Wastefall
Encyclopedia
Wastefall is a progressive rock
/metal
group from Greece
. They formed in 2003 and disbanded on August 1, 2008.http://www.wastefall.com/html/news.html They reunited in 2010.
band along with some school-mates. The name of the band was Distant Dreamland. The songs were more in the vein of Deep Purple
and Uriah Heep
. After a year of rehearsals and playing and writing together the band changed their music style. Distant Dreamland played a mix of European and American power metal
. People left the band and others joined. The band was renamed into Dead Man's Tale.
Dead Man's Tale released the self-titled demo CD receiving really good reviews. At that time Alex wrote the lyrics along with the music and played the guitar and Domenikos (Dark Vision, Lost Souls
) performed the vocals. The friendship between Alex and Domenikos kept them together even after the end of Dead Man's Tale.
In March 2003, Wastefall was created by Alex Katsiyiannis and Domenikos Papaemmanouil. Later on, drummer George Kanavaris joined the band and Ilias Kalivas followed on the bass guitar. Wastefall signed, a record contract with Sleaszy Rider Records and released their debut album "Fallen Stars And Rising Scars" on July 28, 2003. Due to the encouraging feedback, Wastefall began working on new ideas and creations for a future release.
Shortly, Christos Kyrkilis (keyboards) joined the band. After a while Ilias Kalyvas left the band and Stratos Haidos replaced him as new bass player. Additionally, Matthew Dakoutros (violin) joined the band to complete the line-up of that period. After a long time of rehearsals and composing new material Wastefall entered Fragile studios in May 2004 to record the follow-up album, to be called "Soulrain 21". On November 7, 2004 "Soulrain 21" was released again through Sleaszy Rider Records.
Again, the band lost their bass player immediately after a release. Stratos Haidos left the band and Nick Valentzis joined Wastefall. After Nick's arrival, Wastefall had to split ways with violin player, Matthew Dakoutros and drums player George Kanavaris due to musical differences. A few months later, Wastefall recruited Kostis Papaleksopoulos as their new drummer. In October 2005, Wastefall hooked up with Danish
based agency Intromental Management, who immediately got the band signed to the American label Sensory Records. Wastefall's third album entitled "Self Exile
" was mixed and mastered by the infamous Tommy Hansen (Helloween
, TNT
, Jorn Lande etc.) at Jailhouse Studios, Denmark
, January 2006.
On August 1, 2008 the band announced on their website www.wastefall.com and on their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/wastefall) that they were disbanding. As mentioned even though they had renewed their contract with Intromental Management and would play at ProgPower Scandinavia in October 2008 the band was not in the best of situations. Alex was studying in Crete
(away from their base of Athens
), Kostis Papaleksopoulos would leave to study at a musical university in England
and Domenik had been in Germany
since 2007. All this together with a difficult economic situation led Alex to leave the band. He send the following message:
The rest of the band followed:
In 21/11 the website metalstorm.net announce that Wastefall have reformed again http://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=12331
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
group from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. They formed in 2003 and disbanded on August 1, 2008.http://www.wastefall.com/html/news.html They reunited in 2010.
Biography
It all goes back in 1997 when 14 year old Alex Katsiyannis decided to form a hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band along with some school-mates. The name of the band was Distant Dreamland. The songs were more in the vein of Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
. After a year of rehearsals and playing and writing together the band changed their music style. Distant Dreamland played a mix of European and American 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...
. People left the band and others joined. The band was renamed into Dead Man's Tale.
Dead Man's Tale released the self-titled demo CD receiving really good reviews. At that time Alex wrote the lyrics along with the music and played the guitar and Domenikos (Dark Vision, Lost Souls
Lost Souls
-Film, TV and radio:* Lost Souls , a special 2008 radio episode of the BBC TV series* Lost Souls , a 2000 movie directed by Janusz Kamiński and starring Winona Ryder and Ben Chaplin...
) performed the vocals. The friendship between Alex and Domenikos kept them together even after the end of Dead Man's Tale.
In March 2003, Wastefall was created by Alex Katsiyiannis and Domenikos Papaemmanouil. Later on, drummer George Kanavaris joined the band and Ilias Kalivas followed on the bass guitar. Wastefall signed, a record contract with Sleaszy Rider Records and released their debut album "Fallen Stars And Rising Scars" on July 28, 2003. Due to the encouraging feedback, Wastefall began working on new ideas and creations for a future release.
Shortly, Christos Kyrkilis (keyboards) joined the band. After a while Ilias Kalyvas left the band and Stratos Haidos replaced him as new bass player. Additionally, Matthew Dakoutros (violin) joined the band to complete the line-up of that period. After a long time of rehearsals and composing new material Wastefall entered Fragile studios in May 2004 to record the follow-up album, to be called "Soulrain 21". On November 7, 2004 "Soulrain 21" was released again through Sleaszy Rider Records.
Again, the band lost their bass player immediately after a release. Stratos Haidos left the band and Nick Valentzis joined Wastefall. After Nick's arrival, Wastefall had to split ways with violin player, Matthew Dakoutros and drums player George Kanavaris due to musical differences. A few months later, Wastefall recruited Kostis Papaleksopoulos as their new drummer. In October 2005, Wastefall hooked up with Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
based agency Intromental Management, who immediately got the band signed to the American label Sensory Records. Wastefall's third album entitled "Self Exile
Self Exile
-Track listing:# Intro # Willow Man # The Muzzle Affection # Dance of Descent # Another Empty Haven # Strife for Definition # Sleepwalk # E.Y.E. # Utopia Fragmented...
" was mixed and mastered by the infamous Tommy Hansen (Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, TNT
TNT (band)
TNT is a Norwegian hard rock/glam metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1982. The band has released twelve studio albums, three EPs and two live albums while going through numerous line-up changes since its formation...
, Jorn Lande etc.) at Jailhouse Studios, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, January 2006.
On August 1, 2008 the band announced on their website www.wastefall.com and on their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/wastefall) that they were disbanding. As mentioned even though they had renewed their contract with Intromental Management and would play at ProgPower Scandinavia in October 2008 the band was not in the best of situations. Alex was studying in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
(away from their base of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
), Kostis Papaleksopoulos would leave to study at a musical university in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Domenik had been in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
since 2007. All this together with a difficult economic situation led Alex to leave the band. He send the following message:
http://www.wastefall.com/html/news.html
Due to various complicated reasons and my personal choice to follow my academic studies, I can no longer be a Wastefall member. I want to thank all my band-mates, fans, Claus and Lars from Intromental, Ken at Sensory and Olivier at Replica for all the great times. Concerning music, all I have to say is that I'm going to continue writing music, in a very different style though, and not with the perspective of releasing something soon. It was a great journey I will always remember. I hope that other bands will be influenced by our passion so far and mark their way in the "rotten" music business. Dom, Chris, Nick, Kostis :Love, respect, good luck and apologies. C ya out there.
The rest of the band followed:
http://www.wastefall.com/html/news.html
The beginning and vision of Wastefall was an idea of Alexander and Domenik and since Alexander wasn't available anymore the band's "core" was broken. After this, nothing will be the same so we got the difficult decision and we are really sad to announce the end of Wastefall.
In 21/11 the website metalstorm.net announce that Wastefall have reformed again http://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=12331
Final line-up
- Domenik Papaemmanouil - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(2003–2008, 2010 - now) - Alexander Katsigiannis - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(2003–2008, 2010 - now) - Christos Kyrkilis - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(2003–2008, 2010 - now) - Nick Valentzis - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2004–2008, 2010 - now) - Tassos Loukos - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2010 - now)
Former members
- Kostis Papaleksopoulos - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2005–2008) - Ilias Kalivas - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2003–2004) - George Kanavaris - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2003–2005) - Stratos Haidos - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2004) - Matthew Dakoutros - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
(2004)
Discography
- Fallen Stars and Rising ScarsFallen Stars and Rising ScarsFallen Stars and Rising Scars is the first album by progressive metal band Wastefall.-Track listing:# Killing of Wolves # Like Father Like None # For What is to be Lost # Fall of Eva # Annabel Lee...
(Sleaszy Rider RecordsSleaszy Rider recordsSleaszy Rider Records is an independent record label which was founded in 1999 by Tolis G. Palantzas. The head office of the label is located in Greece. The label is mainly distributed in Europe by Sony Music/EMI...
, 2003) - SoulRain 21SoulRain 21-Track listing:Disc I# Soulrain # Stunned To The World # Empty Haven # Lullaby For The Gods # Lesser # Live With It # Summerlonging Angels # Self-Extinction Project # Riot Of Oblivion...
(Sleaszy Rider RecordsSleaszy Rider recordsSleaszy Rider Records is an independent record label which was founded in 1999 by Tolis G. Palantzas. The head office of the label is located in Greece. The label is mainly distributed in Europe by Sony Music/EMI...
, 2004) - Self ExileSelf Exile-Track listing:# Intro # Willow Man # The Muzzle Affection # Dance of Descent # Another Empty Haven # Strife for Definition # Sleepwalk # E.Y.E. # Utopia Fragmented...
(Sensory Records, 2006)