Lux Occulta (which is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "hidden light" or "the secrets of light") is a Polish

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

band, founded in late 1994. Their work, also strongly influenced by

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

, commonly incorporates elaborate arrangements often featuring multiple sections and unpredictable time changes.

Biography

The band was started when guitarists Peter and G'Ames, formerly of Blaspherion, asked Jaro.Slav, the vocalist of Haemorrhage, to join their new project. Jackie (bass guitar) and Aemil (drums) joined the band few weeks later, followed by keyboard player U'reck after the band's first rehearsal session. After the recording in 1996 of the band's first full album, '' Forever Alone, Immortal'', Aemil was replaced by drummer Kriss. The band's second album, ''

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

'', followed in 1997. In 1998, after the release of '' Maior Arcana'', G'Ames and Jackie were asked to leave the band; their replacements were guitarist Vogg and bassist Martin, also of the Polish

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band

Decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...

. A lengthy recording succession with the new lineup yielded '' My Guardian Anger'', which was released in 1999. The latter half of 1999 was plagued with accidents, though, as Kriss suffered from a broken arm, leading his doctors to question whether he would ever be able to play drums again, and U'reck broke his leg shortly thereafter, forcing the band to retire from touring for several months. After several months' hiatus from performing, the band played Poland's Metalmania festival in 2000 alongside acts such as

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

Behemoth Behemoth (; he, בְּהֵמוֹת, ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation; he is paired with the other chaos-monster, Leviathan, and ...

and

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...

, which drew the attention of the Portuguese label Maquiavel Music Entertainment. The next month they were signed to the label for a two-album deal, and the first of their albums on MME, '' The Mother and the Enemy'', appeared the following year. The band has been mostly dormant since 2002, although in 2012 they posted a message to their MySpace some years afterward indicating that they were working on new material and looking for a new drummer. In 2014, they released their fifth studio album ''

Kołysanki ''Kołysanki'' (Polish for "Lullabies") is the fifth studio album by Polish band Lux Occulta. The album was released on March 13, 2014. It is the first album released by the band in 13 years, as well as the first since the ending of the band's ...

'', which drastically departed from the avant–garde/black metal sound in the band’s previous albums.

Band members

;Current members *Jarosław "Jaro.Slav" Szubrycht –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Jerzy "U.Reck" Głód –

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s * Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

*Maciek Tomczyk –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

;Former members *"Aemil" – drums *Grzegorz "G. Ames" Kapłon – lead guitar *"Jackie" – bass *Piotr "Peter" Szczurek – rhythm guitar *Krzysztof "Kriss" Szantula – drums *Marcin "Martin" Rygiel – bass *Rafał "Kastor" Kastory – rhythm guitar

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Forever Alone, Immortal'' (1996) * ''

'' (1997) * '' My Guardian Anger'' (1999) * '' The Mother and the Enemy'' (2001) * ''

'' (2014)

Compilation albums

* '' Maior Arcana: The Words That Turn Flesh into Light'' (1998)

Demos

* ''The Forgotten Arts'' (1995)

References

{{Authority control Polish black metal musical groups Polish symphonic metal musical groups Polish progressive metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 Symphonic black metal musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical quartets 1994 establishments in Poland