Anorexia Nervosa is a French

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. History One of the earliest forerunners in what would come to be the sound of symphonic metal was Celtic Frost ...

band from

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, formed in 1991. They are currently "on hold" due to the departure of vocalist RMS Hreidmarr.

Biography

Anorexia Nervosa (full name Anorexia Nervosa the Nihilistic Orchestra) was formed in 1991 as Necromancia, with a line-up consisting of Stéphane Bayle (guitar), Marc Zabé (guitar), Pierre Couquet (bass), Nilcas Vant (drums) and Stéphane Gerbaud (vocals).Rivadavia, Eduardo " Anorexia Nervosa Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation As Necromancia they produced a demo in 1993, '' The Garden of Delight''. A second demo, '' Nihil Negativum'', gave Anorexia Nervosa its place in the underground metal scene. The demo featured the dark, industrial atmosphere that their album ''

Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

'' was later known for. During a concert in the south of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Michael Berberian, from Season of Mist Records, noticed the band and offered them a contract for an album. ''Exile'', was released in 1997. Reminiscent of their previous work, ''Nihil Negativum'', ''Exile'' had a dark industrial sound to it. Not only was the album unique in the history of the band, but in the broader

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

genre itself. Twenty-four hundred copies of the album were sold, allowing access to a larger audience and onto a series of concerts with

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, Absu,

Misanthrope Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the Human, human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitu ...

, amongst others. They left the label after the release of ''Exile'', and replaced Gerbaud and Zabé with new singer RMS Hreidmarr and keyboardist Neb Xort. They then pursued a new, self-described "dark nihilistic metal" direction featuring a very fast, hysterical and powerfully orchestrated sound, with second album ''Sodomizing the Archangel'', recorded at the band's own Drudenhaus Studio and released by

Osmose Productions Osmose Productions () is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company. They specialize mainly in death and black metal bands. Many of the groups who began ...

in 1999. They followed this with the ''Drudenhaus'' album, which was released in March 2000, and proved to be a huge success for the band. Further evolving the style was their 2001 release, '' New Obscurantis Order'', which involved even faster tempos, more polished orchestrations and an all-around more violent sound. They toured all over Europe with the likes of

, and

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creat ...

, by now an established symphonic black metal band. Anorexia Nervosa then went on hiatus for three years, returning with a new album, ''

Redemption Process ''Redemption Process '' is the fourth album by the French symphonic black metal band Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, ...

'' in 2004, now on

Listenable Records Listenable Records is an independent metal label officially founded in 1997 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music. Releasing 7inches by soon to be legendary bands like Immortal, My Dying Bride, in its e ...

. Approximately one year later, the band released '' The September E.P.'' which features a director's cut of ''Sister September'', three cover tracks, and four live tracks. The EP was released to be a "goodie" from the band until they are ready to record their next studio album. On 20 December 2005 vocalist Rose Hreidmarr quit the band. His statement on the matter reads as follows:

"Leaving Anorexia Nervosa was definitely not the easiest thing to do as we've shared so much during our time together as this band had become a vivid part of my daily life. For seven years, the band has been giving me so many opportunities on a musical and human level and has heavily contributed to become the person I'm today. Still, I honestly thought I had reached the end of a personal era with the album 'Redemption Process' and I now feel the need to take a different path. I'm also absolutely proud of what I have been able to achieve with the rest of the band members who will always remain my best friends and I wish them the very best for the future."ANOREXIA NERVOSA Vocalist Quits
", Blabbermouth.net, 20 December 2005

Soon afterwards, the remaining band members held auditions for a new singer, but failure to find a replacement has caused guitarist Stéphane Bayle to put the band in "stand-by" mode, fearing the group may become "some sort of parody" of itself. A decade following the start of their hiatus, their future still remains unclear. Since his departure from Anorexia Nervosa, Rose Hreidmarr has been singer for The Cosa Nostra Klub, a black/industrial metal band. In 2018, he also became the singer for the White supremacist black metal group Baise ma hache. Stéphane Bayle and Neb Xort also participated in Jensara Swann and Ben Notox's band The Veil, both on their first album ''Sleeping Among Serpents'', released in 2006 and as session musicians for their first concerts. Neb Xort is still involved with the band as producer, and engineered The Veil's second album ''Vestige'' in 2008, and Ad Inferna's ''Trance N Dance'' in 2009. Bayle produced The Cosa Nostra Klub's second album, ''L'Hymne la Joie'', in 2007.

Musical style

In the band's early days as Necromancia, the band played

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

, exemplified on their demo ''The Garden of Delight''; but began to incorporate elements of

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

in their sound, which laid the basis for the dissonant and experimental sound on their debut album, ''

'', which often switched between fast tempos and thrashing guitars back to a slow, ambient style, complemented with a grim vocal delivery. Nonetheless, with the departure of original vocalist Stéphane Gerbaud and the entry of R.M.S. Hreidmarr, the band went through a seismic genre shift, abandoning their early

industrial death metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...

sound for a

sound, comparable to

, which is considered the band's signature sound. The band's debut, ''Exile'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, based itself on themes of

neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

and experimentation on madness. Violence and depression would largely feature as the main source of the band's lyricism. However, ''Redemption Process'' is a concept album that focuses on lyrics about finding redemption.

Band members

Final members

* Stéphane Bayle: guitar (1995–2005) * Nilcas Vant: drums (1995–2005) * Pier Couquet: bass (1995–2005) * Neb Xort: keyboards (1998–2005)

Former members

* Marc Zabé: guitar, keyboards (1995–1998) * Stéphane Gerbaud: vocals (1995–1998) * Nicolas "R.M.S." Saint-Morand: vocals (1998–2005) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1997) * ''

Drudenhaus ''Drudenhaus'' is the second studio album by the French symphonic black metal band Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, b ...

'' (2000) * '' New Obscurantis Order'' (2001) * ''

'' (2004)

EPs

* ''

Sodomizing the Archedangel ''Sodomizing the Archedangel'' is an EP by the French symphonic black metal band Anorexia Nervosa. It was self-produced, and released in 1999 via Osmose Productions. It marks the transition from the band's previous industrial metal style to symph ...

'' (1999) * '' The September E.P.'' (2005)

Demos

* ''The Garden of Delight'' (1993) * ''Nihil Negativum'' (1995)

Compilation albums

* ''Suicide Is Sexy'' (2004)

Bootleg albums

* ''Disturbed'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anorexia Nervosa French industrial metal musical groups French black metal musical groups Symphonic black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 French musical quartets Season of Mist artists Musical groups from Nouvelle-Aquitaine Listenable Records artists