Theocracy is an American

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

progressive

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band founded in 2002 by Matt Smith of

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. They have released five albums and multiple Christmas singles.

History

Theocracy started as a one-man project with all the instruments and vocals on the debut album ''Theocracy'' performed by Smith. The group performed at the ProgPower USA VII festival Pre-Party in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Live performances from the show of the songs "The Serpent's Kiss" and "Mountain" were included on the ProgPower VII DVD. The band's self-titled album was released on January 1, 2003, by MetalAges Records. All instruments were played by Matt Smith. The album had been out of print for several years, and fans have asked for a re-issue. In order to improve upon the drum machine and amateur production of the original release without losing the charm of the recordings, Theocracy drummer Shawn Benson recorded drums on all tracks, while nothing else was re-recorded. Smith completely re-mixed the album, with the mastering handled by Mika Jussila, and on November 19, 2013, Ulterium Records re-released it. Their second album, '' Mirror of Souls'', was Theocracy's first album as a full band. It was released on November 21, 2008, through Sweden's Ulterium Records and on November 26, 2008, in Japan by Soundholic Records. The Japanese version contains the bonus track "Wages of Sin." The North American edition was released December 9, 2008. A picture disc LP was released through the record label's web store containing "Mirror of Souls," "Laying the Demon to Rest," "Absolution Day," and "The Wages of Sin." This LP was limited to 250 copies worldwide. ''As the World Bleeds'' was released on November 21, 2011. After releasing their new album, Theocracy released their first official music video from the new album, entitled "Hide in the Fairytale" on September 5, 2012. The band embarked on a European tour to promote the remastered re-release of the self-titled album in November 2013. The tour consisted of smaller venue shows as well as larger festivals including Brainstorm Festival in The Netherlands, Blast of Eternity, and Rock Without Limits in Germany, and ''

Maata Näkyvissä Festival Maata Näkyvissä Festival (''Land Ahoy'') is the biggest Christian music event in the Nordic countries. It takes place in Turku, Finland, the venue being HK Arena (previously known as Turkuhalli) and the Turku Fair Centre. The organizers of th ...

'' in Finland. Joshua Street filled in for drummer Shawn Benson for this tour. On October 28, 2016, they released their fourth studio album, ''Ghost Ship'', through Ulterium Records. It includes their second official music video for the album's title track filmed in Atlanta, along with lyric videos for "Wishing Well" and "Easter". On March 2, 2023, they announced that they had a new album coming out soon under a new label and not on Ulterium Records. They did not provide any details about the upcoming album, except that it was "mastered and ready to roll." On August 3, the band revealed they had signed with

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and the new album would be released later in 2023. A week later, they released the single and music video for the song "Return to Dust" while simultaneously announcing the October 13 release of their fifth studio album, ''Mosaic''.

Musical style

Musically, the band mixes the

style of

Edguy Edguy is a German power metal band formed in 1992 in Fulda by students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch, and Dirk Sauer. Initially named after their math teacher, the band faced early rejections from record labels but persevered, relea ...

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, ma ...

, and

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

with progressive influences from bands such as

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and Rush.

Band members

Current members *Matt Smith – lead vocals (2002–present), keyboards (2002–2008), lead guitar, bass (2002–2009) *Jonathan Hinds – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2006–present) *Jared Oldham – bass, backing vocals (2009–present) *Ernie Topran – drums (2016–present) *Taylor Washington – lead guitar, backing vocals (2022–present) Former members *Seth Filkins – bass, backing vocals *Josh Sloan – bass, backing vocals *Patrick Parris – bass, backing vocals *Shawn Benson – drums (2005–2014) *Patrick Nickell – drums (2014–2015) *Val Allen Wood – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–2020) Timeline

Discography

* ''Theocracy'' (2003) * '' Mirror of Souls'' (2008) * ''As the World Bleeds'' (2011) * ''Ghost Ship'' (2016) * ''Mosaic'' (2023)

Christmas

Starting in 2003, the band has recorded and released one Christmas-themed song for free download to all members of their "Club of Souls" fan group per year through 2012, located on their official website, as well as additional songs in 2014 and 2019. In 2013, Matt Smith instead dedicated his efforts to the ''Collide & Spark'' charity special, released as ''Project Aegis''. In 2015, Theocracy instead were working on a new album, therefore did not have any time to record a new Christmas song. :*2003: "Theocracy Christmas" :*2004: "Little Drummer Boy" :*2005: "Deck the Joy (To the Halls)" :*2006: "Christmas Medley" (2006 Remix) :*2007: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" :*2008: "Rudolph vs. Frosty" :*2009: "Angels from the Realms of Glory" :*2010: "All I Want for Christmas" :*2011: "Theocracy Christmas" (2011 Remix/Remaster) :*2012: "Wynter Fever" :*2014: "Night of Silence" :*2019: "Snowglobe"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theocracy American Christian metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Musical groups established in 2002 American power metal musical groups American progressive metal musical groups 2002 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)