Tiamat

Biography

Tiamat is a Swedish metal band founded near Stockholm in 1990 and led by Johan Edlund. They have released ten studio albums. The band went through a number of styles before settling on gothic metal. Under Edlund's leadership, the band was influenced by Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Candlemass, Pink Floyd and King Crimson combined with Sumerian themes. H. P. Lovecraft also appears to have influenced Tiamat's lyrics, a common trait in death metal.

History

The band was formed as the four-piece Treblinka in 1987. Using pseudonyms, they released the single "Severe Abomination" in 1989. After recording the album Sumerian Cry×Sumerian Cry7 June 1990 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Intro: Sumerian Cry, Part 10:572In the Shrines of the Kingly Dead4:093The Malicious Paradise4:294Necrophagious Shadows4:355Apothesis of Morbidity6:066Nocturnal Funeral4:067Altar Flame4:318Evilized5:009Where the Serpents Ever Dwell / Outro: Sumerian Cry, Part 26:0910The Sign of the Pentagram3:54 in 1989, guitarist/vocalist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted with the other two founding members, who formed Expulsion. They changed the name to Tiamat, after the Babylonian goddess representing the primordial sea and forebear to other gods. The Sumerian Cry album included re-recorded Treblinka songs, and was released in June 1990.
Edlund recruited Thomas Petersson on guitars and drummer Niklas Ekstrand, and signed the band to Century Records. They started recording in the middle of 1991, beginning a collaboration with Polish guitarist Waldemar Sorychta, who produced and played on many of the band's albums.
The 1994 album Wildhoney×Wildhoney1 September 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Wildhoney0:542Whatever That Hurts5:483The Ar5:05425th Floor1:505Gaia6:276Visionaire4:207Kaleidoscope1:208Do You Dream of Me?5:079Planets3:1310A Pocket Size Sun8:04 mixed raw vocals, slow guitar riffs, and synthesizer sounds that differred from other extreme metal bands of the time. An almost continuous 40-minute piece of music, Wildhoney led to the band's appearances at the Dynamo and Wacken Open Air metal festivals in 1995. The group returned to Dynamo two years later.

After releasing A Deeper Kind of Slumber in 1997, Edlund relocated to Germany and declared himself the only permanent member of the band. All following albums cemented the band into a gothic metal/rock sound, different from the extreme music they played previously.
The band signed to Nuclear Blast in June 2007, and released their ninth album, Amanethes×Amanethes18 April 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1The Temple of the Crescent Moon5:332Equinox of the Gods4:353Until the Hellhounds Sleep Again4:074Will They Come?5:135Lucienne4:416Summertime Is Gone3:537Katarraktis apo aima2:428Raining Dead Angels4:189Misantropolis4:1310Amanitis3:2111Meliae6:1112Via dolorosa4:0613Circles3:4814Amanes5:2915Thirst Snake4:53, in April 2008. In August of that year, Thomas Wyreson quit the band, stating that "it's just kinda hard to make everything work with the family etc."
Their song "Cain" was featured in the 2004 video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
The band's tenth full-length studio album, The Scarred People×The Scarred People26 October 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1The Scarred People6:51A2Winter Dawn4:22A33844:34A4Radiant Star3:53B1The Sun Also Rises5:17B2Before Another Wilbury Dies1:43B3Love Terrorists5:53B4Messinian Letter4:28Disc 2C1Thunder & Lightning4:41C2Tiznit3:08C3Born to Die4:43C4The Red of the Morning Sun4:29D1Paradise5:27D2Divided (live)4:45D3Cain (live)5:17, was released in November 2012 through Napalm Records.

Musical style

When they were still named Treblinka, the band played raw black/death metal. Early Tiamat albums like The Astral Sleep×The Astral Sleep1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Neo Aeon (intro)2:092Lady Temptress3:443Mountain of Doom4:364Dead Boys’ Choir1:535Sumerian Cry, Part III5:166On Golden Wings4:597Ancient Entity6:178The Southernmost Voyage3:129Angels Far Beyond4:4210I Am the King (of Dreams)4:3411A Winter Shadow5:2412The Seal (outro)1:53 and Clouds×Clouds1 September 1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1In a Dream5:132Clouds3:403Smell of Incense4:294A Caress of Stars5:275The Sleeping Beauty4:116Forever Burning Flames4:237The Scapegoat4:578Undressed7:08 explored death-doom, before the band shifted towards a more gothic and atmospheric sound on Wildhoney (1994) and beyond, with later albums showing a Sisters of Mercy and Pink Floyd influence.