Lemuria | |
---|---|
Origin | Antwerp, Belgium |
Genres | Symphonic Black Metal |
Years active | 1999–Present |
Labels | Massacre Records |
Members | Daan Swinnen Gaël Sortino Jeroen De Kooning Fré De Schepper Vincent Pichal |
Website | lemuria.be |
Lemuria is a symphonic black metal band from Antwerp, Belgium, formed in 1999. Lemuria is the name of a legendary lost continent.
The band was conceived in 1999 under the name 'Spinal Chill' and a demo named Demonic was released in the same year. In 2001, the band name was changed to Lemuria. A second demo The Vault of the Witness, was recorded in The Cavern studios in Antwerp and released in April 2002. [1]
Their first full-length album, Tales, Ale & Fire was released in 2004. At the time, the sound was compared with Finntroll, Ensiferum, Thyrfing, Bal Sagoth and Rhapsody. The sound of the album is best described as a blend of folk and black metal. Tales, Ale & Fire was recorded, mixed and mastered in the Midas studio in Lokeren. The album is a concept album based on the Viking invasion of flanders.
In 2010, a second concept album, Chanson de la Croisade, was released. The album has more symphonic elements while still embracing the folk metal roots. The story of the album deals with the prosecution of the Cathars, members of a Christian religious movement that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century. Chanson de la Croisade was recorded in the Midas studio and the Red Left Hand studio.
In 2012 Lemuria won the Graspop Metal Meeting Talent Quest competition, granting them the title of 'Graspop band of the year 2012'. [2] After a short break in 2014, the band was reformed with a new vocalist and guitar player. Since then, the band played at several festivals including Kraken, Mass Death, Elftopia, Devil's Rock and the Hellhammer Festival.
A third concept album, The Hysterical Hunt, was released in 2019 by Massacre Records. The story line of the album is inspired by the mythical Beast of Gévaudan. The Belgian actor Herbert Flack provides guest vocals as narrator.
Bal-Sagoth are a symphonic black metal band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993.
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band consists of its founding member, vocalist Dani Filth, drummer Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Donny Burbage, and keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff.
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been a part of the band's line-up in its history, which currently consists of singer Hansi Kürsch, guitarists André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen and, since 2005, drummer Frederik Ehmke.
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded 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 genres, including progressive metal and folk metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other influences outside these genres, critics have noticed the band's experimentation and musical versatility. In an interview, den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences. In another interview, den Adel stated that "We consider ourselves more an atmospheric melodic symphonic metal/rock band... In my opinion, we are not a gothic band but we have gothic elements".
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.
Carach Angren is a Dutch symphonic black metal band, founded in 2003 by two members of the now-defunct bands Inger Indolia and Vaultage. Their style is characterized by prominent usage of orchestral arrangements, black metal vocals, and guitar riffs. Their studio albums are concept albums with lyrics based on ghost stories and folklore, such as the Flying Dutchman. The band sets itself apart from other symphonic black metal artists with the usage of multiple languages such as English, French, German, and Dutch. Most songs are based on English, with transitions into other languages during chorus and bridge sections.
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal".
Battlelore are a Finnish heavy metal band from Lappeenranta, founded in 1999 by guitarist Jyri Vahvanen and bassist Miika Kokkola. The name derives from the union of the words 'battle' and 'folklore'. Many of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth sagas and their stage costumes and live shows are largely inspired by the themes and characters of fantasy literature. The band had many changes of personnel during their twelve years of activity and had a long hiatus after the completion of the tour supporting their latest release Doombound in 2011. In January 2016 they announced that they would be performing at Metal Female Voices Fest XIII in October 2016.
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.
Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian symphonic metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis.
Anorexia Nervosa is a French symphonic black metal band from Limoges, formed in 1991. They are currently "on hold" due to the departure of vocalist RMS Hreidmarr.
Midnattsol are a gothic/folk metal band from Germany. The band was founded in 2002 by Norwegian vocalist Carmen Elise Espenæs and German guitarist Christian Hector. The band's name is a modified spelling of the Norwegian word midnattssol, which means 'midnight sun'.
Rhapsody of Fire is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre.
John Michael West is an American vocalist, best known as the lead vocalist of Artension and the former lead vocalist of Royal Hunt.
Winterfylleth is an English black metal band from Manchester. Since their inception in 2006, the band has released seven studio albums and have become a popular act in both the English underground metal scene and the wider international metal arena. Winterfylleth are self-described as "English Heritage Black Metal" and is often considered to be musical 'brothers-in-arms' with fellow English black metal band Wodensthrone owing to the common lyrical and aesthetic themes they share. The band takes its name from the Old English word 'Winterfylleth', which translates into modern English as 'Winter Full Moon' and is signified by the arrival of the first full moon of winter.
Kells was a symphonic metal band out of Lyon, France, formed in 2001 by vocalist Virginie Goncalves, guitarist Patrick Garcia, and keyboardist Fabrice Desire. Since then Fabrice has left the band while Julien Nicolas and Laurent Lesina were added as the band's drummer and bassist respectively. They have played at the Metal Female Voices Festival and been main support for Epica and Tarja. They have released three albums. Their first album, Gaia, was produced by AVFP Production and released in 2005, and their second album, Lueurs, was produced by Season of Mist and released in 2009. Their third album, Anachromie, was released in 2012. In April 2015, Virginie, Patrick and Kevin were forced out of the band.
Ultimatum is an American thrash metal band from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Ex Libris is a Dutch symphonic/progressive metal band founded in 2004 by Dianne van Giersbergen and Joost van de Pas.
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