Tiamat (band)
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Tiamat is a metal band that formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1988. Their music has been the subject of debate, utilizing subgenres like black metal, progressive, doom/death and gothic, but more recently they have focused on what has been described as "atmospheric/gothic rock"[1] with ethnic, psychedelic and experimental elements.
Biography
Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka.[2] 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, as recorded by Treblinka, was released as Tiamat's debut album in June 1990.
After the debut, Edlund's leadership would modify the band's style with influences ranging from Mercyful Fate, Candlemass, Pink Floyd[3] and King Crimson, with Sumerian lyrical themes. German 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 was considered to be a landmark release within the progressive/doom metal genres and would lead to the band's appearances at the Dynamo[4] and Wacken Open Air heavy metal festivals in 1995. The group would play a second gig at Dynamo two years later.
Upon the release of A Deeper Kind of Slumber (1997), Edlund relocated from Sweden to Germany and declared himself the only permanent member of the band; all albums that would follow would cement the band into a more gothic rock sound, quite different from the extreme music they did in the years before, with recent albums showing a Sisters of Mercy influence.[5]
The band signed to Nuclear Blast Records in June 2007. Tiamat released their new album Amanethes April 18, 2008.
On August 10th, 2008, Thomas Wyreson announced that he was quitting the band, stating that "it's just kinda hard to make everything work with the family etc." [6]
Members
- Johan Edlund – vocals, guitar
- Anders Iwers – bass
- Lars Sköld – drums
Discography
Full length
- Sumerian Cry - June 7, 1990 CMFT Productions
- The Astral Sleep - September 1 1991 Century Media
- Clouds - April 2, 1992 Century Media
- Wildhoney - October 25, 1994 Century Media
- A Deeper Kind of Slumber - August 12, 1997 Century Media
- Skeleton Skeletron - August 11, 1999 Century Media
- Judas Christ - April 30, 2002 Century Media
- Prey - October 27, 2003 Century Media
- Amanethes - April 18, 2008 Nuclear Blast Records
Demos, singles, EP, Live and DVD
- A Winter Shadow (Demo) (1990)
- The Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel) (Live) (1993)
- Gaia (EP) (1994)
- The Musical History of Tiamat (Live/Compilation(2 Disc)) (1995)
- Cold Seed (single) (1997)
- For Her Pleasure (EP) (1999)
- Brighter than the Sun (single) (1999)
- Vote For Love (single) (2002)
- Cain (single) (2003)
- The Church of Tiamat (DVD) (2006)
- Commandments (Best of/Compilation) (2007)
Influence
Both Toby Driver, former member of maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot, and Moonspell singer Fernando Ribeiro mention Tiamat as one of their major musical influences.
References
- ^ "Encyclopaedia Metallum - Tiamat". Metal-archives.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "Encyclopaedia Metallum - Treblinka (Swe)". Metal-archives.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "Tiamat's Biography – Last.fm". Last.fm. 2008-%d. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "TIAMAT | Unique, Detailed Biography | Rockdetector". Web.archive.org. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "allmusic ((( Tiamat > Biography )))". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ bravewords.com. "Thomas Wyreson Leaves Tiamat". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26.