Amaran

In Stockholm, Sweden, during the spring of 2000, vocalist Johanna DePierre joined guitarists Kari Kainulainen and Ronnie Backlund, bassist Mikael Andersson, and drummer Robin Bergh to establish the band Amaran. The group’s sound fuses a ferocious thrash and death metal core with DePierre’s lucid, operatic delivery, bringing to mind Finland’s Nightwish and Holland’s After Forever while exceeding both in sheer aggression. Their skillfully produced 2001 demo quickly secured a recording contract with France’s Listenable Records, resulting in the February 2002 release of the debut album A World Depraved. Two years later, Ronnie Bergerståhl replaced the original bassist as Amaran issued the more mature follow-up Pristine in Bondage, which contained three bonus tracks on its Japanese edition.