Agathodaimon (band)

For other uses, see Agathodaemon (disambiguation).
Agathodaimon
Origin Mainz, Germany
Genres Symphonic black metal, gothic metal, dark metal
Years active 1995–2014
Labels Nuclear Blast, E1 Music, Massacre
Associated acts Nocte Obducta, Adorned Brood, Nordafrost
Website agathodaimon.de
Members Sathonys
Till Ottinger
Manuel Steitz
Ashtrael
Thilo Feucht
Past members See below

Agathodaimon was a gothic/symphonic black metal band from Mainz, Germany.

Biography

The band began in September 1995,[1] when guitarist Sathonys and drummer Matthias got together to assemble a dominant death metal band with harmonic arrangements (melodic death metal). They put adverts in several music magazines in the hopes that they would find suitable musicians to play with them. In answer to the advertisement, they were joined by bassist Marko Thomas and keyboardist and vocalist Vlad Dracul. The last member of their initial formation was the second guitarist, Hyperion, who joined them by the end of that year. With this formation the band recorded the Carpe Noctem demo tape, which received fair reviews from the German specialized press. It also attracted the attention of one of Century Media's executivies, who began keeping track of the band. Agathodaimon then proceeded to play minor gigs and support some European bands. Eventually, they received an offer from Century Media to fund the recording of their second demo. This demo was recorded in early 1997 and was named Near Dark. It attracted the interest of quite a few recording labels, and in the end the band opted to sign with Nuclear Blast.[2] After successfully composing the songs for their debut album Blacken the Angel, one of the members of Agathodaimon, Vlad, was forced to quit the band due to problems with immigration. After returning to his native Romania, he was denied re-entry in Germany.[2] The situation involved the fact that he had left the country during Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime. The band therefore was forced to make use of guest musicians to record their debut. Akaias (from Asaru) did the vocals and Marcel "Vampallens" (from Nocte Obducta) took the role of the keyboards. Vlad's participation on the album was restricted to the solo song "Contemplation Song", which was sent to the band via air mail. The CD caused some impact, and Agathodaimon proceeded to tour with bands such as Children of Bodom and Hypocrisy. At the height of the album's success they opened gigs for Dimmu Borgir, Lacrimosa and other bands. In 1999, Vampallens decided to quit the band in order to dedicate himself fully to his main project Nocte Obducta. He was replaced by female keyboardist Christine S. To record their second album - Higher Art of Rebellion - the band travelled to Romania, in order to be able to play together with Vlad. The vocalist Akaias also participated in the recording of this album,[2] as well as singer Dan Byron performing clean vocals. Recordings took place at Magic Sound in Bucharest. A European tour as headliner with Graveworm and Siebenbürgen followed. After a short hiatus, the band recorded the album Chapter III in 2001 at the Kohlekeller Studio in Germany. Some changes to the band's structure followed, with Vlad definitely quitting the band, soon followed by Marko and Christine. Marko did leave because of health problems and quit making music, while Christine formed her own band Demonic Symphony, where she handles bass guitar and vocals. Marko and Christine were replaced by Darin Smith and Felix Ü. Walzer. In 2004 the band released the album Serpent's Embrace, which again was recorded at Kohlekeller Studio with Kristian Kohlmannslehner as producer. In early 2006 personal differences led to the split of Eddy and the rest of the band. A new bass player named Till (formerly active in Misanthropic, where Matthias also played drums for a while) joined the ranks, and the song writing for the next album took place. Singer, guitarist Frank "Akaias" Nordmann left in January 2007 to carry on with other musical interests.

Matthias and Jonas left the band in 2008, with Manuel Steitz taking over on drums, and in October 2008, the band announced that they had recruited a new singer, Ashtrael.[3]

In 2009 the band released their fifth studio album Phoenix. The next album In Darkness was released in 2013 on Massacre Records.

In October 18, 2014, the band (through Sathonys) issued a statement in their official Facebook account that Agathodaimon will going to split, after 19 years active.

The important news as such to start with- we'll split the band.

And it's damn hard to put this into words. Agathodaimon has been my steady companion during the past years, since its foundation in 1995.

Looking back, many things changed since then, others stayed the same- we always kept our core principles and our band philosophy in focus. And one of its main aspects was to always strive to deliver the best result possible. But this means that dedication and a good amount of time is needed, and that's what I currently can't deliver.

Having a family (2 kids) meanwhile, I can either choose between them or the music. Or go for a half-hearted compromise. This may sound trivial at first, and I did my best to check all available options and possibilities. But in the end it became obvious that I can't continue with the band on a level that it deserves, that can still aim to "deliver the best result possible". So, after thinking about it for quite a while and discussing this with the other boys, we agreed it's best to lay the band to rest. (It should be noted that also some other members partially face similar obstacles that would prevent bigger activities at least for next year)

It is a hard decision for me, but it would be foolish to pretend I could give both band and family proper attention the way things are currently. And working on the next album half-heartedly... that's not an option and in the end, it would not be fair to the fans or our philosophy.

Yet, this might not mean the band is gone forever. Things and circumstances change... It's not sure the band might continue at a later date, but yes, we wish for it, so there's a chance we'll come together again, some day. And continue where we left off, with new strength and energy. (I also doubt I am able to stay away from making music anyway...) Speaking of it, some of us will start/announce new projects sooner or later, we'll keep you updated about it.

Thanks to all those who supported us over the years. Sathonys / Agathodaimon [4]

Line-up

Current members

Past members

Live members

Discography

Studio albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Demo albums

References

  1. ↑ "Agathodaimon - Biography". Agathodaimon.de. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huey, Steve "Agathodaimon Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
  3. ↑ AGATHODAIMON - finally revealed their new vocalist!, Nuclear Blast
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Agathodaimon - Reveal New Album Artwork And More

External links