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Fragments Of Unbecoming - Biography


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2002-

Biography

Fragments Of Unbecoming saw the light of day in the hot summer of 2000, initially serving as a side project for Sascha Ehrich, then guitarist in Mortified, and Stefan Weimar, guitarist in Venereal Disease, the latter also taking up the position of vocalist. A suitable drummer was soon found in Ingo Maier, a bandmate of Stefan's in Venereal Disease. After months of trying out different bassists, Wolfram Schellenberg (ex- Disembowled, ex-Tombthroat) joined on the four strings, completing a line-up that was slowly but surely moving away from the concept of a side project. The musical direction of choice was unavoidable, irrevocable and definite. Fragments Of Unbecoming would travel the monumental and unforgotten peaks of 90s Swedish death metal, without sacrificing originality and variation in the process. In the spring of 2001 a decision was made to definitely bury the idea of a side project, making Fragments Of Unbecoming a full-time band for all involved. As a consequence, Sascha left Mortified to concentrate in full on his new source of motivation and inspiration. During the following year, the band wrote enough material to choose from for the recording of a demo CD, also providing enough material for a full live set. In the spring of 2002 Fragments Of Unbecoming entered Stellwerk Studio, where Venereal Disease had previously worked, to record their studio debut "Bloodred Tales / Chapter I - The Crimson Season", which was released in May 2002. The CD gained excellent reactions from the press, getting the band to appear on "Best of Unsigned" compilations by both the German magazines Rock Hard and Heavy, Oder Was?! Metal Blade Records got wind of the buzz Fragments Of Unbecoming were creating, signing the band exactly 12 months after the release of the demo CD. The first full-length album was recorded in the fall of 2003, once again at Stellwerk Studio, with production duties being shared by the band and Stefan Hahnbuch. The offering eintitled "Skywards / Chapter II - A Sylphe's Ascension" even surpassed the already high expectations: a brutal yet dynamic and melodic death metal record complemented by wisely-dosed acoustic guitar sounds. After presenting the new material at concerts and festivals, a new thought began growing within the band: Stefan expressed his desire to get a lead singer/frontman on board to get himself more room on the guitar as well as enriching the band's live act. The idea was also to use dual vocals on future compositions in order to make the material more intense, at the same time enabling the band to experiment more in the vocal department. The ideal vocalist was soon found in Sam Anetzberger, a member of the death metal band Dead Eyed Sleeper (former known as Legacy). The first few rehearsal and shows were very promising, but Sam chose to give his main band priority over Fragments Of Unbecoming, forcing the band to search for an alternative. In the summer of 2005 a possible candidate traveled all the way from the United States to try out for the spot, but the band was let down again when it became clear that the vocalist-to-be wouldn't be able to stay in Germany on a permanent basis. A short time before the studio date for the new album "Chapter Iii - Sterling Black Icon" the band managed to convince Sam to return to the fold. He became a full member of the band, taking care of most lead vocals alongside Stefan.