Hailing from Italy since 2006, DARKEND have built themselves quite a reputation on the metal scene for being an impressive live act and not least for pioneering a new genre: Extreme Ritual Metal.

While their debut offering “Damned Woman And A Carcass” (2007) was a fine piece of symphonic black metal, the following two releases, “Assassine” (2010) and “Grand Guignol – Book I” (2012), enhanced the band’s individuality in sound and image alike, combining sinister extreme metal with black metal patterns, classical symphonies with obscure ecclesiastic chants and nocturne ambience, featuring some of the heaviest sulphur riffs and greatest guitar solos.

After numerous shows on Italian territory opening for notorious BEHEMOTH, MARDUK and IMPALED NAZARENE, it was “Assassine” that tore the curtains of obscurity and took DARKEND abroad to tour throughout Europe with ROTTING CHRIST, SAMAEL, MELECHESH & KEEP OF KALESSIN, bringing on stage a magic combination of sound, theatre and occult ceremony: from esoteric costumes and incense burning to ghastly skulls, grave candles and dead branches, every single detail is meant
to build an atmosphere of bleakness and horror.

With rave reception by fans and critics, the new album “Grand Guignol – Book I” consolidated the band’s spot on the international metal map and set the stage for further events in autumn 2012, when DARKEND proudly embarked on a long, crushing European tour supporting legendary CRADLE OF FILTH & GOD SEED. Later on they closed the year at Germany’s Satans Convention sharing the stage with the likes of TAAKE and INQUISITION.

2013 saw the band perform at some exciting European festivals alongside MAYHEM, SODOM, BELPHEGOR, IMMORTAL, SHINING, 1349, KREATOR and many other iconic acts, and 2014 kicks in with new live rituals in equally stellar congregations!

In 2016 the album called The Canticle Of Shadows, is released; in 2019 the new full length Spiritual Resonance is released through Dark Essence Records.