Symforce II

Second edition of the Symforce progressive rock festival. Presale starts 27th February, price € 47,50.

2007 edition: http://www.last.fm/event/248798

Performing at the Main Hall:

Opeth

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that none other than Opeth will headline the second edition of Symforce. With a ninth studio album in the pipeline our Swedish friends are playing a one-off at Symforce II and they’ll deliver their full show ! With a ninth studio album under their belt for sure this will a memorable concert!

Textures
Opening in the main hall will be a sixpiece from Tilburg called Textures. These young guys will release their third studio offering in march/april. Known for their technical metal approach the band has promissed us to play a special progressive set exclusively for Symforce II.

Demians
DEMIANS will perform after Textures and before Pain of Salvation in the main hall. The band’s album “Building an empire” will be out on may 19th and they will bring the roof down !

Pain of Salvation
Second band in the main hall will be none other than Pain of Salvation. Known the world over for their diversity and quality PoS is also playing a one-off at Symforce II and they will also play their entire show.

Performing at the Small Hall:

Magic Pie
This Norwegian sixpiece was recently awarded “Progressive Rock Indie Artist of the Year 2007” which is a fantastic achievement. Their albums “Motion of desire” and “Circus of life” have achieved critical acclaim all over the world and with a new singer in their ranks things surely look fantastic. Rated as one of the best rock vocalists in Europe, Magic Pie’s new leadsinger Eirikur Hauksson will still be a member of Ken Hensley’s Live-Fire as well whilst he’s also teaming up with Trond Holter of Wigwam fame to start a new band. Magic Pie will surely set the house on fire. Their presence at SYMFORCE II is a one-off!

The Watch
Our Italian friends The Watch are the seventh band to join SYMFORCE II. Not only will their brandnew line-up guide us through original sounds from their studio output, but they will also bring along a real Hammond, a real mini-Moog and above all the holy grail of progressive rock: the mighty MELLOTRON !!!
Fans of vintage Genesis will have a ball here as Simone Rosetti is nothing less than a seventies Peter Gabriel. You simply have to see it to believe it !

Alquin
Main attraction in the small venue will be Dutch classic proggers Alquin. The band has been around since 1971 and are one of Mikael Akerfeldt’s alltime favourite bands. The last time the band played at the 013 they sold out the small venue. In 2008 the band will also record a brand new album, songs from which will most certainly be played during Symforce II.

PBII

Performing at the Batcave:

Hypnos 69
In a nutshell one could say that Hypnos 69 is Belgium’s best kept secret and highly underrated at the same time too. Loved the world over for their incredible retro feel, the band has moved more and more towards true progressive rock leaving behind the hazes of stonerrock along the way. No doubt a lot of festival visitors will immediately become a fan for life once they have witnessed this incredible foursome.

Kriminal Hammond Inferno
When the final sounds from Opeth have died in the main hall, the afterparty will have started. In a similar style like last year’s Bootcut, we have once again opted for a duo of Hammond organ and drums. Kriminal Hammond Inferno is based in Brussels and delivers a mysterious groove mixed with obscure Italian soundtracks. Ennio Morricone meets Goldfinger meets Also sprach Zarathustra. You get the picture. A not the be missed event which we could describe as “progressive tongue-in-cheeck” so as to dust off the serious nature of our beloved musical genre.

Solstice
This band has been going strong for a couple of decades now and has a very strong live reputation. Their entire output has recently been re-issued by F2 records whilst the band is eager to demonstrate their great skills. Featuring wonderful violin and crystalclear vocals amongst others, for sure Solstice will be welcomed with open arms.

Quantum Fantay
Last year these guys smoked at the Herzburg festival in Germany. They even released a 2CD set from that performance which together with their two splendid studio albums have really set the wheels in motion. Quantum Fantay continue where Ozric Tentacles left off years ago.