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Seven Thorns - Biography


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2009-

Biography

Seven Thorns was started in 1998 by Lars (drums) and Dr. No (guitar).

The search for other band members was unsuccessful, so in 2000 the band was put on hold. Lars joined another band and Dr. No wanted to pursue other activities. In late 2002 Lars found himself without a band and the urge to awake and continue his quest for a true Power Metal band was back...

In 2003 Lars was joined by composer/vocalist Mik Holm. It was an instant match. Both shared the same vision of a band playing true Power Metal. They started writing music and the line-up was complete in late 2004.

The single 'Artificial Night' was released in the beginning of 2005. The single was nominated for a Danish Metal Award and the song 'Artificial Night' won the 4th unofficial European Heavy Metal Song Contest. Right after finishing the recording, Mik left the band due to a change in the musical direction coming from the new members. With Mik out of the band, Seven Thorns was again put on hold as Lars decided to continue with the other band members. The project was called '7thorns' and has nothing to do with 'Seven Thorns'. Looking back Lars concludes that the similarity in names was a stupid move, but at the time they wanted to use the publicity already gained by the old band. As it became more and more obvious to Lars that both the people and the music in the project was wrong he closed it down in 2007, joined forces once again with Mik and Seven Thorns was a reality. This time they agreed that nothing should be in the way for their common quest!
In 2008 they moved in to a new rehearsal studio and were joined by guitar wizard Gabriel Tuxen. 2 songs were written and prepared to be recorded as the new single release. 6 weeks before the trio entered the studio Gabriel brought in fellow guitar equilibrist Christian B. Strøjer whom he knew from the guitar classes they both attended. At the same time Nicolaj Marker responded to an ad for the position as bass player. A functional line-up was now in place, and for the first time in 10 years it just felt right.

The single 'Forest Majesty' was recorded in January 2009 in Media Sound Studios with Peter Brander who also was in charge (together with Seven Thorns) of mixing and mastering. Besides the title track, which is about finding inner peace in the nature, the single also contained the fast and heavy 'Spread Your Wings'. The theme in this song is about courage to trust yourself and not be told by others how you should live your life.

Mik recognized that he could not live up to his own sky-high expectations of what a singer in a power metal band should be able to do and suggested that a search for a new vocalist was to be initiated. Erik, who had recorded several albums with the band, Platitude, who hadn't been active for some time, was attracted by the opportunity to get to sing some serious power metal.
Lars had come in contact with keyboard player Mikkel Henderson. Mikkel, who happened to live in the same city as Lars and enjoyed the same high quality beer served in the local pub, was easily convinced to participate in the project - it's a small world!
The final result was even better than the band had hoped for.

'Forest Majesty' was released on the small independent Danish label Airborne Records and sent out to radio stations and labels all over the world resulting in a huge exposure on metal radio shows and very good feedback.

At the same time Seven Thorns went back to their rehearsal studio to write the songs that eventually would end up on their debut album.
Encouraged by the positive feedback from the "Forest Majesty" single they started focusing on getting out and playing gigs and trying the new material in front of a live audience. They got to play on several venues in Denmark including the support for hard-rock/metal legend Jorn. In the second quarter of 2009 Asger joined the band. He and Gabriel met at the university where they quickly got along due to their mutual love for metal. Asgers keyboard playing added a new dimension to the music and he quickly adapted to the sound and style of Seven Thorns.
The album was recorded over a total of 3 major studio sessions + several minor (keyboard and chorus) in Media Sound Studios and mixed - also by Peter Brander (and Seven Thorns) before sending it to the legendary Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pretty Maids?) for mastering.

'Liberty', the first song on the album, features Olaf Lenk of At Vance playing a smashing guitar solo. Furthermore, Mikkel Henderson returned to complement Asger's keyboard. The American label Nightmare Records signed a worldwide deal with the band and on November 23rd 2010 Return to the Past was released in America. In Europe the release date was January 14th 2011.
It was decided that a music video for 'Liberty' should be made to help the release of the album. Due to the rather empty treasure chest a simple, low budget, video was shot. The location was the empty coal mill facility just next door from the local venue Forbrændingen. It was shot on a rainy, cold and windy day in November 2010 in the open facility?

The album was named 'Return to the Past'. The title refers to both the fact that Mik and Lars had returned to their original idea and that the music had a clear reference to the power metal songs from the late 80s and early 90s, but with a 2010 sound. And that's what you get on the album!

During the last period of 2010 Seven Thorns also signed a promotion deal with the acclaimed German promotion/management Rock'n'Growl and a booking deal with the well known German agency REDLionmusic. In April 2011 Axel, from Rock'n'Growl, initiated the first big promotion campaign for 'Return to the Past'. Reviews were now coming in large numbers from all over the world. Reviewers praised the album, radio stations played the songs (and still do) and fans have bought the album. Seven Thorns had coverage in a lot of magazines, including the big metal magazines Metal Hammer and Rock Hard. Axel also pushed to make the album available through many big mail-order companies incl. Nuclear Blast and Amazon.

In January 2011 Seven Thorns was offered to join the Jokers Ball tour two months later. A European tour arranged by REDLionmusic and CMM, however the tour was postponed to 2012 by the promoters.

Seven Thorns was asked to join singer Zak Stevens and Circle II Circle as support on their European tour in July/August 2011. It didn't take many seconds to accept the offer and after playing the wonderful German 'Winestock Festival' on July 16th the band found themselves on their first European conquest. The tour with Circle II Circle would take place over 2½ weeks with 5 concerts - including Wacken Warm Up Festival in Hamburg.

After returning home Seven Thorns has begun writing new material for their next album and in between the writing sessions, taken time off to play a very successful gig at the local venue and prepare for the headlining show at Bremer Metal Festival.