Black metal icons Emperor, alongside industrial metal pioneers Samael and progressive metal sweethearts Pain of Salvation are the first electrifying bands announced for next year’s edition of ARTmania Festival.
The 16th edition of ARTmania will take place during 28th – 30th of July 2023, in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania. More details will be revealed soon so stay tuned.
Emperor
Emperor are considered a living legend of the black metal scene and culture, having been active for over 30 years and inspiring countless extreme metal bands along the way.
This show will be their first ever performance in Romania, a long-awaited moment for any extreme metal fan.
Ihsahn provided a sneak peak of what is to come all the way back in 2016, during his show with his solo project at the same ARTmania festival. At the end of the setlist, he played a medley of three Emperor songs: An Elegy of Icaros, I Am the Black Wizards and Thus Spake the Nightspirit. An impressive addition to this unique musical moment in time was also Einar Solberg of Lepropus who enriched this medley magnificently with his voice and keyboards.
Emperor is THE band that broke through the international scene in the early 90’s with their Norwegian symphonic black metal sound, all the while being one of the few original Norwegian “kvlt” black metal bands that stood the test of time. It is important to remember that Emperor was a part of the early-to-mid 1990’s era of infamous deeds that shaped the cultural concepts, preconceptions as well as misconceptions of black metal.
Their story began in ’91, when they released their now legendary demo Wrath of the Tyrant, a masterful collaboration between Ihsahn (guitars/vocals), Samoth (drums) and Mortiis (bass).
Their debut album In the Nightside Eclipse from 1994 was followed by the now-legendary Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk album from 1997. Judas Priest’s Rob Halford even expressed that this is one of his favourte metal albums of all time.
After another solid masterpiece IX Equilibrium, Emperor released Prometheus – the Discipline of Fire & Demise in 2001. An epic and progressive metal album that once and for all marked Emperor as one of the most innovative bands in the genre, this album also served as their swansong, as the band went into hiatus shortly after that. When asked about the split, Ihsahn said in a recent interview for Kerrang magazine that “We diverged musically, and agreed rather than keeping at it, it was better to end on a high note where we were in agreement, rather than have the band become a safe place. It was natural. And we weren’t thinking ‘career’-wise!”
In the years that followed, Ihshan cemented an impressive solo career, focusing more on the progressive side of metal (and doing a hell of a great job with it), while also keeping the Emperor flame alive.
Samael
Samael, a music project born in 1988 in an atomic bunker from the Swiss Alps, has been inspiring music fans for over three decades.
Founded by brothers Xy and Vorph as a black metal duet, their project managed to draw Century Media’s attention, a label in full growth at that time, with which Samael launched their second album, entitled Blood Ritual.
Ceremony Of Opposites (1994), Rebellion (1995) and Passage (1996) followed, each new album being accompanied by extensive tours, performing on the stages of the most well-known festivals of their time, like Dynamo, WOA or With Full Force.
Inspiration kept on guiding the band members, bringing to light a series of masterpieces such as Eternal, Reign Of Light (2004), Solar Soul (2007) and other. Their innovation culminated with Lux Mundi from 2011, an album which crowns over 20 years of the band’s existence and which builds a bridge connecting all the aspects and personalities of the entity known as SAMAEL.
The band’s musical journey carried on under the sign of exploration and continuous integration of new elements from diverse music genres. This continuous innovation helped create a specific Samael trademark. The classic black metal beginnings were enriched along the time by a daring mix of metal and industrial, seasoned with massive beats, martial rhythms and up-tempo or blast beat.
Another element which contributes to Samael’s unique sound is the use of a drum machine, both in the studio and live on stage.
Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation reconfirmed their presence and will return on the Large Square stage after seven years, this time presenting their latest album. Panther explores meanings and depths yet untouched, being dedicated to the restless, the shy, the motor-mouths, the passionate, the ones who go far beyond the point of reason for what they believe in, the outsiders, the diagnosed, the medicated, the hungry, the sad, the ones walking around daily trying to understand how to fit in with this species, with this era.
The band managed to stay in the forefront of the international progressive music scene for almost three decades. During this time, Pain of Salvation became renowned for their concept albums, and this latest work lives up to every possible expectation.
Panther comprises nine music pieces and comes three years after the In The Passing Light Of Day album. If the themes approached in the past were related to war and its effects on the human race, or environmental problems like nuclear energy or the nature of the divine, Panther focuses on the individual, on its inner universe, on the painful conflicts born from the lack of meaning and from the contradictions of the modern society.
Tickets info
Festival passes can already be purchased through the official website and the iabilet.ro platform at the price of 350 lei + taxes.
Tickets at this discounted price are available within the limit of available stock, but not later than the date of the next announcement, which will take place in October 2022.
