One of the most noted and notorious bands in the realm of extreme metal, Watain emerged in the early 2000s with a sound rooted in icy, Scandinavian black metal. Known for their shocking live shows and theistic Satanist views, the band has made an art of combining terror and technical acumen on standout releases like Lawless Darkness (2010), The Wild Hunt (2013), Trident Wolf Eclipse, and The Agony and Ecstasy of Watain (2022).

Watain was founded in Uppsala, Sweden in 1998, and quickly gained underground credibility with an uncompromising 7" release titled The Essence of Black Purity. They solidified their commitment to the dark metal arts with 2000's thematically shocking (i.e., frequent odes to Satan and his minions) but instrumentally accomplished Rabid Death's Curse album. This has since been followed by incrementally lauded but always reliably extreme releases such as 2000's Ritual Macabre live album, 2001's The Misanthropic Ceremonies split single with Diabolicum, 2003's Casus Luciferi LP, 2007's Sworn to the Dark, 2010's Lawless Darkness, 2013's The Wild Hunt, 2018's Trident Wolf Eclipse, and 2022's The Agony and Ecstasy of Watain. Bucking underground metal tradition somewhat, Watain's lineup has remained consistently stable throughout these many years and releases, featuring vocalist/bassist Erik Danielsson (also known as the editor of the Hellish Massacre zine and the artist behind Cold Seed Creations), guitarists P. Forsberg and Set Teitan, bassist Tore Stjerna (an occasional producer and owner of Necromorbus Studio), and drummer H. Jonsson. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi