Horrified

Greece's death and black metal underground erupted during the opening years of the 1990s, and Horrified stood among its very first and most promising acts. The quartet came together in 1990 with Gore handling vocals, Timos on guitar, Kostas on bass and Stelios on drums. Two self-released EPs, 1990’s Eternal God and 1992’s The Ancient Whisper of Wisdom, preceded a deal with the domestic imprint Black Power Records. After Timos departed, Stavros joined on guitar and the revamped lineup delivered its first full-length recording, the ambitiously symphonic black-metal statement In the Garden of the Unearthly Delights, in 1993. Although the album earned widespread critical acclaim, the band dissolved without explanation the next year. Gore moved to London, yet he and Stavros later revived Horrified alongside original drummer Stelios and newcomer Thanos on bass. The reactivated group issued Animal via Black Lotus Records in 1998. Following extensive road work alongside Immortal, Mercyful Fate and Manowar, the musicians returned to the studio with celebrated death-metal producer Fredrik Nordstrom, whose credits include At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, to track their third album, the potent 2002 release Deus Diabolus Inversus.