Evil Masquerade | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Sweden, Denmark |
Genres | Heavy metal |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels | Dark Minstrel Music |
Members | Henrik Flyman Nicklas Sonne Dennis Buhl Thor Jeppesen Artur Meinild |
Website | evilmasquerade |
Evil Masquerade is a Scandinavian band formed in 2003. Their wide range of musical influences make them difficult to categorize. Evil Masquerade themselves claim to be playing 'Devilish Rock'n'Roll'. But since that is a self-invented genre they are usually filed under heavy metal by the music industry. [1] [2]
Evil Masquerade was founded 2003 in Copenhagen by Swedish guitarist Henrik Flyman (Lacrimosa, ex-Wuthering Heights, ex-Moahni Moahna, ex-ZooL). Together with drummer Dennis Buhl (ex-Hatesphere), bass player Kasper Gram and vocalist Henrik Brockmann (ex-Royal Hunt) they set off to record the band's debut album that was released early 2004 under the name Welcome to the Show . It almost immediately received worldwide recognition and made the charts in Japan at # 8. [3] One year later it was followed up with their second album Theatrical Madness .
A couple of line up changes took place and new singer Apollo Papathanasio (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Firewind, ex-Time Requiem) and bass player Thor Jeppesen entered the studio with Flyman and Buhl to record the album Third Act. This album took the band to a new level of fame when it was re-released in 2007 in the US, one year after the original release in Europe and Asia. The fourth studio album Fade To Black saw yet another change in the line-up with only Henrik Flyman and Apollo Papathanasio remaining from the previous album. New members were drummer Daniel Flores (The Murder of My Sweet, Mind's Eye, Tears of Anger, ZooL) and bass player Johan Niemann (Therion, Evergrey, Hubi Meisel, Demonoid, Mind's Eye).
Flyman spent 2010 composing songs for the band's fifth album Pentagram that was released in May 2012. The recordings took place during 2011 and involved Flyman once again teaming up with the same members as on the band's third release: Papathanasio, Buhl and Jeppesen; together with the latest addition to the line-up, the band's first permanent keyboard player, Artur Meinild. [4]
In 2013 it was announced that Papathanasio was no longer in the band and that he had been replaced by Tobias Jansson from Sweden. [5] [6] Tobias' first and only recording with Evil Masquerade was their sixth studio album, The Digital Crucifix , which was released worldwide on 22 April 2014 by Dark Minstrel Music. [7] Evil Masquerade did not immediately introduce a new singer after parting ways with Jansson. Instead they chose to record their seventh studio album The Outcast Hall of Fame with 5 vocalists (Mats Levén, Rick Altzi, Apollo Papathanasio, Nicklas Sonne and Henrik Flyman). Included on the album is a revised version of the song Märk hur vår skugga by the Swedish poet, songwriter, composer Carl Michael Bellman (4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795). The album was released worldwide by Dark Minstrel Music on 19 May 2016. Shortly after the release Sonne was announced as the band's live vocalist [8] and one month later he became a permanent part of the lineup. [9]
In 2009 Henrik Flyman and Evil Masquerade won the JPF Music Awards (USA) in the category Best Metal Song with "Bozo the Clown". [10]
During 2011 Henrik Flyman got involved with "Metal for Cancer", a charity organization founded by Richard Ofsoski to raise funds for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. [11] [12] Flyman wrote the song "Let's Unite in Rock" that was performed by various artists under the name The MFC Dragon Slayer All Star Project. This band included all members from Evil Masquerade (except for Dennis Buhl) as well as Richard Ofsoski, Mats Levén (Therion, Yngwie Malmsteen), Peter Wildoer (James LaBrie, Darkane, ex-Time Requiem), Snowy Shaw (Therion, Mercyful Fate, Dream Evil), Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Glen Drover (Megadeth, King Diamond) and Tony Mills (TNT, Shy) just to name a few. [13] [14] [15]
Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. Its name was inspired by the Celtic Frost album To Mega Therion. "To Mega Therion" is Greek for "The Great Beast" and was a title used by occultist Aleister Crowley. Originally a death metal band, Therion adjusted its musical style by adding orchestral elements, including choirs, classical musicians, and even a full orchestra at their concert performances. As a result, they are considered pioneers of the symphonic metal genre.
Dan-Erland Swanö, also known as Dan "The Man" Swanö, is a Swedish musician and record producer who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale, lately vocalist, keyboardist and drummer for the band Witherscape, as well as the owner of Unisound, but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.
D-A-D is a Danish rock band. They were originally named Disneyland After Dark, but changed their name to avoid a lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company.
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration.
Spiritual Beggars is a stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage. The band is heavily influenced by 1970s hard rock and incorporates elements of psychedelia into its music.
Theli is the fifth studio album by Swedish symphonic metal band Therion. While Theli stays true to the band's roots in that it has a very dark sound, it is a major turning point in their history. Set, Egyptian god, is shown on the front cover. This was the last album on which Christofer Johnsson sang until 2004's "Lemuria". A music video was filmed for the song "To Mega Therion". The song To Mega Therion appears in the shockumentary film Traces of Death IV.
Johan Wilhelm Niemann is a Swedish musician best known as the current bassist of Evergrey and for co-founding the band Mind's Eye. He was also a member of Swedish symphonic metal band Therion and Scandinavian metal band Evil Masquerade, among others. He is the brother of Kristian Niemann.
Apostolos "Apollo" Papathanasiou is a Swedish heavy metal vocalist of Greek descent, who is currently with the band Spiritual Beggars. He has also sung for Firewind, Meduza, Evil Masquerade, Gardenian, and Richard Andersson's projects Majestic and Time Requiem.
While Heaven Wept was an American epic doom metal band based in Dale City, Virginia. The primary writer and overall engine of the band was mainman Tom Phillips. Their melodic, classically influenced style could be compared to bands such as Solitude Aeturnus and Solstice ; however, 2003's acclaimed Of Empires Forlorn saw the band branching out into a variety of metal and progressive styles. This trend continues on their 2009 album, Vast Oceans Lachrymose, and on their 2011 album, Fear of Infinity.
Theatrical Madness is the second full-length album by the Danish band Evil Masquerade.
Welcome to the Show is the debut studio album by the Danish heavy metal band Evil Masquerade. It almost immediately received worldwide recognition and made the charts in Japan at number 8.
ZooL is a defunct Swedish band that was created by guitarist Henrik Flyman as a platform for classic hard rock. ZooL released one album 2002 and has not been heard of since, though it was never officially declared extinct. Flyman himself is today active in Evil Masquerade. Daniel Flores returned to Flyman's side 2008 on Evil Masquerade's fourth studio album Fade To Black.
Moahni Moahna is a Swedish band that was created in the early 1990s by guitarist Henrik Flyman and guitarist Tommy Rehn. They wrote and performed their own brand of hard rock/heavy metal that was described as "Fantasy Metal". The band started as a two piece formation with hired session musicians, but they soon added vocalist Martin Häggström as a steady member.
Märk hur vår skugga is one of the best-known of the 1790 Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 81. These were written and performed by Carl Michael Bellman, the dominant figure in the Swedish song tradition. Its subject is the funeral of one of Bellman's female acquaintances, Grälmakar Löfberg's wife.
Sebastien is a Czech power metal band from Pardubice and Brno. The band was formed by Jiří "George" Rain in 2008.
Henrik Flyman is a composer, guitarist and producer. He is active in the bands Lacrimosa, Evil Masquerade and his own solo career.
Iron Mask is a power metal band formed in 2002 by Belgian guitarist Dushan Petrossi, also known from Magic Kingdom.
Few Against Many is the seventh studio album by Greek heavy metal band Firewind. It is the first album to feature ex-Nightrage and Meridian Dawn drummer, Johan Nunez. It was released on 21 May 2012 in Europe and 22 May in North America. This would be Firewind's last album with Apollo Papathanasio as their Vocalist before he decided to quit on 15 January 2013.
Third Act is the third full-length album by the Swedish/Danish band Evil Masquerade.
The Outcast Hall Of Fame is the seventh full-length album by the Swedish/Danish band Evil Masquerade.