Invocator

Formed in 1989 by vocalist/guitarist Jacob Hansen, guitarist Jakob Schultz, bassist Jesper M. Jensen, and drummer Per Moller Jensen, Denmark's Invocator released a series of thrash metal albums infused with slight progressive touches during the first half of the '90s. 1991's Excursion Demise debut and its 1993 follow-up, Weave the Apocalypse, were both released by Sweden's Black Mark label, after which the group jumped to Nuclear Blast for 1994's Early Years (a collection of old demos) and 1995's third album proper, Dying to Live (featuring new bassist Carsten Mikkelsen). But fame and fortune proved far too elusive in the end, and the band wound up breaking up a short time later. Drummer Jensen eventually hooked up with Swedish death/punkers the Haunted, but the rest of the bandmembers remained silent until 2001, when frontman Hansen and bassist Mikkelsen reconvened Invocator with the help of guitarist Flemming Lund and drummer Jakob Gundel. Signed by Italy's Scarlet Records two years later, the band released its fourth album, Through the Flesh to the Soul.