Invocator

Denmark's Invocator originated in 1989 when vocalist/guitarist Jacob Hansen assembled the lineup alongside guitarist Jakob Schultz, bassist Jesper M. Jensen, and drummer Per Moller Jensen. Across the first half of the 1990s the quartet issued several thrash metal albums that carried faint progressive inflections. Their debut Excursion Demise arrived in 1991 on Sweden's Black Mark label, which also handled the 1993 follow-up Weave the Apocalypse. The band then moved to Nuclear Blast, where 1994's Early Years compiled earlier demo material and 1995's Dying to Live appeared as the third proper album, now featuring bassist Carsten Mikkelsen. Commercial breakthrough never materialized, however, and the group disbanded soon afterward. Drummer Jensen eventually joined Swedish death/punk outfit the Haunted, while the remaining members stayed inactive until 2001, when Hansen and Mikkelsen relaunched Invocator with guitarist Flemming Lund and drummer Jakob Gundel. Italy's Scarlet Records signed them two years later, resulting in the release of fourth album Through the Flesh to the Soul.