Date (2007)
* Waltari - The 2nd Decade - In the Cradle (compilation, 2008)
* Waltari - Below Zero (2009)


Associated Acts :

* Kreator
* Ensiferum
* Children of Bodom
* Amorphis
* Sinergy
* Barathrum
* Stone
* Barren Earth Read More...!!

Thanatos

Biography :

Thanatos is a Dutch Death metal/Thrash metal band. With a history dating back to 1984, they are the oldest death metal band from the Netherlands. Their second album, Realm of Ecstacy, had received positive marks from Dutch music magazine Oor for its solid compositions and challenging arrangements. After enduring constantly changing line-ups and problems with distribution, promotion, and even ownership of the rights to the second album, Thanatos folded in 1992, the final straw being the cancellation of a tour with Cannibal Corpse and Exhorder.

In 1999, founding member Stephan Gebédi revives the band, which signs with Hammerheart Records. First come two albums with demo and live tracks, then the band's first full album, Angelic Encounters, in 2000. An EP with original songs as well as covers from Celtic Frost and Possessed is released by Baphomet. After a few shows in Greece and a short tour with Pungent Stench, the band record their fourth album, Undead. Unholy. Divine, described as a solid return to 1980s metal (in the style of Slayer, Possessed) with the addition of blast beats. Release of a fifth album, Justified Genocide, was postponed when the band's label at the time, Black Lotus Records, went bankrupt; Dan Swano reportedly will finish the mix for the CD. To celebrate more than twenty years of Dutch death metal, Thanatos releases (on Chinese label AreaDeath Productions) a limited-edition box (300 copies) containing Emerging From The Netherworlds, Realm Of Ecstacy, and Angelic Encounters, besides 56 bonus tracks and 19 videos.

In February 2009, the band issued an update containing details about their upcoming album Justified Genocide. It will be released on March 15 in Europe and April 6 in the UK and Ireland.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Paul Baayens - Guitar
* Marco de Bruin – Bass
* Stephan Gebédi - Guitar, Vocals
* Yuri Rinkel - Drums

Former Members :

* Ed Boeser – Bass
* Erwin de Brouwer - Guitar
* Rob de Bruijn - Drums
* Remco de Maaijer - Guitar
* Aad Kloosterwaard - Drums
* André Schepenberg - Bass
* Mark Staffhorst - Guitar
* Remo van Arnhem - Drums
* Theo van Eekelen - Bass
* Marcel van Arnhem - Drums


Discography :

Demos :

* Thanatos - Speed Kills (1985)
* Thanatos - Rebirth (1986)
* Thanatos - The Day before Tomorrow (1987)
* Thanatos - Official Live Tape 1987 (1987)
* Thanatos - Omnicoitor (1989)

Studio Albums :

* Thanatos - Emerging from the Netherworlds (1990)
* Thanatos - Realm of Ecstacy (1992)
* Thanatos - Angelic Encounters (2000)
* Thanatos - Undead. Unholy. Divine. (2004)
* Thanatos - The Burning of Sodom/...And Jesus Wept (2006)
* Thanatos - Justified Genocide (2009) Read More...!!