Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Amenra (also spelt “Amen Ra”) is a post-metal band from Kortrijk, Belgium. The band was formed in 1999 after the demise of the Belgian hardcore band Spineless by three of its members and went on to be one of the most significant European bands worldwide in this genre.
History
Following the break-up of their previous band Spineless, vocalist Colin Van Eeckhout, guitarist Mathieu Vandekerckhove and bassist Kristof Mondy sought to form a new band, Amenra, to play music that was deeper, more intense and more introspective than they had before. They enlisted drummer Bjorn Lebon and in 2003 their first album, Mass I, was released. Soon after, the band made an appearance at Ieperfest, which brought them to the attention of the European underground hardcore and metal scene.
After a period of experimenting with the line-up of the band, Vincent Tetaert joined the band on guitars. With the release of Mass II in 2004 Amenra was slowly but surely making name for itself with intense live shows.
In 2005 Mass III was released during a special show in a chapel in Ghent. By this time the band had gained a considerable cult following, and the mainstream media began to take note. Festival appearances at Dour, RockHerk and Pukkelpop, and a first US tour ensued. From the release of Mass III on, visual projections were being used during most of the shows, immersing the audience in Amenra’s universe.
When Mass IIII was released in 2008, the album was welcomed with high critical acclaim. In its aftermath Amenra made notable appearances on the Pukkelpop (newspapers claimed them to be one of the best 10 acts of the festival - together with Metallica), Dour and Roadburn festival. In 2009 they embarked on another US tour with Zoroaster and joined Converge and Neurosis on European tours, but their perhaps most remarkable show to date took place on September 23, 2009 in Kortrijk,where most of the band members were born. They astonished a sold-out city theatre with a performance that included elements of video art, performance art / modern dance, suspension, … This show was later released on DVD and some of the live recorded songs were remixed by producer Billy Anderson to be featured on a series of split releases with Church of Ra related acts such as Hive Destruction (featuring original Amenra bassist Kristof Mondy), Black Heart Rebellion and Oathbreaker.
September 23, 2009 also marked the release of the band's first DVD and of the acoustic EP, Afterlife. Since then, the band has only occasionally been performing and is said to be writing songs for a new full length album. In July 2011 it was announced that this album will be titled Mass V and will be released by Neurot Recordings.
On May 1, 2012, it was announced that Amenra have entered the studio with Billy Anderson to record Mass V, stated by vocalist Colin H. van Eeckhout to be their “heaviest and slowest album to this day."
Side Projects
Kingdom Syndrome Caan Blind To Faith Oathbreaker Sembler Deah