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Album Details
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· Produced By: Nino Laurenne & Altaria
· Running Time: 42.27
· Release Date: April 28
· Released: EU
· Genre: Metal
· LabelLink: Altaria
· LabelLink: AOR Heaven
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Artist Bio
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Line-Up: Jouni Nikula (vocals); Jani Liimatainen (guitars & keys), Emppu Vuorinen
(guitars); Marko Pukkila (bass); Tony Smedjebacka (drums)
ALTARIA's story began in the beginning of the year 2000 when bassist Marko Pukkila and
drummer Tony Smedjebacka decided to form a new outfit.
Both musicians had been
playing together in a band called BLINDSIDE before. BLINDSIDE though was not moving
forward, so with the arsenal of a few songs and many aspirations, the duo decided to
form a new band: ALTARIA. At the same time, the search for other members had begun.
The first addition was shouter Johan Mattjus, an old friend of Marko, whom Pukkila
accidently had met on a train. Johan's singing talents were not being used in any band at
the time, so ALTARIA were lucky to obtain a great vocalist.
The next member to join ALTARIA was monster guitar player Jani Liimatainen of SONATA
ARCTICA fame. Jani was excited about joining ALTARIA, who at the time were shaping up
as a project. But what started as fun quickly turned into a real band, as great songs were
formed and live performances were very well received.
The band’s first studio session in the year 2001 resulted in a 3-track demo/promo
entitled “Sleeping Visions” which was distributed to media and record companies. The
responses to these recordings were fantastic...
In the beginning of 2002 the band had some scheduling problems with Mattjus, so Jouni
Nikula (REQUIEM) was called to help ALTARIA out for two of their live shows. Because
the gigs went extremely well and both the audience and the band really liked what they
heard, the band voted for getting Jouni in as a permanent member to join. So, there it
was - the first line-up change in ALTARIA's history.
The band went back to the studio with this new line-up and finished the first recordings
with Jouni Nikula on vocals: a new 4 track demo entitled “Feed The Fire”.
For this demo, ALTARIA once again got great feedback from the fans and press and also
caused some attention at various record labels. In August 2002, ALTARIA finally decided
to sign their first ever record deal with German based label Metal Heaven.
A month later, recordings started at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki (Finland) with the
help from producer & engineer Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE). While recording,
ALTARIA went out to play a couple of live shows in Finland to rehearse the material and
to add a second guitarist to the line-up. A good old friend from the past - Emppu
Vuorinen from NIGHTWISH fame - was interested in this slot and joined the band for
their small tour. The shows went that well that Emppu finally decided to become a full
member of ALTARIA and began to take part in the recordings. The result can now be
heard on their debut album "Invitation".
recorded at Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki between September 2002 and January 2003
produced by Nino Laurenne (Thunderstone, Kotipelto) & Altaria
mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki
published by Humbucker Music
logo & cover artwork by Rainer Kalwitz (Dare, Crystal Ball a.o.)
booklet & layout by Metagraphic Design; Jörn Zimmermann & Manuela Häusler
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