Epoch of Unlight is a

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 heavines ...

band from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The band formed in 1990, playing under a variety of different names including Enraptured and Requiem until 1994, when they officially settled on Epoch of Unlight.

Biography

In 1994 they released their first demo as Epoch, a four song cassette entitled 'Beyond the Pale.' In 1995 they recorded their second demo, ''Within The Night…'' as a 4-song MCD, and in May 1997 they returned to the studio to record three new tracks which became a promo CD entitled ''Black & Crimson Glory''. The band succeeded in capturing the attention of several labels, and in the winter of 1998 Epoch of Unlight signed with

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...

. Shortly thereafter the band entered the studio to record their debut full-length album entitled '' What Will Be Has Been''. The album was described as a mix of melodic death/black metal. The band supported the release with numerous live shows including a five-week national tour with Norwegian symphonic black metalers,

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

and

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

. The tour consisted of over 30 shows throughout the USA . The band's second album, '' Caught in the Unlight!'', was recorded in December 2000 with Keith Falgout (

Soilent Green Soilent Green is an American extreme metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Described as a sludge metal and grindcore band, the group blends elements of death metal, black metal, hardcor ...

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

, Crowbar and

Cephalic Carnage Cephalic Carnage is an American death metal band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1992. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Cephalic Carnage has rel ...

, among others). This album placed less emphasis on the black metal aspects that had been present in their prior work, opting for a more melodic and technical death metal sound. The band supported ''Caught in the Unlight!'' with numerous live shows through the country including a two-week national tour with Enslaved and an appearance at the first annual Northern Lights Festival in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. In 2003 Epoch of Unlight recorded a cover of

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédér ...

's 'Betrayer' and

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Ga ...

' ‘Raped by the Light of Christ’ for a split 7-inch single with

Goatwhore Goatwhore is an American extreme metal band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1997. Biography Goatwhore was formed by guitarist/backing vocalist Sammy Duet, who was previously the lead guitarist for Louisiana sludge metal band Acid Bath. The ...

through Bloated Goat Records. The band entered Big Blue Meenie studio in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

October 27, 2004, to record their third release for The End Records, entitled The Continuum Hypothesis. The album was engineered and co-produced by Erin Farley ( All Out War,

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

Sick of It All Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sick ...

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band formed in New York City, that originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front. The band developed after Agnostic Front's front man Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Fr ...

M.O.D. M.O.D. (abbreviation for Method of Destruction) is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for years (minus one hiatus from 1997 to 2001), and rele ...

, Overkill, among others) This album saw the debut of new singer B.J. Cook (a.k.a. Lord Hellspawn) from Arkansas' Fallen Empire. In October 2021, Epoch of Unlight entered AB Studios (Memphis, TN) with Alan Burcham at the helm to record their fourth full-length album, and their first since 2005, "At War With the Multiverse." It was mastered in July 2022 by Tony Lindgren (Fascination Street Studios) and is slated for an August 2022 release.

Discography

*''Beyond the Pale'' - Demo, 1994 *''Within the Night ...'' - EP, 1995 *Promo '96 - Demo, 1996 *''Black & Crimson Glory'' - Demo, 1997 *'' What Will Be Has Been'' - Full-length, 1998 *'' Caught in the Unlight!'' - Full-length, 2001 *'' Goatwhore / Epoch of Unlight'' - Split 7-inch, 2003 *'' The Continuum Hypothesis'' - Full-length, 2005 *'' At War With the Multiverse'' - Full-length, 2022

External links

Official SiteBand Members Epoch on The End RecordsEpoch of Unlight Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epoch Of Unlight Blackened death metal musical groups American black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 Musical quintets 1994 establishments in Tennessee