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 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 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, 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, 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 and Clouds 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.

Band members

Current members Johan Edlund – vocals , guitar , keyboards, theremin Lars Sköld – drums

Current touring members Gustaf Hielm – bass Per Wiberg – keyboards Simon Johansson – guitar

Former members Jörgen "Juck" Thullberg – bass Anders Holmberg – drums Stefan Lagergren – guitars Niklas Ekstrand – drums Thomas Wyreson (formerly Thomas Petersson) – guitars (live member ) Johnny Hagel – bass Kenneth Roos – keyboards P. A. Danielsson – keyboards Anders Iwers – bass, occasional vocals (live member ) Roger Öjersson – guitars, keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals

Former touring members Nicke Andersson – drums Anders Iwers – bass Henrik Bergqvist – guitars Martin Brändström – keyboards Fredrik Åkesson – guitars Henriette Bordvik – female vocals Martin Powell – keyboards Johan Niemann – guitars Joakim Svalberg – keyboards Rikard Zander – keyboards Thomas Wyreson (formerly Thomas Petersson) – guitars Carl Westholm – keyboards Daniel Karlsson – keyboards Magnus Henriksson – guitars Jonas Öijvall – keyboards

Timeline

Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales SWE GER AUT BELSumerian Cry Released: 7 June 1990 Label: CMFT Productions Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — —The Astral Sleep Released: 1 September 1991 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — —Clouds Released: 2 December 1992 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — —Wildhoney Released: 25 October 1994 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — 29 — — US: 8,082+A Deeper Kind of Slumber Released: 12 August 1997 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL 39 29 22 —Skeleton Skeletron Released: 11 August 1999 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL 56 19 47 —Judas Christ Released: 30 April 2002 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL 52 28 — —Prey Released: 27 October 2003 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — 83 — —Amanethes Released: 27 May 2008 Label: Nuclear Blast Formats: CD, LP, DL 13 69 — —The Scarred People Released: 2 November 2012 Label: Napalm Formats: CD, LP, DL 11 62 — 154 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles Title Year Album"A Winter Shadow"1990 The Astral Sleep"Cold Seed"1997 A Deeper Kind of Slumber"Brighter Than the Sun"1999Skeleton Skeletron"Vote for Love"2002 Judas Christ"Cain"2003 Prey"The Temple of the Crescent Moon"2008Amanethes"Born to Die"2013The Scarred People

EPs Title EP detailsGaia Released: 28 November 1994 Label: Century Media Formats: CD For Her Pleasure Released: 8 November 1999 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, DL

Live albums Title Album detailsThe Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel) Released: 5 April 1994 Label: Century Media Formats: CD

Compilation albums Title Album detailsThe Musical History of Tiamat Released: February 1995 Label: Century Media Formats: CD Commandments Released: 26 February 2007 Label: Century Media Formats: CD, DL The Ark of the Covenant - The Complete Century Media Years Released: 18 August 2008 Label: Century Media Formats: CD

Video albums Title Video details Peak chart positions SWE The Church of Tiamat Released: 24 April 2006 Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: DVD5 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos Year Title Directed Album1992"Sleeping Beauty"Clouds1995"Whatever That Hurts"Wildhoney"Gaia"1997"Cold Seed"A Deeper Kind of Slumber1999"Brighter Than the Sun"Skeleton Skeletron2002"Vote for Love"Judas Christ2003"Cain"Prey2003"Do You Dream of Me?"Wildhoney2012"The Scarred People"The Scarred People2013"384""Love Terrorists""The Red of the Morning Sun"

References

External links