Swedish black metal band Luciferion was formed by Michael Nicklasson (guitar/vocals), Wojtek Lisicki (guitar/vocals), Martin Furagen (bass) and Peter Weiner (drums) in 1993, and recorded their first album Demonication (The Manifest) the following year. Released only two years later by local independent Listenable Records, the record was immersed in both death and black metal without actually qualifying as either style exclusively. Unfortunately, overwhelmingly positive reviews couldn't overcome major distribution problems, and the band soon embarked on an extended leave of absence, during which Nicklasson eventually hooked up with melodic death metal sensations Dark Tranquility. But Luciferion would eventually return to action, and Nicklasson, Lisicki and Furangen were joined by new drummer Hans Nilsson for their long awaited second effort, 2003's highly conceptual The Apostate. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia