Artension is a
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...
neoclassical progressive metal
Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
band, founded in 1993 by keyboardist
Vitalij Kuprij. The band split up after recording seven albums from 1996 to 2004, but reformed in 2016 with the intention of releasing an eighth album.
History
It was sometime in 1992 or 1993 when Vitalij Kuprij, who was studying classical music in Switzerland at that time, met Roger Staffelbach, a Swiss guitarist who was also studying at the Jazz School in Lucerne.
They soon founded their band "Atlantis Rising", which played several instrumental gigs in Switzerland. After having recorded some demos, they got in touch with Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records, who showed great interest in the band but suggested to add some vocal lines to their songs.
Vitalij had already known stunning drummer Mike Terrana from one of Yngwie Malmsteen's tours. His friend, bassist Kevin Chown, also joined the band and enriched their sound with solid experience and great musicianship, and Artension was born.
Mike Varney introduced Vitalij and Roger to several musicians, one of them being John West, whose soaring vocals, along with Vitalij's and Roger's lightning-fast solos, became the trademark for Artension's neo-classical and aggressive music.
Line-up
Current members
* Roger Staffelbach – guitar (1993–2005, 2016–present)
*
John West – vocals (1996–2005, 2016–present)
*
Chris Caffery – guitar (2016–present)
Former members
*
Vitalij Kuprij – keyboard (1993–2005, 2016–2024; his death)
*
Mike Terrana
Mike Terrana (born January 21, 1960) is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer.
Career
His first professional work was in 1984, with the MCA band Hanover Fist from Toronto, Canada. Between 1987 and 1997, he was based in Los Angeles a ...
– drums (1996–1998, 2001–2005)
*
Kevin Chown – bass (1996–1998, 2001–2004)
* John Onder – bass (1999–2000)
*
Shane Gaalaas – drums (1999–2000)
*
Steve Di Giorgio
Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for his work with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of which he was a co-founder), Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autopsy, Ob ...
– bass (2004–2005)
Discography
* ''Into the Eye of the Storm'' (1996)
* ''Phoenix Rising'' (1997)
* ''Forces of Nature'' (1999)
* ''Machine'' (2000)
* ''Sacred Pathways'' (2001)
* ''New Discovery'' (2002)
* ''Future World'' (2004)
References
External links
*
John West's official home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artension
American progressive metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
1993 establishments in the United States