Atrox

Norwegian extreme metal outfit Atrox was originally founded in 1988 under the very popular, and therefore unusable name of "Suffocation" (which they soon discarded), but their first album, Mesmerised would only surface nearly a decade later, in 1997. By then, the band's initial predilection for straightforward death metal had given way to a highly unconventional form of progressive death fusing elements of metal with opera, jazz, ambient music, space rock, and even electronica. Led by singer/keyboardist Monika Edvardsen (sister of Ann-Mari Edvardsen, of The 3rd and the Mortal, to whom Atrox are often compared) and guitarist/vocalist Eivind Fjoseide, the group has employed an ever-shifting cast of supporting musicians along their peculiarly idiosyncratic trajectory. Following such increasingly quirky, even baffling efforts, such as 2000s Contentum, and 2002's Terrestrials, Atrox's adventurous spirit and personnel-swapping ways remain unchanged come their fourth album (and first for new label Code666), 2003's Orgasm, which also featured guitarist/bassist Rune Sørgård and drummer Tor-Arne Helgesen.