Necrophagia is an american death metal band assembled in Wellsville, Ohio in 1983. They were one of the first death metal bands and were a popular group in the underground "tape trading" scene of the early-to-mid-1980s. Featuring hard-driving metal and growling vocals, Necrophagia became a pioneer in the fledgling extreme metal genre. Their first full-length album, Season of the Dead, was recorded and released in 1987.
Following the split of Australian black metal band Baal Gadrial in 2003, vocalist Azgorh created Drowning the Light. Four demo tapes were recorded and given extremely limited distribution, being given out only to close friends. From 2003 to 2009 Azgorh has recorded 10+ demos, 10 full-length albums (5 of which were released in the same year: 2007) and material for a number of split albums under the Drowning the Light moniker.
Carpathian Forest (previously known as "The Childmolesters", then "Enthrone") emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern. The following year, Forest signed to Avantgarde Music and recorded their first EP, Through Chasm, Caves and Titan Woods in 1995, followed by the debut album Black Shining Leather in 1998.