Karelia (heavy metal band)
Encyclopedia
Karelia is a French heavy metal
band created in 2000 by Lionel Vest and Matthieu Kleiber.
Their first full-length album Usual Tragedy was released in 2004 on the German label Drakkar Records
. The orchestral arrangements give it its symphonic heavy metal (or simply symphonic metal
) tag. Lyricwise, Usual Tragedy is a concept album
about a man who crossed both World Wars, lost his father during the first one
, lost his beloved one during the second one
, witnessed the violence and the madness of men, eventually lost his own sanity and died alone and anonymous in an hospital.
Their second studio album, Raise, released in 2005 on Drakkar Records as well, is not as orchestral as Usual Tragedy but has dark, melancholic atmospheres that could already be heard on the first album as well and that seem to be the band's trademark; that's why Karelia's music is also sometimes called gothic metal
. The lyrics deal with various themes such as blinding and misleading of people by a charismatic leader ("Raise"), religion wars ("Cross and Crescent"), childhood ("Child Has Gone", "Unbreakable Cordon"), depression ("Breakdown").
In January 2007, keyboardist Bertrand Maillot left the band, and Jack Ruesch joined the band as second guitarist.
In June 2007, the band finished the recording of its third album Restless. It was first expected to be released in September/October 2007 (as stated in January 2007 on their still-working then website), but Karelia later announced on its MySpace that it would be released through the French label Season Of Mist
; the label's website displays April 21, 2008 as the release date. The cover artwork hasn't been revealed yet. Restless will show new musical orientations, featuring industrial
elements.
In fall November 2007, Karelia opened for the well-known German hard rock
band Scorpions
for three of their shows in France.
as well as hard rock
bands like Guns N' Roses
and Aerosmith
for himself and ex-keyboardist Bertrand Maillot, hard rock
such as Whitesnake
for bassist Gilles Thiebaut, symphonic
heavy metal
bands for guitarist Erwan Morice and drummer Loïc Jenn.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band created in 2000 by Lionel Vest and Matthieu Kleiber.
Biography
Karelia first released a self-titled demo in 2000.Their first full-length album Usual Tragedy was released in 2004 on the German label Drakkar Records
Drakkar Entertainment
Drakkar Entertainment GmbH, also called Drakkar Records or Drakkar Publishing, is a German record label with its headquarters in Witten. It is a joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group.-History:...
. The orchestral arrangements give it its symphonic heavy metal (or simply symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
) tag. Lyricwise, Usual Tragedy is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about a man who crossed both World Wars, lost his father during the first one
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, lost his beloved one during the second one
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, witnessed the violence and the madness of men, eventually lost his own sanity and died alone and anonymous in an hospital.
Their second studio album, Raise, released in 2005 on Drakkar Records as well, is not as orchestral as Usual Tragedy but has dark, melancholic atmospheres that could already be heard on the first album as well and that seem to be the band's trademark; that's why Karelia's music is also sometimes called gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
. The lyrics deal with various themes such as blinding and misleading of people by a charismatic leader ("Raise"), religion wars ("Cross and Crescent"), childhood ("Child Has Gone", "Unbreakable Cordon"), depression ("Breakdown").
In January 2007, keyboardist Bertrand Maillot left the band, and Jack Ruesch joined the band as second guitarist.
In June 2007, the band finished the recording of its third album Restless. It was first expected to be released in September/October 2007 (as stated in January 2007 on their still-working then website), but Karelia later announced on its MySpace that it would be released through the French label Season Of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
; the label's website displays April 21, 2008 as the release date. The cover artwork hasn't been revealed yet. Restless will show new musical orientations, featuring industrial
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
elements.
In fall November 2007, Karelia opened for the well-known German hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
for three of their shows in France.
Influences
According to Karelia's frontman Matthieu Kleiber, the band members have various influences, citing, among others, classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
as well as hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
bands like Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
for himself and ex-keyboardist Bertrand Maillot, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
such as Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
for bassist Gilles Thiebaut, symphonic
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands for guitarist Erwan Morice and drummer Loïc Jenn.
Current members
- Matthieu Kleiber – backing vocals, vocals
- Erwan Morice – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Jack Ruesch – guitar
- Gilles Thiebaut – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Loïc Jenn – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Bobby Gu - record producer
Former members
- Bertrand Maillot – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Chris Savourey – guitar
- Claude Gasparini – bass
- Lionel Vest – guitar, keyboard
- Sébastien Fellmann – guitar
Studio albums
- Usual Tragedy (2004)
- Raise (2005)
- Restless (2008)
- Golden Decadence (2011)
External links
- http://www.karelia.fr http://www.karelia.fr Official Site]
- Karelia at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....