Nightrage is a Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band formed by guitarist Marios Iliopoulos (ex-Exhumation) and his close friend Gus G.(Ozzy Osbourne / Firewind) who later re-located to Gothenburg, Sweden.
Their first release, Sweet Vengeance, was released in 2003 and featured drummer Per Möller Jensen (The Haunted), and bassist Brice Leclercq. They also managed to acquire the services of vocalist Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates). Sweet Vengeance also featured guest clean vocals on a few tracks by Tom S. Englund of Evergrey fame. The album is proceeded by their first ever video for the track "Gloomy Daydreams" on an earlier edit, with Gus G. on Vocals.
Their second release, Descent into Chaos, was released in 2005 and had a change of line up, with the addition of a more permanent rhythm section. Fotis Benardo (Septic Flesh, ex-Innerwish) took over on drums and Henric Carlsson, who also plays in the band Cipher System, on bass. Mikael Stanne, of Dark Tranquillity, provided a clean vocal section on the track "Frozen."
On July 10, 2005, it was announced that Tomas Lindberg decided to leave the band due to difficulty working his role in the band around his various other projects. Replacing him on vocals was the relatively unknown Jimmie Strimell.
When Gus G. was performing with Arch Enemy at Ozzfest 2005, he was replaced by Pierre Lysell for Nightrage's touring activities. For some of
Nightrage's tour in support of Bolt Thrower, Gus G. was again unavailable and his place was taken by Christian Muenzer, of Necrophagist. In March 2006, Gus G. permanently left Nightrage to focus completely on Firewind. At this time Fotis Benardo decided also to leave Nightrage and focus on the reunited Septic Flesh. He was replaced by Alex Svenningson.
Their third release, A New Disease Is Born, was released in 2007. Gus G was replaced by the well known Swedish guitar virtuoso Olof Morck (Dragonland, , Amaranthe, My Darling Dismay). The album's name may have been originated from lyrics from the song "Drug" on their last release. The album showcases their second video for the song "Scathing", directed by Bob Katsionis.
After the release of A New Disease Is Born Alex Svenningson and Jimmie Strimell left the band to pursue a career in pop music. Long time bassist Henric Karlsson also left the band due to his family obligations.
Three very familiar faces in the underground metal world would now join Nightrage. Vocalist Antony Hamalainen (Slaves For Scores, Burn Your Halo), bassist Anders Hammer (Dragonland), and drummer Johan Nunez (Suicide of Demons).
On September 20, 2008 Nightrage announced the title of their fourth album, Wearing a Martyr’s Crown. The album is a return to form for the band, with an even more traditional melodic death metal approach. It was confirmed on November 4, 2008 that Wearing a Martyr's Crown will be recorded, produced, and mixed by Fredrik Nordstrom at Studio Fredman.
Wearing a Martyr's Crown was released on June 23, 2009 in Europe and Japan. The album has since become critically acclaimed. According to the
press release:
Wearing A Martyr's Crown finds NIGHTRAGE more mature than ever, but present is also a distinct will for experimentation and fresh ideas — though always inside the boundaries of what made the NIGHTRAGE name from the beginning; sheer brutality, swirling and soaring melodies and acoustic guitar work to evoke scenes and emotions of the deepest melancholy. Delving into a multitude of musical and lyrical vistas, this fourth opus from the international melodic death metal martyrs deals with a multi-layered journey into the darkest depths of the human psyche, the futility of human behaviour and the most dimly lit corners of the untold arcane. Expect to have these eleven incantations burn your soul, yet leaving you wanting to come back for more."
The album was released on August 4, 2009 in North America.
On February 18, 2010 Nightrage released their third music video for the song Wearing A Martyr’s Crown while on a tour of Greece. The video was once again directed by Bob Katsionis and was recorded at Zero Gravity Studios which is located in Athens.
According to recent interviews the band is currently writing songs for their fifth album. In an interview with Deathmetalbaboon.com on June 14, 2010, Antony Hämäläinen already gave away some song titles: Poisoned Pawn, Delirium of the Fallen, and The Utmost End of Pain. However, he would not yet give out the name of the album itself. Once again the album will feature an instrumental track. About the album's sound, Antony Hämäläinen says:
"It sounds really heavy. Stripped down and in your face. The songs are a bit shorter and with fewer acoustic guitars than Wearing a Martyr’s Crown. I think so far, out of the nine songs there are no clean vocals at all. It’s a very pissed off sound, so it’s going to be a really heavy record. Lots of guitar solos and melodies there too of course."
Current members
• Antony Hamalainen (2007–Present) – vocals
• Marios Iliopoulos (2000–Present) – guitar
• Olof Morck (2006–Present) – guitar
• Anders Hammer (2008–Present) – bass
• Johan Nunez (2007–Present) – drums
Nightrage
Group Option
Admins
Members
Photo Albums
Description
Announcements
Greek metallers Nightrage have announced that their "Wearing A Martyr's Crown" album is set to be issued as a vinyl version in May through Floga Records. The release is limited to 500 copies and will feature a heavy gatefold cover with colored wax.
You can check out additional details and the cover artwork at this location. Sample Nightrage tracks are also currently available for streaming through the band's official MySpace profile.
Discussions
No discussion added yet.
