There are three bands that share this name. #1. Bloodbath is a death metal band from Stockholm, Sweden formed in 1998. Critically acclaimed as a "superstar line-up" of death metal, the band is the brainchild of Anders Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, October Tide), Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, and many more), and Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). ...show more

There are three bands that share this name. #1. Bloodbath is a death metal band from Stockholm, Sweden formed in 1998. Critically acclaimed as a "superstar line-up" of death metal, the band is the brainchild of Anders Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, October Tide), Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, and many more), and Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth).

The whole project was the upshot of one rip-roaring night, intended to reinvent old school death metal. Åkerfeldt left Bloodbath after "Resurrection Through Carnage" because of his duties in his primary band Opeth. Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain, The Abyss) replaced Mikael and did vocals for the "Nightmares Made Flesh" release. Mikael Åkerfeldt helped the band out at Wacken Open Air 2005, after Tägtgren departed.

The performance was not released for a long time, as it remained shrouded in legal and copyright disputes, eventually surfacing as the 'Wacken Carnage DVD'. This show was their one-and-only live performance up to 2008 since, in August 2006, Dan Swanö was asked to amicably leave Bloodbath due to "restrictions on his behalf to devote more time and effort to the future of this project that it would require by taking things to the next level i.e. touring and playing live", and his future vision for Bloodbath's concept heading "in the almost opposite direction as his desire for death metal was to be of a less brutal kind". Moreover, up to 2008, the band remained without a vocalist, during which time they held an open audition online, later stating they were appalled because, "so many applications could barely be listened to because of the extreme low quality in talent." However, they also said that while some of the applicants were really good, "criteria on other levels failed." The audition was officially closed on August 2nd, 2006, at the same time as the announcement of Swanö's departure from the band. ...show less