Origin:	Fredrikstad, Norway
Genres:	Thrash Metal
DISBANDED

Last update/review:	September 6, 2006

Equinox

Equinox formed in 1987 and soon signed a major label contract (according to one source, the first Norwegian metal band to do so), resulting in a string of albums from 1989 to 1994. Their style was (at least early on) typical for the time though not for their origin -- American-sounding thrash was all the rage during the early nineties, but very few Norwegian bands were playing that style. By the time of 1991's Xerox Success, the band had begun to expand their influences and develop their songwriting skills, but despite a growing fan base the album didn't fare well enough to satisfy RCA, which dropped them. Three years later the band released Labyrinth, and now they were clearly on their own, as their style now mixed their earlier thrash roots with a bit of jazzy experimentalism and a dischordant tone that frequently brought Voivod to mind. This was clearly their most ambitious work, and one of the most original albums released under the thrash banner (by 1994, many other bands had come and gone without ever progressing to the level of Labyrinth) -- predictably, it divided fans, some of which appreciated the new direction and others feeling abandoned. In retrospect, this was a band that should have gotten more worldwide recognition (despite being on RCA, they weren't known terribly well outside Norway). For whatever reasons, they didn't last much past the release of Labyrinth, disbanding somewhere around 1995.