- Dark Suns
-
- For other uses, see Dark Sun (disambiguation).
Dark Suns Origin Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany Genres Progressive Rock
Progressive metal
Doom metalYears active 1997–present Labels Prophecy Productions Website darksuns.de Members Maik Knappe
Niko Knappe
Torsten Wenzel
Jacob Müller
Ekkehard MeisterPast members Tobias Gommlich
Matthias Benzke
Oliver Fricke
Michael Beck
Christoph Bormann
Thomas BremerDark Suns is a German progressive metal band formed in 1997. It is currently composed of guitarists Maik Knappe and Torsten Wenzel, with Maik's brother Niko performing the vocals and drums. The band has released one demo, one EP, and three studio albums as of 2009.
Contents
History
The band was founded in 1997 by Tobias Gommlich and Niko Knappe, two well known players of the local metal scene in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Dark Suns was initially planned to only be a side project for Knappe and Gommlich, but they spent more and more time on it, eventually finding themselves absorbed in this "side project".[citation needed] In 1998 they recorded a demo called Below Dark Illusion.[1] During that time they had numerous band member changes. Their first EP, Suffering the Psychopathic Results of Daily Blasphemy was released in 1999, and contained only one, 14-minute song.[1]
The band began to write their first album, Swanlike, in 2001, and self-released it in 2002. In 2003, guitarist Gommlich left the band, to be replaced by Torsten Wenzel. This lineup would remain the same through the 2005 release of the band's second, album, Existence. This album showed a change in musical style, including the dropping of the death growls used in Swanlike, and a change from the death/doom style to a progressive metal style. A remastered version of Swanlike was released the same day, through Prophecy Productions.[2]
In 2006, Christoph Bormann left the band, leaving them without a bassist. As of 2009, the band does not yet have a bassist, instead relying on Pain of Salvation's Kristoffer Gildenlöw as a session artist to perform the bass parts on the new material they were recording. Grave Human Genuine, their latest album, was released on February 22, 2008.[3]
Current line-up
- Niko Knappe - Vocals, Drums, Percussion (1997–present)
- Maik Knappe - Guitars, Vocals (1998–present)
- Torsten Wenzel - Guitars, Vocals (2003–present)
- Jacob Müller - Bass (2008-present)
- Ekkehard Meister - Keyboards (2008-present)
Former members[4]
- Tobias Gommlich - Guitars (1997–2003)
- Matthias Benzke - Keyboards (1998)
- Oliver Fricke - Bass (1998–2001)
- Michael Beck - Bass (2000–2001)
- Christoph Bormann - Bass (2001–2006)
- Thomas Bremer - Keyboards, Samples (1998–2007)
Discography
- Below Dark Illusion Demo (1998)
- Swanlike (2002)
- Existence (2005)
- Grave Human Genuine (2008)
- Orange (2011)[5]
EP's
- Suffering the Psychopathic Results of Daily Blasphemy (1999)
References
- ^ a b "Allmusic: Dark Suns - Overview". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p821461. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ "Prophecy Productions: Swanlike". http://www.prophecyproductions.de/front_content.php?idcat=258&idart=397&releaseid=95&lang=1. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ "Prophecy Productions: Grave Human Genuine". http://www.prophecyproductions.de/front_content.php?idcat=258&idart=397&releaseid=147&lang=1. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ "Dark Suns - Metal Storm". http://www.metalstorm.ee/bands/band.php?band_id=413. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Dark Suns Posts New Album "Orange" Artwork
External links
Categories:- German progressive metal musical groups
- Musical groups established in 1997
- German doom metal musical groups
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