Nocturnal Rites began life as the Swedish death metal outfit Necronomic, which released a demo tape entitled Edge of the Obscure in 1991. Gradually, as the band members realized they would prefer to play more melodic strains of metal they had enjoyed growing up -- British and Gothic metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Helloween -- their own style shifted towards that retro direction, and Nocturnal Rites was born. The original lineup included vocalist/guitarist Fredrik Mannberg, rhythm guitarist Mikael Söderstrom, bassist Nils Eriksson, and drummer Tommy Eriksson; Tommy Eriksson left quickly and was replaced by Ulf Andersson, and in 1993, after a demo tape in their new style attracted some interest, Mannberg abdicated vocal duties to concentrate on lead guitar and make way for singer Anders Zackrisson. This lineup recorded Lost in Time (disc 1: In a Time of Blood and Fire) in 1995 for the Megarocks label; poor distribution, however, led the band to seek greener pastures. Söderstrom left the band at that point and was replaced in 1996 by Nils Norberg, a good enough guitarist to share lead duties with Mannberg. Andersson was forced to leave the band in the summer of 1998 due to a leg injury, and was replaced by Ove Lingvall. The group's sophomore album, Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, was issued in 1998 by Century Media; The Sacred Talisman followed a year later, featuring keyboardist Mattias Bernhardsson. 2000 found the band with a new lead vocalist, Jonny Lindkvist, who debuted that year on the Riot/Rainbow-influenced Simplicity Two Thousand (disc 1). ~ Steve Huey, Rovi