I am pleased to announce the first bands for next years Metalfest:
First of all we have
XANDRIA
A touch of feminine sensuality, a hint of far away strange places where only wishful dreams will take us, carried on wings of metallic hardness and at the same time accompanied by that certain darkness - these images come to mind when listening to the music of Xandria, a band who can look back on four successful albums.
Following the stir that the band had already created on the underground scene with several demo songs which had been released on the Internet, Xandria laid the cornerstone of a long career in 2003 with their debut “Kill The Sun”. The release was greeted by enthusiastic reactions and made directly for the German Media Control Charts, followed by a tour all over Germany. When they headed for the album charts one year later on the black wings of “Ravenheart”, carried by Celtic winds, a mythical element had become an ingredient of their music. They stayed in the charts for a full two months, making no. 36, and enchanted their growing fan base with the fantasy clip which accompanied the title track “Ravenheart” and has come to be considered a classic of the genre. The press were unanimous in their praise, and tours and festival performances followed. Summer 2004 saw the band play the main stage of the Summer Breeze festival and the Busan International Rock Festival in Korea - the biggest in Southeast Asia -, where they wowed 30,000 people. “Ravenheart” went on to beat the pants off the debut’s success, the band joining the ranks of the luminaries of the scene.
Their bombastic third album release, “India”, recorded together with the Babelsberg Film Orchestra and a number of guest musicians, followed in 2005 and proved that the band had continued to mature. “India” took them to no. 30 of the charts and for the first time also to other countries, such as Russia, the UK, and Mexico.
But what exactly is it that makes this band so enormously fascinating? The musicians blend metal with visionary sonic landscapes into the soundtrack of another, very different world. Xandria’s world allows you to be vulnerable or strong, show emotions and live all those dreams that reality seems to sneer on.
Their retrospective "Now & Forever - The Best Of Xandria", out on 6 June 2008, is a cross section of Xandria’s many facets, featuring songs from all four albums, including their most recent release, "Salomé - The Seventh Veil", which was another chart success. This best-of package also includes a live DVD featuring footage from their Summer Breeze 2007 show, complemented by a number of cuts from the band’s history.
And true to the spirit of its album title, "Now & Forever", Xandria’s adventurous journey through their musical world will continue, and they will be happy to take you along if you let them …
SWALLOW THE SUN
The death/doom luminaries of Finland, Swallow the Sun, started in the turn of the millennium when guitarist Juha Raivio collected a group of friends around him.
The first recording was well prepared for few years and up until now has been a rare collectors item. “Out of this Gloomy Light” demo was recorded in January 2003. This demo brought them their first record deal with Firebox Records.
With their debut “The Morning Never Came” Swallow the Sun got chosen the newcomer of the year in Inferno Magazine and received a full 5 K's review in Kerrang! the album was quoted as “One of the doom metals finest moments to date”. 2nd album “Ghosts of loss” climbed to 8 on Finnish album charts. This rare occasion, together with heavy touring both in Finland and abroad laid the groundwork for Swallow the Sun's skyrocketing success.
In September 2006 Swallow the Sun recorded “Hope”, which was released in January of 2007 and unbelievably hit position 3 on the Official Finnish Album Chart, a feat never before achieved anywhere in the world with a doom album and an achievement which undoubtedly won’t be repeated unless Swallow the Sun do it themselves.
Plague of Butterflies, the new EP release, is a story about an old hermit, deep woods, loneliness and the plague. It's a three part 35 minute song of crushing gloom, beauty and despair. Never before has the band shown such polarity, ranging from demented screams of desperation to moving, heartrending melodic passages.
This magnum opus’s music was originally ordered for a big ballet project, but the project sadly went awry and got cancelled. Because of this the band now is intending to use the music in a different context, in a short movie, and currently they’re in search for suitable partners to make this happen.
The release also includes the rare "Out of This Gloomy Light" demo that got them signed back in 2003. There was only three demos sent out, so until now this has been really rare stuff and holds some of the darkest and coldest moments ever recorded by the Jyväskylä gloom masters.
“Plague of Butterflies” was released on September 17th in Europe by Spinefarm Records where it crashed into the Number 1 spot on the Finnish charts its first week.
HOLY MOSES
.. Thrash Metal is no temporary phenomenon of fashion, no cross-product, no circus act. Actually it’s the total opposite: Thrash Metal is a way of life, a philosophy, where a musician is involuntary driven to the music and just can’t escape. Real Thrashers celebrate this music style passionately their whole lives, totally committed, and with a strong conviction. Sabina Classen has been, for the last 25 years, the driving force behind Holy Moses, one of the most important German Thrash Metal bands of all time. With her unique voice (also respectfully known as the “female vocals from hell“) and her unstoppable energy, Holy Moses, with a small break between 1995 and 1999 (when Sabina released two albums as Temple of the Absurd), have been constantly established at the top of the international Thrash movement.
Since the formation of the band in the early eighties, they have not only released many convincing albums, but have always been able to prove their commitment on the stage. Touring alongside formations such as Rage, Angel Dust, Steeler, D.R.I., Holy Terror, Sacred Reich or Forbidden, Holy Moses have shaken the walls of many important clubs and venues. In 1989 the band was one of the most important acts at the legendary Dynamo Open Air festival and also a few years later a part of the massive open air festival in South Korea.
With the addition of Michael Hankel on guitars to the band in 2002, the band gained another soul mate whose musical spirit fitted perfectly the Holy Moses sound and that would prove to be, along Sabina, the main driving force behind the band. Also, in 2006 Olli Jaath (Reckless Tide) joined the band as bass player, giving new form to the Holy Moses line-up. In 2005 with the album “Strength Power Will Passion“ Holy Moses once again set new levels of aggression and reached new young fans: Albums such as Queen of Siam (1986), Finished With The Dogs, (1987), The New Machine Of Liechtenstein (1989), World Chaos (1990), Terminal Terror (1991), Reborn Dogs (1992) are milestones of the thrash genre, so since the summer of 2005, to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary, all of the Holy Moses albums were re-released with added surprises and extras. The re-releases are fit out with until now unreleased bonus tracks, a new and worked over booklet and liner notes originally written by Sabina and the band themselves.
In 2005 and 2006 Holy Moses did several shows and festivals including the Wacken Open Air Festival (Sabina played all in all 3 times with Temple Of The Absurd / 3 times with Holy Moses at Wacken Open Air). Other festivals played in 2006 were the Headbangers Open Air (Germany), Badia Rocks Festival (Italy), Hall of Metal Festival (Poland). Basin Fire Fest (Czech Republic), Martohell (Spain), Turkey and among others. Also, in August 2006 the band did a killer show with Carnivore in Hamburg at the Wacken Open Air Aftershow Event. In 2007 the band, now with drummer Atomic Steif back on the line-up, did crushing shows in Norway, Germany and also played in the Geiselwind Open Air Festival (Germany), Kaltenbach Open Air Festival (Austria), Jalometalli Festival (Finland) and Metal Female Voices Fest 5 (Belgium). Meanwhile the band is in the studio composing and recording for their new album that will be entitled "Bloodbound". A long tour with death metal beasts Obituary and Sweden..s Avatar was done in the first two months of 2008. And now HOLY MOSES, with the addition of new bass player Thomas Neitsch, is confirmed for the WACKEN OPEN AIR FESTIVAL and now METALFEST!!!
WARPATH
The band's first EP, entitled "Cataclysm", was recorded in December 2005 at Bridgerow Studios with producer Andy Coughlan. In the aftermath of its release, the band amassed favourable reaction from the European metal community. Large-scale self-promotion and feature privileges in renowned metal magazines Terrorizer, Zero Tolerance, Powerplay and Alternative have since brought the band much exposure.
A constant cry of international interest has reached the band, with Warpath's songs being requested and aired on radio stations in over 60 countries. Warpath were also filmed live and interviewed by BBC UK for a documentary on up-coming metal bands.
The later half of 2007 saw the band working on the followup to 'Cataclysm'. With extreme metal drummer James Davenport, lead guitarist Pete Hawthorne and bassist Joel
Jordan having joined the band, Warpath recorded and released their heaviest and fastest material yet: the debut album "Damnation" -- mixed at Kevin Talley's studio USA (Chimaira, DAATH, Hate Eternal) by producer Orlando Villaseñor and mastered by legendary metal guitarist James Murphy (Testament, Death, Obituary).
Following its worldwide release in May 2008, Damnation received critical acclaim from magazines and fans across the globe, selling out all copies in Japan within two days, establishing Warpath as one of the best up-coming UK metal acts.
"The highest calibre thrash metal in recent years""
- Metal Team UK
In August 2008, the band were selected by Scuzz TV fans to play at the UK's biggest heavy metal festival: Bloodstock Open Air, alongside Iced Earth, Nightwish, Dimmu Borgir, Opeth, Helloween, Overkill, Kataklysm, and many others.
Scuzz TV have also added the Damnation music video to their playlist and are regularly playing it, as well as TV stations in America, Greece, Japan, Spain, Italy and Australia.
Warpath has since secured a UK distribution deal with Code 7 & Plastic Head which has led to the Damnation album being stocked by all major retail stores including HMV, Virgin Megastores, Tesco, Asda, WHSmith, Amazon, Play.com and Tower Records.
KEEP WATCHING FOR MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS OVER THE COMING WEEKS!!!
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Subject: FIRST BANDS CONFIRMED FOR METALFEST 2009 
Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:53 pm
Looking forward to seeing what else is in store!
