Stravaganzza
Encyclopedia
Stravaganzza is a Symphonic metal
/Gothic metal
band from Madrid
, Spain
formed in 2004, the band has since released 3 studio albums and one EP. They combines element of extreme metal such as gothic metal, death metal, doom metal and black metal with heavily orchestrated symphonic metal and progressive/power metal.
After Krysálida, Leo formed with Patricio Babasasa (drums) and Edu Fernández (bass) Azabel, a band with a more aggressive style, close to death, and it was at this time when the idea of making a version of Mecano
's song "Hijo de la luna
" was brought up, proposal that Stravaganzza would bring to life ten years later. Azabel dissolved after Leo's departure to well-known heavy metal band Saratoga,in which he would at last get recognition, fame and prestige, and where he would stay for eight years. On his side, Pepe Herrero, after abandoning Krysálida, wouldn't participate in any musical group until year 2000, in which he founded Eklectika, personal projecten in which, among others, he would compose some of the songs that later would appear on Stravaganzza's first album.
In late 2002 Alejandro Briceño (drums), Edu Fernández, Pepe Herrero y Leo Jiménez decide to unite to make music together; for that they would also count on guitarist Paco Cinta. These five friends united under the temporary name of Dyosh, initially playing Eklectika songs. A few months later, they suggested making something more serious of this band, encouraged by the idea of being able to offer a fresh alternative to the not so varied national band scene. After the departure of Alejandro Briceño and Paco Cinta, Dani Pérez, who at the time played drums for Saratoga, entered the band; it's in that moment when Stravaganzza is born.
A year later, in 2004, the band's first disc, Primer Acto, was released under the discographic label Avispa
. That first was very well accepted by the media, being given the highest ratings on their reviews and assigning it the "revelation band of the year" award. The general public received it with awe and respecto, even those who didn't like it accepted that it was a remarkable product with an excellent quality.
To bring the band to the live stage they needed to have musicians who recreated the orchestrations and keyboards that appeared in the recording. for that, they counted on keyboardist Fernando Martín, and violinist Roberto Jabonero, who, a year later, would be replaced by Rodrigo Calderón. The first live show was done at the ViñaRock 2004 stage, with a great reception by the thousands of spectators attending the event.
In 2005, Stravaganzza presented their second act: Sentimientos, a more mature and elaborated work that featured the spectacular production of the late Big Simon and in which each song talks about a different feeling. It's with this work when they achieve a greater recognition and are invited to play in Berlin, at the new trends festival Popkomm. In this year they play again at ViñaRock festival, where they perform for the first time their version of Mecano
's "Hijo de la luna
", with a great acceptance by the public. They also record their first video clip, for the song "Miedo".
In 2006, they release their Ep, Hijo del miedo, also produced by Big Simon, work in which they capture among other songs the Hijo de la luna cover, that leads them to the first sales places on the Afive list. Right in that moment, the band undergoes a great change; due to discographic matters, Edu Fernández and Dani Pérez leave the band. After this rough hit, Leo Jiménez and Pepe Herrero mustered up force to not fall and face the tough and apparently impossible task of finding two substitutes for Edu and Dani. However, in a few weeks they found two great musicians and people who incarnate perfectly the band's spirit: Patricio Babasasa on bass, and Carlos Expósito on drums.
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
/Gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
formed in 2004, the band has since released 3 studio albums and one EP. They combines element of extreme metal such as gothic metal, death metal, doom metal and black metal with heavily orchestrated symphonic metal and progressive/power metal.
History
Stravaganzza became a consolidated band in 2003. The first antecedent to Stravaganzza is without a doubt the band that Pepe Herrero (guitar) and Leo Jiménez (vocals) founded in 1993 and which later would join Patricio Babasasa as a drummer: Krysálida, with an instrumental group just the same as in Stravaganzza (including violin and keyboards), but adding a second vocalist who sang the guttural parts. With that lineup they already made a similar style to Stravaganzza, with obscure parts, orchestral passages but perhaps a bit more complex and anti-commercial; maybe this was the cause of it not being very understood and accepted, which would lead to it breaking up about four years later.After Krysálida, Leo formed with Patricio Babasasa (drums) and Edu Fernández (bass) Azabel, a band with a more aggressive style, close to death, and it was at this time when the idea of making a version of Mecano
Mecano
Mecano was a Spanish pop band whose debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña , a sociocultural movement that occurred in Madrid, Spain during the 1980s...
's song "Hijo de la luna
Hijo de la Luna
"Hijo de la Luna" is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo and had great success all over the Spanish speaking world, as did the album...
" was brought up, proposal that Stravaganzza would bring to life ten years later. Azabel dissolved after Leo's departure to well-known heavy metal band Saratoga,in which he would at last get recognition, fame and prestige, and where he would stay for eight years. On his side, Pepe Herrero, after abandoning Krysálida, wouldn't participate in any musical group until year 2000, in which he founded Eklectika, personal projecten in which, among others, he would compose some of the songs that later would appear on Stravaganzza's first album.
In late 2002 Alejandro Briceño (drums), Edu Fernández, Pepe Herrero y Leo Jiménez decide to unite to make music together; for that they would also count on guitarist Paco Cinta. These five friends united under the temporary name of Dyosh, initially playing Eklectika songs. A few months later, they suggested making something more serious of this band, encouraged by the idea of being able to offer a fresh alternative to the not so varied national band scene. After the departure of Alejandro Briceño and Paco Cinta, Dani Pérez, who at the time played drums for Saratoga, entered the band; it's in that moment when Stravaganzza is born.
A year later, in 2004, the band's first disc, Primer Acto, was released under the discographic label Avispa
Avispa
Avispa is a record label from Spain specializing in heavy metal; it is the largest Spanish company specializing in this type of music...
. That first was very well accepted by the media, being given the highest ratings on their reviews and assigning it the "revelation band of the year" award. The general public received it with awe and respecto, even those who didn't like it accepted that it was a remarkable product with an excellent quality.
To bring the band to the live stage they needed to have musicians who recreated the orchestrations and keyboards that appeared in the recording. for that, they counted on keyboardist Fernando Martín, and violinist Roberto Jabonero, who, a year later, would be replaced by Rodrigo Calderón. The first live show was done at the ViñaRock 2004 stage, with a great reception by the thousands of spectators attending the event.
In 2005, Stravaganzza presented their second act: Sentimientos, a more mature and elaborated work that featured the spectacular production of the late Big Simon and in which each song talks about a different feeling. It's with this work when they achieve a greater recognition and are invited to play in Berlin, at the new trends festival Popkomm. In this year they play again at ViñaRock festival, where they perform for the first time their version of Mecano
Mecano
Mecano was a Spanish pop band whose debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña , a sociocultural movement that occurred in Madrid, Spain during the 1980s...
's "Hijo de la luna
Hijo de la Luna
"Hijo de la Luna" is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo and had great success all over the Spanish speaking world, as did the album...
", with a great acceptance by the public. They also record their first video clip, for the song "Miedo".
In 2006, they release their Ep, Hijo del miedo, also produced by Big Simon, work in which they capture among other songs the Hijo de la luna cover, that leads them to the first sales places on the Afive list. Right in that moment, the band undergoes a great change; due to discographic matters, Edu Fernández and Dani Pérez leave the band. After this rough hit, Leo Jiménez and Pepe Herrero mustered up force to not fall and face the tough and apparently impossible task of finding two substitutes for Edu and Dani. However, in a few weeks they found two great musicians and people who incarnate perfectly the band's spirit: Patricio Babasasa on bass, and Carlos Expósito on drums.
Members
- Leo Jiménez - lead vocals/eventual grunts and growls and rhythm guitars
- Pepe Herrero - lead guitar, keyboards
- Carlos Expósito - drums and percussion
- Patricio Babasasa - bass
Live members
- Fernando Martín - keyboards
- Rodrigo Calderón - violin
- Aroa Martín - chorus
- Noemí Pasca - dancer
- Merche Guerra - dancer
- Soraya Martín - dancer
- Natalia Barrios - body painting
Discography
- Primer Acto (2004)
- Segundo Acto: Sentimientos (2005)
- Hijo del Miedo (EP) (2006)
- Tercer Acto: Réquiem (2007)
- Raices (2010)