Music like The Vision Bleak

The Vision Bleak is a German gothic metal duo comprising Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (famous for his work with Empyrium and Noekk) and Allen B. Konstanz. The group's lyrics are noted for their horror themes and heavily allude to works of classic writers/filmmakers of the genre, such as H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, George A. Romero and John Carpenter, among others. They self-describe their musical style, which mixes gothic metal, doom metal, symphonic metal and horror punk aesthetics, as "horror metal".

The Vision Bleak was formed in 2000, in the Bavarian city of Mellrichstadt, by Markus Stock (a.k.a. Ulf Theodor Schwadorf) and Tobias Schönemann (a.k.a. Allen B. Konstanz). Their first release was the independent extended play Songs of Good Taste, which came out in 2001 and contained, among other tracks, a cover of The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin". The EP caught the attention of Prophecy Productions, who approached them to record their first full-length, The Deathship Has a New Captain, on 23 February 2004; counting with a guest appearance by Dark Sanctuary vocalist Dame Pandora, it would be their first of many releases under the Prophecy label. A teaser EP containing two tracks which would eventually appear on the album was released the year prior.