IGNEA is a Ukrainian melodic metal band formed in Kyiv in 2013. The band mixes different

heavy metal subgenres A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal music, heavy metal (often shortened to ''metal'') during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, b ...

, the main of which are

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

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 ...

, and

oriental metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

History

In 2013, IGNEA started under the name Parallax and released debut EP titled ''Sputnik''. In 2014, the band released a single ''Petrichor'' featuring guitar solo and bouzoukitara part by Yossi Sassi (ex-

Orphaned Land Orphaned Land is an Israeli Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1991. They combine Mizrahi music, Mizrahi and Maghrebi Jews, Maghrebi Jewish, Arabic music, Arabic, Music of Turkey, Turkish, and other Middle Eastern music, Middle Easter ...

). In 2015, the band changed its name to IGNEA and released a single ''Alga'', with a full

symphonic orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

. The video gathered millions of views on the band’s

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. In 2017, IGNEA released ''The Sign of Faith'', the first full-length album, and an animated video for the song ''Şeytanu Akbar'' dedicated against terrorism. Later, the band also published an official video for this song recorded at The Best Ukrainian Metal Act, the yearly national awards, where IGNEA was named one of the top three bands in the country. HELLE BOGNADOVA 2019

In 2018, the band released an animated video for ''How I Hate the Night'' with references to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy original movie. After that, the band toured with the Danish death metal band

Illdisposed Illdisposed is a Danish death metal band from Aarhus, that was formed in 1991 by vocalist Bo Summer and guitarist Lasse Bak. As of 2020, the band consists of vocalist Bo Summer, guitarists Jakob Batten and Rasmus Henriksen, bassist Kussen and d ...

in Europe. In September 2018, IGNEA toured within the Female Metal Voices Tour 2018 headlined by

Butcher Babies Butcher Babies is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, consisting of frontwoman Heidi Shepherd, guitarist Henry Flury (Amen), bassist Ricky Bonazza, and drummer Dave Nickles. Their debut album, ''Goliath'', was released on July 9, 20 ...

and

Kobra and the Lotus Kobra and the Lotus (also initialized as KATL) is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 2009 by lead vocalist and songwriter Kobra Paige. History Formation, ''Out of the Pit'' (2009–2010) Kobra and the Lotus was formed by classical singe ...

. and released a new single ''Queen Dies''. Despite the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, IGNEA released its second full-length album ''The Realms of Fire and Death'' was released in 2020. It was crowdfunded by the band's patrons at

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

. The songs ''Disenchantment'' and ''Jinnslammer'' from this album were previously released as singles with official videos. ''The Realms of Fire and Death'' got an award as the metal album of the year and IGNEA got the award as the best Ukrainian metal band of 2020 according to The Best Ukrainian Metal Act. In 2021, together with

symphonic death metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

band ERSEDU, IGNEA self-released a concept split EP ''BESTIA'' about the human nature of Slavic mythological creatures and the world’s duality. In June 2021, IGNEA signed a worldwide deal with

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...

. In February 2022, IGNEA announced the third full-length concept album Dreams of Lands Unseen about Sofia Yablonska to be released on April 28, 2023."Ukrainian metal upstarts IGNEA to release Dreams of Lands Unseen album in April; ”Nomad’s Luck” music video streaming"
''Brave Words'', Retrieved on 15 February 2023

Band members

* Helle Bohdanova – vocals (2013–present) * Yevhenii Zhytniuk – keyboards (2013–present) * Oleksandr Kamyshin – bass (2013–present) * Dmytro Vinnichenko – guitar (2015–present) * Ivan Kholmohorov – drums (2015–present)

Discography

Albums * ''The Sign of Faith'' (2017) * ''The Realms of Fire and Death'' (2020) * ''Dreams of Lands Unseen'' (2023) EPs * ''Sputnik'' (2013) * ''BESTIA'' (2021) — split with ERSEDU Singles * "Petrichor" (2014) * "Alga" (2015) * "Queen Dies" (2018) * "Disenchantment" (2020) * "Jinnslammer" (2020) * "Bosorkun" (2021) * "Mermaids" (2021) * "Nomad's Luck" (2023) * "Dunes" (2023) * "Incurable Disease" (2023)

References

External links

* {{official, ignea.band Napalm Records artists Musical groups established in 2013 Ukrainian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups from Kyiv Female-fronted musical groups Oriental metal musical groups Symphonic metal musical groups Progressive metal musical groups Melodic death metal musical groups