Origin:	Germany
Genres:

Empyrium

The German band Empyrium enjoyed a rather unique, if not particularly long, musical career, in a field more or less by themselves. Basically, Empyrium recorded two metal albums followed by two non-metal albums, and though the transition from metal to non-metal is natural and seemless, it might be easiest to describe the two phases of the band separately. The first two albums, A Wintersunset and Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields, are best described as atmospheric doom, with an emphasis on longer, relaxed, drawn out passages, with numerous acoustic instruments (keyboards, flutes, clarinets) complementing the guitars, and several folk elements alongside the more traditional doom riffs. The vocals alternate between a black rasp and an attempt at a deeper, goth baritone (not always successful, at least at this stage of his career). Though Moors is the more developed of the two (and thus a slight favorite over Wintersunset), both of these albums retain a rich majestic feel that should win them favor among atmospheric doom fans.

Following the first two albums came Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays in 1999, followed by Weiland in 2002. These two album essentially drop the metallic aspect of the band and focuses on the acoustic folk element that was present on the first two albums. The dark moods remain, and the vocals are much improved (the original vocalist is better, and he is complemented by a trained classical vocalist). Though there's nothing on these albums related to metal (or even rock), they are similarly interesting from an emotional standpoint. The band decided they had accomplished all they had wanted to, and broke up after the release of Weiland, but reformed in 2010.