Torchbearer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Torchbearer
General information
Genre (s) Melodic death metal , black metal , thrash metal
founding 2003
Website www.torchbearer.tk
Current occupation
Par Johansson
Christian Älvestam
guitar
 Patrik Gardberg (since 2006)
Mikael Degerman (since 2004)
Henrik Schönström (since 2004)
former members
guitar
 Göran Johansson (2004)

Torchbearer ( English for torchbearers ) is a Swedish metal band that was formed in 2003 by members of various other bands.

The music style of the band mixes elements of black , death and thrash metal . Some critics also emphasize the use of keyboards , which gives the music a "film music character".

history

Pär Johansson, singer of Satariel and The Duskfall, and guitarist Christian Älvestam , who had previously played with Unmoored and other bands, founded the band in 2003 "on a whim" and initially developed some song ideas. With the recorded demos they turned to Omer Akay, the operator of the record label Cold Records, and were signed by the company. As a band name they chose "Torchbearer", the title of a song by Unmoored.

For the recordings of the debut album Yersinia Pestis , the guitarist Göran Johansson ( Setherial ) and the two founders, Mikael Degerman (bass; from Satariel) and Henrik Schönström (drums; from Unmoored) were brought in. The album was recorded in the Black Lounge Studio under the direction of former Carnal Forge singer Jonas Kjellgren and released on March 22, 2004. The large company Metal Blade , which sold the album under license from Cold Records, was able to be won over for distribution. The work, whose title is borrowed from the name of the bacterium of the same name , is a concept album about the great European plague epidemic in the 14th century. In the trade press, the album was well received in some cases, as Robert Pöpperl-Berenda called the work “the perfect borderline between death and black metal” in Rock Hard and gave it a rating of 8.5 out of 10 possible points . A tour for the album did not take place, however, because, according to the musicians involved, the band had more of a project character and the members also lived far apart from one another.

In 2006 the band signed a recording deal with Regain Records and recorded the second album Warnaments . On the recordings, which were mixed by Thomas Johansson in Panicroom Studios, DivineFire guitarist Patrik Gardberg was involved in place of Göran Johansson . The album is again a concept work, but this time about the naval war during the First World War and in particular the Skagerrak Battle . The album was released on April 18, 2006. Once again, the reviews of the album were good, for example Jörg Brauns described the album in Rock Hard as "a fat chunk of top-class Death Metal."

Discography

  • 2004: Yersinia Pestis
  • 2006: Warnaments
  • 2011: Death Meditations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ metal.de: Review of "Warnaments"
  2. ↑ a b heavyhardes.de: Interview
  3. ↑ rockhard.de: Review of “Yersinia Pestis”, Rock Hard No. 203
  4. ↑ rockhard.de: Review of "Warnaments", Rock Hard No. 228