Autumn Leaves

Danish death metal troupe Autumn Leaves (not to be confused with the pop-folk act with the same name) formed in 1992 as Decrial and soon recorded a rough demo entitled "Desires Unfold." But it wasn't until two years later that they assumed their eventual name and arrived at a stable lineup featuring vocalist Torsten Madsen, guitarists Flemming C. Lund and Thomas Andersen, bassist Boris Tandrup, and drummer Egil H. Madsen. 1995's "Hope Springs Eternal" demo landed the band a deal with Serious Entertainment, which released their long-playing debut, Embraced by the Absolute, two years later. Quickly embraced in their homeland, where their very proficient and technical style immediately set them apart from most local competitors, the album became quite popular across the European continent as well, where it was favorably compared to the work of the Swedish death metal masters further north. 1999's sophomore As Night Conquers Day didn't disappoint either, expanding their fan base while tackling typical heavy metal subjects like religion and the pagan lifestyle with unusual shrewdness for the genre.