Dark Sanctuary

Dark Sanctuary
Origin	France
Genres	Neoclassical
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Ancestral Craft Productions Projekt Wounded Love Records
Website	www.dark-sanctuary.com
Members
Dame Pandora Arkdae Marguerite Hylgaryss Eliane Sombre Cÿr
Past members
Marquise Ermia

Dark Sanctuary is a French Neoclassical band which was formed in 1996 in Paris, Île-de-France.

History

The band's first official release was a 20 minute single track MCD, Funeral Cry, released in 1997. At that time, the band only consisted of two members, Arkdae on keyboards and Marquise Ermia on vocals.

In 1998, the band added additional members to their line-up: Hylgaryss (Keyboards), Sombre Cÿr (Percussion/Bass) and Eliane (Violins). Together, they recorded their debut album, Royaume Mélancolique. They also held their first concert in September 1998 near Paris.

In November 1999, they signed with Wounded Love Records and after Marguerite (Violins) joined them, they recorded their 2nd album, De Lumière Et d'Obscurité, which was released in November 2000.

Right after their recording sessions, Marquise Ermia left the band to carry on her studies, and a new singer, Dame Pandora, joined the band.

Their 3rd album, L'Être Las - L'envers Du Miroir was recorded in March 2002 and released at the beginning of 2003, few months after the release of a two-track single. This album was a huge success in France and Germany.^{[citation needed]}

After few concerts in France, the band returned to Germany to record their 4th album, Les Mémoires Blessées. This album, which was released in early 2004, confirmed Dark Sanctuary's own style while providing a deeper maturity, as well as new musical horizons.

In 2005, their first compilation album Thoughts: 9 Years In The Sanctuary was released.

Subsequently, they released two albums called Exaudi Vocem Meam - Part 1 and Exaudi Vocem Meam - Part 2, in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

As of 2009, they will be on an indefinite hiatus. They have finished recording, and shall be releasing, a collaborative effort with Victoria Francés entitled Dark Sanctuary.

Victims of illegal copying

German rapper Bushido has been charged with copying 16 songs from Dark Sanctuary. On 23 March 2010 he was convicted by German courts to a condemnation and was obliged to stop the sales of the concerned albums, singles and samplers, including his top-selling album Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück. In addition to that, he was bound to recall and destroy all unsold copies.^[1]

Discography

Albums

• Royaume Mélancolique (1999)
• De Lumière et d'Obscurité (2000)
• L'être las - L'envers du miroir (2003)
• Les Mémoires Blessées (2004)
• Exaudi Vocem Meam - Part 1 (2005)
• Exaudi Vocem Meam - Part 2 (2006)
• Dark Sanctuary (2009)

Singles and EPs

• Funeral Cry (1998)
• Vie Ephémère (2002)
• La Clameur Du Silence (promo) (2004)

Compilations

• Thoughts: 9 Years In The Sanctuary (2005)

Line-up

Current Members:

• Dame Pandora - vocals
• Arkdae - keyboards/guitars
• Hylgaryss - keyboards/guitars
• Sombre Cÿr - bass/percussion (is one of the owners of Kaosthetik Konspiration)
• Alexis - Percussion

Former Members:

• Eliane - violins
• Marguerite - violins
• Marquise Ermia - vocals

Sources

1. ^ "Gericht lässt Bushido-Alben schreddern". spiegel.de. http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,685251,00.html. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 

• Biography on Rock Detector
• Biography on Metal Storm
• CD Review on Sonic Cathedral
• Discography on Spirit of metal
• Interview with Dark Sanctuary

External links

• Dark Sanctuary Official Site
• Dark Sanctuary discography at MusicBrainz
• Dark Sanctuary at last.fm
• Dark Sanctuary at Encyclopaedia Metallum