Penumbra is a

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

band from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 ...

and formed in 1996. Their music is characterized by using a classical mixture of female and male voices,

Gregorian chants Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe duri ...

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

and other unconventional elements. "Penumbra" refers to the part of the shadow where the light source is only partially blocked. Part of the light passes through the edges of the object causing a partial shadow.

History

Foundation

Jarlaath (Maxime Meheust) and Dorian are the original founders of the group, who met at a concert in 1996. Both share a similar vision of music: that there are too many bands with a similar sound, and too few borrowing from classical influences. So they decided to work together, and shortly after they left their groups to form Imperatoria. Around November 1996, Imperatoria separated, and Jarlaath and Neo (guitar) began anew. During a trip to the US, Neo met some Argentinians and was inspired to rename the group "Penumbra" (Spanish for "Twilight"). Dorian joined, along with three other musicians, and their first appearance was a well-received concert at the St. Denis University Festival in 1997. Shortly after, they were offered to tour of the metal band Misanthrope. The same year they released their first self-produced demo, "Falling Into My Soul."

Debut album

In the middle of 1998 Benedicte, the keyboardist, left the band to join Misanthrope. He was replaced by Zoltan, and the band added Medusa and Elise as sopranos and Amaris as a baritone. The band recorded its first album, '' Emanate'', in the second half of that year. Between 1999 and 2000, Penumbra performed in concert in various parts of France, such as Bordeaux and Lyon, as well as internationally in Switzerland and at the Leipzig (Germany) festival.

Subsequent albums

The second album, '' The Last Bewitchment'', was released three years later in 2002 after an extensive line-up change in 2001, on the

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

label. Following this album, Penumbra performed with

Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other infl ...

and

After Forever After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jan ...

in France, as well as in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In 2003 Penumbra released ''

Seclusion Seclusion is the act of secluding (i.e. isolating from society), the state of being secluded, or a place that facilitates it (a secluded place). A person, couple, or larger group may go to a secluded place for privacy or peace and quiet. The ...

'', their third album. It featured the guest appearance of the musician Loïc Taillebrest, playing bagpipes on the title track as well as contributing flute to some other tracks on the album. The band split up at the beginning of 2010, before reforming in 2013 for the creation of their fourth album, titled '' Era 4.0'' and released in 2015 by themselves. The band released their new album ''Eden'' in April 7, 2023, marking their longest gap between albums without splitting up. It is their first album without longtime keyboardist Xavier "Zoltan" Robin and their first with female vocalist Valérie Chantraine.

Band members

Current line-up

*Jarlaath – vocals, keyboards, lyrics, oboe (1996–present) *Valérie Chantraine – vocals (2018–present) (ex-Dusk and Darkness, ex-Horkan, ex-Sythera) *Agone – bass, vocals (2001–present) *Neo – guitar (1996–present) *Arathelis – drums (2003–present) *Loic – guitar (2004–present)

Previous members

*Xavier "Zoltan" Robin – keyboards, programming, orchestrations (1998-2017) *Dorian – guitar (1996-2003) *Asphodel – vocals (2006–2017)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Emanate'' (1999) *'' The Last Bewitchment'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *'' Era 4.0'' (2015) *'' Eden'' (2023)

Demos

* ''Falling Into My Soul'' (1997) * ''Emanate'' (1997) * ''The Last Bewitchment'' (2001) * ''Eerie Shelter'' (2007)

References

External links

Official Page

Metallum ArchivesDiscogs.com
{{Authority control French symphonic metal musical groups French gothic metal musical groups Musical groups from Paris