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Headline - Biography


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1997-

Biography

Since they are formed in 1994, Headline gives us a progressive and melodic music. Their first album "Escape" in 1997 mixed already power and melody with a major and new asset in this style: a female voice, Sylvie Grare. In 1995, Christophe Babin joins the band.
Unanimously welcome, we find Headline in the specialized press referendums among "best international hope", "best French band", "best voice". Strongly encouraged, Headline will be on the road in 1998, for an acoustic FNAC tour. This gives to the band the opportunity to rearrange their songs and to add celtic and oriental instruments and a string quatuor. These new versions will come out on "Escape Thru The Lands" mixing acoustic live songs, bonus and covers from Queensrÿche and Yes. Headline will also be on an electric tour beside Dio, Angra, Superior or Vanden Plas.

NTS will open their first French signature with the second album "Voices Of Presence" in November 1999, 11 songs co-produced by Robert Kohlmeyer (Superior, Vanden Plas, etc.) and Didier Chesneau. From this ambitious opus will come out "Triology", song in three parts with an orchestra, from which the band will turn their first video "The Message" (Trilogy II) broadcasted on MCM TV. Other songs will be welcome on stage, "Seven", "The Call" or "Last Will" will carry the audience along. In spite of their complexity, the audience will elect the band among the "best French bands" in the magazines.

The year 2000 will be very busy: NTS republishes "Escape" in a double album with "Escape Thru The Lands". "Voices Of Presence" is distributed abroad via AFM (Edguy) and Rock Brigade (Angra), the album obtains good chronicles in the foreign press like "Rock Hard", "Heavy Either Weist", etc. We also find Headline on tour through France, but also beside Dream Theater, in the two Vanden Plas tours and Stratovarius and Rhapsody at Printemps de Bourges.

In 2001, the band grant themselve a small break during which some of them will do more personal activities: Dirk Verbeuren works on the second Scarve album, Aymeric Ribot composes and records "Métis", a rock opera and Didier Chesneau produces many albums of other artists.

Beginning 2002, back in studio to work on "Duality", third album of the band. Headline wants to make their music more direct keeping a progressive mood. The ingredients are there: we find a powerful rhythmic (Dirk Verbeuren on drums and Christophe Babin on bass), the Didier Chesneau's "peevish" guitar and the Aymeric Ribot's more and more atmospheric keyboards, holding up with harmony the voice of Sylvie Grare. Without being a concept album, the texts of "Duality" have all a link with anger and duality it breeds: face to handling "Exorcise Me", face to death "For Those Who Die", face to handicaps "Bereft Of Sky". With this song, rearranged from the famous piano sonata n° 14 "Clair de Lune" of Beethoven, Headline reiterates the "Trilogy" experience with a concept song giving the most to the orchestra. Headline then face the camera of Stéphane Roland, a young director, giving them a dream team to turn the video "Exorcise Me". Now herself, now hawk, Sylvie Grare tries to escape from her "exorcist" who can sometimes change into a wolf? This video will appear on the limited edition of "Duality".

Well done for Headline, elected Best French Group in 2003, Best Metal Video Hard Rock Magazine/MCM, we will see Headline beside After Forever, Shaman, Evergrey before performing over Europe like guest of Symphony X. Dirk Verbeuren will leave the band after the Duality promotion in order to Join permanently Soilwork :-)

Back in studio, Raphael Leger will join the band officially at the end of 2007 for the drum recording sessions . We wait for "Thru the Headline" (provisory title), successor of Duality in 2008.

(Source: http://www.myspace.com/headlineofficial)