Ancient Bards

Ancient Bards is an Italian symphonic power metal band, formed in January 2006 by keyboard player Daniele Mazza.

Ancient Bards
Ancient Bards at Wacken Open Air 2015
Background information
OriginItaly
GenresSymphonic metal, power metal
Years active2006–present
LabelsLimb Music
Websitewww.ancientbards.com
MembersMartino Garattoni
Federico Gatti
Daniele Mazza
Claudio Pietronik
Sara Squadrani
Simone Bertozzi
Past membersAlessandro Carichini
Fabio Balducci

History

Line-Up

The project, originated in the mind of Daniele Mazza, started to materialize in 2006 after Daniele met with bass player Martino Garattoni. The first stable line up was completed in 2007, with Sara Squadrani as singer, Alessandro Carichini as drummer, and Claudio Pietronik and Fabio Balducci as guitarists.[1]

In September 2010, Alessandro left the band, to be replaced by a new drummer Federico Gatti. The latest line-up change occurred in the end of 2013 after recording the third album A New Dawn Ending, when Balducci left the band for personal reasons.[2] Permanent replacement for Fabio has not been announced yet, but for live shows in 2014 the band has been joined by Simone Bertozzi as a guest second guitarist.[3]

Albums

The style and concept of their 2010 debut album, The Alliance of the Kings, has been seen as inspired by fellow Italian band Rhapsody of Fire. The album is the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga with each song making up a single "episode".[4]

The Italian and German editions of Metal Hammer commented on the "sophisticated songwriting" in this release. The latter magazine also found similarities to Anette Olzon in singer Sara Squadrani's voice.[5][6]

The band's second album, Soulless Child, was released in 2011. It continues The Black Crystal Sword Saga introduced in the previous album. The reviewers of Metal Hammer Germany and Rock Hard agreed that the album had a tendency towards kitsch. While Metal Hammer found several positive remarks about individual tracks, Rock Hard criticised a lack of original hooks.[7][8]

In April 2014, a third album, A New Dawn Ending, was released. This concluded the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga, making that section a complete trilogy.

Ancient Bards announced their fourth album in June 2018 entitled Origine - The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2. It is the beginning the second part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga and was released on 25 January 2019.[9] They also announced on their Facebook page that touring guitarist Simone Bartozzi had been made a permanent band member after touring with them since 2014.[10]

Discography
EP
  • Trailer of the Black Crystal Sword Saga (2008)
Albums
  • The Alliance of the Kings (2010)
  • Soulless Child (2011)
  • A New Dawn Ending (2014)
  • Origine - The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2 (2019)

Members
Current members
  • Daniele Mazza – keyboards (2006–present)
  • Martino Garattoni – bass (2006–present)
  • Sara Squadrani – vocals (2007–present)
  • Claudio Pietronik – guitar (2007–present)
  • Federico Gatti – drums (2011–present)
  • Simone Bertozzi – guitar (2018–present; touring member 2014–2018)
Former members
  • Alessandro Carichini – drums (2007–2010)
  • Fabio Balducci – guitar (2007–2014)

Timeline

See also

References
  1. "Ancient Bards - Biography". last.fm. 22 Mar 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  2. "Ancient Bards - Biography". Ancient Bards. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. "Ancient Bards at Made of Metal 2014". All Things Sara. 18 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. Squadrani, Sara (3 March 2014). "The Saga". All Things Sara. Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. Marino, Pippo. "Ancient Bards - The Alliance of the Kings - The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 1". Metal Hammer (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  6. Riedl, Katrin (1 May 2010). "Ancient Bards - The Allliance Of The Kings". Metal Hammer (in German). Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. Riedl, Katrin (1 February 2012). "Ancient Bards - The Soulless Child". Metal Hammer (in German). Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  8. Albrecht, Frank (2011). "Ancient Bards: Soulless Child". Rock Hard (in German) (296). Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  9. "Ancient Bards – the New Album is Coming". 22 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  10. "Ancient Bards official Facebook". 22 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
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