Synnöve - The Whore And The Bride

Synnöve was formed in 2002 by guitarist/vocalist Brad (ex-Virgin Black), along with bassist/vocalist Stephanie. After a couple of years, and numerous line-up changes, they independently recorded their debut, self-titled EP in 2004, which was picked up by Soundmass in 2005. This EP had its own style that set Synnöve apart from the rest of the black metal crowd, with its sweet, sorrowful goth/doom sounds. The EP was received quite well in the scene, with a lot of positive feedback and reviews.
Synnöve also began performing live with a new drummer, Steve, in 2005, appearing with bands from across the metal spectrum: The Eternal, Chalice, Paramaecium, Raven Black Night, Double Dragon and many more.
During this time, the band also replaced keyboardist Jim with a second guitarist, Conner. Conner, a wonderful melodic metal guitarist, proved to be very complimentary to the new direction that Synnöve were heading in, helping create a more organic sound. In mid-2007, Synnöve went into the studio to record their first full-length album for Soundmass, a 50 minute epic titled "The Whore and the Bride". Released on 1st April 2008, this album moves away from the gothic influences of their self-titled EP to a more aggressive twin-guitar black metal sound, with plenty of melodic doses of doom and death along the way. "The Whore and the Bride" is a musical dialogue between brutality and beauty, dissonance and harmony, groove and chaos. Testament to this is fans using such words as "awesome, original, brutal yet beautiful" to describe Synnöve’s new music.
More extreme, more emotional, more melodic...