Amaran

Amaran was a metal band from Sweden. Their music can be described to have heavy metal guitars combined with the clear voice of singer Johanna DePierre.

This article is about the Swedish band. For the Tamil film, see Amaran (film).
Amaran
OriginStockholm, Sweden
GenresThrash Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Gothic Metal
Years active2000–2005
LabelsListenable Records
MembersRonnie Backlund
Gunnar Hammar
Niklas Sandin
Robin Bergh

History

Formation

Amaran started out as a band in the spring of 2000, in Stockholm, Sweden, and has since then developed a dynamic and original way of writing songs, combining heavy metal guitars with clear female vocals. Guitarists Kari Kainulainen and Ronnie Backlund started writing some music together and decided to form a band. They found the rest of the band members in bass player Mikael Andersson, vocalist Johanna DePierre and drummer Robin Bergh. All of the members came from different musical backgrounds and were eager to put some good music together.

Promo (2001)

Before they had even found a drummer Amaran recorded their first "Promo 2001" using a drum machine and sent it to various zines, magazines and record labels. It received excellent reviews in many well-acclaimed contexts and also ended up landing them a record deal with French label Listenable Records.

A World Depraved (2002)

The band set out to record their debut album "A World Depraved" in February 2002 in Aabenraa Studio in Denmark together with Jacob Hansen. The album was released over Europe and was highly recommended by critics and fans all over. The album was often described as somewhat original in the sense that the combination of heavy guitars and intense drums and the clear female vocals was not something that people were used to hearing.

Pristine In Bondage (2004)

Amaran was eager to write new songs after the release of the debut and developed a whole lot in this process and as a band during 2002. Since the band was pretty young when they landed the record deal they went through a whole lot both on a personal and professional level, and became tighter as a band. The band finished about 14 songs that they wanted to record and agreed with Listenable to record the follow-up in April 2003. The new material was oriented in a heavier direction as to accentuate the dynamics between the instrumental and the vocals further. The album was recorded in Studio Underground, Sweden with Pelle Saether and was entitled Pristine in Bondage. Shortly after finishing the recording of the second album, bass player Mikael decided that he wanted to leave the band due to personal reasons. Fortunately they quickly found someone to replace him in Ronnie Bergerståhl, an experienced bass player and drummer who was a personal friend and had filled in for Mikael before.

"Pristine in Bondage" was set to be released through Listenable Records the 17 of December in Japan (containing 3 bonus tracks) and in January in Europe and the US containing 11 tracks. Amaran has also recorded a video for the song "Inflict" on the new album and was set to go on promotion tours in the fall and in January connected the release of the album.

Break up

Drummer Robin Bergh left the band for personal reasons in 2004, he was replaced with Pär Hjulström. 2005 saw a parade of new members pass through Amaran, culminating in December with the dissolution of the band. Primary among the reasons for this is the departure of lead singer Johanna DePierre, and the bands inability to find a suitable replacement (Amaran's sole focus as a band was heavy riffs with clean female vocals). Amaran officially broke up on December 28, 2005.

Musical Style

Members

Final Line-Up
  • Ronnie Backlund - Guitar (2000–2005)
  • Gunnar Hammar - Guitar (2005)
  • Niklas Sandi - Bass (2005)
  • Robin Bergh - Drums (2001–2003, 2004–2005)

Former Members
  • Kari Kainulainen - Guitar (2000–2004)
  • Mikael Andersson - Bass (2000–2003)
  • Ronnie Bergerståhl - Bass (2003–2004)
  • Johanna DePierre - Vocals (2000–2005)
  • Pär Hjulström - Drums (2004; live 2004)

Live Members
  • Ronnie Bergerståhl - Bass (2002)
  • Esa Orjatsalo - Guitars (2004) (played live as a replacement for Ronnie Backlund while he was recovering from an arm fracture)

Timeline

The following is a visual summary of the history section above, though a text summary is provided below:

The initial members, 1 May 2000 were Johanna de Pierre (vocals), Kari Kainulainen (guitar), Ronnie Backlund (guitar), and Mikael Andersson (bass). They release a demo the first of April. Robin Bergh (drums) joins the 1st of July 2001. They release a studio album the 20th of May 2002. Mikael Andersson (bass) leaves the 1st of December 2003, and gets replaced by Ronnie Bergerståhl the 10th. The 20th of January 2004, they release another studio album. Robin Bergh (drums) leaves the 1st of April, getting replaced by Pär Hjulström the same day. Kari Kainulainen (guitar) leaves the 1st of September. Ronnie Bergerståhl (bass) leaves the same day. Pär Hjulström (drums) leaves the 1st of November, getting replaced by Robin Bergh the same day. Gunnar Hammar (guitar) joins the 1st of March 2005. Niklas Sandi (bass) joins the same day. The timeline ends the 1st of August 2005.

Discography
  • Promo (April, 2001)
  • A World Depraved (May 20, 2002)
  • Pristine in Bondage - (January 20, 2004)
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References
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