Kalijuge

Infobox musical artist
Name = Kalijuge!


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Zilina, Slovakia
Genre = Progressive metal, Progressive rock
Years_active = 1995–present
Label = unsigned
Associated_acts = Liquid Boogie Roll, Amphibios, Dead Horses, Odyssea, Arzen, HT (band)
URL = [http://www.kalijuge.sk Kalijuge] (under construction) [http://www.myspace.com/kalijuge MySpace Kalijuge website]
Current_members = Jano "Freedom" Svoboda
Dušan Labuda
Lukaš Rusnak
Martin Kralik
Rafael Marquez
Past_members = Truba
Palo Chodelka
Lubos Tomascik
Barbora Lipkova|

Kalijuge is a Slovak progressive metal band formed in 1995 in Zilina, Slovakia. Though a number of lineup changes followed, two of the fundational members of the band, Jano Svoboda and Dušan Labuda still remain in the formation.

The evolution of the band in the Slovak metal panorama is, until today, still quite hazardous. During the lifetime of the band up to this point, many members have become part of some formations in the Slovak and American music underground.

The music of Kalijuge is quite difficult to classify. Inside the bounds of the Progressive Metal music, Kalijuge takes motives and ideas that look also similar to old bands like Kansas, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc. from other styles like those little funky threads or even some thrash sounds and also from another cultural influences, such as the Indian or Arabian sounds, scales and chords.

History

First Formation (1995)

The formation of the band under the name of Kalijuge! was changing quite often during the beginning of the band. The origin of the name of the band comes from Kali Yuga which is the fourth and last age of the Indian Mythology. It is suppossed to mean something like modern age and we are in most of the opinions now in this age.

Old formation and new message (2002)

After all these changes in the band, in 2002, band releases its first EP called "NEW MESSAGE" recorded with the formation known as the "old formation" or "classical formation": Jano "Freedom" Svoboda, Dusan Labuda, Palo Chodelka, Lubos Tomascik, Jano Huljak. Truba, the former guitarist made the back vocals for the album. Different performances all around the country made the band get a considerable national success, specially inside the musical rock underground where a formation like this was completely unknown in the country.

The EP had three songs and became quite popular among the musicians related to the progressive or symphonic metal.

During the next years, the band would continue making concerts regularly with that classical formation.

Band break up and renewal (2004-2007)

Some of the musicians, for different reasons, left the band until the point that only 2 members from the original formation were remaining, Jano Svoboda and Dusan Labuda. Truba was already out of the band at the release of New Message. Palo Chodelka left the band too and continued working on his own solo project, Liquid Boogie Roll and some others projects. After that, the keyboard player Lubos Tomascik also left to start his personal project, which would be known later as the band Amphibios, and electronic-drum'n'bass band. A time after that Jano Huljak, the drummer would leave the band to finally join with the already formed band Amphibios.

Some time after that differences between Svoboda and Labuda would end with the end of that era for Kalijuge!. Meanwhile, the singer of the band had been working with bands like Arzen and HT.

Labuda started to play in another formation with Lukaš Rusnak and, after fixing his differences with Freedom, would restart in the band bringing Rusnak with him.

After the rejoining of the band and the final farewell of Huljak, a new drummer, Martin Kralik, would join them.

From Martin contacts they found a very skilled keyboardist, classical music piano player, Barbora Lipkova. Barbora had finish in the top positions in some european contests of piano performance and would record some new themes with them that would never be totally finished. Very skilled technically and musically, the new keyboardist was pushing down the band among her priorities which included some other formations. The band couldn't perform any concerts during 2007 because Lipkova was not in the country at that time, due to working reasons.

Last renewal and return (2008)

Around the first days of March 2008, Svoboda starts talking with one new keyboard player, realizing that Lipkova will not have time enough to play with them. This new keyboard player is Rafael Marquez, a Spaniard who had been living in Slovakia for more than 2 years and had played in other formations. Marquez accepts to try playing with them and after this encounter starts to work with the band about the end of April 2008.

In the month of June 2008, after 2 months of training together with the full new formation, Kalijuge! returns to the scenes with a concert in Žilina, band's hometown.

The band prepares new songs currently to release as a full size album, that will be released probably at the beginning of 2009.