Nightmare (French band)
Encyclopedia
Nightmare is a power metal
band, native of Grenoble
, France
. The band was influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
phenomenon developing in the UK in the 1980s and started their career playing classic heavy metal, that later changed to power metal with death
and thrash
influences.
at the Alpexpo of Grenoble in 1983, in front of an audience of more than 4000. They signed for the label Ebony Records, which published the album Waiting for the Twilight. The LP entered the charts in Japan and was distributed in Greece by Virgin Records
. Nightmare replaced singer Christophe Houpert with Jean-Marie Boix to record their second album Power of the Universe. Shortly after, the band terminated its partnership with Ebony Records and the album was reissued in France by Dream Records. Their new label was soon subjected to financial difficulties, which delayed the release of an LP the band was working on. In addition, Jean-Marie Boix was forced to leave the band because of health problems. He was replaced by Scottish singer Tom Jackson (ex- Praying Mantis
), hoping that his vocal qualities and his mastery of the English language could help the success of Nightmare on the other side of the Channel. This incarnation of Nightmare produced a demo with two songs and did a few shows in France and England, with moderate success. However, dissension between the musicians about the musical direction for the band, whose music was veering toward AOR, led to disbandment in 1987, closing for more than a decade the career of Nightmare.
The band signed a contract with Adipocere Records and released the mini-album Astral Deliverance, recorded in tribute to Jean-Marie Boix deceased a few months before. Moreover, the old albums were reissued by Brennus Records. Nightmare released also the double-live album Live Deliverance, recorded at the reunion concert held on 30 October 1999 at the Summum of Grenoble. It was the first double-live album ever made by a French metal band. In 2000, Nightmare performed at the festival of Artifacts in Strasbourg and at the prestigious Wacken Open Air
Festival.
At the end of the year, Nightmare formalized their collaboration with Napalm Records
and in June 2001 began recording the album Cosmovision at Soundsuite Studio, changing their music to melodic power metal
. The album was produced by Terje Refnes, known for his work with Theatre of Tragedy
, Enslaved
, Carpathian Forest
and others. The famous French guitarist Patrick Rondat
made a guest appearance on the first song "Spirit of the Sunset". The band then left for a short tour with Saxon
in France and Italy and opened in Grenoble for Grave Digger
, who played on this occasion their first concert in France. At the end of the tour, Alex Hilbert replaced at the guitar Jean Stripolli, who left the band along with keyboardist Stephane Rabilloud. The following year, Nightmare flew to the United States to participate to the Metal Meltdown Festival, which included in the roster Manowar and Saxon
. Back in Europe, they opened for Blind Guardian
on the dates of Lyon and Paris and were featured in several festivals, including again the Wacken Open Air
.
In 2003, Nightmare returned to Soundsuite Studio to record the concept album
Silent Room and started the year 2004 with a European tour (France, Spain and Belgium), supporting After Forever
and Dark Moor
, that brought them to festivals such as the Rotunda Festival and Raismes Fest. Some time later, Nightmare ended amicably their collaboration with Napalm Records
. At the end of the year, Nicolas De Dominicis, historical member of Nightmare, left the band and was replaced by guitarist Franck Milleliri. A contract was signed with Regain Records
for the album The Dominion Gate, recorded again at Soundsuite Studio with Terje Refnes. A long tour followed in 2006, supporting After Forever
, as in the previous one. The band visited France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. The group also played a show in Tel Aviv
. Nightmare were present at many summer festivals, including the Hellfest
, where Alex Hilbert was unable to play and was substituted at the guitar by JC Jess. In August 2008, Alex Hilbert decided to leave the group for "personal reasons" after 6 years of service. He was permanently replaced by JC Jess.
In September 2009 Nightmare released their seventh album, Insurrection, with AFM Records
. This album, heavier and more direct than its predecessors, earned the group many good reviews from press and fans. On 31 October 2009 the band held a concert for their 30th anniversary at the Edmond Vigne Hall in Grenoble
, where the group originated. The concert was filmed for a DVD release planned for late 2010. The group will participate in the 2010 edition of the Wacken Open Air
and is preparing a tour in South America.
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band, native of Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The band was influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
phenomenon developing in the UK in the 1980s and started their career playing classic heavy metal, that later changed to power metal with death
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
influences.
Early career
Nightmare was formed in 1979 and became known when opened for Def LeppardDef Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
at the Alpexpo of Grenoble in 1983, in front of an audience of more than 4000. They signed for the label Ebony Records, which published the album Waiting for the Twilight. The LP entered the charts in Japan and was distributed in Greece by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. Nightmare replaced singer Christophe Houpert with Jean-Marie Boix to record their second album Power of the Universe. Shortly after, the band terminated its partnership with Ebony Records and the album was reissued in France by Dream Records. Their new label was soon subjected to financial difficulties, which delayed the release of an LP the band was working on. In addition, Jean-Marie Boix was forced to leave the band because of health problems. He was replaced by Scottish singer Tom Jackson (ex- Praying Mantis
Praying Mantis (band)
Praying Mantis are an English rock band. Although a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, they pursued a musical direction more melodic and AOR-sounding than their contemporaries.-Career:...
), hoping that his vocal qualities and his mastery of the English language could help the success of Nightmare on the other side of the Channel. This incarnation of Nightmare produced a demo with two songs and did a few shows in France and England, with moderate success. However, dissension between the musicians about the musical direction for the band, whose music was veering toward AOR, led to disbandment in 1987, closing for more than a decade the career of Nightmare.
Second career
Nightmare was reborn in 1999 with a revised line-up. Jo Amore, former drummer, took the singer position and left the sticks to his younger brother, David.The band signed a contract with Adipocere Records and released the mini-album Astral Deliverance, recorded in tribute to Jean-Marie Boix deceased a few months before. Moreover, the old albums were reissued by Brennus Records. Nightmare released also the double-live album Live Deliverance, recorded at the reunion concert held on 30 October 1999 at the Summum of Grenoble. It was the first double-live album ever made by a French metal band. In 2000, Nightmare performed at the festival of Artifacts in Strasbourg and at the prestigious Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
Festival.
At the end of the year, Nightmare formalized their collaboration with Napalm Records
Napalm 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....
and in June 2001 began recording the album Cosmovision at Soundsuite Studio, changing their music to melodic power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
. The album was produced by Terje Refnes, known for his work with Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.-Biography:...
, Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
, Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
and others. The famous French guitarist Patrick Rondat
Patrick Rondat
Patrick Rondat is a French guitarist. He plays instrumental heavy metal associated with diverse influences such as new age music, progressive metal, classical music and jazz. He appears in some shows by Jean Michel Jarre.-Biography:...
made a guest appearance on the first song "Spirit of the Sunset". The band then left for a short tour with Saxon
Saxon (band)
Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
in France and Italy and opened in Grenoble for Grave Digger
Grave Digger (band)
Grave Digger are a German heavy metal/power metal band formed in 1980. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s.-Band history:...
, who played on this occasion their first concert in France. At the end of the tour, Alex Hilbert replaced at the guitar Jean Stripolli, who left the band along with keyboardist Stephane Rabilloud. The following year, Nightmare flew to the United States to participate to the Metal Meltdown Festival, which included in the roster Manowar and Saxon
Saxon (band)
Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
. Back in Europe, they opened for Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...
on the dates of Lyon and Paris and were featured in several festivals, including again the Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
.
In 2003, Nightmare returned to Soundsuite Studio to record the concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
Silent Room and started the year 2004 with a European tour (France, Spain and Belgium), supporting After Forever
After Forever
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death grunts. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded.-Biography:...
and Dark Moor
Dark Moor
Dark Moor is a Spanish power metal band from Madrid. Formed in 1993, they produced three full-length albums before undergoing a line-up change in which three members left the band to form their own project, Dreamaker...
, that brought them to festivals such as the Rotunda Festival and Raismes Fest. Some time later, Nightmare ended amicably their collaboration with Napalm Records
Napalm 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....
. At the end of the year, Nicolas De Dominicis, historical member of Nightmare, left the band and was replaced by guitarist Franck Milleliri. A contract was signed with Regain Records
Regain Records
Regain Records is a Swedish based independent record label. The label predominantly releases death metal and black metal albums. Regain Records was founded from what remained of the former label, Wrong Again Records, by Per Gyllenbäck in 1997...
for the album The Dominion Gate, recorded again at Soundsuite Studio with Terje Refnes. A long tour followed in 2006, supporting After Forever
After Forever
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death grunts. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded.-Biography:...
, as in the previous one. The band visited France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. The group also played a show in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Nightmare were present at many summer festivals, including the Hellfest
Hellfest Summer Open Air
Hellfest is an annual music festival which takes place in Clisson, France in mid-June. It is held within the Val de Moine sport complex in Clisson, approximately 35 km south-east of the city of Nantes, and approximately 400 km south-west of the nation's capital Paris. Billed as an "extreme music...
, where Alex Hilbert was unable to play and was substituted at the guitar by JC Jess. In August 2008, Alex Hilbert decided to leave the group for "personal reasons" after 6 years of service. He was permanently replaced by JC Jess.
In September 2009 Nightmare released their seventh album, Insurrection, with AFM Records
AFM Records
AFM-Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, and Annihilator....
. This album, heavier and more direct than its predecessors, earned the group many good reviews from press and fans. On 31 October 2009 the band held a concert for their 30th anniversary at the Edmond Vigne Hall in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, where the group originated. The concert was filmed for a DVD release planned for late 2010. The group will participate in the 2010 edition of the Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
and is preparing a tour in South America.
Studio albums
- Waiting for the Twilight (1984)
- Power of the Universe (1985)
- Cosmovision (2001)
- Silent Room (2003)
- The Dominion Gate (2005)
- Genetic Disorder (2007)
- Insurrection (2009)
- Mercury Rain (March 2012)
Current members
- Jo Amore - vocals
- Franck Milleliri - guitars
- J.C.Jess - guitars
- Yves Campion - bass
- David Amore - drums