In Flames

In Flames is a Swedish melodic death metal band from the city of Gothenburg. While it is questionable whether they were the creators of the genre, their heavy influence on it is not disputed.

In Flames' line-up underwent constant changes throughout their early career. Their first stable line-up was composed by the founding members Jesper Strömblad, Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungström, with Anders Fridén on vocals and Björn Gelotte on drums. With this line-up, they proceeded to record the album The Jester Race, which made the band known to the world, especially in Europe and Japan.

Dark Tranquillity

Dark Tranquillity is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Starting in 1989 under the name Septic Broiler, they have had a fairly stable line-up from the start, unlike many bands from the genre. In 1994 Anders Fridén, Dark Tranquillity's original lead vocalist, left the band to join In Flames. Mikael Stanne, formerly playing rhythm guitar, then became the vocalist, with Johansson taking over the guitars. Mikael Stanne also recorded vocals with the band In Flames. However, contrary to popular belief, he was never a full member of that band; he was a session vocalist and sang to help out the members of In Flames. In 1998, following the release of the album Projector, Johansson left the band. Keyboardist Martin Brändström and bassist Michael Nicklasson were added to the line-up, and Henriksson switched to the guitar. This album was nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award. The band is currently signed to Century Media Records.

Opeth

Originality is a rare commodity in these media-dominated, cynical times, but every now and then a band comes along that produces music of such mind-bending brilliance that only the culturally blind could fail to recognize. Extreme metal, a genre that has produced a high proportion of rock’s most distinctive voices in recent years, may not have as yet fully infiltrated the mainstream, but a major breakthrough seems at hand. The vanguard for that movement is Sweden’s mighty Opeth, the essential metal band of the 21st century, who seventh release, Damnation, tear down the genre’s walls and frees it to be cast in a whole new light.

Soilwork

Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in late 1995, originally under the name of Inferior Breed. In 1996, they changed their name to Soilwork, to better fit their new sound. Their unique sound is a fusion of the classic Gothenburg metal sound with power-groove riffs of late 1970s, early 1980s British and European metal. Their more recent work has more singing and lighter melodies than their earlier work, as well as a more polished production that brings out the strength of the drums.

In 2005, the band began to gain minor commercial success in the United States. Stabbing the Drama reached #12 and #21 on the Billboard Heatseeker and Independent album charts, respectively. They played the 2005 Ozzfest, alongside fellow Gothenburg melodic death metal band, In Flames.

In late 2005, guitarist Peter Wichers left the band due to tour exhaustion and other personal issues. Peter will now do music production for other bands. Of all the line-up changes with Soilwork, this one comes as the biggest and most disappointing to Soilwork fans, as Peter Wichers was a very important member of the band and has a style of guitar-playing that many believe cannot be duplicated.