Insomnium

Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. They are influenced by doom metal, playing songs about sorrow, death, loss, and mourning. They also incorporate elements of nordic / norse folk music and symphonic music into their sound. Since their inception, Insomnium have steadily evolved their style of music. Their melodies are highly melancholic, and their overall sound is much darker. The band’s lyrics tend to be influenced (and occasionally taken) from classic poets like Hölderlin, Edgar Allan Poe, Finnish classic Eino Leino and other literature.

The new album from the band was originally scheduled to be released on the 2nd of September, 2009 in Finland, the 6th in Europe and the 7th in the United States. However, this was postponed and the new release dates are the 9th of September in Finland, the 15th in the United States and the 26th of September in Europe. Insomnium is supposed to be a word pertaining to dreams, with various interpretations of its meaning. It is unrelated to the sleeping disorder insomnia.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is a death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden. After spending three years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1990, founder Peter Tägtgren returned to his homeland of Sweden to form his own band.

Musically, the band’s style has drifted from a traditional death metal sound on their early albums, to a more melodic death metal sound. The lyrics in their early stages – written by original vocalist Masse Broberg – were anti-Christian and Satanic. However the band later chose to focus on lyrical themes such as the paranormal and extraterrestrial, which prompted Broberg out of the band (and to transfer his interests to black metal band Dark Funeral as Emperor Magus Caligula). Their tenth album, Virus, contains lyrics of a more typical death metal nature dealing with violence, the horrors of reality, insanity, torture, war, drug addiction, and emotional struggles. Tägtgren’s experience as a producer may have also have led to the band’s change in musical direction, as he is more closely involved with many other bands while producing their albums.

Ghost Brigade

Ghost Brigade is a five-piece metal band from Jyväskylä, Finland, formed in 2005. They have taken elements from melodic death metal, doom metal and progressive metal into their music. For their debut album, Aleksi Munter of Swallow the Sun played keyboards as a session member for the band. Fredrik Nordin of the stoner rock band Dozer also did guest backing vocals on a track for their debut album. Their album “Guided By Fire”, was released in September 2007, consists of dark, intelligent music that hasn’t given up the ghost on being a metal band. Their second album “Isolation Songs”, was released in August 2009.

Wille Naukkarinen (guitars): “In Ghost Brigade, selling albums is not what it’s about. It’s about the feeling I get when I wrote a new song, which I only get when I know the song is good enough. The metaphor for that is “the fire”. That explains the title of the album. We are guided by fire.” A quote on their website states (by date of the debut release) “there’s nothing above or below us, no written word wise enough, just notes that carry the silent fire.”

In Mourning

In Mourning are a progressive/melodic death metal band from Falun, Sweden, formed in 2000. They started out as a more gothic metal oriented band before developing into their current style. They recorded 5 demos, “In Mourning” (2000), “Senseless” (2002), “NEED” (2003), “Confessions of the Black Parasite” (2004) and “Grind Denial” (2006) before signing to Norwegian label Aftermath Music. Their first album “Shrouded Divine” was released on January 2nd, 2008. The album was extremely well-received, especially considering it’s a debut album. It has received mostly favorable reviews, especially by European music websites and magazines.

In May 2009 the band announced that they signed a 2-album deal with Singaporean label Pulverised Records. Recordings for the 2nd album will begin in August 2009.

Paths of Possession

Paths of Possession is a melodic death metal band from Tampa, Florida, United states. Formed in 1999 as Swollen, the band is a solid mix of traditional heavy metal with influences of Swedish melodic death metal. The band independently released their first CD-r demo, Legacy in Ashes, in 2000. Soon after, they was approached by Keith Suchland better known as “Splattergod” about releasing their next CD. It was mutually decided that they and Dark Faith would release a split EP, with each band contributing six songs.

As their then vocalist, Bill, had relocated to New York, Buttman asked his friend, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher (vocalist of Cannibal Corpse) to take over the vocal position. The result was entitled The Crypt of Madness and released on Splattergod Records, limited to 1000 copies. Plans were then made between the band and Splattergod to release their full length CD in late 2004 / early 2005. Now it features George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher in a more melodic environment, with song structures that have much more in common with early Bay Area Thrash than the Tampa death metal scene.

Persefone

Persefone is an Andorran progressive/melodic death metal band formed in October 2001. The band is located in the small nation of Andorra. The first song they composed was “Niflheim (The Eyes That Hold The Edge),” and it suggested what the band wanted: melody, complexity and aggression. A demo was soon recorded, and the concept of the album took shape: was the five soul illnesses combined with the transition from life to death. A 6-track demo became an LP with the help of Claus Jensen and Intromental Management; Truth Inside the Shades was recorded at Orion Studios and mastered by Peter in de Betou for Taylor Maid Productions.

Truth Inside the Shades was released worldwide through Soundholic Records (Japan), Cd-Maximum (Russia and Baltic States), and Adipocere Records (Europe and United States). The next album, a longer concept album, relates the story of Persephone, the Greek goddess for which the band was named. In August 2006, Core was released in Japan through Soundholic Records. In 2007, a year after its Japanese release, they signed a deal with Greek label Burning Star Records, and in August the album was released worldwide.

Nightrage

Nightrage is a Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band formed by guitarist Marios Iliopoulos (ex-Exhumation) and his close friend Gus G. who later re-located to Gothenburg, Sweden. He took the name Nightrage from a song on their final album, “Traumaticon.” After forming, Illiopoulos relocated to Gothenburg, Sweden, and reformed the band with a new line-up. Their first release, Sweet Vengeance, was released in 2003 and featured drummer Per Möller Jensen (The Haunted), and bassist Brice Leclercq. They also managed to acquire the services of vocalist Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates).

Their second release, Descent into Chaos, was released in 2005. Their third release, A New Disease Is Born, was released in 2007. Gus G was also replaced by the well known Swedish guitar virtuoso Olof Mörck (Dragonland, Amaranthe, My Darling Dismay). Wearing a Martyr’s Crown was released on June 23, 2009 in Europe and Japan. The album has since become critically acclaimed. Most notably the album will be carried at exclusive Hot Topic locations.

Omnium Gatherum

Omnium Gatherum is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Finland, founded in the autumn of 1996. According to the word of other musicians and music psychologists/critics, although the band mainly follows the path of melodic death metal genre, the music created by the band, especially the later albums, has a strong feel/presence of other sub-genres, such as black metal and pure death metal.

Despite the fact that, the later music, created by the band contains material and various aspects that are typical for black metal genre, the band does not possess any of the visual/appearance features and behavior, that are characteristic of black metallists. After releasing four demos, they were signed to Rage of Achilles, then metal giant Nuclear Blast, and are currently signed to Candlelight Records. Rage of Achilles re-released their fourth demo as an EP, Steal the Light, in 2002. Their 2008 album The Redshift was mixed and mastered by renowned metallurgical producer Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Hail Of Bullets, Novembers Doom), and released in October 2008 to generally positive reviews.

Despite

Despite is a death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed 1998 by Timmy Leng and Fredrik Meister. After some years with a couple of demo recordings and line-up changes Despite found its current shape in 2007. With the new recruits John Lidén, Joseph Astorga (ex. Deus ex Machina) and Alex Losbäck Holstad (ex. Decameron, Cardinal Sin, Runemagick) the band stands stronger than ever. A record deal was signed with Tractor Productions (a new Swedish upcoming label) in 2008 and the recording of the debut album begun in September the same year.

Their debut album, “In Your Despite” was released in March 2009 by Tractor Productions. The album contains a song called ”MindPlague” and guest vocals on the track are supplied by Knut Agnred, a renowned Swedish singer and member of the very popular comedy group ”Galenskaparna och After Shave”.

Noumena

Noumena is a melodic death metal band founded in Ähtäri, Finland in the spring of 1998. In 1999, after two demo tapes and several concerts, the band was given a record deal with a Singaporean record label. Their debut album was recorded later that year at Astia Studio; however, the record label went bankrupt before the album was released. It wasn’t until late 2001 that an Australian label, Catharsis Records, agreed to release the album, given the title Pride/Fall. The following years were unproductive, until, in January 2004, the band released a four-track promo. This was moderately successful and led to a deal with Spikefarm Records. The band spent the next October and November making their second album, Absence, which was released April 13, 2005.

The band’s name comes from the word noumenon, a philosophical term used by Immanuel Kant. The roots of Noumena’s music may be found in the Scandinavian death metal tradition and 1980s heavy metal.