Tristania is a Symphonic/ Gothic Metal band from Norway, formed in the end of 1996 by Morten Veland (vocals/guitars), Einar Moen (keyboards), and Kenneth Olsson (drums). Soon thereafter, the band's lineup was fleshed out further with the addition of Vibeke Stene (vocals), Anders Hidle (guitars), and Rune Osterhus (bass).

The band's music is usually classified as gothic metal, due to its strong ties with the genres history, and the band making use of styles and traits stereotypical of the genre. However, they pride themselves on their musical diversity, as evidenced by the evolution of their music over the course of their four studio albums.

Tristania's earlier albums Widow's Weeds and Beyond the Veil put a lot of focus around classical like female vocals, haunting choruses and classical instruments such as pipe organ, flutes and violins. The leading voice on many of their songs was the menacing harsh vocals of Morten Veland. The atmosphere is also achieved by quite unique sounding guitar effects.
Morten Veland left in 2000 for "musical and social differences" to form the band Sirenia.

With the release of the World of Glass album in 2001, Veland's growls were replaced by guest vocalist Ronny Thorsen from Trail of Tears, and clean male vocals were provided by veteran guests Østen Bergøy and Jan Barkverd. Despite the new lineup and a slightly changed style that turned off some fans, the album received critical acclaim.

Ashes was released in 2005 with another change in members. Of the three male vocalists from the previous album, only Østen Bergøy joined permanently, and is now accompanied by Kjetil Ingebrethsen doing the honors on growling vocals. The band took another step away from the sound of their debut albums and more into an experimental avant-garde style that sounds uniquely refreshing.

Their new album, "Illumination", was released on 30th January 2007. Just one month after the release, Vibeke announced her departure due to "personal reasons". The band is looking for a suitable replacement, in order to start their world tour and promote their new album.

In latest news, posted on www.tristania.com , Osten Bergoy states that Tristania is alive, and that significant progress in the vocalist issue has been made. He also says that currently they are in the studio working with several candidates.