Graveworm is an Italian

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band from Brunico formed in 1992.

History

Before Graveworm even released a demo, they were signed by Serenades Records after a performance close to their hometown of Brunico, northern Italy. Graveworm was signed to Serenades Records in 1997, releasing their first EP, ''Eternal Winds'', in that same year. During their first tour together with

Crematory A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a cremat ...

, Therion and

Lake of Tears Lake of Tears is a Swedish heavy metal music, heavy metal band originally formed in 1994, generally considered to play gothic metal/gothic rock and doom metal. However, their sound has expanded to include psychedelic rock and progressive rock e ...

, the band promoted the album ''

When Daylight's Gone ''When Daylight's Gone'' is the debut studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released originally in 1997 through Serenades Records but was later re-released in 2001 through Last Episode with bonus tracks taken from the entirety ...

''. In 1998, the EP ''Underneath the Crescent Moon'' was released, featuring Sarah Jezebel Deva (

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, Therion) in the track "Awake...Thy Angels Of Sorrow". Graveworm also performed at the

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

festival in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with bands such as

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, ...

and Vader. The second album ''

As the Angels Reach the Beauty ''As the Angels Reach the Beauty'' is the second studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released on 26 September 1999 through Serenades Records. This is one of Graveworm's more symphonic albums, with strong symphonic metal infl ...

'' was finished in 1999, and followed by a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an tour with Agathodaimon. ''

Scourge of Malice ''Scourge of Malice'' is the third studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2001 through Last Episode. Their cover of Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark has been famously wrongly credited to Cradle of Filth or Children o ...

'' was released in 2001, which allowed the band their first headlining tour together with

Dornenreich Dornenreich (up to ''Bitter ist's dem Tod zu dienen'' known as DornenReich) is an Austrian melodic black metal band, founded in 1996. Alongside their initial metal sound, Dornenreich also regard their music as being neofolk influenced.

Vintersorg Vintersorg (; "Winter Sorrow" in English) is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron (Wolfthrone in English). Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly ro ...

and

Darkwell Darkwell is a gothic metal band from Innsbruck, Austria. Formed in 1999 by bassist Roland Wurzer and guitarist Roman Wienicke; Wurzer is the sole founding member still active with the group. Soon after formation, they signed with Napalm Records ...

. In 2002, they changed to the German

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

label. At this point, Didi Schraffel (bass) left the band and Harry Klenk (guitars) was replaced by Eric Treffel. Treffel soon left the band in the same year and was replaced by Eric Righi on guitar. Together with Righi, they produced ''

Engraved in Black ''Engraved in Black'' is the fourth studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2003 through Nuclear Blast. This is the first Graveworm album to feature guitarist Eric Righi, who also played bass on this recording. Trac ...

'', which was finished in 2003, and enhanced with a feature of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

's "

Losing My Religion "Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on February 19, 1991 by Warner Bros. as the first single from their seventh album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). It developed from a mandolin riff improvised by the ...

". Shortly after the release, Stefan Unterpertinger (guitar) quit and Lukas Flarer joined the band. Also, Harry Klenk, former guitarist and now bassist, re-joined the band. In 2004, Graveworm played on the

X-Mass Festival X-Mas Festival was a heavy metal festival/ tour held annually in Europe from 1999 to 2005. It was organized by the Belgian booking agency Metallysee. The 2006 and 2007 editions have been cancelled, and the future of the festival is in doubt. ...

tour together with

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

Kataklysm Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. As of 2024, they have released fifteen studio albums, two EPs, and two DVDs. Kataklysm received their first Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards, Grammy) for Best Album of the Yea ...

, and many others. Martin Innerbichler (drums) took a break to study and was temporarily replaced by Moritz Neuner (previously the Darkwell and Shadowcast drummer). The album '' (N)utopia'' was released in 2005. Lukas Flarer (guitarist) later left the band for personal reasons, and was replaced by Orgler "Stirz" Thomas. In 2006, Graveworm embarked on a North American tour with Kataklysm, Destruction, The Absence, and Vader. On April 10, 2007, the promo of the latest Graveworm album, Collateral Defect, was leaked on the web. The album was launched in Europe on May 25 via Massacre Records and June 5 in North America through Nuclear Blast. It was produced by

Andy Classen Andy Classen is a German record producer, sound engineer and musician. Holy Moses He began his career in 1980 as a guitarist for the German thrash metal band Holy Moses, fronted by his ex-wife Sabina Classen. In 1989 the band bought a house i ...

at Stage One studios in

Borgentreich Borgentreich () is a municipality in the Höxter district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Borgentreich lies roughly 20 km south of Brakel and 10 km northeast of Warburg. The constituent community of Borgholz lies on t ...

, Germany. Graveworm's album ''Diabolical Figures'' was released on June 19, 2009 and features Karsten Jäger as a guest musician. In 2011 Graveworm released album ''Fragments of Death''. In 2012 Thomas Orgler (guitar) and Sabine Mair (keyboard) quit and Stefan Unterpertinger (guitar) reunited with Graveworm. On June 19, 2015, Graveworm released their 9th official studio album ''Ascending Hate''. On April 28, 2023, Graveworm released their 10th official studio album ''Killing Innocence''. The band is mentioned in Tony Vilgotsky's horror novel ''Shepherd of the Dead''.

Members

*Stefan Fiori - vocals (1992-present) *Stefan Unterpertinger - lead guitar (1992-2003, 2012-present), keyboards (2012-present) *Eric Righi - rhythm guitar (2001-present) *Florian Reiner - bass (2011-present) *Julian Niederkofler - drums (2024 - present)

Former members

*Lukas Flarer - lead guitar (2003–2005) *Thomas Orgler - lead guitar (2005–2012) *Harry Klenk - rhythm guitar (1997–1999), bass (2001–2011) *Eric Treffel - rhythm guitar (1999–2001) *Didi Schraffel - bass (1997–2001) *Maschtl Innerbichler - drums (1995–2004, 2005–2016) *Moritz Neuner - drums (2004–2005) *Sabine Mair - keyboards (1997–2012) *Moe Harringer - drums (2016-2024)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * '' (N)utopia'' (2005) *'' Collateral Defect'' (2007) * '' Diabolical Figures'' (2009) * '' Fragments of Death'' (2011) * '' Ascending Hate'' (2015) * ''Killing Innocence'' (2023)

References

External links

* *
Graveworm
at

*
Graveworm
at

Encyclopaedia Metallum Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various sub-genres ...

{{Authority control Italian black metal musical groups Italian musical quintets Musical groups established in 1992 Musical sextets Symphonic black metal musical groups Massacre Records artists Nuclear Blast artists