Austria's Tristwood was originally formed by bassist Deimon and guitarist Neru in 1996, then under the moniker of "December." Inspired by black metal bands like Khold, Dimmu Borgir, and Mayhem, the duo recorded a single demo the following year; then went their separate ways until 2001, when they joined forces with guitarist Jegger, bought themselves some samplers, keyboards, and electronic drums, and proceeded to reinvent themselves as an industrial-cum-techno-flavored extreme metal band, now baptized Tristwood. 2003 saw the release of their first new work: a five-song EP titled Fragments of the Mechanical Unbecoming, featuring cynical lyrics influenced by the end-of-time stories of authors like Eric van Lustbader and Christoph Ransmayr -- after which there followed 2004's arguably darker and certainly more sophisticated full-length, Amygdala. The latter introduced new vocalist Axumis into their ranks, and, after re-recording some older, gloomy, mid-tempo material for 2005's Svarta Daudi EP, Tristwood inked a new contract with Sound Riot Records for the release of their more death metal-tinged second, LP, The Delphic Doctrine. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia