Holy Knights

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Holy Knights
OriginPalermo, Italy
GenresSymphonic power metal
Years active1998–2002, 2010–present
LabelsUnderground Symphony, Scarlet
Members
  • Dario Di Matteo
  • Claudio Florio
  • Simone Campione

Holy Knights is a symphonic power metal band from Palermo, Italy, formed in 1998.[1] They recorded their first demo, Gate Through the Past, in 1999. Shortly after releasing their début album, A Gate Through the Past through Underground Symphony, the band was put on hiatus, which lasted until 2010. In 2012, the second album, Between Daylight and Pain, was released by Scarlet Records.[2]

Biography

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Holy Knights was formed in November 1998 by the vocalist Dario Di Matteo, and the drummer Claudio Florio.[1] After several changes, the line-up was complete with Salvatore Graziano and Ezio Montalto on guitars and Nico Rose on bass. In December 1999, the band entered Studio Blu in Palermo to record their first demo, Gate Through the Past, which was sent to various magazines the following February, getting positive reviews. Meanwhile, another change in line-up occurred, with Montalto and Rose being replaced by Federico Madonia and Vincenzo Noto respectively. Having received a few contract offers, Holy Knights signed a two-album deal with Underground Symphony in April 2000.[3]

In early November 2000, the band entered the Zenith Recording studio in Lucca to record their début album, A Gate Through the Past, finishing in December.[1] It was released in January 2002 by Tokuma in Japan, followed by the worldwide release via Underground Symphony in June. The album was critically acclaimed.[4] In order to appeal to the international audience Di Matteo, Graziano, Noto and Florio used pseudonyms of Mark Raven, Danny Merthon, Syl Raven and Claus Jorgen respectively.[5] On August 12, the band performed live for the first time at the Agglutination Metal Festival in Chiaromonte.[6] The same year, Holy Knights recorded two cover songs for the planned Heavy Load and Sword tribute albums that were, however, never released.[7] The band became a quartet due to another change in line-up: Florio left, while Madonia was replaced with Simone Campione.[8]

Work on the second album began in 2002 already;[9] Di Matteo and Noto built Raven Studio to take care of pre-production.[3] However, the band members eventually decided to concentrate on their other bands (Thy Majestie, Trinakrius and Crimson Wind), effectively putting Holy Knights on hiatus. In 2010, Di Matteo, Noto and Florio agreed to re-unite the band and finish the second album. Recording took place in February - March 2012 at Dabliurec Studio Recording in Palermo.[10] In March, Holy Knights signed a contract with Rubicon Music for a Japanese release, followed by a deal with Scarlet Records in July.[11]

Music

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Stylistically, Holy Knights is evocative of many fellow Italian symphonic power metal bands, often being compared to Rhapsody of Fire.[1][12] The band frequently employs strong orchestrations and soaring choruses; many songs feature prominent double bass drumming and guitar solos.[13][14] However, while the début album was strongly influenced by the neoclassical and baroque music, resulting in marked reliance on synthesizers, the follow-up is heavier and contains many progressive elements.[15] Lyrically, there was a progression as well, from the theme of a medieval fantasy to that of an introspection.[5]

Discography

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Demo

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  • Gate Through the Past (1999)

Albums

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Members

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Current

  • Claudio Florio – drums (1998–present)
  • Dario Di Matteo – vocals, keyboards, orchestration (1998–present)
  • Simone Campione – guitars (2002; 2010–present), bass, orchestration (2012–present)

Former

  • Nico Rose – bass (1998–1999)
  • Ezio Montalto – guitars (1998–1999)
  • Salvatore Graziano – guitars (1998–2002)
  • Federico Madonia – guitars (1999–2002)
  • Vincenzo Noto – bass (1999–2002)

Timeline <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:170 bottom:80 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:11/01/1998 till:02/22/2021 #it is best not to use auto-updating timelines as it can cause problems when the graphic updates on a daily basis TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1999 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1999 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

Colors = 

id:vocals  value:red        legend:Vocals,_keyboards
id:lead    value:green      legend:Guitars
id:bass    value:blue       legend:Bass
id:drums   value:orange     legend:Drums
id:studio  value:black      legend:Studio_album
id:demo    value:gray(0.75) legend:Demo
id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData = 

layer:back
at:12/15/1999 color:demo
at:01/23/2002 color:studio
at:08/28/2012 color:studio

BarData = 

bar:Dario      text:"Dario di Matteo"
bar:Salvatore  text:"Salvatore Graziano"
bar:Ezio       text:"Ezio Montalto"
bar:Federico   text:"Federico Madonia"
bar:Nico       text:"Nico Rose"
bar:Simone     text:"Simone Campione"
bar:Vincenzo   text:"Vincenzo Noto"
bar:Claudio    text:"Claudio Florio"

PlotData = 

width:11
bar:Dario      from:11/01/1998 till:12/01/2002  color:vocals
bar:Dario      from:01/01/2010 till:end         color:vocals
bar:Salvatore  from:11/01/1998 till:12/01/2002  color:lead
bar:Ezio       from:11/01/1998 till:12/01/1999  color:lead
bar:Nico       from:11/01/1998 till:12/01/1999  color:bass
bar:Claudio    from:11/01/1998 till:09/01/2002  color:drums
bar:Claudio    from:01/01/2010 till:end         color:drums
bar:Federico   from:12/01/1999 till:09/01/2002  color:lead
bar:Vincenzo   from:12/01/1999 till:12/01/2002  color:bass
bar:Simone     from:09/01/2002 till:12/01/2002  color:lead
bar:Simone     from:01/01/2010 till:end         color:lead

width:3
bar:Simone     from:01/01/2012 till:end         color:bass
</timeline>

References

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