Dark Funeral

A pioneering, unyielding Swedish black metal outfit that has withstood numerous personnel changes over the years, Dark Funeral emerged in the early '90s, a time when the Scandinavian metal scene was becoming flooded with bands all striving for "true" rather than "trend" status among fans. When many of their peers were starting to rely on keyboards to distinguish their "evil" sound, Dark Funeral stuck to the roots of metal, avoiding synthesizers. Debuting in 1996 with The Secrets of the Black Arts, the band has remained at the fore of the Swedish black metal scene for nearly three decades, releasing uncompromising efforts like Diabolis Interium (2001), Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus (2009), and We Are the Apocalypse (2022) that pair raw sonic power with Satanic imagery and harsh, anti-Christian themes.