Biography
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Years Active
1998 – present (26 years)
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Founded In
Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
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Members
- Monika Pedersen (1998 – present)
Sinphonia was originally formed by drummer Dennis Buhl and bassist Thor Jeppesen in the last months of 1998. The idea was to play a progressive metal in the vein of Symphony X, Hexenhaus, and more. In spring 99 guitarist Henrik Rangstrup and keyboardist Jakob Thinggaard entered the band. But it wasnt until singer Monika Pedersen joined in, that the genre of the band started taking real shape.
Monika was not at all the voice originally intended for the band, but her talent could not be ignored. The style of the band changed quickly and automatically into a darker version of the progressive metal.
Only 3 months after Monika joined the fold, Sinphonia recorded a 5 track demo at Jacob Hansen Studios (Mercenary, Invocator, Ancient). With this demo in hand, it only took the band few months to find both a management and a record deal.
Thus, in the late summer of 2000 the band issued their debut "When the tide breaks" through Italian label Lucretia Records (Angra, Time Machine, and more). Consisting of the 5 tracks from the demo and 3 new recordings with new keyboard player Peter Jensen, the album received very positive feedback from the media. Following the release the band played a number of shows in Denmark.
In between shows Sinphonia continued working hard on new material to be able to quickly record the follow up album. The style continued getting darker, and the band started experimenting more with the setting of moods and atmospheres. In the same time, the lyrics started taking shape as an ongoing story, and the songs were constructed around this idea.
It was autumn 2001 when the band entered the studio to record "The Divine Disharmony", after resigning with Lucretia Records. This time one of the most well renowned studios of Denmark was chosen. Amongst other because of the number of famous Danish rock bands recording there, and because the studio is situated in the town where Sinphonia lived.
Unfortunately, this choice was the first line of a dark chapter in the life of Sinphonia. The producer showed to be very uninterested in the band, and the final product was not at all what the band had hoped for. Still, the band was nothing but happy with the music and ideas included in "The Divine Disharmony". Sinphonia had come a step closer to their own sound.
After a long period waiting for the mix to be done, the band could finally send the master to the label. Where after an even longer wait began. "The Divine Disharmony" was not released until 18 months after the recordings. In the meantime the bandmembers had become so fed up with wasted hope and numerous lies, that they decided to have a break of undefined length.
When "The Divine Disharmony" was released, it showed to be a very strong album. In spite of the weak production the album received many top reviews, as well as license deals for South America and Russia.
A lot of changes took place after the break. Monika, Thor and Dennis moved to the capitol of Denmark, Copenhagen, while Henrik moved as far as to Italy. The members all started with new band projects, as Dennis joined Evil Masquerade (Frontier Records) and Henrik formed Chaoswave (DVS Records). Monika did guest vocals for several bands, a.o. Mercenary (Century Media) and Manticora (Massacre Records).
Consequently, the band members all thought that Sinphonia was a finished chapter. But simultaneously a growing amount of fan mails were arriving and with the reviews that were given "The Divine Disharmony", the band slowly understood that the book might had been closed to quickly.
An internet chat in March 2004 between Henrik and Monika revealed that both had regained a strong will of adding new pages to story. Henrik thus composed a bit of new material to present to Thor and Dennis, and it didnt take long for them to be convinced that Sinphonia was still alive.
Due to the new geographical situation of the band, the way of writing obviously had to be reinvented. Discussions took place if it would be possible at all, but looking around and seeing many bigger bands having to deal with the same problem, it was agreed that this should and would not be an issue. Each member of Sinphonia has 12-15 years of experience, and they know very well the strengths and weaknesses of each other.
Composing, earlier a group concern, is now mainly done by Henrik Rangstrup. Songs are fully written and arranged on computer, and sent for feedback to the different band members. This is also the way that the present cd has been created.
Henrik entered the studio in Italy in December 2004 to record guitars and keyboards together with session keyboardist Davide Cisci. Between Christmas and New Years Eve he then went to Denmark to assist with bass recordings and demoing the vocals, as well as having a rehearsal room listen to the drums that Dennis made. Drums and vocals weere recorded during January, and mixing was done in March.
In fact the "Silence" promo has been recorded without the band ever playing the songs together. Still, they all consider this by far the strongest material they ever made. The songwriting is now much more focused on creating good and memorable songs, without loosing the dark atmosphere and the technical, aggressive riffing.
2007: Sinphonia has yet not found the right record label for their next album. The band is neither split neither active. Just waiting for the right moment and chance to continue. In these days Monika is very busy as the singer for Norwegian SIRENIA, Henrik is more than occupied with Italian CHAOSWAVE, and Dennis is spending his time for Danish THE DOWNWARD CANDIDATE and Swedish/Danish EVIL MASQUERADE.
In November 2007 Monika Pedersen (Ex-Sirenia) reactivated Sinphonia. Ex-Sirenia singer Monika Pedersen, Hatesphere drummer Dennis Buhl and Chaoswave guitarist Henrik Rangstrup are the backbone of the dark melodic metal band Sinphonia.
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