Armageddon is a Swedish

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavi ...

band, led by Christopher Amott of

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucha ...

Biography

Formed in

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of the Nissan river, in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County. The ci ...

, Sweden, in 1997 by Christopher Amott, Armageddon began when

were invited to Japan to sign a new record deal with Toy's Factory records after the release of the '' Black Earth'' album. While in Japan, Christopher secured his own record deal for a solo project, which became Armageddon. When he returned to Sweden, he recruited drummer Peter Wildoer ( Darkane, Majestic), bassist Martin Bengtsson, and vocalist Jonas Nyrén (In Thy Dreams). The band released their 1997 debut album, '' Crossing the Rubicon'', on the now defunct W.A.R. records in Europe, and on Toy's Factory Records in Japan. ''Crossing the Rubicon'' focused primarily on

, but incorporated instrumentals and special effects pieces between each song. The album was released by the same label that released Arch Enemy's first album in Europe, but it folded soon after the release of ''Rubicon'' and the album has since become a rare find. To this day, ''Crossing the Rubicon'' has never been released outside of Europe and Japan. Following ''Crossing the Rubicon'', Peter Wildoer and Martin Bengtsson both joined Arch Enemy, recording and releasing ''

Stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

'' in 1998. Christopher would focus on Arch Enemy for the better part of three years, and did not return to Armageddon until 2000's '' Embrace the Mystery'', released in Japan on

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

records. The album featured Last Tribe members Rickard Bengtsson on vocals and Dick Lövgren on bass (also of

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...

), as well as Arch Enemy's new drummer Daniel Erlandsson (

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

). In 2002, Armageddon resurfaced with '' Three'', this time as a three-piece band, and featuring the vocals of Christopher Amott and new bassist Tobias Gustafsson (of

). Almost a pure power metal effort, the album was again released by Toy's Factory, and only in Japan. On 16 November 2009, ''Embrace the Mystery'' and ''Three'' were re-released as 2CD set with upgraded artwork, several bonus tracks and liner notes on 16 November 2009 in Europe and on 26 January in North America via Century Media Records. In 2012, Christopher Amott once again quit Arch Enemy, and reformed Armageddon once again, featuring Matt Vicklund of

God Forbid God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. History Early career (1999-2004) Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God ...

on guitars and Van Williams of Nevermore on drums. In January 2015, the band announced Nightrage vocalist Antony Hämäläinen as their replacement for the recently departed Matt Hallquist. On 25 May 2016, the band announced via their social media ''"We are happy to announce that the next Armageddon release will be a re-recording of the very first Armageddon album from 1997 entitled 'Crossing The Rubicon'. ''We are excited to share this news with you!''" As Amott was not able to commit time to Armageddon, in 2019, former members Hämäläinen, Concepcion, Claudius, Pevny and drummer Yanni Sofianos have formed Daughter Chaos, a band intended to be a spiritual successor of Armageddon.

Band members

;Current members: * Christopher Amott – guitars, backing vocals * Joey Concepcion – guitars * Márton Veress – drums * Antony Hämäläinen – lead vocals * Andrew Pevny – bass ;Former members *

Jonas Nyrén Jonas Nyren is a Swedish metal vocalist. He joined In Thy Dreams in 1996 recording an EP (''Stream of Dispraised Souls'') and the band's debut album, ''The Gate of Pleasure'', but before the album's release he left the band in 1999. He also reco ...

– vocals * Martin Bengtsson – bass * Peter Wildoer – drums * Rickard Bengtsson – vocals * Dick Lövgren – bass *

Daniel Erlandsson Daniel John Erlandsson (born 22 May 1976) is a Swedish musician, best known as the drummer in the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy and Brujeria. His early work includes drumming on the In Flames album ''Subterranean'' (1995). He has also ...

– drums * Tobias Gustafsson – bass * Matt Wicklund – guitar ( * Van Williams – drums * Matt Hallquist – vocals * Sara Claudius – bass

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Crossing the Rubicon'' (1997) *''Embrace the Mystery'' (2000) *''Three'' (2002) *''Captivity & Devourment'' (2015) *''

Crossing the Rubicon (Revisited) ''Crossing the Rubicon (Revisited)'' is the re-recording of the debut album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Armageddon, and released by Listenable Records. This is the first album with the band to feature ex- Nightrage vocalist Antony H� ...

'' (2016)

References

External links

The official Armageddon Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armageddon Swedish melodic death metal musical groups Swedish power metal musical groups Swedish thrash metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Listenable Records artists Toy's Factory artists