Tristania

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Tristania was a doom metal and gothic metal band from Stavanger, Norway, formed in late 1996 by Morten Veland (guitar and vocals), Einar Moen (keyboards) and Kenneth Olsson (drums).).

Tristania's music is often classified as symphonic gothic metal with notable influences from death/doom metal (particularly on the early albums) and black metal due to its strong link to those genres and its legacy in gothic metal history.

The origin of the name is unclear, but it could be a reference to trist, which means 'sad' or 'depressing' in Norwegian, or to the Tristania flower.

History

Early Tristania (1992-1997)

In 1992, Morten Veland and Kenneth Olsson formed the band Uzi Suicide in Stavanger, with which they remained on the scene for about 3 years. Since then, Veland was more interested in the UK gothic scene, so his compositions began to take on a darker feel, with some spin-offs from that band, notably Einar Moen, later becoming Tristania in nineteen ninety five.

Tristania was born almost hand in hand with other neighboring and contemporary groups, such as Theater of Tragedy and The Sins Of Thy Beloved in a very similar concept, although later each one would develop a particular and characteristic style by their own means. Shortly after and after looking for musicians in their city, they incorporated Rune Østerhus (bassist) and Anders Høyvik Hidle (lead guitar) to complete the Norwegian group at the beginning of 1996.

Vibeke Stene joined Tristania at the age of 18, and was the soprano vocalist of the band for eleven years (photo 2008).

In the meantime, soprano Vibeke Stene arrived as session musician, but they became convinced that her voice was perfectly suited to Tristania's musical concept, and so she became the sixth member of the band. There were initially no female voices in the artistic project its three founders envisioned, but the young Stene soon joined her lyrical singing style in the group and she felt like a permanent member. They recorded the first version of their musical project, on 3 consecutive days in May 1996, at Klepp Lydstudio, in Oslo, Norway.

During the Norwegian summer of 1997 the demo was distributed to various labels, until finally Napalm Records found it very interesting and took over the rights to the recording, since they presented the best offer to the band. Tristania launches the self-titled EP Tristania through this record label.

The image of the beautiful Vibeke and her impressive voice, were the gateway to the Norwegian stages and festivals where they presented their work to the public.

This first recording and their remaining first three albums are characterized by a very symphonic metal style, using elements that until then were not very traditional in gothic bands, such as violin, and choirs similar to those of classical music, mixed with guttural voices typical of death metal.

Widow's Weeds (1997 - 1998)

Inspired by the success in Europe of their EP, the band was eager to record their first album. So in late 1997, the tracks from Widow's Weeds were recorded and released as her first LP in early 1998. Widow's Weeds is a symphonic metal album with elements from various metal genres, such as gothic metal, death metal, black metal and doom metal.

Essential to this record was Østen Bergøy (from the band The Morendoes), a baritone who started out as a studio singer and was a regular member of Tristania for over 10 years, contributing the clean male vocals on the song" Angellore». Fiddle was provided by Pete Johansen (The Scarr), who also contributed to other Tristania albums (four in total), until they decided to dispense with their collaboration entirely.

After making their first performances outside of Norway as sidemen for Lacrimosa in Belgium and at the Mind Over Matter Festival in Austria, during the summer of '98, Tristania went on their first European tour in the fall of the same year, together with Solefald and Hagard.

At the end of 1998 and part of 1999, the band made their first tour of presentations through several European countries, which they called Widow's Tour. This tour was promoted with a CD and its respective VHS of a performance in Oberwart, Austria.

Beyond The Veil and departure of Morten Veland (1999 - 2001)

Morten Veland left the band in 2001

In September 1999, their second album, called Beyond The Veil, was released. The songs on the record are built around the same elements as the previous one, but everything on the album is a bit more extreme, compared to Widow's Weeds. Østen Bergøy and Pete Johansen were contributing again on a Tristania album, as well as another singer; Jan Kenneth Barkved (1974-2009†) member of The Morendoes and Elusive.

As on the debut album, most of the songs were composed by the Veland/Moen duo, although it also featured a couple of pieces by Moen and Hidle.

For the vast majority of critics and fans of Tristania, Beyond The Veil is the masterpiece of the Norwegian group to date, and one of the most representative works of the gothic scene.

In 2000, Tristania continued to tour extensively and landed her first opportunities to tour outside of Europe, with performances in Mexico in August and the United States in November.

At the end of the same year, Veland withdrew from Tristania due to the deep differences between him and the rest of the band and formed a new project called Sirenia, with a similar orientation, but with strong commercial aims and moderate success.. According to many of Tristania's fans, the group was never the same again, in view of the fact that most of the creative weight in the composition and image corresponded precisely to Veland. It was also the group's best commercial season to date.

At this time, a new EP, called Midwintertears/Angina, is released for the American public, which compiles the pieces from their first recording and additional ones. A 2005 special edition contains a DVD with videos of the Widow's Tour called Midwinter Tears.

After returning to Norway, Kjetil Ingebrethsen replaced Morten Veland. At the same time Østen Bergøy joined as a regular member, after participating in all the albums. After Veland's departure, Bergøy actively participates in the composition and in many of the important decisions of Tristania, assuming a leadership role.

World Of Glass (2001 - 2004)

The album World Of Glass was released in September 2001, and represents the natural evolution for the band towards more electronic and contemporary sounds, after Widow's Weeds and Beyond the Veil, although maintaining the "Tristania sound". This album has the important collaboration of Ronny Thorsen (Trail of Tears) in guttural voices. Pete Joahnsen also participated again on violin and Jan Kenneth Barkved on clean voices.

The musical diversity that has characterized Tristania was demonstrated with World of Glass, thanks in large part to the majority contribution to songwriting by Østen Bergøy. This album also included the first cover recorded by the group, called "The Modern End", originally recorded by the legendary Norwegian band Seigmen.

Days after the album was released, the band began the World of Glass Tour in Europe, supported by the bands Rotting Christ and Vintersorg. The tour then took them to more distant places, such as Mexico, and for the first time, to Chile, Brazil and Colombia in 2002.

For many critics, this album was a high point for the group, even with the reservations of not having Veland as composer and leader, and despite being received with lower expectations. With him they marked the end of the first musical stage of Tristania.

After the tour to promote the album in 2003, they took a long break for two years while they reconsidered their future, to return to the recording studios with a new musical concept and thus adapt to new market trends.

On the other hand, his absence helped them focus on the composition of new material and reorganize finances (along with their agents and manager), given that their contract with the Napalm Records label expired after three recorded albums, so they had to work under a new label.

Ashes (2005 - 2006)

Vibeke Stene and Østen Bergøy at a concert at the Evolution Festival, 2006.

In 2005 they decided to release a new album, Ashes, with the new label SPV, after their contract for three albums with Napalm Records expired and they were not renewed. It was written by Østen, Einar and Anders, as well as the webmaster of their website Kjartan Hermansen who writes 2 songs for them: Libre and Circus, which, according to Anders Høyvik's words Hidle, are lyrics that add aggressiveness to the album.

This musical work is a new sound of Tristania, leaving aside the choruses and ambient sounds to create a more organic and stronger album with the help of more acoustic guitars and more dedication to the percussion part.

In general, it is an album that has a more progressive than gothic style, with almost no contribution from the violin and the keyboards have a much more secondary role. Despite this, the participation on piano and synthesizers by Einar Moen is very significant in some pieces, such is the case of the song The Gate, included in later editions as a bonus track.

Originally, Ashes was an inexplicably very short album (only seven songs), to which pieces were added that were not previously recorded. His most important single, and so far his best made video, is Equilibrium.

On April 13, 2006, Kjetil Ingebrethsen (extreme voices) left the band, which is why they resorted to external collaborations with members of other groups on recordings and tours. Svein Terje Solvang is also incorporated as a second guitarist.

Illumination (2007 - 2008)

Tristania finished recording her fifth studio album with the name Illumination; its release date was recorded as January 22, 2007, after suffering several delays beginning in mid-2006. Metal Hammer's comments were positive about the said work, giving it 7/10, saying: "You have to applaud your

The album, lyrically speaking, is mostly negative. Østen Bergøy has been the main composer of the lyrics of Illumination , in which, according to his statements, he has tried to put himself under the skin of people who performed horrible acts without sanity. Such is the case of Open Ground , a track in which Vibeke and Østen sing together the story of a man who decides to murder his girlfriend. Likewise, "Fate" is a song in which Østen personifies a bomb man through his voice.

It maintains a somewhat similar style to that of its predecessor album, although the pieces are generally much shorter and the keyboards are used even less, which gives a more basic, aggressive and dynamic sound. Although without forgetting ballads very much in the Tristania style and in which Vibeke's privileged voice can be appreciated in all its intensity, as in Destination Departure. As with Ashes, Illumination also features bonus tracks that were not included on their first release.

Winds of Change

On February 27, 2007, a statement published on the band's official website announced the resignation of Vibeke Stene as Tristania's vocalist due to personal reasons (she would have withdrawn from the band to dedicate herself to teaching singing, one of their dreams) leaving behind tour plans promoting Illumination and the project of a video clip for Sanguine Sky.

Vibeke Stene left Tristania in early 2007

Despite the fact that Tristania has been characterized by instability in some of its members, her departure has so far been the most sensitive and the one that has marked the rest the most, for being her image and voice for 10 years, factors for which a substitute was unthinkable.

On October 18, 2007, the new vocalist was announced, the Italian Mariangela Demurtas or «Mary» (ex Reel Fiction, Alight), originally from the island of Sardinia, and barely 25 years old. She has a powerful voice, although less spectacular, she has imposed a lot of dynamism and dedication on the concert tour they have carried out so far. Criticism towards Tristania has not been long in coming, and goes far beyond saying why a relatively unknown Italian was incorporated into the Norwegian line-up.

Indeed, Mariangela's voice is much lower, and lacks much of Vibeke Stene's wide range. He is also not able to hit notes as high as she used to with her soprano range. However, it is all part of the new direction and musical style that the band intends, increasingly moving away from the gothic or rock opera genre that made it known in its beginnings with Morten Veland (today with his musical project Sirenia).

Part of the differences originated with their previous vocalist were precisely of an artistic nature, which delayed the release of Illumination for several months, until January 2007. Once he fulfilled his contract to record the new and his last record, Stene left the group for personal projects just a month later.

Despite everything and avoiding any negative comments about it, in the opinion of the group itself, Mariangela has taken Tristania's work to a new dimension by interpreting the Illumination songs recorded with Vibeke: “Mary has an aggressive temperament on stage, everything Østen wanted. She has experience in theater, as well as playing sports since she was a child, both aspects that certainly added her character to her person ».

Rubicon (2008-2012)

Mariangela Demurtas singing at the Karmøygeddon Metal Festival 2010 in Haugesund, Norway

On February 22, 2008, bassist Rune Østerhus left the group of his own free will, arguing that he did not have the necessary motivation during the last concert tours. This situation had forced the band to turn to Kjell Hagen (former member of Trail of Tears) in some live performances since 2005.

His position was officially filled full-time by Ole Vistnes (of the band Zerozonic).

This new lineup featuring Mary Demurtas and Ole Vistnes was first performed at a concert held in kyiv, Ukraine at a music festival with Samael and Enslaved on February 29, 2008.

From that date and during the spring of that year they visited Russia, Greece and the Wave Gotik Treffen in Germany, to conclude with a tour of some Latin American countries in May. Within the framework of these presentations, they toured Chile for the first time, which would take them to important cities such as Valparaíso, Santiago de Chile and Concepción.

On the other hand, Svein Terje Solvang withdrew from Tristania at the end of that tour, so he was replaced as second guitarist by Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard, known for her work with the Norwegian gothic band from Bergen, Octavia Sperati.

The participation of other musicians, such as Tarald Lie Jr. (drums) and Kjetil Nordhus (vocals), was only in live shows due to the absence of force majeure of Kenneth Olsson and Østen Bergøy respectively, without being originally credited in 2009 neither of them as permanent members of Tristania.

Over the course of 2009, they toured with new material at a few summer festivals in Europe and the United States, including Tristania's third appearance at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in July.

The name of the sixth studio album is Rubicon. The production and recording of the album took place between January, February and March 2010 in various Norwegian studios (Tanken Studio, Oslo; K-Lab Studio, Stavanger and Amadeus Studio, Oslo). The design and promotional photos were taken in May 2010 in the Angst-im-Wald studio in Germany.

Among the novelties for 2010, the return on violin of Pete Johansen was announced (after almost ten years of not recording with Tristania, since World Of Glass), which somewhat ensures forms a return to his roots, albeit without the presence of the characteristic Latin symphonic choruses of his early years.

Another unexpected piece of news is the contract with the Austrian record company Napalm Records (with which they released their first three albums), under which they released their new production. Release dates were announced on June 9, 2010, and are set for August 25-31, 2010.

On June 28, 2010, Tristania informed via Napalm Records that drummer Tarald Lie Jr. (of the band Diabla) as well as vocalist Kjetil Nordhus (formerly Trail of Tears and Green Carnation) are new official members. from Tristania. Østen Bergøy, on the other hand, had a very discreet participation in the recording of the last album due to his new paternity, and his future stay with the group is still unknown. Lie and Nordhus had been a part of Tristania as session musicians and in various live performances since the previous year.

With these latest changes, only keyboardist Einar Moen and guitarist Anders Høyvik Hidle are the survivors of the original band, and together with Bergøy, the only ones to participate in all the albums released to date by the Scandinavian group.

Between September 2011 and January 2012, the band successfully participated in an extensive and ambitious festival tour in Europe and North America, called the Out of the Dark Tour 2011, in conjunction with the groups of the gothic and symphonic genre Van Canto, Xandria, Serenity and Amberian Dawn. The presentations took them to nine European countries with fourteen concerts, to conclude with a date in Guadalajara, Mexico and a final in Miami, United States.

Darkest White (2013)

On December 15, 2012, the band announced through their official website the release of their seventh studio album on May 31, 2013 called Darkest White, once again with the Napalm Records label and production by Christer André Cederberg. The new songs will be performed at the band's next performance at the Wacken Open Air festival (the fourth of their career), in the summer of 2013. The recording of the album was accomplished in less than a month. in January 2013, marking Tristania's shortest production period to date. On this occasion, they did not consider it necessary to use additional studio musicians.

Overall, Darkest White was well received by critics and fans, often being considered the "true comeback" for the band known with the former vocalist Vibeke Stene, after his departure in 2007, in contrast to the lukewarm reception of his predecessor.

Sputnikmusic stated that with Darkest White "they really have outdone themselves", even "being the same band that released Rubicon". In Metal Storm, the album was praised for its "exploration of dark, desolate beauty" in a way called "emotional thread". Another aspect that was well received was the "achieved perfection" with the style of three driven vocalists. throughout the album, with the guttural vocals of Anders H. Hidle, the clean voice of Kjetil Nordhus and the female voice of Mariangela Demurtas. The combination of these three singers is considered "intelligent" and "diligent".

Dissolution

During their long hiatus between 2016 and 2018, the band did not have any known activities, while some of its members joined other musical projects. Tristania returned to the stage in 2018 for a few occasional performances, not including new songs.

Finally, on September 17, 2022, Tristania announced their official disbandment, due to an unspecified "medical situation in a close family member of the band". Consequently, the scheduled tour of Latin America in December 2022 was cancelled.

Members

Current members

Mariangela Demurtas - Voice (2008-2022)
Einar Moen - Teclado (1996-2022)
Anders Høvyvik Hidle - Guitar - Voz gutural (1996-2022)
Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard - Guitar (2009-2022)
Ole Vistnes - Low (2009-2022)
Tarald Lie Jr.- Battery (2010-2022)
Kjetil Nordhus - Voice (2010-2022)

Past Members

Morten Veland - guitar, Voz gutural (1996-2001)
Kjetil Ingebrethsen - Voz gutural (2002-2006)
Vibeke Stene - voice (1997-2007)
Svein Terje Solvang - guitar, Voz gutural (2005-2008)
Rune Østerhus - bass (1996-2009)
Kenneth Olsson-Battery (1996-2010)
Østen Bergøy - Voice (1997-2010)

Guest musicians

Pete Johansen - (Violin in Widow's Weeds, Beyond the Veil, World of Glass and Rubicon)
Ronny Thorsen - World of Glass)
Jan Kenneth Barkved † - (cleared lacterns in Beyond The Veil and World of Glass)
Hans Josef Groh - (Violonchelo in Ashes)
Vorph - (Vocales gututales en Illumination)
Petra Stalz - (Violín en Illumination)
Heike Haushalter Illumination )
Monika Malek - (Viola en Illumination)
Gesa Hangen Illumination)
Kjell Rune Hagen - (Bajo en concerts, 2005-2008)
Jonathan A. Pérez - (Battery in concerts, 2005)
Sigmund Olgart Vegge - (refer to additional ridges in Rubicon)
Ole Vistnes - Low(2008-2009)
Tarald Lie Jr.- Battery (2006-2010)
Kjetil Nordhus- Voz (2009-2010)