Vibeke Stene
Vibeke Stene (pronounced Vee-beh-keh, born August 17, 1978 in Sokndal, Rogaland, Norway) is a Norwegian lyrical singer, music teacher and theater actress, member of the band Tristania between 1996 and 2007. After giving up continuing to be part of it, he dedicated himself to teaching singing and music.
Stene has a classical vocal training, with a mezzo-soprano register and a vocal range of 3 octaves. She is considered by many fans as "the queen of gothic metal" [citation needed ] .
Beginnings
Vibeke Stene was born in the municipality of Sokndal, Rogaland province, Norway. She is the daughter of Steinar Stene and Sissel Bø Stene. She has two sisters named Ingvild and Maiken. Stene trained as a group singer from the age of three.
She started taking singing classes at the age of thirteen. Afterwards, she decided that she wanted to be her own teacher. She took classes until the age of twenty-three. Stene also worked as a teacher in all subjects.
Career
Musical Background
Stene grew up in a home full of music. In an interview, she stated that her influences were people she sang with personally. Before Tristania, Stene performed mainly classical vocals in different music schools. She also sang in choirs and had jazz, folk, and classical music concerts as soloist admitting that "all the traveling with the band makes it impossible for a choir to be highly dependent on oneself." Stene has stated that Tori Amos, Björk, David Bowie, Tom Waits and Diamanda Galàs They are "just a few of many singers that I think are very good." Her vocal range is that of a soprano.
Tristania keyboardist Einar Moen stated in an interview that Stene "Has a classical education, an opera school education, and a university degree. And she has also taken singing classes since she was a child, so she has always sung.' She also mentioned that when she met Vibeke, she was not interested in gothic metal, but in rock. and heavy metal.
1996-2007: With Tristania
Stene joined Tristania at age eighteen while she was still in school studying music. She met the members through a friend and later during a music competition. She joined when they were planning their first demo. Initially, she was only going to be a guest singer. However, she later joined the band permanently.
According to Vibeke's words given to the media Rockerio.cl, he comments on his entry into the scene "I was 17, I studied music at school, I had the whole world in front of me and I wasn't afraid to face new challenges, I started by knowing my inner melancholy and I was, I suppose, looking to give meaning to my life, as teenagers usually do, I remember that they took me to a Theater of Tragedy concert, I saw them perform in Stavanger and I remember thinking, “I can do so much better” (sorry Liv Kristine) I started dreaming and sent my wish out into the universe, then it came back to me and I really had my chance. The world of metal grew on me and I felt like I had found my home in the symphonic metal genre.
On February 27, 2007, Stene left Tristania for personal reasons, in his own words because the band's music was no longer going in the direction they had initially created. He also stated that he wanted to pursue a big dream of hers, which was to teach singing. Faced with that in 2013 on the Rockerio.cl site she declared & # 34; In part she did not agree with the direction that the music was taking, I think that is reason enough. I also needed to escape from the circus in which I fell, which was set up around the band. It was a very difficult decision to make, but it was also good after a while to feel calm and at peace."
In the spring of 2007, at the same time that Stene left, the Finnish band Nightwish was going to announce their new vocalist. Due to Stene's recent departure, it was widely discussed in music circles that Tarja Turunen's replacement was going to be Vibeke. The rumor was quickly denied. Stene clarifying in an interview, "I am not the new vocalist of Nightwish."
Stene also said in an interview: "I wouldn't want to sing for Nightwish,", a Finnish band that hired Anette Olzon at that time, and in turn denied any connection with the Norwegian soprano.
2007-2012: Retirement
In 2011, Stene appeared on the song "Queen of Broken Hearts" from the electronic band Plutho. According to the members of Plutho, the song was recorded in 1999, which indicated that Stene was still on the music scene. According to an interview conducted a few years ago, the interviewer asked her if she wanted to start singing professionally again. She said that if she gave her a good offer, she would come back.
2013-Present: Return
On June 7, 2013, Stene announced on his official Facebook page that he is returning to the music scene. A 1-minute demo has already been published about what will be her new musical project.
It was announced that he will participate with Asgeir Mickelson in a project called God of Atheists. The musicians who will participate in the new band are Vortex from Dimmu Borgir, Ihsahn from Emperor, Trym Torson from Zyklon, among others. . However, the publication of said album has been postponed due to the completion of Vibeke Stene's Veil of Secrets project.
On the artist's Facebook account, a play has been announced in which Stene has been the protagonist, in which she has used clothing used in her concerts with Tristania.
On July 9, 2020, through her Facebook page, she announced a new band which would be the singer's return to the world of music, this project is called "Veil of Secrets" and they announced that her first album would be titled 'Dead Poetry'. The album was recorded by Asgeir Mickelson (ex-Borknagar, Sarke, Ihsahn, Testament) and mixed by Borge Finstad at TOPROM STUDIO. On the album, Mickelson performed the guitars, drums and bass, SAREETA (Ram-Zet, ex-Ásmegin) performed the violins, and Erling Malm (Articulus, Endolith) will be in charge of the male vocals. The album cover was painted by KJELL ÅGE MELAND. The album was mastered in DUB STUDIO by Endre Kirkesola. .
Private life
Stene gave birth to her son named Gylve in 2005 and then a daughter. She works as a singing teacher for a primary school in Kristiansand, Norway. She has stated in a recent interview that she does not like certain things such as ignorance, pollution, pesticides, defamation, world powers, the weapons industry, money and that she prefers science to religion. .