In the last eight or so years, Children Of Bodom that darted to international fame with their debut, 1997’s "Something Wild", has gone from being "this amazing band from Finland" to a household name in the metalscene. And that, of course, is obvious given the intensity, sheer quality of their material and the flawless execution.

These are heady days for those of us who wear our devotion to metal like a badge of honour. The deafening beast of the dark depths has lived to roar and rampage again and the scene has never been in a happier or healthier state. But don’t be deceived. Metal never really went away. In fact, its current fortitude stems entirely from the bands that never surrendered; those brave, liquor-soaked men whose total disregard for the vagaries of fashion and finance kept them glued to the grindstone through metal’s mainstream wilderness years. Now, as seems wholly fitting, the greatest of these are finally reaping their rewards and hitting new creative peaks as they surge unstoppably onwards and upwards. And, as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in 2006.


Just as the gravel-lined, turd-stained streets of urban England gave heavy metal to the world back in the late ‘60s, so that small country with the big voice continues to be the place where the world’s finest dark metal band rest their weary, alcohol-ravaged heads after another sonic killing spree. Love them, hate them or both, Cradle Of Filth is back again to fondle you while slitting your throat. Thornography has arrived.
Recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, England, with renowned metallic production genius Rob Caggiano (Anthrax, Bleeding Through) and mixed by Andy Sneap (Killswitch Engage, Arch Enemy,Trivium) at Backstage Studios, Derbyshire, Thornography is the band’s seventh full-length studio album and their second for Roadrunner. The follow-up to 2004’s widely acclaimed meisterwerk Nymphetamine it’s a scintillating and terrifying collision between the familiar and the unexpected. It’s the dark, destructive and unsettling sound of a globe-conquering heavy metal band at the height of their sick, twisted powers, and the continuation of a proud, priapic and unhinged legacy that stretches back nigh on 15 years.
When Cradle Of Filth released their now legendary debut album, The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh back in 1994, the notoriety surrounding the Black Metal scene – and its spiritual epicentre in Oslo, Norway, in particular – was reaching fever pitch throughout Europe. These legions of the damned and disgusted took metal further into the abyss than it had ever been before, stripping away its worldly concerns and reducing it to a pure and chilling core of impenetrable black menace. Cradle Of Filth were undoubtedly inspired by this sea-change in metal’s ongoing evolution, they had their own plans for disseminating their own distinct, gothically-erotic propaganda and swiftly defined their own left hand path. Their disdain for playing by the rules was startling in its intensity from the very start.
Throughout the ‘90s, Cradle of Filth – led by vocalist, lyricist and crypt-crawling master of ceremonies Dani Filth – beavered tirelessly away, producing a series of peerless extreme metal classics that drew from an endless, dizzying array of inspirations and influences while always maintaining that instantly recognisable heart of filthy darkness. The brutal and brief Vempire mini-album and the lustrous, lascivious Dusk & Her Embrace (both 1996) began to reveal the band’s great sonic range. Later taking into account the slithering concept piece Cruelty & The Beast (1998) and the Clive Barker-inspired Midian (2000) – not to mention their excursions into the visual realm of film and promo– the Cradle Of Filth sound showed itself to be a many-headed creature. It was one that took delight in confounding both the purists and the critics who continually assailed the band’s motives and creativity even as their fan base expanded and their status soared. With a line-up that seemed to be constantly changing – thanks, perhaps, to the cobweb-encrusted revolving door that rumours suggest marked the entrance to the band’s rehearsal space during this period – the music was never allowed to stagnate; fresh blood and its revitalising effects remained a permanent weapon in the boys’ macabre arsenal.
As the 21st century dawned, Cradle Of Filth unleashed the epic, ambitious Damnation And A Day - a sprawling, theatrical masterpiece that has yet to be truly recognised for either its semantic depth or its thrilling levels of metallic artistry. Quietly walking away from a fractious partnership with their previous label, the band eventually found a logical home with Roadrunner Records. It was a match made in hell that spawned what was, until now, almost certainly the strongest collection of songs in the Cradle canon, the mighty Nymphetamine. Wildly varied and as heavy as anything the band had ever recorded, it was widely hailed as a triumph and led to yet more gruelling treks around the world, where their rabid fan base lurks in every shadowy corner waiting for their latest fix of barbaric drama and blood-soaked belligerence.
And so to 2006, where Cradle Of Filth find themselves in the enviable position of being in a league and class of their own. Having long since outstripped the achievements of their one-time contemporaries, the band are now firmly entrenched in a rich vein of form. The current line-up of Dani Filth, guitarists Paul Allender and Charles Hedger, bassist Dave Pybus and drummer Adrian Erlandsson is the most solid and powerful in the band’s career and Thornography is the resounding, conclusive proof. With songs as brutish, bombastic and diverse as “Libertina Grimm,” “Tonight In Flames,” “Cemetery & Sundown,” “I Am The Thorn,” “The Byronic Man” (featuring HIM’s Ville Valo on guest vocals) and a deranged cover of Heaven 17’s ‘80s pop gem “Temptation,” the world’s biggest and best extreme metal band have never sounded so exhilarating, so vital, so venomous…
“There are a lot of characters on this album,” says Dani Filth of the new opus. “There’s no central concept. It’s more along the lines of Nymphetamine in respect of diversity of content, both lyrically and musically. We spent the whole summer of 2005 working really hard on writing the material and making sure it was the best of songs we’ve ever written. Which undoubtedly it is. It’s obviously our best material thus far. It’s far more rhythmic and catchy and easily the heaviest thing we’ve done, especially on the production side of things. And there’s a real retro feel to the record, in terms of style. It’s slightly experimental for us and a lot of people will be surprised I think at the level of diversity we've managed to achieve with this, especially having worked with other musicians and having our first band instrumental included (Rise Of The Pentagram). We started to write and got into a habit of coming up with tons of stuff. Everyone would be working on ideas and we’d pool it all together in the dank confines of our rehearsal room. We kept stirring the cauldron and adding or subtracting accordingly. Thus each song has its own sound and feel in relation to the concept behind each track. And as per normal, it's all in good taste!
For example, Libertina Grimm, (which concerns itself with a haughty little vivisectrix and her dissonant life of crime) meanders through a succession of twists and turns as if to mimic her dark, labyrinthine obsessions with the dead, before finding foothold with a real primal, sex-laden hook. She might be mad, but before all else she's groovy!"
Louder, harder, faster, heavier, darker, catchier - the unstoppable force that is Cradle Of Filth slithers menacingly forward, crushing the opposition and striking warped, blackened glee into the hearts of misanthropes and malevolents the world over. The nightmare continues…may we never wake up!

The band wasformed in 1985, and after releasing the demo, “Instigators” (1988), and the “Blue Blood” EP (1989) on Nuclear Blas to this day still a worthy collector’s item. Atrocity presented the world their debut, “Hallucinations” in 1990. Following extensive and successful touring, Atrocity released “Todessehnsucht” (1992) on Roadrunner Records. They surprised the critics by integrating classical elements into their music, including four opera singers.

CLOSTERKELLER is the most renowned 'atmospheric rock' band in Poland.
They began they musical career in 1988, playing rather heavy sounds under the banner of the British New Wave. Initially, performing at numerous young band competitions, the group did not achieve much recognition. Yet their music was developing. The following year - 1989 - is a memorable one to the band. That year they won all the major music competitions in Poland. During the twelve years of CLOSTERKELLER'S career the band came to be perceived as a cult group in the independent musical scene in Poland. The band gained enormous popularity among Polish audiences of all kinds. Their music is appreciated by listeners young and old: metal-admirerers, gothic-lovers as well as pop music fans. There is no doubt that the reason of this is the stylistic diversity of their songs. Since their debut their music has evolved from morbid cold wave sounds, an infatuation with heavy metal, to a psychedelic and a little dizzy pop rock, with elements of gothic rock and even techno music. Despite this musical variety CLOSTERKELLER has an easily distinguishable characteristic style and the band stands out in the prime class of Polish rock music. What is to be noted is that they kept their position as a most famous and popular band in spite of the rather unpopular features of their music. Their songs are intellectually demanding, mystical, poetic; their strongest points are poignant lyrics of an alluring dark melancholy beauty (Violette, A ona, ona, Silence in her Home, Sin, Nero, Watching as You Drown).
The head of the band is the vocalist, Anja Orthodox, one of the most original and interesting personalities of the Polish music scene. Not only her deep, beautiful voice, her original interpretations of the lyrics and the music, her unique style of singing but also her strong personality, in private life as well (a fact which often causes opinions such as "controversial") make her one of the most arresting Polish artists. She is also an author of unusual, very poetic but often spicy lyrics, which make her belong to the group of the most brilliant poets of Polish rock...
CLOSTERKELLER also does great playing live... They have performed many times on the biggest scenes in Poland, also supporting such stars as Jethro Tull, Cocteau Twins, Clan Of Xymox, Diary Of Dreams or Paradise Lost. Their concerts are fantastic performances - a mixture of a spontaneous rock show, a poetic atmosphere and a mystic ritual (which also makes them close to gothic rock bands). The musical perfection of performance and playing, the brilliant compositions and arrangements - simply the beautiful music, makes their concerts unforgettable experiences!

Clan of Xymox, also known as Xymox at various parts of their career, are a darkwave/gothic rock band founded in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1983 by Ronny Moorings, Pieter Nooten, and Anke Wolbert. Of the original members, only Ronny Moorings remains in the band today.

Lacrimosa is a duo led by German-born Tilo Wolff, the main composer, and finnish Anne Nurmi, currently based in Switzerland. Lacrimosa's musical genre originally was Darkwave or rather downright gothic, with occasional metal elements. Since Inferno, their style has shifted much more towards gothic metal. Their musical style mixes heavy metal and gothic rock sounds along with violin, trumpet and more classical instruments, although their musical development throughout the years has also led to changes in instrumentation.

The Sisters of Mercy are a rock band that emerged out of the English post-punk scene in 1980-1981. After achieving early underground and goth fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output as a strike against their record company. Currently, the band is kept alive as a touring outfit only.

The group has recorded three original studio albums, of which the last was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up, singer and songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machines called Doktor Avalanche being the only points of continuity. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.

The group ceased recording activity in 1994, when they went on strike against their record company Time Warner, which they accused of withholding royalties and being incompetent. Although Time Warner eventually let the band go in 1997, they have not signed to another label, and have chosen not to go the independent label route, despite showcasing numerous new songs in their live sets.

Since 1985, when other original members left, The Sisters of Mercy became the artistic vehicle of Andrew Eldritch. Ex-members of the group established the bands Ghost Dance and The Mission.

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas został założony w 1993 roku przez Richarda Lederer'a, jego skład wzmocnił Michael Gregor (oboje tworzą Summoning), siostra Richarda Julia oraz Mora el Sammah.

The first keyboard tracks, that later where used for Die Verbannten Kinder Evas where created around 1993. this time richard was a bit sick of only being able to make music in a band and discovered the great new possibilities keyboard music offers. he was finally able to create complete instrumental track completely on his own. As Michael Gregor (member of his other project "summoning") liked those tracks and also had some good keyboard ideas (like the main tune of "Serpents Voice" etc) they formed together "Die Verbannten Kinder Evas". Actually it was michael who found this German line, that means "the banished children of eve", which he found in a renaissance booklet while searching for new lyrics for one of their songs. The name was not supposed to contain some special message, it was just chosen because it suited well to the mood of the music. Finally some of the lyrics where taken from different poets, and others where written by Raymond Wells (the mastermind of "Pazuzu"). Later richard got to know "Nora El Shammah" who decided to do the female vocals together with Richard sister "julia lederer" on the songs in oder to combine them with the clear vocals of michael and richard. DVKE released two demos, all the songs from there were later included in the debut album. Soon after the first one Richard received a letter from swiss label "Witchhunt Recs". And the contractwas signed soon.

KORPIKLAANI (or “Forest Clan“) emerged out of the ashes of Shaman, when the band opted to change its name, along with its musical and lyrical expression. The goal was to move away from Shaman’s trademark use of the Sámi language’s strong, impulsive folk metal, as heard on Idja (1999) and Shamániac (2002) and opt for a stronger and more widely accepted sound.

Jonne Järvelä imagined the change of style to be characterized by both a heavier influence of the traditional Finnish folk melodies and of metal. He began to search for musicians able to produce the results he envisioned.

Korpiklaani (z języka fińskiego oznacza leśny klan) - fiński zespół, założony w 1999 roku. Fundamentem zespołu Korpiklaani jest poprzedni projekt Jonne Järvelä (Shaman), który to postanowił nieco zmienić sposób swojej twórczej ekspresji. Jonne zrezygnował ze śpiewania w języku Sámi. Odszedł też od impulsywnego folk metalu. Jonne pragnął stworzyć coś bardziej zainspirowanego tradycyjną fińską muzyką folkową, nie rezygnując także z mocniejszych metalowych uderzeń. Pomogli mu w tym: Jaakko Lemmetty (skrzypce), Arto Tissar (gitara basowa), Matson (instrumenty klawiszowe), Toni Honkanen (gitara elektryczna) oraz Ali Määttä (perkusja).

Few forms of music allow artists the flexibility to express themselves in a way that fully encompasses the ideas a band have about their music and where they want to take it. In heavy metal circles, the bands that do show an uncompromising attitude are usually brief, bright sparks that quickly die after an album or two. Rarer still is for a band of four young men to spend over ten years wandering in a completely self-constructed universe that has continually expanded as they built upon their style. A universe so diverse and devoid of complacency one could forgive a casual observer some trepidation upon their first visit to the galaxy Alchemist built.
Since releasing their “Jar of Kingdom” album in 1991, Alchemist has continually raised the bar for one of the Worlds most criminally underexposed music scenes. The Australian heavy metal scene. Long at the forefront of an overlooked genre and always maintaining their own identity, Alchemist’s unrelenting work ethic and the bands involvement in bringing the Southern Hemisphere’s largest metal showcase day, Metal for the Brain, to fruition since 1996 has only reinforced the respect this band has earned amongst its peers and countrymen. Having endlessly toured the wide brown land of Australia for years and performing countless support acts with the elite of metal music such as Opeth, Kreator and Fear Factory to name but a very few. With a live experience delivering the most album quality sound in Australian metal today, its little wonder Alchemists’ 2000 tour with Cryogenic and Psi Kore was the most successful domestic metal tour in Australian history.
Their own blend of classic metal elements with the psychedelic influences of acid rock bands such as Pink Floyd and The Porcupine Tree have long featured and anchored the sound. Evolving from these explorations saw experimentation with traditional indigenous Australian instruments and world music influences to compliment their evolution, the Alchemist sound has become the apex predator in Australian metal. Joining forces with Chatterbox Records in 2000 also enabled the band to drop an excellent album in the form of “Organasm” that same year. “Organasm” showcased a band across so many genres it was impossible to ignore the noise coming from the south any longer. Relapse Records heard the quality picked up the band and added it to its already burgeoning roster of talent, alongside bands like Amorphis, Pig Destroyer, Nile and Today Is The Day.
The band took the longest hiatus in its history from the live scene in preparation for a new album to be released on Chatterbox/Relapse. After nearly two years of work “Austral Alien” once again displayed a band at the peak of a creative wave. Recording the album in Rye, Victoria with Superheist axeman and producer extrodinaire D.W. Norton, allowed the band to go away and focus on the job at hand for three weeks of the Australian summer in early 2003. “Austral Alien” has dropped to widespread critical acclaim from home and aboard, the band finally enjoying the fruits of over ten years of hard labour. Critical acclaim from all print and electronic media leaves no doubt that Alchemist are and continue to be a relevant and dominant force in original heavy music.


Members:

Adam Agius - Guitar / Vocals
Roy Torkington – Gitar
Rodney Holder – Drums
John Bray – Bass
Nick Wall - Live samples / electronics


Discography:

Austral Alien - 2003
Organasm - 2000
Eve of the War - 1998
Spiritech - 1997
Lunasphere - 1995
Jar of Kingdom – 1993

From: www.alchemist.com.au

The story of Silentium goes back to December 1995 into the ashes of a death/gothic metal band called Funeral. From the remains of Funeral, keyboardist Sami Boman and original vocalist Matti Aikio created Silentium by adding violin player Jani Laaksonen, guitar players Toni Lahtinen & Juha Lehtioksa and drummer Jari Ojala into the line-up.

Silentium's first recording was the four-song-demo-tape Illacrimó which was released in the end of year 1996. Their second, six-song Ep-tape Caméne Misera was released in 1998 and featured female vocals by Tiina Lehvonen who then became a permanent member of the band. This second tape caught the attention of Sami Tenetz who was at the time setting up his record label Spikefarm. After some negotiations Silentium signed a deal with Spikefarm and their first Spike-release Infinita Plango Vulnera in 1999 had the honor of becoming Spikefarm's first CD, NAULA001. The record also introduced the new drummer, Janne Ojala.

Infinita Plango Vulnera got extremely good feedback, pleasing goths worldwide, as did its successors, the 2001 CD Altum and it's little sister, the SI.VM E.T A.V.VM mini-CD.

Sufferion’s feedback was as expected; some loved and some couldn’t stand the idea of music and radio play. Every listener was touched someway and the long awaited gigs started to appear in the tour list. After the good start came a kick in the teeth: drummer Janne Ojala announced he’s got a lack of motivation and is leaving the band. Also Laaksonen and Anna Ilveskoski, who already gained the status of permanent vocalist, left and the whole band lived on the edge for awhile. But the guys didn’t want to give up and the help was found surprisingly near; the original drummer Jari Ojala was willing to join in again and Riina Rinkinen gave her amazing voice to the band.

Silentium changed the record label also. In the 2005 they signed to the Finnish Dynamic Arts Records company and in the spring of 2005 it was time to head towards studio Sundi Coop. During the intense month they recorded material for the Silentium’s fourth full-length CD, Seducia, but also for their first single release, Frostnight. In these records can also be heard the change of violin to the cello played by Elias Kahila and the sound of Silentium has only completed from before.

The year 2006 came out to be bigger than ever; welcome for the Seducia was quite good and the fuss began to grow. The band had more touring than ever before and this time outside Finland also. Silentium had a gig in Romania with Amorphis and HIM and the welcome was just amazing. The country and the fans really knocked the band off their feet and they gave their absolute best for the sunny Sibiu. Few months after that came the news of a Silentium song being the part of the Portuguese film and the power play of Silentium in the radio. And all that time the band toured inside Finland and visited new venues and met new fans.

We'll see what shall the year 2007 bring with it...


Band:

Sami Boman / Keyboards & Backing vocals,
Riina Rinkinen / The Voice,
Matti Aikio / Bass & Groaning,
Juha Lehtioksa / Guitars,
Jari Ojala / Drums,
Toni Lahtinen / Guitars


Discography:

Seducia
Released:
25.01.2006 / Finland
27.01.2006 / World
23.04.2006 / Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Frostnight EP
Released:
26.10.2005

Sufferion
Released:
28.07.2003

SI.VM E.T A.V.VM
Released:
2001

Altum
Released:
2001

Infinita Plango Vulnera
Released:
1999


Official Web: http://www.silentivm.com

Aion was formed in Poznań in January 1996. In this year, band recorded their first promotional demo. One month later, in July, Aion signed contract with Poznanian record label Morbid Noizz Productions. In result of this, the first studio album entitled Midian, was released. In 1997 album received "debut of the year" award by readers of Metal Hammer (Polish edition). During promotional tour they supported bands, such as Mercyful Fate, King of Diamond, Artrosis, Vader, Love Like Blood and Sacriversum. Signing contract with Massacre Records led to grow band's popularity outside motherland. In mid-1997 band played at Wacken Open Air festival.
In the end of July 1998, Aion recorded material to the second album, Noia, which was released in November, the same year. The album was nomineed to presigious Polish Fryderyki award in "hard 'n' heavy album of the year" category. Noia contains cover version of Carl Orff's "O Fortuna". Releasing of the third album, Reconciliation (2000), was connected with changing of record label to Metal Mind Productions. Band's lineup was exchanged by first time in 2001, where keyboardist Łukasz Migdalski was replaced by Marcin Żmuda. After that year, band members changed several times. In 2001-2004 period Aion released two albums: Symbol and One of 5.


Discography:

Studio albums
- Midian (1999)
- Noia (1998)
- Reconciliation (2000)
- Symbol (2001)
- One of 5 (2004)

Singles
- "O Fortuna" (1998)

Band members:

Current members
- Marcin Patyk - vocals (since 2003)
- Daniel Jokiel - rhythm guitar (since 1996)
- Artur "Methal" Szymański - bass guitar (since 2003)
- Dominik "Młody" Jokiel - lead guitar (since 1996)
- Marek Wawrzyniak - drums

Former members
- Marcin "Żuraw" Żurawicz - drums (1996-2004)
- Mariusz "Marian" Krzyska - vocals (1996-2003)
- Witalis "Milli" Jagodziński - bass guitar (1996-2003)
- "Kamil" - bass guitar (1996)
- "Pluto" - guitar (1996)
- Łukasz "Migdał" Migdalski - keyboard instruments, piano, flute (1996-2000)
- Marcin Żmuda - keyboard instruments


From: www.en.wikipedia.org