Cemetary

After bowing in 1992 with the straightforward death metal album An Evil Shade of Grey, the Swedish band Cemetary began tinkering with the genre on 1993's Goddess Beauty, incorporating both '70s rock and goth rock into the mix. Before recording 1994's Black Vanity, vocalist and guitarist Mathias Lodmalm dismissed the rest of the band, opting to produce the album on his own; the result pushed Cemetary further into the gothic realm. The transformation into a gothic metal band was complete with the 1996 release of Sundown, which featured the new lineup of Lodmalm, Anders Iwers on guitar, Thomas Josefsson on bass, and Markus Nordberg behind the drums. Last Sundown followed in 1997.