Amon Amarth, Clutch, Cult of Luna, My Dying Bride, Myrkur and The Vintage Caravan are among the first wave of confirmations for 15th ARTmania Festival edition, to be held on July 24-25, 2020, in The Grand Square of the medieval fortress of Sibiu.
Two-days passes for the anniversary edition of the festival, at the price of 190 lei / pass, are already available in a limited number of 500 pieces on the official website of the event, here: https://artmaniafestival.ro/ro/.
Amon Amarth was born in 90s Sweden, the band’s name being inspired by the works of Tolkien, After a timid start, in 1998 the band released its first album, Once Sent from the Golden Hell, that brought them international recognition, appreciation from metal fans and popularized Nordic mythology, which is the basis of the band’s lyrics and inspiration.
One year later, it released The Avenger, and in 2008 Amon Amarth offers the album that would cement their international career – Twilight of the Thunder God. The band worked non stop so 2010 brought us a new album, Surtur Rising, and in 2013 they came back with a new release – Deceiver of Gods.
Each album launch was followed by a promotional tour, meeting fans all over the world since the Amon Amarth success was not limited to Europe – North-American metal fans appreciating their music and Norse mythology. In 2016, the Swedes broke tradition and released a concept album, the first in their career. The musical approach was slightly different from what fans were used to, introducing influences from the melodic metal genre and even featuring Doro Pesch. The latest album by Amon Amarth was just released and critics consider Berserker one of their best album since Twilight of the Gods.
Maryland rockers Clutch have been pushing the boundaries of heavy rock music since the 4 original members got together in high school. Having been tagged hard rock, blues rock, southern stoner rock and alternative metal by media and fans across the world it is safe to say one thing… “What you see is what you get” and what you get is a musical force that has been best described as the quintessential American Rock Band.
Clutch quickly became known for their relentless touring schedules, playing shows from whiskey stained 2 door venues in the hills of West Virginia to the iconic Brixton Academy in the UK. Whatever the venue, and wherever rock fans congregate Clutch has played there. The band has shared stages with Lamb of God to Iron Maiden, Primus to Thin Lizzy, Mastodon to Motörhead. What has come of it is a cult-like International fan base, not to mention praise from all corners of the music world. Clutch’s “The Regulator” was the first outside, original song by a band to be featured in the AMC series “The Walking Dead”.
Cult of Luna was formed from the remains of the band Eclipse, in the Northern Swedish town of Umea. The band developed a unique, yet elaborate mix of dark progressive metalcore. The Cult of Luna sound was a success from its first homonymous album released in 2001, both metal fans and music industry being impressed by the Swedes.
They came back just two years later and released The Beyond, and in 2004 offered Salvation, an album well received by music critics and Cult of Luna fans alike. The band didn’t waste any time and launched Somewhere Along the Highway, album that got a place in the 2006 best albums chart. This time, the concept of the album changed and focused more on personal matters, especially male loneliness. Two years later they would take home the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy for Eternal Kingdom, while Fritz Lang’s metropolis would be the inspiration for their next releases: Vertikal and Vertikal II. Cult of Luna’s eight album saw the light of day in September 2019 and was recorded without any preconceived ideas and as a result is has a heavier sound and features even acoustic elements.
My Dying Bride are the pioneers of doom metal, a genre they have been perfecting and promoting since their founding in 1990. The band is well-known for its elaborate compositions, the dark atmosphere of their songs, but also for their scenic presence, which seems inspired more by theatre than by music.
Their style brought them to the “Peaceville Three” a circle formed by My Dying Bride alongside Anathema and Paradise Lost, all signed to Peaceville Records and moving at the borders of similar sounding genres. The band’s sound has not been static and has evolved over each album, so from the early death metal they’ve reached a gothic doom melodic, almost symphonic on occasion, and still featuring a theatrical presence. After a decade of existence, My Dying Bride had proved they could headline any festival and that they hold an active and faithful fan base. Their last album was released in 2015, Feel The Misery receiving positive reactions from music critics, who’ve appreciated the classic My Dying Bride sound. However, the band has recently announced the completion of a new album, so fans can expect new sounds from the artist that has built the foundations of quality doom.
Myrkur, translated as darkness in Icelandic, is the blak metal project and alter ego of Danish artist and model Amalie Bruun. Born out of Scandinavian darness, Myrkur combines the brutal intensity of masculine energy with black metal sounds and musicality of feminine voices, sometimes sophisticated and delicate.
Her debut album, M (a co-production with members from Mayhem, Nidingr and Arch Enemy), has brought Amalia Bruun the award for best Hard Rock Album at the Gaffa Awards in 2015, the award for Band of the Year and Metal Album of the Year at High Voltage Awards. She was intensely praised, had tours along well-known artists like Behemoth or Opeth and played at festivals llike Hellfest, Graspop and Wacken Open Air Festival.
Her second album, Mareridt (nightmare in Danish) is an intense juxtaposition between darkness and light, translated in tones, rhythms and intense sounds, which have brought her the Album of the Year Award of the Golden Gods Ceremony, organized by Metal Hammer.
With an average age of nearly 23 years old Icelandic Rockers The Vintage Caravan show a maturity worthy of any band that has been on the road for decades. When the band got on stage at the 2012 edition of the Icelandic Eistnaflug festival, the trio was only allowed to enter the venue accompanied by their parents.
The attending music fans and journalists were therefore not prepared to the following spectacle. What followed was an astonishing amount of shows: European tours -including UK and Scandinavia- alongside bands as the legendary Europe, Blue Pills, Grand Magus and Orchid. In 2016 the band already started going out on their own headline tours across Europe, UK and Latin America. On top The Vintage Caravan have played numerous festivals such as Roskilde, Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, Rock Werchter, Summer Breeze, Graspop, Ramblin’ Man Fair,only to name a few. So far The Vintage Caravan have released 3 full albums. Their brand new album Gateways was released in 2018 via Nuclear Blast and charted in Germany at #75. The record has achieved a raft of splendid soundcheck positions (#2 – Rock Hard (DE), #3 – Metal.de (DE), #5 – Spark (CZ), #6 – Metal Hammer (DE).
The passes for ARTmania Festival’s anniversary edition have already been put up for sale on the official website, www.artmaniafestival.ro, the first 500 passes with a special price of 190 lei each, available until sold out, but no later of December 31, 2019. After this date, a new pre-sale stage will begin, during which the individual passes will be priced at 290 lei / pass.
