Dargaard
Encyclopedia
Dargaard is a neoclassical
/ambient
band from Austria
formed in 1997. Typically in dark and somber moods, the music of Dargaard presents medieval and folk-like melodies, often orchestrated through the use of various instrument patches from a keyboard. The band is still active and has four releases at this time.
and Amestigon
, both black metal
bands and Dominion III
, an industrial music
act. Tharen was the keyboard player in Abigor, but Amestigon, Dominion III and Dargaard are entirely his projects. Dargaard was born out of Tharen's desire to move away from black metal and express himself through more ambient and classical music.
Also joining the band was Elisabeth Toriser as vocalist. Elisabeth was the vocalist in Dominion III
and was also involved in the band Antichrisis; she supplied backing vocals for Abigor's 1995 album Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)
. She claimed in an interview to have split with this band because it interrupted her studies, and she felt their musical conception was different. Tharen has also commented that Elisabeth is working on another project based around acoustic guitars, but as of writing this no recordings or releases have been made.
Dargaard, taken from the fantasy book series DragonLance
, is the name of a cursed stronghold that stands in everlasting darkness after a tragic failure of its owner. The name of the stronghold is in full Dargaard Keep.
, who Tharen was already involved with due to his previous bands. This is the reason the band released no demo as the record deal was already signed with Tharen. The release was highly acclaimed by fans of metal and darkwave alike. As one reviewer put it - "Dargaard's 'Eternity rites' is a climactic fairytale full of medieval/folk themes beautifully composed and perfectly performed. Majestic, frequently aggressively dark, but more often melancholic atmosphere makes for a thought-provoking listening experience." The band would return to the studio in August to create their second album.
In Nomine Aeternitatis was the band's next record. Continuing the Dargaard formula, the band created another work of dark melody, the release was considered by fans to be a true milestone of innovate darkwave music. Released on the 3rd of June 2000 through Napalm Records, it again received great praise. The band continued on their musical journey, releasing Dissolution of Eternity in June 2001, and their latest work Rise and Fall in March 2004.
Tharen himself describes the music as "songs [that] radiate a kind of beauty, but on the other side we always tried to make our music dark and mighty, the same goes to the lyrics. It's about my very own realm, and this realm consists of dark forces, magic and mysticism and even darkness itself that has its own kind of beauty." Tharen names his influences as many, mainly from feelings gathered from reading. Terry Goodkind
's Sword of Truth
is a named influence along with the Mysterious Realms series of books. Tharen also said that his music wasn't directly influenced by any other darkwave
bands. The lyrics, a mixture of ancient cultures, myths and mysticism and an important part in Dargaard style, are generally inspired from Tharen's "dreams and "visions" of other realms and dimensions".
Dargaard remain active in the musical scene, though there has been no news about future releases yet. Tharen has said personally that the band will never tour or play live, due to his own personal commitments. The band has a solid fanbase that often join Tharen for chats on their official forum.
Neoclassical (Dark Wave)
Neoclassical Dark Wave refers to a music genre within the Dark Wave movement. It is characterized by the use of ethereal atmosphere and angelic female voices but also adds strong influences from classical music. Neoclassical Dark Wave is distinct from the academic art music form known as...
/ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
band from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
formed in 1997. Typically in dark and somber moods, the music of Dargaard presents medieval and folk-like melodies, often orchestrated through the use of various instrument patches from a keyboard. The band is still active and has four releases at this time.
Band history
Dargaard was founded by Tharen in 1997. Tharen had already played a prominent role in several underground bands by this time, including AbigorAbigor
Abigor is an Austrian black metal band formed in 1993.-History:The band was formed in 1993 by P.K. and T.T. After the release of several demos, original vocalist Tharen left the band and was replaced by Silenius, who recorded vocals for all Abigor releases until the recording of Channeling the...
and Amestigon
Amestigon
Amestigon is one of Austria's oldest black metal bands. It was founded in 1993 by Tharen and Thurisaz. Both had been a part of the black metal band Abigor and members of this band still contribute as guest musicians on recordings on Amestigon releases.- History :The band began by recording two...
, both black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
bands and Dominion III
Dominion III
- History :The band was started by Tharen in 1998 shortly after his other band, Dargaard, released their debut. Dominion III was his expression into heavier industrial music to express his feelings...
, an industrial music
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
act. Tharen was the keyboard player in Abigor, but Amestigon, Dominion III and Dargaard are entirely his projects. Dargaard was born out of Tharen's desire to move away from black metal and express himself through more ambient and classical music.
Also joining the band was Elisabeth Toriser as vocalist. Elisabeth was the vocalist in Dominion III
Dominion III
- History :The band was started by Tharen in 1998 shortly after his other band, Dargaard, released their debut. Dominion III was his expression into heavier industrial music to express his feelings...
and was also involved in the band Antichrisis; she supplied backing vocals for Abigor's 1995 album Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)
Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)
Nachthymnen is the second studio album release by Black metal band Abigor. It was released in 1995.- Track listing :# "Unleashed Axe Age" - 6:24# "Scars in the Landscape of God" - 6:15# "Reborn through the Gates of Three Moons" - 6:04...
. She claimed in an interview to have split with this band because it interrupted her studies, and she felt their musical conception was different. Tharen has also commented that Elisabeth is working on another project based around acoustic guitars, but as of writing this no recordings or releases have been made.
Dargaard, taken from the fantasy book series DragonLance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
, is the name of a cursed stronghold that stands in everlasting darkness after a tragic failure of its owner. The name of the stronghold is in full Dargaard Keep.
Music
With Tharen composing the music and Elisabeth writing the vocal melodies, the band recorded their debut album Eternity Rites in October 1998 in the Hoernix Studios. It was released through Napalm RecordsNapalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock.Originally, Napalm Records focused mainly on black metal acts such as Abigor and Summoning and folk metal bands such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg....
, who Tharen was already involved with due to his previous bands. This is the reason the band released no demo as the record deal was already signed with Tharen. The release was highly acclaimed by fans of metal and darkwave alike. As one reviewer put it - "Dargaard's 'Eternity rites' is a climactic fairytale full of medieval/folk themes beautifully composed and perfectly performed. Majestic, frequently aggressively dark, but more often melancholic atmosphere makes for a thought-provoking listening experience." The band would return to the studio in August to create their second album.
In Nomine Aeternitatis was the band's next record. Continuing the Dargaard formula, the band created another work of dark melody, the release was considered by fans to be a true milestone of innovate darkwave music. Released on the 3rd of June 2000 through Napalm Records, it again received great praise. The band continued on their musical journey, releasing Dissolution of Eternity in June 2001, and their latest work Rise and Fall in March 2004.
Tharen himself describes the music as "songs [that] radiate a kind of beauty, but on the other side we always tried to make our music dark and mighty, the same goes to the lyrics. It's about my very own realm, and this realm consists of dark forces, magic and mysticism and even darkness itself that has its own kind of beauty." Tharen names his influences as many, mainly from feelings gathered from reading. Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series, and The Omen Machine, which is a direct sequel thereof. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked...
's Sword of Truth
Sword of Truth
The Sword of Truth is a series of thirteen epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of...
is a named influence along with the Mysterious Realms series of books. Tharen also said that his music wasn't directly influenced by any other darkwave
Darkwave
Dark Wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands...
bands. The lyrics, a mixture of ancient cultures, myths and mysticism and an important part in Dargaard style, are generally inspired from Tharen's "dreams and "visions" of other realms and dimensions".
Dargaard remain active in the musical scene, though there has been no news about future releases yet. Tharen has said personally that the band will never tour or play live, due to his own personal commitments. The band has a solid fanbase that often join Tharen for chats on their official forum.
Current line-up
- Tharen, 1997–present (Keyboards, Vocals)
- Elisabeth Toriser, 1997–present (Vocals)
Discography
- Eternity RitesEternity RitesEternity Rites is the debut album of Austrian band Dargaard, released in 1998 by Draenor Productions. It instills a dark rhythm and develops "a climactic fairytale full of medieval/folk themes beautifully composed and perfectly performed"....
- 1998 - In Nomine AeternitatisIn Nomine AeternitatisIn Nomine Aeternitatis is the second album by Austrian neo-classical band Dargaard. It was released on November 28, 2000 by Napalm Records.The music is performed in melancholic dark metal, paired with romantic elements and symphonized sounds. Unlike the first album in which Tharen had substantial...
- 2000 - The Dissolution of EternityThe Dissolution of EternityThe Dissolution of Eternity is the third album by the neoclassical darkwave band Dargaard.- Track listing :# "As Old as the Bones of the Earth" — 7:17# "Thy Fleeing Time" — 4:49# "A Path in the Dust" — 5:13# "In the Omnipresence of Death" — 7:18...
- 2001 - Rise and FallRise and Fall (Dargaard album)Rise and Fall is the fourth studio album by the Austrian Neoclassical band Dargaard.-Track listing:# "Rise and Fall" - 10:47# "Bearer of the Flame" - 4:50# "Niobe" - 4:39# "Takhisis Dance" - 3:58# "Winter" - 7:02# "Ave Atque Vale" - 6:12...
- 2004
External links
- Official website
- Official MySpace
- Official forum
- Dargaard at Napalm RecordsNapalm RecordsNapalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock.Originally, Napalm Records focused mainly on black metal acts such as Abigor and Summoning and folk metal bands such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg....