Elegy (band)
| Elegy | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Eindhoven , Netherlands |
| Genre (s) | Progressive metal , power metal |
| founding | 1986 |
| Current occupation | |
| Martin Helmantel | |
| Ian Parry | |
| Patrick Rondat | |
| Bart Bisseling | |
| former members | |
Drums |
Gerry |
singing |
Theo |
Drums |
Bert Burgers |
Electric guitar |
Henk van der Laars |
Electric guitar |
Arno van Brussel |
singing |
Chris Terheijden |
Drums |
Ed Warby |
singing |
Eduard Hovinga |
| Ton van de Stroom | |
Drums |
Dirk Bruinenberg |
Drums |
Serge Meeuwsen |
Electric guitar |
Gilbert Pot |
Keyboard |
Gerrit Hager |
Keyboard |
Chris Allister |
Elegy is a Dutch power and progressive metal band from Eindhoven , which was founded in 1986.
history
The band was founded in 1985 by guitarist Henk van der Laars as a nameless project. A short time later, drummer Gerry and singer Theo joined the cast. Arno van Brussel joined the band a little later as the second guitarist. Gerry and Theo were soon replaced by drummer Bert Burgers and singer Chris Terheijden. Terheijden gave the band the name Elegy , inspired by the book The Legend of Elegy. Meanwhile they were already in the middle of the recordings for the first demo Matricide in 1986. After the post of bassist changed several times, a suitable line-up was found in Martin Helmantel, who was actually a guitarist.
In 1987 the group took part in a band contest organized by Metal Hammer and Polydor Records . The band came in over 450 applicants among the top nine. The final took place in April in Bochum , with the band winning the competition. In 1988 the band opened concerts by groups such as Angel Witch , Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone , Hellion and King Diamond . Meanwhile, Ed Warby joined the line-up as the new drummer. In addition, another demo appeared in 1989 with Elegant Solution . After Chris Terheijden was replaced by 17-year-old singer Eduard Hovinga in 1990, another demo, Labyrinth of Dreams, was released . This made labels aware of the band. A label financed the production of another demo, which included the songs Guiding Light , All Systems Go and The Grand Change , but the band decided against a contract with the label.
After a few weeks, Metal Mike became aware of the band from Aardschok magazine, which gave the band a contract with Shark Records . In 1992, the debut album Labyrinth of Dreams was recorded and released the following year. The album reached eighth place in the Japanese album charts. Meanwhile, Ed Warby left the band to perform together with Gorefest , which initially Serge Meeuwsen came to replace the band.
After a stay in Japan, Arno van Brussel left the band and was replaced by Gilbert Pot. Drummer Serge Meeuwsen also left the band and was replaced by Dirk Bruinenberg at the end of 1993. Material has also been written for the Supremacy album over the past few weeks . After Bruinenberg had taught themselves the songs in six weeks, the band went to the studio a week later. During the recording, keyboardist Ton van de Stroom was fired, so that Henk van der Laars and Gilbert Pot made most of the keyboard recordings. Van der Laars also made some bass recordings, as bassist Martin Helmantel was absent due to the birth of his child. The album was released in May 1994. After some appearances together with Annihilator , Phantom Blue , The Gathering and Gorefest, the band was already writing new material for another album.
In April 1995 the recording of Lost began after Gerrit Hager was welcomed as the new keyboardist. The album was released worldwide in the summer of the same year. After a tour with Yngwie Malmsteen , singer Hovinga, keyboardist Hager and guitarist Pot left the band. The remaining members Martin Helmantel, Henk van der Laars and Dirk Bruinenberg reached a contract with Modern Music Records . After listening to some singers, Ian Parry joined the cast as a new member. Together they recorded old songs in a new acoustic version . The EP was published in 1996 under the name Primal Instinct . During the recording, the band was already working on new songs, so after the EP was released, the band entered the studio again to record the album State of Mind . The album was released in the summer of 1997. 40,000 copies of the album were sold worldwide. To promote the album, the band also toured Europe with Stratovarius , playing in ten different countries. Elegy also played concerts in Japan, as happened in Osaka and Tokyo . Later that year, the band played in the Italian Milan on the Psycho festival.
In 1998 in the German Area 51 Studios to record the concept album Manifestation of Fear . Chris Allister was the new keyboard player. The album was released in the summer of the same year. A European tour with Kamelot followed in September . After the tour the band took a break. In early 1999, founder Henk van der Laars left the band briefly until he returned to the line-up a few weeks later. In the following months the band worked on the next album. During the work, the French Patrick Rondat joined as a second guitarist. Shortly afterwards, the recording of Forbidden Fruit began , but before that van der Laars left the band for good. As a result, Rondat recorded all of the guitar pieces on the album. The album was released in September 2000.
Since the band had now fulfilled the three-album contract with Modern Music, the band was again without a contract. While the band was looking for a label, the members devoted themselves to other projects. The band reached a contract with the Spanish label Locomotive Records and another with Marquee Records for the Asian region. At that time the band was working on the new album Principles of Pain . The album recording started in January 2002 in Madrid . The album was released in April in Asia and in early May for the rest of the world. A video clip was also recorded in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, and in Aruba for the theme song Principles of Pain . After the release in Europe, sales rose to 20,000 pieces in Europe only. This was followed by an appearance at the Spanish Rock Machina Festival on July 26th in Moncofa . This was the first gig with the new guitarist Patrick Rondat and keyboardist Joshua Dutrieux. At the same time it was the last appearance of drummer Dirk Bruinenberg, who should be replaced by Bart Bisseling. Further appearances followed in 2003, with a concert in Zeist being the first for Bruinenberg. Then the band played at various festivals in France (Hirson Festival), the Netherlands (Bakel Streetrock Festival) and for the first time in the USA at the first Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Six-Pack Weekend in Cleveland . In the same year the band also played at ProgPower Europe in Baarlo .
style
The band plays a technically demanding mix of power and progressive metal.
Discography
- 1986: Demo'86 (demo, self- publication )
- 1987: Better Than Bells (demo, self-published)
- 1988: The Elegant Solution (demo, self-published)
- 1990: Labyrinth of Dreams (demo, self-publication)
- 1993: Labyrinth of Dreams (Album, Shark Records )
- 1994: Supremacy (Album, Noise Records )
- 1995: Lost (Album, Noise Records)
- 1996: Primal Instinct (EP, Modern Music Records )
- 1997: State of Mind (Album, Modern Music Records)
- 1998: Manifestation of Fear (Album, Modern Music Records)
- 2000: Forbidden Fruit (Album, Modern Music Records)
- 2002: Principles of Pain (Album, Marquee Records (Asia), Locomotive Records (worldwide))
Web links
- Official website ( Memento of September 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Elegy at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Elegy Manifestation Of Fear , accessed May 12, 2012.
- ↑ Bio ( Memento of the original from July 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 12, 2012.
- ↑ Sebastian Mack: CD Review: Elegy - Forbidden Fruit ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 12, 2012.
