Watain
| Watain | |
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Watain performing live at the Fall of Summer Festival in Torcy, on 6 September 2014,
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Uppsala, Sweden |
| Genres | Black metal |
| Years active | 1998–present |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
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Watain are a Swedish black metal band from Uppsala, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von. To date they have released five full-length albums, as well as three live albums and a number of demos and EPs. Their most recent album The Wild Hunt was released in 2013 on Century Media and sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The band have become infamous for their Theistic Satanist views and for their live shows which involve pyrotechnics, candles, Satanic rituals, animal carcasses, and blood. At a now-notorious live performance in Brooklyn in 2014 they doused audience members in animal blood, allegedly causing members of the audience to vomit. This was picked up and publicised by TMZ, generating controversy around the incident.
Watain were formed in 1998. According to Erik Danielsson, when the band formed, "there weren't really any bands anymore that seemed to take things that seriously, and there weren't that many bands that actually consisted of, you know, people that did so much more than just play the music that they liked and the same kind of music that their idols play". They released their demo Go Fuck Your Jewish "God" in 1998 and their live tape Black Metal Sacrifice in 1999, which they do not intend to re-release. In October 1999, the band released their EP The Essence of Black Purity through Grim Rune Productions, which they consider to be their first official release, and played on a show together with Malign and Dark Funeral, organised by Watain and Grim Rune Productions.
Watain's debut album Rabid Death's Curse was released through End All Life Productions and Drakkar Productions in 2000, followed by a split EP with Diabolicum released through Spikekult Records. A split LP with Malign was planned in the early 2000s and supposed to be issued by Grim Rune Productions before the recording of Watain's second album Casus Luciferi, but never got released. Watain toured Europe with Unpure in early 2002. In 2003, they again entered the studio to record their second full-length album, Casus Luciferi, which features lyrics by Necromorbus of Funeral Mist (who also produced all their studio releases since The Essence of Black Purity and played live bass for them), MkM of Antaeus and Scorn of Katharsis. The Stellar Descension Infernal Tour through Europe followed, alongside Secrets of the Moon and Averse Sefira. They also toured throughout 18 countries with Dissection on their two months-long 'Rebirth of Dissection' tour in 2004. Dissection member Set Teitan supported Watain in Russia in 2005 due to live bassist Whorth's absence, and later became an official live member of the band.
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Wikipedia