Tiamat lyrics and Tiamat guitar tabs, Tiamat pictures and biography

Over the course of the 1990s, Sweden's Tiamat has evolved from a typical
death metal outfit into perhaps the leading exponent of what has been tagged
symphonic black metal, a variation that aims to keep all of death metal's
darkness intact, but to portray it in a moodier, more atmospheric way, often
making synthesizer arrangements just as important as guitar riffs and utilizing
a deliberate, Gothic feel. The one constant throughout Tiamat's history has been
vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Johan Edlund, originally known as Hellslaughter in
the band's early days. Tiamat grew out of a splatter-metal band called Treblinka,
which was formed in 1988 and released two demos
(Crawling in Vomits and Sign
of the Pentagram) that helped secure a deal with England's CMFT label. Electing
to change their name to Tiamat
(an ancient Middle Eastern goddess of chaos and
a five-headed dragon in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game), the group
released their debut album, Sumerian Cry, in 1990, with a lineup of Edlund, bassist
Jorgen Juck Thullberg, and session musicians Stefan Emetic Lagergren
(guitar)
and Andres Najse Holmberg. Dissatisfied with the album's distribution, Tiamat
jumped to the Century Media label, completing their official lineup with guitarist
Thomas Petersson and drummer Niklas Ekstrand. Working with producer Waldemar
Sorychta and engineer Siggi Bemm on their Century Media debut, 1991's The
Astral Sleep displayed substantial musical growth, blending aggressive death metal
with ponderous goth-metal and more atmospheric, restrained passages courtesy of
session keyboardist Jonas Malmsten. The follow-up, 1993's Clouds, expanded on
the latter aspect of the group's music in particular, throwing acoustic guitars into the
mix; the lineup on Clouds was revamped, with the addition of full-time keyboardist
Kenneth Roos and bassist Johnny Hagel replacing Thullberg. Following the 1994 tour
EP The Sleeping Beauty -- Live in Israel, Edlund fired the remainder of the band, save
for Hagel, due to dissatisfaction with the group's musical progress. With session
musicians Magnus Sahlgren
(guitar) and Lars Skold
(drums) in tow, as well as
producer Sorychta manning the keyboards, Tiamat began work on the epic
Wildhoney in 1994. Released later that year, Wildhoney became the group's
artistic and commercial breakthrough, fully realizing the sound hinted at on previous
releases and eliciting effusive praise in metal circles for its brooding, Gothic
atmospherics. The sound was often described as death metal meeting Pink Floyd,
a connection made explicit with a cover of that band's When You're In on 1995's
Gaia EP, which otherwise featured four remixes/edits of Wildhoney cuts. Following
the supporting tour, Edlund moved permanently to Dortmund, Germany, where most
of the band's albums had been recorded; he also changed the group's focus, turning
Tiamat into more of a personal mouthpiece and studio creation and declaring himself
the only official member. Skold remained as the session drummer, with Petersson
returning as session guitarist; Hagel left to join Cemetary, which quickly morphed
into Sundown, and Cemetary/Sundown bassist Anders Iwers switched over to Tiamat.
1997's A Deeper Kind of Slumber was conceived on Edlund's home studio and
produced by Dirk Draeger
(Morgoth); it found Edlund moving into largely electronic
territory and addressing more personal subject matter. Skeleton to Skeleton
followed in 1999.