Kimberly Goss
Encyclopedia
Kimberly Goss is the vocalist and founding member of the Finnish band Sinergy
Sinergy
Sinergy was a Finnish power metal band started in 1998 by American musician, Kimberly Goss. Aside from Sinergy, the most notable bands Goss has been involved with are Dimmu Borgir; as keyboardist, and Children of Bodom; where she filled in live for Janne Wirman and also contributed lyrics...

.

Early life

She was born in Los Angeles to a Korean father and a German-American mother, who was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 singer. When she was a year old, her mother accepted a job offer to sing in Japan, where they went on to live for one year in the town of Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....

, near Tokyo. They moved back to Los Angeles in 1980 and eventually relocated to Chicago (her mother's birthplace), where Kimberly was raised for most of her childhood.

Career

Before starting her own band she sang and played keyboards for Norwegian black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 band Ancient
Ancient (band)
Ancient is a Norwegian black metal band from Eidsvåg, Nesset, formed in 1992. The band has released six full-length albums released by Metal Blade Records and a variety of mini-albums, EPs and special releases. Ancient used to have the classic raw black metal sound, similar to Darkthrone's works...

 from 1996 to 1997, and during those years was also the touring keyboard player for Swedish symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...

 band Therion
Therion (band)
Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion , meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation...

. She also played live keyboards for Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...

, having toured with them throughout the world in support of their Enthrone Darkness Triumphant album. She then went on to temporarily play keyboards for Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

 during their 1998 European tour while their own keyboardist was occupied with school. She was in a long term relationship with and eventually married guitarist Alexi Laiho
Alexi Laiho
Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho is a Finnish singer, composer, and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead guitarist as well as lead vocalist for melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, and he is also the guitarist for Sinergy and Kylähullut...

 (who plays lead guitar for both Sinergy and Children of Bodom), but the couple separated in 2004. Although no longer together, they still remain close friends. They both share identical tattoos of a coiled snake around their ring fingers and also have each others initials tattooed on the upper part of their left arms.

Goss started her career in music early, debuting as a singer for the underground band Avernus at the age of fifteen. She went on to write and publish her own underground extreme metal fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

 at the age of sixteen, interviewing widely recognized bands such as Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...

, Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...

, Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...

 and Bathory
Bathory (band)
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...

, to name a few. Still at seventeen, she moved to Norway in order to pursue an offer she received to play in the band Ancient. After recording one album with them, they went on tour with bands like Dark Funeral
Dark Funeral
Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal....

 and Bal-Sagoth
Bal-Sagoth
Bal-Sagoth is a symphonic black metal band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993.Originally formed as an epic/symphonic black metal band with strong death metal elements, vocalist/lyricist Byron Roberts took the name 'Bal-Sagoth' from the Robert E. Howard short story "The Gods of Bal-Sagoth"...

. She was also invited to play keyboards and sing backing vocals on Therion's world tour in support of their Theli album. With Therion, she toured with bands like Amorphis
Amorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other types of genres, which include heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal...

, Sentenced and My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. The band released their tenth studio album, For Lies I Sire,...

 as well as playing major European festivals like Dynamo Open Air
Dynamo Open Air
Dynamo Open Air was a festival in the Netherlands held every year since 1986, until 2005. Originally held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Dynamo rock club in Eindhoven, it has grown exponentially since then, and from a 5,000-person attendance in the Dynamo parking lot, it had grown to...

. In 1997 she was also asked to join Dimmu Borgir as a session keyboardist where they went on to tour with bands like In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...

, Krisiun
Krisiun
Krisiun is a Brazilian death metal band, founded by Alex Camargo , Moyses Kolesne , and Max Kolesne . Since its formation, in 1990, the group recorded two demos, Evil Age in 1991, and Curse of the Evil One in 1992, and self-released an extended play titled Unmerciful Order in 1993...

 and Kreator
Kreator
Kreator is a thrash metal band from Essen, Germany, formed in 1978, but formalized in 1982 under the name Tormentor. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal...

. During the tour with In Flames in august of 1997, she met guitarist Jesper Strömblad
Jesper Strömblad
Clas Håkan Jesper Strömblad is a Swedish musician who is currently the guitarist for the bands Dimension Zero & The Resistance...

 and together they formed the first incarnation of Sinergy. She moved to Sweden in 1998 to rehearse with the first line-up of the band and proceeded to record their debut album, Beware the Heavens. Shortly after, she relocated once again and moved to Finland, where she currently lives. Together with original band member Alexi Laiho, they reformed Sinergy with Finnish musicians. Over the years Sinergy has teamed up to tour with bands like Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...

, Angra
Angra (band)
Angra is a Brazilian metal band from São Paulo, Brazil known for its symphonic interludes, highly technical instrumental playing and Brazilian regional elements.- Biography :...

, Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....

, In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...

 and Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

. They've also played some of the biggest metal festivals in the world including Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

. Their success in Japan led Kimberly to receive an offer to write a monthly column for over 3 years in Burrn!
Burrn!
Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine, published since 1984, for fans of heavy metal music. It is published by Shinko Music in Tokyo. The magazine's content is in Japanese, but the covers are predominantly in English.-References:* Japanavision...

magazine.

Goss has also made contributions to other bands, writing some lyrics for Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

 on three of their albums, and lending her voice to guest sing on albums by Warmen
Warmen
Warmen is a Finnish metal band assembled by keyboard player Janne Viljami Wirman - also known as Warman. Janne has been playing with Children of Bodom since 1997, and on the year of 2000 created a musical project focused on instrumental work, which would only have guest singers on a few selected...

, Eternal Tears of Sorrow
Eternal Tears of Sorrow
Eternal Tears of Sorrow is a Finnish symphonic death metal band formed in Pudasjärvi in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland...

, To/Die/For
To/Die/For
To/Die/For is a gothic metal band from the town of Kouvola in southeast of Finland, assembled in 1993 as a hard rock band under the name Mary-Ann. In 1999, they decided to change their musical style to gothic metal, changing their band name as well...

, Exhumation, and, most recently, Kylähullut
Kylähullut
Kylähullut is a Finnish punk rock band consisting of Alexi Laiho , Tonmi Lillman , and Vesku Jokinen . The band name means "Village Idiots" in Finnish.The band was formed by Alexi Laiho as a side project, in 2004...

.

The fourth Sinergy album, Sins of the Past, began production in 2004, but due to Children of Bodom's busy schedule the album has yet to be completed. However, Alexi Laiho has stated that Sinergy has officially broken up in an interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com in February 2011.

Goss is now a vocal instructor for the School of Rock USA Camp in Naperville, Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...

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