Asmodina - Inferno (1997)

   Most well known metal musicians which became the part of the "elite" of the main scene from the late '90s, started to play in old school style. It's enough to think about the plenty of melodic death, progressive or romantic death/doom bands. It wasn't different in the case of Angela Gossow either, who ran a nice career with Arch Enemy.
   Earlier she had a band named Asmodina, that was more death metal related. Similar to most German bands in this style, their music wasn't easy to compare to others, or to find out any evident references or influences. They preferred mid speed with simple and raw guitar themes. Even though it wasn't a progressive competition either, their music may have a raw impression that they tried to compense occasionally with catchier melodies. For an effective contrast the measure of these melodies is too low, so the heaviness stays in focus. Miss Gossow had a different vocal style in Asmodina, so it's not surprising if Arch Enemy fans may not experience déjá vu by hearing something familiar they heard before somewhere else. Her powerful screams became the most characteristic feature of her style, while in Asmodina she preferred deep growling.