Mägo de Oz

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Mägo de Oz
Mägo de Oz

Mägo de Oz ("Wizard of Oz" with a heavy-metal umlaut) is a Spanish folk metal band formed in mid-1989 by drummer Txus.[1] In 1992, the band became a finalist in the "Villa de Madrid" contest. They achieved great success in their country, and became Revelation Rock band in various media in 1995. In 1996 the current line-up was established. The same year, they began recording the rock opera CD "Jesús de Chamberí", produced by Alberto Plaza and Mägo de Oz. The CD was edited in 1996, with the company's new name "Locomotive Music". Mago de Oz is one of the very few folk metal bands that have achieved large fame in and outside of their country. They often incorporate a very Celtic style in their music with their violinist.

Contents

[edit] History

The band was founded in May of 1989 by the drummer who slowly recruited the rest of his members for the band and by 1992 had a lineup. Originally, the band was called "Transilvania" (Transylvania in Spanish) named after the metallic instrumental piece of the same name from their idols, Iron Maiden. In 1992 the band members were:

  • Txus: Drums and backing vocals
  • Mohamed: Violin
  • Charlie: Lead Guitar
  • Chema: Rhythm Guitar
  • Salva: Bass
  • Juanma: Lead Vocals, backup drums

They recorded several demos: "Y qué más Da" (1989), "Canción de Cuna para un Bohemio", and a third one in 1992. Their music was open to a wide range of styles and influences, but still basing their full musical potential in folk metal and Celtic music. The band had achieved an original style in their Celtic music, as many fans often commented.

In 1992 the band was the finalist in the festival, "Concurso Villa de Madrid". But even still, Chema, the guitarist, decided to leave the band. His replacement was Carlitos. Through two recording sessions, and the ousting of Charlie and Chema's reentry into the band, the band launched their debut in 1994, produced by Txus and Alberto Plaza under the name, "Mago de Oz". This album found very little success and people were barely aware of the band's existence. During this time, Mago de Oz suffered one of their most difficult times, now with the definite expulsion of Juanma and Chema. In 1996, the lineup that has persisted almost until the present time was formed. Here, we see the entrance of José Andrea replacing Juanma as singer, and Frank replacing Chema. By then, the lineup consisted of:

  • Txus: Drums and backing vocals
  • Mohamed: Violin and backing vocals
  • Carlitos: Lead Guitar and backing vocals
  • Frank: Rhythm Guitar, acoustic guitar, and backing vocals
  • Salva: Bass and backing vocals
  • José Andrea: Lead Vocals, keyboards

That very same year, the band began recording their rock opera album, Jesús de Chamberí. The album was edited and sold under the label Locomotive Music. Mago de Oz saw a huge surge in popularity following the release of the album, due largely in part to the addition of their newest singer, José Andrea, who was clearly a far superior singer than the original Juanma.

The band promoted the album with the "Via Crucis Tour", which further cemented the band's popularity in Spain. In 1997, the band decided to rerecord five songs from their debut album, now with the new singer. The EP simply bears the title Mago de Oz, however many fans refer to it as "La Bruja", meaning "witch" in Spanish, as there is a witch playing a violin with a moon backdrop, on the album cover. The name has now become as a de facto name for the EP and even the official website now refers to the EP as simply "La Bruja". Indeed one can compare this to a very similar occurrence with the Beatles' self-titled album, "The Beatles", but it is referred to by fans as "the White Album".

La Bruja further opened Mago de Oz's chance for more festivals and events, and obtained more success than Jesús de Chamberí.

Mago de Oz began to take a strong interest in concept albums and rock operas as was shown in Jesús de Chamberí. Still instilled with this interest, Mago de Oz released their third and perhaps most famous album, "La Leyenda de la Mancha". The album is a modern retelling of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote. Rock opera has been a style present in all of their albums from "Jesús de Chamberí" up until the present.

Mago de Oz embarked on their "The Riiiichal Tour" which contained the greatest number of concerts performed ever on a tour (115 concerts).

Because of the massive success of "La Leyenda de la Mancha", and to mark their 10th anniversary, the band released a documentary concerning them called "Resacosix en Hispania", in 1999. The documentary was later released on DVD in 2004.

Towards the end of 1999 Mago de Oz embarked in an ambitious project: a double disc dubbed Finisterra. Fueled with a desire to succeed musically, the band recruited Sergio "Kiskilla" on the keyboards and accordion and Fernando on the flute. The album was then released in 2000. This album has been the most folk out of all of the albums, while still keeping their heavy metal roots. The tour for this album was also far more sophisticated than previous ones, now with elaborate sets, pyrotechnics, and impressive lights. This also marked the departure of the bassist, Salva, and the entrance of his substitute, Sergio. In 2002 the band released their first live album, Folktergeist, a compilation of songs played at different shows throughout the tour.

In 2003, Mago de Oz, released the first, of what is soon to be a trilogy, album named Gaia. This album showcased hit songs such as "La Costa del Silencio" and "La Rosa de los Vientos". By that time, Mago de Oz had already started performing concerts in Latin America. Some fans disliked Gaia, as it shows a softer side of Mago de Oz, however the album shows a great step ahead in the musical maturity of the band. Gaia can be considered as a concept album with two main themes surrounding the plot: the wild Spanish conquest of America and the extreme ecological abuse of mankind towards mother earth (Gaia). The CD includes a high quality booklet which contains a touching and cruel story about the subjects mentioned before. Every chapter takes you to a carefully selected song that complements the plot and the story. Flutes, violins, Celtic rock and an astonishing vocalist are what this album is all about.

In 2004, Mago de Oz returned to the studio to record "Belfast" named after the city in Northern Ireland and the numerous religious conflicts that have taken place there. Many of the songs on the album are simply rerecordings of songs on previous albums. The band recorded a metal version of "La Rosa de los Vientos" as well as adding some orchestral improvements to certain earlier songs.

At this time, Mago de Oz underwent important changes: the entrance of a third guitarist, Jorge Salan, and within a few months, the departure of bassist, Sergio.

In 2005, Mago de Oz released two albums. The first one, was a second live album called "Madrid-Las Ventas", recorded in Madrid's bullfighting arena, Las Ventas. There were some rather large complications concerning this album, since Locomotive Music had released the album, and Mago de Oz had now signed themselves under a new label, and therefore, Locomotive Music did not have the consent of the band. The second disc, "Gaia II- La Voz Dormida", under the new label, Warner Dro, was the second album in the Gaia trilogy and it released a single "La Posada de los Muertos". For this album, came their newest bassist, Pedro "Peri". Along with "La Posada de los Muertos" came more singles: "Hoy toca ser feliz" and "Diabulus in Musica". This song is one of the most powerful antireligious songs along with "La Voz Dormida".

During the tour for Gaia II, Txus temporarily left the band due to extreme exhaustion and problems which required his presence. His substitute for the time would be Joaquin Arellano. The drums would be occupied by Arellano for a month and a half. On September 8, 2006, Txus returned to the drums.

On December 5, Mago de Oz released their very first greatest hits album Rock N' Oz. This album included a re-recording of the songs "Molinos de Viento, "Jesús de Chamberí", "Hasta Que Tu Muerte Nos Separe", and "El Cantar de la Luna Oscura". The album is a double album, the first disc contains singles and the second non-singles. A special edition of Rock N' Oz, entitled "The Best of Oz" came in a box set with the original 2 discs and an extra disc containing rare recordings including old recordings of songs never before released with the first singer Juanma still in the lineup. It also contains a DVD highlighting their American tour.

Fans await the release of Gaia III in 2007 or 2008.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Txus is the Basque spelling of the Spanish Chus, a short form of Jesús.

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links

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