Wizzard (Finnish band)

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Wizzard
General information
origin Kitee , Finland
Genre (s) Heavy metal
founding 1995
Website http://www.kaamos.com/wizzard/
Founding members
all instruments
 Teemu "sorcerer" Kautonen
Current occupation
Teemu "sorcerer" Kautonen
Electric guitar
 Daniel "Front" tear
"CY" Grobmeier
Electric guitar
 John Blöchinger
former members
Electric guitar
 Jussi "JeeJee" Koponen
Electric guitar, keyboard
Tapio Wilska "Torquemada"
Drums
 Pasi
Drums
 Sami Vänskä
Drums
 Tero Leinonen
Drums
 Thypsy
Drums
 J. Crow
Drums
 Wellu Helenius
Drums
 Ville
Drums
 Hellboozer

Wizzard is a Finnish heavy metal band that was formed in Kitee in 1995 .

history

The band was founded in August 1995 by the singer Teemu Kautonen, then still known under the pseudonym "Hexenmeister", as a solo project. In March 1996 a first demo followed with I Am the King . On the demo, which consisted of four songs, Kautonen played all the instruments himself. The phonogram was released in July via Eerie Productions. The label released the demo later on the compilation The Eerie Sampler , on the three other demos ( Av hedensk blod of Gravferd, Promo 1998 by Raven and Dark aureoles Gathering of chewing Onens earlier band Dark Woods My Betrothed ) were included in the year 1999th After the demo was published, Kautonen went looking for more members so that the first appearances could be held. Hellboozer was the guitarist and Ville was the drummer, while Kautonen took over the vocals and bass. With this line-up, three appearances followed before the self-titled debut album was recorded in October 1996. The album should appear on the German label Nazgul's Eyrie Productions , but the label suffered financial difficulties, so that the release could not take place on this label. The album was only released in December 1999. After the recordings, other appearances followed, with Wellu Helenius now as the drummer in the band.

In April 1997, Kautonen moved to Germany. The record company Nazgul's Eyrie Productions had put together a local cast that consisted of guitarist Daniel "Front" Reiss and drummer CY; both came from the German band Thargos. Together they gave three concerts with bands like Countess , Sabbat , Barathrum and Mayhemic Truth . In August 1997, Kautonen returned to Finland; there he recorded the second album Devilmusick in October with Tapio Wilska "Torquemada" on guitar and J. Crow on drums , which was released in February 1998 on Spinefarm Records and was limited to 1000 pieces. Since Crow was still busy with other projects, he could only be heard on this album, so that in December 1997 Tero Leinonen joined the band as the new drummer for a five-day tour of Finland; for this tour Tero was recruited by Darkwoods My Betrothed as a drummer. Kautonen also handed the bass to Wilska Torquemada and JeeJee joined the band as guitarist. A tour of Finland with Barathrum, Babylon Whores and Countess was planned, but this had to be canceled by the latter band and instead took place with Babylon Whores, Barathrum and Horna . In April 1998 further appearances followed together with Babylon Whores, Barathrum and Unpure . However, Leinonen left the band five days earlier and was replaced by Sami Vänskä (ex- Nightwish ). Vänskä left the band after the tour, so that Pasi joined the band as a permanent drummer. Kautonen, on the other hand, now played the electric guitar, so that the group had two guitarists for the first time. This occupation lasted from summer 1998 to summer 2000. In November 1998, work began on the album Songs of Sin and Decadence . Since the band was not satisfied with their label, the group also split from Spinefarm Records. Half of the album was recorded in November at Walltone Studio in Savonlinna , Finland , while the band was looking for a new label. The band reached a contract with Near Dark Productions . The second half of the album was recorded in March 1999. In the end, so many songs were created that an EP was created alongside the album, but it was never released. The album release was planned for summer 1999. However, Near Dark Productions got into legal trouble. Kautonen spent the summer in Germany. This brought him into contact with the journalist Arno Hofmann, who is responsible for Massacre Records . Gutter Records , a sub-label of Massacre Records, licensed Near Dark Productions, so the album was released in March 2000. In the US , the album was released by Pavement Music in June . In addition, the EP Tormentor was released in August 2000 , which contained three other songs in addition to the title song of the album: A new version of I Am the King , a cover version of Judas Priests Breaking the Law and the previously unreleased song Get Slaughtered . These three songs were supposed to be the same ones that were supposed to appear on the unreleased EP. In the summer the band had various appearances and played among other things on the Ilosaarirock . In January 2001 Kautonen returned to Germany after his community service, and in autumn 2000 he brought back the old members with Front and CY. The former also wrote pieces for Wizzard. In February 2001, another guitarist, John Blöchinger, joined the band. In April 2001, the recordings for the album Black Heavy Metal began in the Beat Point Studio in Krefeld . The album was released in 2001 through Gutter Records.

Music genre

The band calls their style Black Heavy Metal to indicate the time when Black Metal was not yet equated with the style of the Norwegians or a mixture of “ Noisecore and satanic lyrics”. Kautonen emphasizes the word heavy , while the other Black Metal area is Black Death Metal , which bands like Bathory and Barathrum would represent. Instead, his band refers to traditional heavy metal from bands like Mercyful Fate , Iron Maiden (listed as favorites by all four members), Venom and Demon .

The original debut, Wizzard, is the band's most primitive and aggressive album. According to Kautonen it consists equally of fast speed / death metal, heavy metal in medium tempo, and slow heavy / doom pieces. Devilmusick is loud Kautonen "perhaps even more esoteric than the debut", but also "a lot more relaxed and humorous." Black humor plays a big role on this album. The record company Barbarian Wrath, successor to Nazgul's Eyrie Productions, compared the album to Bulldozer and Onslaught . On Songs of Sin and Decadence the band got more serious, according to Kautonen it is "the beginning of a new era for Wizzard"; black humor only plays a role in the song Tormentor (Wimp Reaper) . It is the heaviest and most melodic of their albums; the old heavy metal influences are stronger here than on previous recordings, while the parallels to speed and death metal bands have almost disappeared. The music has been described as "simple raw and pure metal". When Angel de la Barthe female vocals is used, Night of the damned soul is written in German. Kautonen's voice moves between growls and high- pitched clear vocals.

Discography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Garry Sharpe-Young : AZ of Thrash Metal . Cherry Red Books, London 2002, ISBN 1-901447-09-X , pp. 438/439 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Biography as of April 2001 ( Memento of May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), April 2001, accessed on January 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Concerts , accessed January 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ Biography , accessed January 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ News ( Memento of February 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  6. ↑ fog cry: Interview with Thargos ( Memento of January 5, 2002 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  7. ^ Wizzard Black Heavy Metal , accessed January 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i FAQ ( Memento from May 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ a b c Stefan Lang: Review | WIZZARD - Songs Of Sin And Decadence , September 26, 2000, accessed January 7, 2013.
  10. ↑ Teemu Kautonen ( Memento from February 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  11. ^ Daniel "Front" Reiß ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  12. ↑ "CY" coarse Meier ( Memento of 3 May 2009 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  13. ^ John Blöchinger ( Memento of May 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ Releases ( Memento of November 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 9, 2013.
  15. ↑ Alex Kragl: WIZZARD - Black Heavy Metal , August 29, 2001, accessed January 7, 2013.