Compos Mentis (band)

Compos Mentis
Origin	Denmark
Genres	Death metal Melodic death metal
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Mighty Music Lost Disciple Records
Website	www.composmentis.dk
Members
Jesper Heinsvig Ken Holst Ryan Kristensen Rune Klausen Dan Damgaard Andreas Posselt
Past members
Bo Damgaard

Compos Mentis is a Danish metal band. The band was formed in Vojens, Denmark.

Background

Compos Mentis was formed in 1996, originally as a Metallica jam band. In 2000, they released the demo Quadrology of Sorrow and in 2001 they signed a record deal with Lost Disciple Records. In 2003, they released their debut studio album, Fragments of a Withered Dream.

In September 2006, the group's keyboardist decided to quit the band after seven years as a member. That same year, Ken Holst (Bloodsoil, ex-Adversary) joined the band as the new guitarist, allowing Jesper, the lead singer and former guitarist, to focus solely on vocal duties. Keyboard player Rune Klausen later joined, making it a brand new six-piece band.

In October 2006, the band began a collaboration with the Danish booking agency, Strange Ears Booking, and a month later Compos Mentis signed a contract with the record label Mighty Music, whereupon the band released their second album Gehennesis in March 2007, though only in Denmark. On June 18, 2007, the album was released in the rest of the world. After releasing new material in March, the band found themselves doing a small tour in their home country Denmark in September, while looking for "the right" chance to play across Europe, or outside Denmark. The band played in Danish towns and cities such as Copenhagen, Elsinore, Struer and Ribe.

In the summer of 2008, the band recorded their third album, Our Kingdom of Decay, in the CB-Studios. According to the band, the lyrics on Our Kingdom of Decay focus on Denmark from various perspectives and the album will show "a more rock-oriented approach to melodic death metal than previous efforts". The album was released on CD on June 22, 2009, and as a download August 4, 2009. The album received 6 out of 6 on MetalZone.dk.

Members

Current members

• Jesper Heinsvig – vocals
• Ken Holst – guitar
• Ryan Kristensen – guitar
• Rune Klausen – keyboards
• Claus Tørnes – bass guitar
• Andreas Posselt – drums

Former members

• Bo Damgaard – keyboards (1999–2006)
• Dan Damgaard – bass guitar (1996–2007)

Discography

• Quadrology of Sorrow (2001, demo)
• Fragments of a Withered Dream (2003)
• Gehennesis (2007)
• Our Kingdom of Decay (2009)

External links

• Official website
• Official MySpace
• Last.fm