Drastique
Encyclopedia
Drastique is an avant-garde gothic metal
band from Italy
with progressive metal
and symphonic black metal
influences.
in 1995 by Chris Buchman with the name Drastic. The only demo of the band, Creator of Feelings, was released in September 1995 in 200 copies with a black and white cover and then reissued in 1996 by Beyond Productions with a color cover. The demo featured Chiara Donaggio on female vocals and was produced by Marco Biolcati, vocalist and guitar
player of the bands Wrest and Blackburn. Creator of Feelings was selected as "best demo" by Metal Hammer
magazine, Metal Shock magazine and Flash magazine. In 1998 Drastic released on Beyond Productions its debut album titled Thieves of Kisses, featuring Alessia De Boni and Chiara Donaggio on female vocals. The album was recorded at Nadir Studios in Genoa
, Italy
and was produced by Tommy Talamanca, guitar
and keyboard
player of the band Sadist
. Thieves of Kisses was selected by a journalist of the popular music magazine Metal Hammer
as “Best Italian Album of the Year” and can be considered one of the first Italian avant-garde metal releases. In 2000 Drastic rearranged and performed the song “Black Mass” by Death SS
: the song was featured on the tribute album Beyond the realms of Death SS, published by Black Widow Records. In 2003 Drastic changed the name into Drastique and released (once again on Beyond Productions, the label of such bands as Sadist
and Theatres des Vampires
) the album Pleasureligion featuring the female vocalist Fay and the male vocalist Mahavira (formerly of Ensoph), even if some male parts were performed by Chris Buchman, who has written and performed the instrumental parts and is the author of the lyrics, written in English
, Polish
, Latin
and Italian
, with numerous poetic and philosophical quotations. The album was released in a limited digipak
version and in a jewel case version. The CD is distributed by Masterpiece Distribution in Italy
and by Adipocere
, Relapse
and Century Media worldwide. In 2004 the album has been licenced to CD Maximum for Russia
and Eastern Europe
.
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and symphonic black metal
Symphonic black metal
Symphonic black metal is a black metal subgenre that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The genre is known for its symphonic and orchestral elements and is centralized in Europe.-Characteristics:...
influences.
Biography
Drastique was originally founded as a one-man bandOne-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of musical instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical contraptions. The simplest type of "one-man band" — a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the...
in 1995 by Chris Buchman with the name Drastic. The only demo of the band, Creator of Feelings, was released in September 1995 in 200 copies with a black and white cover and then reissued in 1996 by Beyond Productions with a color cover. The demo featured Chiara Donaggio on female vocals and was produced by Marco Biolcati, vocalist and guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
player of the bands Wrest and Blackburn. Creator of Feelings was selected as "best demo" by Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
magazine, Metal Shock magazine and Flash magazine. In 1998 Drastic released on Beyond Productions its debut album titled Thieves of Kisses, featuring Alessia De Boni and Chiara Donaggio on female vocals. The album was recorded at Nadir Studios in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and was produced by Tommy Talamanca, guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player of the band Sadist
Sadist (band)
Sadist is a progressive death metal band from Genoa, Italy, founded in 1991. The band split up in 2000 after releasing their Lego album, but reunited in 2005 and released their self-titled album in 2007. Their compositions involve a heavy usage of guitar solos and keyboard solos, with progressive,...
. Thieves of Kisses was selected by a journalist of the popular music magazine Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
as “Best Italian Album of the Year” and can be considered one of the first Italian avant-garde metal releases. In 2000 Drastic rearranged and performed the song “Black Mass” by Death SS
Death SS
Death SS is an Italian heavy metal band.-Biography:Death SS was formed in 1977 by Steve Sylvester. The band combined elements of horror and heavy metal to become a pioneer in horror metal and gothic metal, as well as doom metal and black metal. Death SS were one of the first...
: the song was featured on the tribute album Beyond the realms of Death SS, published by Black Widow Records. In 2003 Drastic changed the name into Drastique and released (once again on Beyond Productions, the label of such bands as Sadist
Sadist (band)
Sadist is a progressive death metal band from Genoa, Italy, founded in 1991. The band split up in 2000 after releasing their Lego album, but reunited in 2005 and released their self-titled album in 2007. Their compositions involve a heavy usage of guitar solos and keyboard solos, with progressive,...
and Theatres des Vampires
Theatres des Vampires
Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band with strong black metal influences, mostly noted for the predominant theme of vampirism within their lyrics.-History and background:In 1994, Alessandro Nunziati form Theatres des Vampires....
) the album Pleasureligion featuring the female vocalist Fay and the male vocalist Mahavira (formerly of Ensoph), even if some male parts were performed by Chris Buchman, who has written and performed the instrumental parts and is the author of the lyrics, written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, with numerous poetic and philosophical quotations. The album was released in a limited digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
version and in a jewel case version. The CD is distributed by Masterpiece Distribution in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and by Adipocere
Adipocere
Adipocere , also known as corpse, grave or mortuary wax, is a wax-like organic substance formed by the anaerobic bacterial hydrolysis of fat in tissue, such as body fat in corpses...
, Relapse
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
and Century Media worldwide. In 2004 the album has been licenced to CD Maximum for Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
Compilations
- Screams from Italy Vol. II (1996)
- Black Tears of Death Vol. I (1996)
- Florilegium Insanie (1999)
- Beyond the Realms of Death SS (2000)
- Metallian Sampler n.29 (2003)
- Loud Souds n.11 – Rock Hard Magazine (2003)
Current line up
- Chris Buchman – vocals, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1995–present) - Fay – female vocals (2002–present)
- Mahavira – male vocals (2002–present)
Former members
- Chiara Donaggio – female vocals (1995–2001)
- Alessia De Boni – female vocals (1997–2001)
External links
- Official website
- Drastique at Myspace
- Drastique at MusicMight
- http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=10037Drastique at Encyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives is a website which lists bands from various forms of heavy metal music...
] - Drastique at Metal Weave
- Drastique at Beyond Productions (label)
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/DrastiqueDrastique at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
] - http://musicbrainz.org/artist/27bcd11e-1048-4031-99b9-a8b20debed9c.htmlDrastique at MusicBrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...
]