Emperor, iconic name and one of the symphonic black metal pioneers, chooses ARTmania Festival for its first concert in Romania. SAMAEL, an industrial black metal pioneer, also joins, together with Pain of Salvation, the line-up of the festival which will take place between the 28th – 30th of July 2023, in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania.
The 16th ARTmania edition brings 3 days filled with concerts, alternative events and unexpected collaborations, more details on the novelties, surprises and new confirmed artists for the 2023 edition will soon follow.
Emperor (NO), the band which pinned the Norwegian symphonic black metal on the international music scene and which made history in more than 30 years of existence, started its story in ‛91, when it launched the now legendary demo entitled “Wrath of the Tyrant”, the fruit of the collaboration between Ihsahn (guitar/ voice), Samoth (drums) – the two already performing together for some time – and Mortiis (bass).
This material, who brought the band members into the underground scene’s and Candlelight records’ attention, was soon followed by “In the Nightside Eclipse” (1994), the debut album which got them the critics and fans appreciation together with international fame. This success also brought changes and some turbulent times, which were although balanced by the “Reverence” EP (1996) and the legendary “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk” (1997). The latter one, an album of epic savagery, was not only featured in almost every “album of the year poll” across the globe, but actually won the album of the year in both Terrorizer (UK) and Metal Maniacs (USA).
After a series of new materials, like “IX Equilibrium”, international tours and shows performed at the biggest festivals around the world, in 2001, Emperor launches “Prometheus – the Discipline of Fire & Demise”, An epic and progressive metal album that once and for all marked Emperor as one of the most adventurous and gifted Black Metal band of all times. “Prometheus” however also represented Emperor’s swansong, as the band went on hiatus which will last until 2005. During this year, the group exalted the international metal community with a surprise show in Oslo, also announcing they were reforming for a few selected reunion shows in Europe and USA.
In 2014, Emperor celebrated the 20th anniversary of “In The Nightside Eclipse” with exclusive performances in Europe and Asia and continued its activity as a headliner at some of the largest metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air (Germany), Hellfest (France), Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium), Tons Of Rock (Norway), Loudpark (Japan), Heavy MTL (Canada) or Summer Breeze Open Air (Germany). Emperor is a phenomenon which continues to captivate fans around the world, the band being determined to offer an unforgettable show in the heart of Transylvania, during the 16th edition of ARTmania Festival.
SAMAEL (CH), a music project born in 1988 in an atomic bunker from the Swiss Alps, has been inspiring music fans for over three decades, having over 1.000 concerts performed around the globe. Started by the Xy and Vorph brothers as a black metal duet, the project managed to draw the Century Media’s attention, a label in full growth at that time, with which SAMAEL launched its second album, entitled “Blood Ritual”. “Ceremony Of Opposites” (1994), “Rebellion” (1995) and “Passage” (1996) followed, each new disc being accompanied by tours, shows and performing on the stages of the most known festivals of the time, like Dynamo, WOA or With Full Force.
The inspiration continued to guide the band members, thus bringing to light a series of materials like “Eternal”, which was registered at the famous Swiss Mountain Studios (a Queen’s Museum today), “Reign Of Light” (2004), “Solar Soul” (2007) and others which culminated with “Lux Mundi” (2011), album which crowns over 20 years of the band’s existence and which builds a bridge connecting all the sides, 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 of music genres, helped the creation of a specific SAMAEL mark. 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 the SAMAEL unique sound is the use of a drum machine in studio and live on stage. And this rich and always surprising mix of music styles, influences and approaches will charm ARTmania Festival 2023 participants, who will witness a show bursting with a contagious energy.
Pain of Salvation (SE) reconfirmed their presence and will return on the Large Square stage after seven years, bringing their latest album in front of the fans. „Panther” is a material which explores meanings and depths yet untouched, being dedicated to the restless, the shy, the motormouths, 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, who succeeded to stay for almost three decades in the forefront of the international progressive music scene, are well-known for their concept albums, and this latest work does not contradict this tradition. „Panther” comprises 9 music pieces, comes after three years after the „In The Passing Light Of Day” launch, and was recorded, mixed and produced by Daniel Gildenlöw (band’s leader) and Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah, Devin Townsend). If the themes approached in the past were referring to war and its effects on human race and families, 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.
Festival passes for ARTmania Festival 2023 can be already purchased at the official website ( www.artmaniafestival.ro ) and iabilet.ro at 350 lei/ pcs. + taxes, available within the limit of available stock, but not later than the date of the next announcement, which will take place in October 2022.
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About ARTmania Festival:
ARTmania Festival, the first Romanian festival that has brought on the local market the concept of combining the art with entertainment, is a platform dedicated to promoting all forms of artistic expression inspired by rock culture.
With each edition, ARTmania has consolidated itself as a major regional promoter of contemporary music. However, ARTmania Festival does not simply refer to shows of famous international and local bands. Music is the main component from which everything emerged, but it is only a part of the experience the festival was designed to offer to Romanian and foreign art lovers.
Since the very beginning, ARTmania has been designed as a cultural platform meant to offer the public various events and ways to experience different forms of artistic expression, such as concerts, exhibitions, book launches or film screenings. This common meeting place of artists with the public at the level of sound, colours, images or letters, hosted by the Square and the medieval fortress, creates the space of fairy tale and magic which is essentially comprised in the spirit of the festival.
Being the longest-lasting and largest rock festival in Romania and one of the longest-standing traditions of the regional cultural scene, ARTmania has shaped its own identity through a bold concept and a special ambience: the Large Square of one of the most beautiful fortresses medieval times in Eastern Europe.
ARTmania is constantly exploring new directions, building on the experience of previous editions, when a number of important artists and bands went on stage, international names like: Steven Wilson, Peter Hammill, Serj Tankian, Devin Townsend, Dream Theater, Opeth, Die Toten Hosen, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Apocalyptica, HIM, The Gathering, The Sisters of Mercy, Anathema, Apocalyptica, Lacuna Coil, Helloween, Lacrimosa, Poets of the Fall or Deine Lakaien among many others.
