Visions of Atlantis: Австриялық симфониялық метал тобының тарихы

Austrian symphonic metal band

Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian symphonic metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis.

Fascinated by the myth of Atlantis, Werner Fiedler, Thomas Caser, Christian Stani, and Chris Kamper decided in August 2000 to work out a concept inspired by the secret of Atlantis. Late in summer mezzo soprano Nicole Bogner joined the project, and this was the birth of Visions of Atlantis. A first demo, Morning in Atlantis was released in 2000. In 2001 they signed with TTS Media Music/Black Arrow Productions, and in 2002 their first album, Eternal Endless Infinity was released. In 2003, the band saw some changes in line up, replacing Christian Stani with Mario Plank and Chris Kamper with Miro Holly.

Now with Napalm Records, which released the band's second studio effort Cast Away worldwide in November 2004. To mark the release, Visions of Atlantis produced their first official music video to the track "Lost", which received significant airplay on VIVA and MTV, and made it possible for the band to present the album. The song "Lemuria" from the album was used by the organizer of the 2011 World Athletics Championship in Daegu (Kor) as beginning of the medal ceremonies. In early 2005, Visions of Atlantis did their tour across Europe, while being supported by labelmates Elis and Celtic rock based band Lyriel. In late 2005, Bogner left the band due to commitments elsewhere.

After Nicole left the band, she was replaced by American soprano singer Melissa Ferlaak (formerly with Aesma Daeva) and Wolfgang Koch replaced Werner Fiedler. In 2006, Martin Harb, who already played with VoA on their tour in Mexico in 2003, replaced Miro Holly. In May 2007, VoA released their 3rd album Trinity, mastered at Finnvox Studios and recorded at Bavarian Dreamscape Studio). The following autumn brought Visions of Atlantis to the United States, where the band toured together with Epica for 6 weeks and won numerous new fans.

Upon returning, the band went through changes in the line up. On 28 November 2007, a message was posted on the official VoA website saying that Melissa Ferlaak and Wolfgang Koch had left the band, both citing personal reasons. Following this Visions of Atlantis announced a few days later that their ex guitarist, Werner Fiedler, had rejoined the band.

After Melissa's departure, Visions of Atlantis not only looked for a replacement for a singer, but also wrote the material for the fourth album. The band advertised on their website the position for a female vocalist for several months, and on 3 September 2008, they finally announced that they had found a new female singer; however, her identity was not revealed until 1 February 2009, as the 20 year old Austrian soprano vocalist Joanna Nieniewska. On 29 July 2009, VoA announced that because of health problems, Joanna Nieniewska is no longer in the band but will continue to support VoA behind the scenes. The band announced the replacement vocalist, Maxi Nil from Greece, and was also known for her work with On Thorns I Lay, guest with Moonspell and her former band Elysion.

On 3 December 2010, VoA announced the new title of their 4th studio album Delta which was released on 25 February 2011 worldwide. On 18 July 2011, bass player Mario Lochert left the band due to crucial internal differences. In a recent interview Harb said that the band is not planning on replacing him. Instead, they will continue without a bassist as a fixed band member. In August 2011, the band announced the title of their first EP Maria Magdalena. It was released on 21 October 2011.

On 6 January 2012, Visions of Atlantis announced on their Facebook and MySpace pages that former singer Nicole Bogner had died at the age of 27 after suffering from a severe disease over a long period of time. The band said that they were saddened to have lost their first vocalist, and expressed their gratitude to Bogner for her time with the band. On 27 January 2012, the band announced the title Ethera for their upcoming album, which was scheduled to be released in 2012. Ethera was released on 22 March 2013. It was the first album with guitarist Christian Hermsdörfer and with no official bassist. It was dedicated to Bogner's memory.

On 6 December 2013, Visions of Atlantis announced on their Facebook page that most of the line up was parting ways with Visions of Atlantis, leaving the only remaining and founding member Thomas Caser on drums. This decision was mostly because of a desire from the parting members to play their own style of music, whilst the band was orientating to go back to its classic style. Thus, it welcomed back some of its old members: Werner Fiedler (guitars), Chris Kamper (synths), and Michael Koren (bass). Maxi Nil was replaced by Clémentine Delauney, and Mario Plank by Siegfried Samer. Michael Koren was replaced by Herbert Glos on bass in late 2017, and Werner Fiedler by Christian Douscha at the same time. Chris Kamper left the band in 2015. Their new album The Deep & the Dark was released on 16 February 2018.

After extensive tours with Serenity and Kamelot as well as several festival shows in 2018, the band released their first live album The Deep & the Dark Live @ Symphonic Metal Nights on 16 February 2019, which featured new male lead singer Michele Guaitoli (from Italian symphonic metal band Temperance) sharing lead vocal duty with Siegfried Samer, the former having permanently replaced the latter at the end of the Symphonic Metal Nights IV tour in late 2018. The band then announced on 1 July 2019 that their seventh album Wanderers will be released on 30 August 2019 via Napalm Records. The album again featured Clémentine Delauney and Michele Guaitoli sharing lead vocal duties. During the pandemic in 2020, Visions of Atlantis released their first live DVD / Blu ray with the title A Symphonic Journey To Remember on 30 October. The show was recorded at Bang Your Head festival in Germany back in 2019 together with the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra of Prague. On 7 March 2022, the band announced their eighth album Pirates would be released on 13 May. This album took Visions of Atlantis to a higher level than before. With more orchestral arrangements and choirs, the band not only fascinated the fans but also received a great response from the press. The first official fan club VoA Sailors has existed since 29 August 2022. On 20 March 2024, the band announced their upcoming ninth studio album Pirates II – Armada which is set to be released on 5 July 2024.