Nightrage was founded in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2000 by guitarist Marios Iliopoulos and guitarist Gus G, later relocating the project to Gothenburg to more directly absorb the Swedish melodic death metal scene. Their debut Sweet Vengeance (2003) featured guest vocals from At the Gates singer Tomas Lindberg and established Nightrage as a high-caliber entry in the melodic death genre. The band has continued releasing albums consistently through the 2010s and into the 2020s, most recently with Abyss Rising (2022).

Norther was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo, formed in 1996 under the name Requiem before adopting their final name. Drawing frequent comparisons to Children of Bodom in their early work, they released six studio albums beginning with Dreams of Endless War (2002) and Mirror of Madness (2003), building a devoted following in the Finnish melodic death metal scene. The band continued releasing records through Circle Regenerated (2011) before disbanding in 2012.