Tiamat (band)

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Tiamat
Tiamat on Hard Rock Laager, 2006
Background information
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Black metal (early) Death/doom (early) Progressive metal Gothic metal
Years active	1988 – present
Labels	Century Media, Nuclear Blast
Website	churchoftiamat.com
Members
Johan Edlund Anders Iwers Lars Sköld
Former members
Thomas Wyreson

Tiamat is a heavy 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"^[1] with ethnic, psychedelic and experimental elements.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Members 3 Discography 3.1 Studio Albums 3.2 Demos 3.3 Singles 3.4 EPs 3.5 Live Albums and DVDs 3.6 Compilations 4 Influence 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 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, and released their new album Amanethes on 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]

[edit] Members

• Johan Edlund – vocals, guitar
• Anders Iwers – bass
• Lars Sköld – drums

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio Albums

• 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

[edit] Demos

• A Winter Shadow (Demo) (1990)

[edit] Singles

• Cold Seed (single) (1997)
• Brighter than the Sun (single) (1999)
• Vote For Love (single) (2002)
• Cain (single) (2003)

[edit] EPs

• Gaia (EP) (1994)
• For Her Pleasure (EP) (1999)

[edit] Live Albums and DVDs

• The Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel) (Live) (1993)
• The Church of Tiamat (DVD) (2006)

[edit] Compilations

• The Musical History of Tiamat (Live/Compilation(2 Disc)) (1995)
• Commandments (Best of/Compilation) (2007)
• The Ark of the Covenant - The Complete Century Media Years (Boxed set (12 Disc/1 DVD)) (2008)

[edit] Influence

Both Toby Driver, member of maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot, and Moonspell singer Fernando Ribeiro mention Tiamat as one of their major musical influences.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tiamat's official website.
• Tiamat's official Myspace.

v • d • e Tiamat Albums and EPs Sumerian Cry · The Astral Sleep · Clouds · Gaia (EP) · Wildhoney · A Deeper Kind of Slumber · For Her Pleasure (EP) · Skeleton Skeletron · Judas Christ · Prey · Amanethes Singles and promos A Winter Shadow (demo) · "Cold Seed" · "Brighter than the Sun" · "For Her Pleasure" · "Vote for Love" · "Cain" Other releases The Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel) · The Musical History of Tiamat · The Church of Tiamat · Commandments Related articles Arch Enemy · In Flames · Opeth · Moonspell