This year ARTmania festival presents 6 concerts with 6 top Romanian bands, besides the ones organized in the Large Square. From punk rock to melodic death metal, the 6 bands will offer a panoramic view of the Romanian metal scene. The concerts will take place in the Small Square and in central partner clubs.
Grimus, ACT, L.O.S.T., Tiarra, 9.7 Richter and Sign of Agony will be the ones playing at the ARTMania Festival 2010, between the 13th -15th of August, on the specially designed acoustic stage. Sign of Agony and Grimus will also be playing in the Music Pub, Tiarra and Act will take the stage in Flying Time and L.O.S.T. along with 9.7 Richter will hold a concert in Bohemian Flow.
Act became part of the Romanian punk rock scene in 1997 with the demo-Strigă(Shout). After some concerts, TV & radio appereances, the band takes a break until 2006. The return of Act on stage also brought along the launch of their first album, Exact in 2008. In 2009 the band parts with its original guitar player due to different perspectives and replaces him with Vlad Văcărescu. Act has now found its inspiration and it’s working on the new album.
Tiarra is a musical project that tries to make a memory of all the emotions and feelings people should stop and listen to. The band’s eight members gather all the moments that make us human through a combo of metal and symphonic music, topped with doom, black and dark nuances. After its foundation in 2004 the band went through a series of changes regarding both genre and members. As soon as the new eight member formula was established, Tiarra launched a demo album entitled Drama per musica. Their second studio material, Post Scriptum, came out under a German record label with ten tracks.
L.O.S.T. is a band formed in 2004 on the skeleton of the Abigail project. In 2006 a new drummer joined in Vlad, Dragos, George and BB Hanemann. Dorin Costea plays with L.O.S.T. after drumming in Deadeye Dick, Colt 44 and Asgard. Recently the band has finished working on their new studio material, Remains of Pain. The members’ experience in the music scene, made of live shows, mass media appereances and previous released albums guaranteed a success. The band made a rapid impact in the underground scene and L.O.S.T. was soon playing alongside Obituary, Behemoth, Rage, Sepultura, Doro, Testament, Helloween etc.
Sign of Agony are the first band on the Romanian music scene to have played the slunder sludge genre. The band formed in 2009 have made a successful combination between the aggressivness of metal and hardcore punk and the Southern blues and rock influences. This year SOA celebrates its first anniversary by playing a special unplugged concert, which includes not only the band’s original songs but also traditional blues tracks.
9.7 Richter was born in 2002 and, inspite of its multiple line-up changes, made a name for itself thanks to a fresh approach on heavy metal, using both classic elements, as well as modern influences. As the years passed, 9.7 Richter became one of the most interesting bands of the Romanian underground scene, headlining numerous shows alongside other acts such as Trooper, Magica or Altar. In 2008, Cosmin Aioniţă joins the band as its new singer, adding a whole new dimension to the band’s already varied approach on metal music. 2010 marks a new landmark in 9.7 Richter’s history, with the recording and release of the band’s first studio material – the EPICENTER EP
Grimus is an alternative rock band that from its native Cluj Napoca has ended up playing alongside Prodigy, the Rasmus, Dandy Warhols, Motorhead, Sophie Ellis Baxtor and Eros Ramazzotti. Grimus was born in 2005 and with their first song they landed straight on top of the radio charts. However, the band established a complete formula in 2007. In a very short period, Grimus won the awards for the best song of the year 2008, Solitude, the best album of the year 2008 (Panikon) and the best new band at the national Global Battle of the Bands. In a Glimse, track found on the acclaimed Panikon album, drew the interest of Amy Winehouse producer, Adam Whittaker. The band, whose name is inspired by Persian mythology is now working on a follow up album. Grimus latest single, Started, has already premiered in the UK and will be promoted through a tour this month.
