After releasing 'Monumental Heresy' a little while ago, WALLACHIA shares 10 facts you probably don't know about their history. Enjoy!
1. There exists an unreleased instrumental 'Demo 1995' featuring two songs. It was recorded on an 8-track portable tape-recorder. This recording was only spread around to a handful of people, including Metalion from Slayer Mag/Head Not Found Records, and he proposed to sign WALLACHIA to his label based on this two-song tape.
2. For the 'Demo 1996' Lars used the bass guitar that Nocturno Culto had used on the legendary DARKTHRONE album 'Under a Funeral Moon'.
3. After the Demo/MCD release, WALLACHIA had offers to sign with labels such as Cacophonous Records, Season of Mist, No Colours Records and Kettenhund, but WALLACHIA chose to stay loyal with Velvet Music International, who had released the demo on MCD. Little did the band know that the label was just months away from shutting down their business, and perhaps little did the label know it themselves.
4. Lars Erik Vesterdal, one of the drummers on the debut album 'From Behind the Light' went on to pursue a career as a chef, and made an adventurous journey to China to undergo many months of training. He now runs a successful restaurant in Trondheim, called 'Nordøst' (which means North-East - and the name is related to using ingredients from the North and techniques from the far East). He's also regularly featured as a chef on National radio and tv-shows. He is still an active drummer too.
5. The reason why the demo songs were re-recorded for the debut album was the simple fact that the band was under pressure due to the label situation, and were given a deadline to deliver the mastertape, because the label would end up shutting down just one month after the debut album was released. The 4 songs that were left out for the debut album session ended up being the 4 first songs on the 2nd album instead.
6. WALLACHIA was inactive as a band between the years 1999 - 2006, and a big reason and catalyst for the band's return has been Roman Sayenko from Ukrainian band DRUDKH who dragged WALLACHIA out from the shadows with releasing the debut and demo on tape via his own label, Nightbirds Rex. This lead to the CD re-issue by Dark Horizon Records as well. And Roman remained a helpful figure for WALLACHIA in the years to come and for putting them where they are now today.
7. Negru (R.I.P. ) from Romanian band NEGURA BUNGET was going to be the drummer for WALLACHIA's 2nd album, and plans were taking shape about recording at their own studio in Timisoara in 2007. This was a time when NEGURA BUNGET were starting to become way more active as a touring band, right after their successful 'Om' album. Simultaneously Lars was offered to record with Stefan Traunmüller from the Austrian band GOLDEN DAWN. And since Negru was being rather busy at his front with NEGURA BUNGET, Lars went on and recorded the album together with Stefan and drummer Thomas Kocher.
8. The brand new album 'Monumental Heresy' features an old unrelased WALLACHIA song named 'Silenced No Longer'. Lars recorded a demo test-recording of this track in the year 2000, at a friend's recently established home-studio, and now 18 years later the track finally is brought to life.
9. WALLACHIA was created as a duo, featuring Eystein Garberg together with Lars. And it' a bit funny way how they got in touch, via some advertisements for DEICIDE live bootleg VHS recordings through the Norwegian TV2's text-tv channel. After being in touch on the phone and realizing they just lived approx. a 3,5 hours journey away from each other, Lars and Eystein ended up meeting during the summer of 1995 and from then on went to create the band together. Lars had already written all the songs from the demo by then.
10. Lars has been credited for writing all the music in WALLACHIA, but there is one exception: The church organ middle section of 'Arges - Riul Doamnei' is a part that Eystein wrote and contributed with.
'Monumental Heresy' is available physically on 12' LP' LP and Gatefold CD, digitally via Bandcamp, iTunes, Deezer, Spotify, etc.
'Monumental Heresy' contains 8 immersive and epic compositions:
1. Heathen Shores
2. So We Walk Alone
3. The Prophets Of Our Time
4. Silenced No Longer
5. The Parallel Fate Of Dreams
6. Beasts Of The Earth
7. Returned Favor Of Abandonment
8. Untruthology Abolished
The sublime artwork was crafted by talented Artist Lucile Deadmunchst and the layout assembled by Céline Bouvier.
ONLINE
LINEUP
Lars Stavdal Vocals, Guitars, Guitars (acoustic), Bass (1992-1999), Keyboards (1999), Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Thomas Kocher Drums, Percussion
Stefan Traunmüller Orchestrations, Vocals (backing), Bass, Vocals (backing)
Paal André Sandnesmo Orchestrations, Guitars
Anna Oklejewicz Violin, Viola
BIOGRAPHY
WALLACHIA came into existence 1992 in Steinkjer, central Norway as the one-man project of Lars Stavdal. After a few years composing solo, in 1995 Lars met Eystein Garberg (guitarist in Folk Metal band Lumsk) and as a duo they entered a 24-track analog studio and recorded WALLACHIA's debut release "Demo 1996", a self-financed cassette with a first edition of 200 copies, subsequently repressed in an edition of 500.
The sound of WALLACHIA is filled with melancholy; sombre and symphonic, epic, majestic and utilising gothic elements conceptually inspired by legend and myth from the lands of Wallachia and Transylvania. The artwork for Demo 1996 featured photographs of Transylvanian castles and Carpathian nature taken by Tamás Vámosi from the Hungarian Transylvanian Damnation fanzine, with layout by Einar Sjursø from Norwegian band Beyond Dawn.
In 1997 WALLACHIA signed with French label Velvet Music International, who initially released “Wallachia”, a MCD version of their demo. By 1999, WALLACHIA was once more the solo-project of Lars Stavdal who commissioned two drummers - Lars Erik Vesterdal & Mikael Duna - to equally share drum-recording duties with him on WALLACHIA’s debut full length.
Although debut album "From Behind the Light" was released by VMI in September 1999 in a limited CD pressing, the label unfortunately disbanded shortly afterwards. With the demise of the label, WALLACHIA was also put on hold.
Second epoch 2004 - present day:
In the fall of 2004 "From Behind the Light" was re-released on cassette via the Ukrainian label Night Birds Records, run by Roman Sayenko from legendary bands Drudkh and Hate Forest. The following year a CD re-press was also issued by US label Dark Horizon Records. Both cassette and CD versions had the Demo 1996 songs as bonus tracks.
Although beneath the surface for some years, Lars had continued to compose material for a second WALLACHIA album. In 2006 the band was truly resurrected when Lars began working with friend Paal André Sandnesmo, recording instrumental pre-production for the entire 2nd album within a short time. The pre-production demo led Stefan Traunmüller from Austrian bands Golden Dawn & Rauhnacht to offer assistance recording and producing, he also brought in drummer Thomas Kocher who has been with the band ever since.
"Ceremony of Ascension" was recorded summer 2008 and WALLACHIA signed a contract with German label Twilight Vertrieb who released a CD version in April 2009. The album received good feedback, both for the musical advancement and also for the stunning artwork by Romanian artist Laura Sava. Regrettably the album befell a similar fate to the debut, as the label folded a few months after the release.
In summer 2012 WALLACHIA re-entered the studio and recorded their 3rd opus entitled "Shunya". The album was recorded by the same line-up and production team as previously but this time included real orchestral strings performed by Caroline Oblasser (cello) and Anna Oklejewicz (violin & viola). Artwork was once again provided by Laura Sava, a perfect match for the gloomy and melancholic sides of WALLACHIA 's music.
WALLACHIA signed with Debemur Morti Productions and "Shunya" - the most epic and ambitious recording from WALLACHIA to date - was released in November 2012.
Fast forward to August 2015 and the band performed their first ever concert at Dark Bombastic Evening VI, a 3-day festival at a fortress in Transylvania - the most perfect location imaginable. Two new members were added for WALLACHIA ’s live performance - Romanian born Grolig Maddox from Edge of Night and Path11 on lead vocals, and drummer Thomas Leitner from Irdorath and Groteskh.
With this full line-up the band recorded a 3-track EP named "Carpathia Symphonia" consisting of one exclusive new song + re-recordings of two older songs with new arrangements and lyrics translated from Norwegian to English. The new EP was released digitally on 21 August 2015 and will be physically released in fall of 2015 by DMP alongside re-issues of WALLACHIA's first two albums on 2xCD and gatefold 2x12" LP.
WALLACHIA are currently in the first phase of recording a new album entitled "Path of Satya" which is shaping up to be the longest, most epic and savage recording they could possibly produce. The album includes already-recorded guest performances by Athelstan from UK band Forefather and Cristina from Italian bands Nahabat and Xvarhnah.
"Path of Satya" is scheduled for release in summer 2016 via Debemur Morti Productions.
DISCOGRAPHY
From Behind the Light - 1999
Ceremony of Ascension - 2009
Shunya - 2012
Monumental Heresy - 2018