Goodbye to Gravity was a Romanian heavy metal band from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, active from 2011 until 2015, when four of the band's five members died during their concert in Bucharest, due to a burning firework that started the

Colectiv nightclub fire A nightclub fire which occurred in Bucharest, Romania, on 30 October 2015 killed 64 people (26 on site, 38 in hospitals) and injured 146. The fire was caused by a fireworks accident and is the deadliest such incident in Romanian history. It occ ...

. Lead vocalist Andrei Găluț was the only survivor.

History

The band first got together in 2010, although they did not play publicly until 2011. Frontman Andrei Găluț, who had previously won the Romanian talent show ''Megastar'' on

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, enlisted the help of a full band, including former members of the Romanian band Thunderstorm, to get the band going. In 2012, the band released their self-titled debut album to a warm reception and steadily built their reputation in Romania. As a result of the success of ''Goodbye to Gravity'', the band was signed to

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's Romanian branch, and played at festivals in countries such as Germany, Portugal, and Italy. In 2015, the band set to work on their sophomore effort, with more

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themes to their music. The album was announced as ''Mantras of War'' with a release date of 30 October. To celebrate the release, the group announced a free show at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest.

Colectiv nightclub fire

At their ''Mantras of War'' release party on 30 October 2015 at Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, the band's firework display set a deadly fire, greatly accelerated by

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foam used in the club to dampen sound waves. 64 people died, while many more were hospitalised. Vocalist Andrei Găluț, bassist Alex Pascu, and drummer Bogdan Enache (also known as Bogdan Lavinius) were hospitalised with injuries, and guitarists Vlad Țelea and Mihai Alexandru were killed in the blaze. Enache died on 8 November, while being transported to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. Pascu, who was moved to a hospital in Paris, France, and Găluț's girlfriend Mădălina Strungaru both died on 11 November. Universal Music Romania, whom the band were signed to, agreed to donate all proceeds from sales of ''Mantras of War'' to help the victims of the fire. On the initiative of a German fan of the band, the names of the deceased musicians were engraved on a microchip on board of the

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lander. People from 230 countries were registered including 8,000 from Romania.

Band members

* Andrei Găluț – vocals * Mihai Alexandru – guitars (2011-2015, died 2015) * Vlad Țelea – guitars, backing vocals (2011-2015, died 2015) * Alex Pascu – bass, backing vocals (2011-2015, died 2015) * Bogdan Enache – drums (2011-2015, died 2015)

Discography

* ''Goodbye to Gravity'' (2012) * ''Mantras of War'' (2015)

References

External links

Official website
for Goodbye to Gravity; accessed 16 November 2015.
Official website archived copy as of 19 December 2014
(most recent usable snapshot; accessed 22 June 2021) * Facebook page; accessed 22 June 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye to Gravity Metalcore musical groups Romanian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Musical quintets 2011 establishments in Romania 2015 disestablishments in Romania