Lars Stavdal: All guitars, bass & vocals.
Stefan Traunmüller: Orchestrations & backing vocals.
Thomas Kocher: Drums & percussion.
Influences
Bathory, Burzum, Emperor, Celtic Frost, Deicide, Alas, Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, Dissection, Windir, Rotting Christ, Thou Art Lord, N.A.O.S, Necromantia, Septic Flesh, Alastis, Samael, Plasma Pool, Tormentor, Sunn O))), Alcest, Amesoeurs, Arckanum, Bay Laurel, Blut Aus Nord, Caïna, Drudkh, Evoken, Forefather, Wolves In The Throne Room, Funeral Mist, Defecation, Meathook Seed, Napalm Death, Scorn, Godflesh, Golden Dawn, The Equinox Ov The Gods, Zephyrous, Devin Townsend, Mithras, Nile, Aborym, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, Borknagar, Ulver, Arcana, Godhate, Throneaeon, Tiamat, Primordial...
Various movies - Stanley Kubrick: A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove & Eyes Wide Shut, David Lynch: Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive & Twin Peaks series, Schindler's List, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Doors, Angels Of The Universe, Let The Right One In, The Seventh Seal, Le Pacte Des Loups, The Number 23, Titus, Immortal Beloved, L'ennemi Public no 1, The Fountain...
Some influential persons and characters: Erik Rutan, Quorthon, Valfar, Devin Townsend, Bruce Lee, Vlad Tepes, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Rodney Mullen, Laura Sava, Derek Roddy, George Kollias...
Wallachia has always been a oneman project first and foremost, yet having some members stepping in during the studio sessions. I created this band in the early - mid nineties with the idea of channeling all my influences through my own music and by giving something back to the music that inspired me in the first place. It's a platform for all my creative impulses, thoughts, emotions and very much a cleansing of my mind and soul.
Wallachia first showed a sign of existence with the Demo 1996 - a self-released tape that was recorded as a duo with Eystein Garberg from the folk metal band Lumsk doing 2nd guitar, all keyboards and drums.
Our demo was put out as the "Wallachia" mcd on French label Velvet Music International in the summer of 1997, and this also lead us to a contract for the debut full-length From Behind The Light that was issued on the aforementioned label in 1999. On the 1st album I performed everything myself with the exception of drums, which was done by Lars Erik Vesterdal & Mikael Duna whom played on four songs each on this recording.
Our label VMI faced a difficult economical situation and shut down their biz in the matter of a few weeks after this release was sold out in a ltd. first pressing.
With the demise of the record label I was also kind of back at scratch with Wallachia and spent my time carefully building what was to become Ceremony Of Ascension - the 2nd full-length album released now in 2009.
Prior to this the debut album + demo has been re-issued by the US label Dark Horizon records and also a tape version by the Ukrainian label Nightbirds Rex which is run by Roman Sayenko of Drudkh. Both released in 2005.
In 2006 I recorded a full instrumental pre-production for my 2nd album during a few late autumn evenings with good help from Paal André Sandnesmo from Norwegian death metal band No Dawn. These recordings caught the attention of Stefan Traunmüller from the Austrian bands Golden Dawn & Sternenstaub, whom also works as an engineer/producer in his own Soundtempel Studios.
Stefan helped me to locate Thomas Kocher, the amazing drummer that stepped in and did all drumtracks in the matter of a couple of days during the fall of 2007. The actual album recordings were done by me and Stefan during some incredibly hot and moisty days of August 2008 down at his studio. And now the album has been out on German label Twilight Vertrieb since April 2009. Ceremony Of Ascension is a dive into the past and all the way up since the debut album and all the slumbering years. A collection of songs created in 3 epochs so to speak, thus the diversity in musical expression comes natural from this. The soundscape of Wallachia was stretched further in every direction and it's been a valuable experience working harder from scratch and to have dealt with these songs on so many levels already.
The album comes with artwork, new logo and full design by the great Romanian artist Laura Sava, and I'm really proud to have her artwork as a part of Wallachia.
Ceremony Of Ascension concludes ten years of musical works, and parallel to this I have also worked on material that will become the 3rd opus coming some time before the Mayan calendar ends.
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
Thank you a lot for your message, i agree this particular period for Black-Metal was very witching, we can't pretend imitate the norwegian sound so we bring modestly this french touch. I'm glad your back again and Julien told me a next effort will come in the old vein, so i can't help encouraging this approach. However, i thought Julien had sent you our splits, i will ask him...
Lars, It's great news. Keep me posted as always and I'll write to you soon. Things are really busy at the shop but orders for Asgard Root have slowed right down. I think that bloody Christian festival is taking peoples spending money away! Never mind.
Welcome back to myspace, the place where your friends aren't really friends and where viewing the glittery gif-plagued pages requires an ophthalmologist's advice!
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