Ivar de Graaf (born 20 August 1973) is the founder and drummer of the Dutch

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

Kingfisher Sky Kingfisher Sky is a Dutch progressive metal band from Netherlands, created and led by drummer Ivar de Graaf. History The history of Kingfisher Sky started in 2001, after drummer Ivar de Graaf left Within Temptation, to pursue his own musical ...

, but best known as the former drummer of the popular Dutch

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 ...

band

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 ...

Early career

Ivar de Graaf was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and began playing drums at the age of 11. De Graaf followed education at the Haags Montessori Lyceum in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and was taught to play drums by Charles Schouten who has been the drummer for

Kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

for a short period of time. On the HML he frequently performed with Edo van der Kolk and Michiel Parqui around 1990.

Within Temptation

He was asked to be the drummer for

1996, at that the time the band was relatively unknown and began working on their first studio album. De Graaf was credited as the drummer on the Within Temptation albums ''

Enter Enter or ENTER may refer to: * Enter key, on computer keyboards * Enter, Netherlands, a village * ''Enter'' (magazine), an American technology magazine for children 1983–1985 * ''Enter'' (Finnish magazine), a Finnish computer magazine * Enter ...

'' and on their breakthrough album ''

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature * "Mother Ear ...

''. In 2001 he left Within Temptation, just before the German tour and the band's international breakthrough. This was for musical reasons, he wanted to play more various and challenging drum fills instead of the more similar he experienced in Within Temptation, and develop himself more as a composer and arranger. He was replaced by

Stephen van Haestregt Stephen van Haestregt (born 12 September 1972 in Westdorpe) is a Dutch drummer, best known as the drummer of the Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation until his departure in 2010. During the mid-late 1990s,Van Haestregt was drummer with ...

. De Graaf has performed with Within Temptation a few times after his departure. He filled in as a substitute at times when van Haestregt was unavailable, and at both the Java Concert in

in 2005 and at the Elements Concert in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in 2012 he took on stage with other former Within Temptation band members and performed a couple of songs. He accompanied singer

Sharon den Adel Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974) is a Dutch singer who is the lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been performing since age 14, and co-founded Within Temptation with partner Robert Westerholt in 1996. S ...

on acoustic guitar for Within Temptation's

Together at Home ''One World: Together at Home'' (also known as ''Together at Home'') was a 2020 benefit concert organized by Global Citizen (organization), Global Citizen of New York City and curated by singer Lady Gaga in support of the World Health Organizat ...

concert on March 24, 2020.

Kingfisher Sky

De Graaf is married to singer Judith Rijnveld. Together they worked for three years on a demo which led to the formation of

. The first studio album has been released: Hallway of Dreams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graaf, Ivar de 1973 births Living people Dutch male drummers Within Temptation members Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century Dutch drummers