Portugal

Largely inspired by the work of Scandinavian bands like Tiamat and Crematory, as well as homegrown heroes Moonspell, Portugal's Heavenwood released a pair of portentous goth metal albums in the mid-'90s. Unfortunately, 1996's debut effort, Diva, accidentally garnered more attention (and laughter) for possessing one of the most Spinal Tap-like cover art concepts of the decade, and its 1998 follow-up, Swallow, found bandmembers Ernesto Guerra (vocals), Ricardo Dias (lead guitar), Miguel Vaquero (rhythm guitar), João Soares (keyboards), Bruno Silva (bass), and Dave Jr. (drums) still trailing virtual miles behind the superior competition in the goth metal game. The group's largely unheralded breakup just a short time later was therefore no great surprise. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia