Amaranthe was founded in 2008 by Jake E. Lundberg and Olof Mörck as Avalanche.
Shortly afterwards they were joined by Elize Ryd, Andy Solveström and Morten Løwe Sørensen.
In the same year, the band released their first demo Leave Everything Behind with Johan Andreassen on the electric bass, but had to change their name to Amaranthe in 2009 due to copyright claims.
The debut album Amaranthe was released in 2011 via Spinefarm Records, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group.
In autumn, Amaranthe supported Hammerfall on their European tour.
A festival tour for 2012 was then announced, including a performance at the Wacken Open Air.
