Gothic Metal

Paradise Lost are a gothic metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, England and are considered by some to be one of the pioneers of the gothic metal genre. Paradise Lost has proven to be an influential band, with Jonas Renkse of Katatonia saying that his band started off "as Paradise Lost fanboys". Their line-up has remained stable for such a long-standing heavy metal band, consisting of singer Nick Holmes, guitarists Greg Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy, and bassist Steve Edmondson. Holmes and Mackintosh are the principal composers, with almost all of the band's songs credited to them. During the years, the band has only changed drummers.

Tiamat is a metal band that formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1987. Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat. The Sumerian Cry album included re-recorded Treblinka songs and was released in June 1990. After the debut, Edlund's leadership would modify the band's style with influences ranging from Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Candlemass, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, with Sumerian lyrical themes. Polish guitarist Waldemar Sorychta would produce and contribute instrumentation to many of the band's albums, as well as those by Tiamat's own tour and labelmates, including Moonspell, Rotting Christ, Lacuna Coil and Samael. 1994's critically acclaimed Wildhoney mixed raw vocals, slow guitar riffs and synthesizer sounds which sounded different from other extreme metal bands active at that time. An almost continuous forty-minute piece of music, Wildhoney led to the band's appearances at the Dynamo and Wacken Open Air heavy metal festivals in 1995. The group would play a second gig at Dynamo two years later.

Type O Negative was a gothic/doom metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. Their lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four" (in homage to The Beatles' "Fab Four" moniker). The band went Platinum with 1993's Bloody Kisses, and Gold with 1996's October Rust, and gained a fanbase through seven studio albums, two best-of compilations, and concert DVDs. On April 14, 2010, lead vocalist, bassist, and principal songwriter Peter Steele died, reportedly from heart failure brought on by an aortic aneurysm. Members Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly stated in a November 2010 interview with French music magazine Rock Hard that the band would not continue.