Sympathy is a

blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...

band from Canada, formed in 1991. Sympathy got some notable attention in the Benelux, Germany and Switzerland as those are the countries where their previous label Fear Dark is usually marketing its bands. The band is known for its professional musicianship. Sympathy's albums are distributed in the United States, Europe and Canada through

Displeased Records Displeased Records was a Dutch independent record label, founded by Lars Eikema and Ron Veltkamp. The label had many Dutch and other extreme metal bands on its roster, but has also re-released albums by Agathocles (band), Agathocles, Cryptopsy, In ...

, Deadsun Records,

Megarock Records Megarock Records was a Swedish record label which focused on heavy metal music. It was located in Stockholm. Bands * Abstrakt Algebra * Ace's High * Alien * Backyard Babies * Bad Habit * Candlemass * Criss * Crossroad Jam * It's Alive * Jeste ...

Facedown Records Facedown Records is a Christian rock record label based in Fallbrook, California, that is devoted to hardcore punk and metalcore bands (Christian and secular) with a few death metal acts such as Immortal Souls and Indwelling. Founded by No ...

and The Omega Distribution. Their lyrical themes tend to revolve around subjects such as

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. They have released three albums, ''

Invocation Invocation is the act of calling upon a deity, spirit, or supernatural force, typically through prayer, ritual, or spoken formula, to seek guidance, assistance, or presence. It is a practice found in numerous religious, spiritual, and esote ...

'', '' Arcane Path'' and an EP titled '' Abyssal Throne''. On February 19, 2008, the band was signed to Bombworks Records. The third album titled '' Anagogic Tyranny'' was released on November 11, 2008. The band remained a one-man project from 1995, until 2004.

Biography

Sympathy started out as a five-piece

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band in vein of

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...

and produced its first demo in 1991. One by one the other musicians left Sympathy and eventually it ended up being Dharok's solo project. During the years 1993–1997, the musical style took a more technical death metal direction, and Dharok released the recordings ''Arrogance and Ignorance'' (1993), ''Age of Darkness'' (1995) and ''Realms of Chaos'' (1996). The band's influences include:

Suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considere ...

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...

, and

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic lang ...

. In 2001, Sympathy signed a record deal with the Dutch extreme metal label Fear Dark and soon recorded its first commercially available studio album titled ''

''. The album received positive feedback in underground metal circles, magazines such as '' BW & BK'', and was mentioned in ''Metal Maniacs'' magazine as one of the "reader's albums of the year for 2002". On the following releases,

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (; born 14 May 1961) is an English actor. He was among a group of prominent British actors known as the " Brit Pack". After garnering attention in television productions '' Made in Britain'' (1982) and '' Meantime'' (1983), ...

of Into Eternity, as well as other members from that particular band, and other bands began to fill in the spot. In 2004, Sympathy released its second album titled '' Arcane Path'' which took a more technical

direction and showcased a more polished production. ''Arcane Path'' featured frontcover artwork as well as a new logo design by the reputive Belgian (Flemish) artist Kris Verwimp. The album was well received and brought them more exposure. The album was compared to

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, being primarily a

brutal death metal Brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal that privileges heaviness, speed and complex rhythms over other aspects, such as melody and timbres. The genre was pioneered in the early 1990s by Suffocation and other groups from New York including ...

album. In late 2005, Sympathy released an EP titled '' Abyssal Throne'' which featured two re-recorded songs from ''Invocation'', two new songs and a cover of

's "Torn into Enthrallment". ''Abyssal Throne'' was released on the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia, and the packaging artwork was done by the Swedish graphic designer Samuel Durling. Later in 2005, a fellow Canadian, Jeff Lewis, known from his work in Australian band

Mortification Mortification may refer to: *Mortification (theology), theological doctrine *Mortification of the flesh, religious practice of corporal mortification *Mortification in Roman Catholic teaching, Roman Catholic doctrine of mortification *Extreme emb ...

and his solo project Abolishment of Hate, would join forces with Sympathy, as would Jim Austin, formerly of Into Eternity. On February 19, 2008, the band was signed to Bombworks Records. The third album titled '' Anagogic Tyranny'' was released November 11, 2008. Sounds of Dead gave it 10 out of 10 points and Lords of Metal gave it 83 out of 100. Tracks from the album were included on the sampler CD's of such magazines as ''Metal Maniacs'' and ''Terrorizer''. In April 2009 the band announced that they have written 12 new songs and are currently recording them, The fourth Sympathy album is tentatively entitled ''Beast''.Album and disc titles + other news
Sympathy's MySpace. 2009-04-25.

Band members

*Derek "Dharok" James From – vocals, rhythm guitars (1991–present) *Jeff Lewis – lead and rhythm guitars (formerly of

, Abolishment of Hate, formerly of Incursion) (2005–present) *Jim Austin – drums (formerly of Into Eternity) (2005–present)

Discography

Studio albums * ''Arrogance and Ignorance'' (1993) * ''Age of Darkness'' (1995) * ''Invocation'' (2002) * ''Arcane Path'' (2004) * '' Anagogic Tyranny'' (2008) Demos * ''Covenant'' (1991) * ''Realms of Chaos'' (1996) EPs * ''Abyssal Throne'' (2005)

References

External links

Sympathy on Facebook
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Saskatchewan Canadian technical death metal musical groups 1991 establishments in Saskatchewan