Английская Википедия:Human Fortress
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Human Fortress is a power metal band from Hanover, Germany.[1] They call their style "epic battle metal."
Biography
Early years, Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir, Defenders of the Crown (1997–2007)
In 1997, guitarists Torsten Wolf and Volker Trost joined with bassist Pablo J. Tammen to form a band called Timezone. Shortly after recording a demo, however, the band split up. Soon thereafter, the lineup was rounded out with singer Jioti Parcharidis, drummer Apostolos "Laki" Zaios, and keyboardist Dirk Marquardt. This new lineup called themselves Human Fortress.
After recording a demo in 1999, the band began work on their debut album, which was completed in the summer of 2000. They entered a talent contest sponsored by a popular German metal magazine. Their song "The Dragons Lair" was released on a compilation CD for the contest, and was subsequently voted "Favorite Track" by online fans. Due to this recognition the band reached a deal with Limb Records, and released their debut album Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir.
2003 saw the release of the band's second album Defenders of the Crown, this time on Massacre Records. The recording process included guest performances by members of the bands Galloglass, King Leoric, and Meridian Zero. After this album, guitarist Volker Trost left the band and was replaced by Frank Sawade.
Change of style, Eternal Empire, hiatus (2007–2013)
In 2007, the face of Human Fortress changed once again, as singer Jioti Parcharidis and drummer Apostolos "Laki" Zaios left the band. They were replaced by Carsten Frank and Arndt Krone, respectively. Human Fortress released their third CD, Eternal Empire, on April 25, 2008.[2] Arndt Krone and Torsten Wolf left the band in the same year, the first being replaced by drummer Vincent Gongala.
In 2009 the band announced that Frank Sawade, Pablo J. Tammen, Dirk Marquardt and Vincent Gongala would form a new band called Ember Sea with singer Eva Skamira, continuing the new style adopted for the third album, and that former band members Jioti Parcharidis, Torsten Wolf, Volker Trost and Apostolos "Laki" Zaios, reinforced by newcomers Ingmar von Berg and Dirk Liehm, would continue as Human Fortress in the style of the first two albums.[3] However, the band entered a period of inactivity around this time, and singer Jioti Parcharidis left again due to health problems in the beginning of 2010.
Return to activity, AFM Records years (2013–2020)
In July 2013, following a 5-year hiatus, Gus Monsanto became Human Fortress' new singer, and the band signed with AFM Records. The band's fourth CD, Raided Land, was released in November of that year. The debut album Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir was also re-released by AFM in 2013.[4]
The band began recording their fifth album in July 2015.[5] A crowdfunding effort was started on Startnext to fund the recording of the album. The album, titled Thieves of the Night, was released in March 2016, again through AFM Records. Soon after, in April of the same year, Defenders of the Crown was re-released by Massacre Records with two bonus tracks re-recorded with original vocalist Jioti Parcharidis.
Reign of Gold, the band's sixth album, was released in December 2019. Reign of Gold was the band's third and final album with AFM Records. Industry veteran Tommy Newton, who had produced the band's early albums, returned in the producer role for Reign of Gold.[6]
Later years, return to Massacre Records (2020–)
In 2020, Human Fortress announced that they had returned to Massacre Records.[7] A two-disc compilation entitled Epic Tales & Untold Stories was released in January 2021,[8] consisting of new tracks, popular songs from all eras of the band, re-recordings, and demo material.
Band members
Current members
- Gus Monsanto – vocals (2013–present)
- Torsten Wolf – guitar, backing vocals (1997–2008, 2009–present)
- Volker Trost – guitar (1997–2003, 2009–present)
- Andre Hort – bass (2013–present)
- Apostolos "Laki" Zaios – drums (2000–2007, 2009–present)
- Dirk Liehm – keyboards (2009–present)
Former members
- Jioti Parcharidis – vocals (1997–2007, 2009–2010)
- Pablo J. Tammen – bass, backing vocals (1997–2009)
- Thomas Albrecht – drums (1997–2000)
- Dirk Marquardt – keyboards, backing vocals (1999–2009)
- Frank Sawade – guitar (2003–2009)
- Carsten Frank – vocals, guitar (2007–2009)
- Arndt Krone – drums (2007–2008)
- Vincent Gongala – drums (2008–2009)
- Ingmar von Berg – bass (2009–2012)
Timeline
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Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:backing value:pink legend:Backing_Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:bars value:gray(0.95) id:studio value:black legend:Studio_Album id:other value:gray(0.5) legend:Demos/EPs
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
at:04/01/2000 color:other layer:back at:09/12/2001 color:black layer:back at:09/01/2003 color:black layer:back at:04/25/2008 color:black layer:back at:11/22/2013 color:black layer:back at:03/18/2016 color:black layer:back at:12/06/2019 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Jioti text:"Jioti Parcharidis" bar:Carsten text:"Carsten Frank" bar:Gus text:"Gus Monsanto" bar:Tosten text:"Torsten Wolf" bar:Volker text:"Volker Trost" bar:Frank text:"Frank Sawade" bar:Pablo text:"Pablo J. Tammen" bar:Ingmar text:"Ingmar von Berg" bar:Andre text:"Andre Hort" bar:Dirk text:"Dirk Marquardt" bar:Dirk2 text:"Dirk Liehm" bar:Thomas text:"Thomas Albrecht" bar:Laki text:"Apostolos Zaios" bar:Arndt text:"Arndt Krone" bar:Vincent text:"Vincent Gongala"
PlotData =
width:11 bar:Jioti from:01/01/1997 till:04/01/2007 color:vocals bar:Jioti from:07/01/2009 till:07/01/2010 color:vocals bar:Carsten from:04/01/2007 till:07/01/2009 color:vocals bar:Carsten from:04/01/2007 till:07/01/2009 color:guitar width:3 bar:Gus from:07/01/2013 till:end color:vocals bar:Tosten from:01/01/1997 till:09/01/2008 color:guitar bar:Tosten from:01/01/1997 till:09/01/2008 color:backing width:3 bar:Tosten from:07/01/2009 till:end color:guitar bar:Tosten from:07/01/2009 till:end color:backing width:3 bar:Volker from:01/01/1997 till:12/01/2003 color:guitar bar:Frank from:12/01/2003 till:07/01/2009 color:guitar bar:Volker from:07/01/2009 till:end color:guitar bar:Pablo from:01/01/1997 till:07/01/2009 color:bass bar:Pablo from:01/01/1997 till:07/01/2009 color:backing width:3 bar:Ingmar from:07/01/2009 till:05/01/2012 color:bass bar:Andre from:07/01/2013 till:end color:bass bar:Dirk from:02/01/1999 till:07/01/2009 color:keys bar:Dirk from:02/01/1999 till:07/01/2009 color:backing width:3 bar:Dirk2 from:07/01/2009 till:end color:keys bar:Thomas from:01/01/1997 till:03/01/2000 color:drums bar:Laki from:03/01/2000 till:04/01/2007 color:drums bar:Arndt from:04/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:drums bar:Vincent from:09/01/2008 till:07/01/2009 color:drums bar:Laki from:07/01/2009 till:end color:drums </timeline>
Discography
| Date | Album Title | Record Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Human Fortress | Self Released | Ep |
| 2001 | Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir | LMP Records | Studio Album |
| 2003 | Defenders of the Crown | Massacre Records | Studio Album |
| 2008 | Eternal Empire | Massacre Records | Studio Album |
| 2013 | Raided Land | AFM Records | Studio Album |
| 2016 | Thieves of the Night | AFM Records | Studio Album |
| 2019 | Reign of Gold | AFM Records | Studio Album |
| 2020 | Epic Tales & Untold Stories | Massacre Records | Studio Album |
References
