is a Heavy Metal band from South Africa. Formerly known as Elegy, the band had to change its name in November 2009, when the underground success of their debut album attracted the attention of

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. They then became known as Riddare av Koden, and currently perform and release under that name.

Musical characteristics

Riddare av Koden is influenced by a range of bands and artists over many different genres. Their music has often been described as hard-hitting, guitar-driven

Melodic Death Metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

, heavily incorporating full-bodied classical elements reminiscent of powerful film scores.

Band history

Elegy era (October 2006 – November 2009)

Elegy was formed in October 2006, by brothers Nathan and Daniel Wilson, who were 17 and 23 at the time. The two brothers asked Shay Kallie to assume lead guitar duties, having been childhood friends and sharing a passion in Heavy Metal. The trio then began writing songs and looking for a vocalist and bassist. Travis Seager then joined the band as vocalist. Kevin Webber was asked to join the band temporarily to complete the line-up for their first show in Secunda, Mpumalanga. Kevin Webber became a permanent member in the band, and strong friendships began forming between the members of Elegy. After their first show, the band began working on an LP to gain entry into the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

scene. During this period, Travis Seager left to pursue his career as an artist. Shay then assumed lead vocal duties and Elegy went into studio to record their debut LP - "A Voice Will Call", which landed them a distribution deal with Electromode Records - South Africa's biggest distribution label. In November 2009 the label received a letter from

, stating that they were illegally using the Elegy name, which is registered to the Dutch

Power Metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band of the same name.

Riddare av Koden era (November 2009 – present)

Elegy began searching for new names, opening up the debate to fans worldwide. Within a week of receiving the change notice they announced that their new name was to be "Riddare av Koden". The name change caused much controversy between fans and the public, and was announced officially on 16 November 2009. In May 2010, Riddare av Koden began working with

Multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

and

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Steven de Pina and, in September 2010 he was officially welcomed into the band as

Keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

and Folk instrumentalist. Riddare av Koden was named the official support act for the

Ensiferum Ensiferum (Latin: , n adj., meaning "sword bearing") is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal." History Formation, demos and ''Ensiferum'' (1995−2002) ''Ensiferum'' was founde ...

South African tour of October 2010. In April 2011, Daniel Wilson (one of the two founding members) announced his departure from the band. Riddare av Koden took a break from constant live performance in 2011 and only played exclusive shows and festivals throughout the year with Cameron Zuccarelli on drums and their very first International performance in Gaborone,

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. They released "A Voice Will Call" for free download worldwide, and grew to 40,000 Fans on Facebook. 2012 didn't see performance activity from the band as the members of Riddare av Koden were on a Sabbatical/Hiatus. Later that year, Nathan Wilson and Kevin Webber also announced their departure.

Heimdall av Koden

Shailin Kallie began composing new music and looking for musicians to test the suites in a live environment. He adopted the stage name "Heimdall av Koden". Thomas Hughes was asked to play drums for Riddare. Thomas had come from a technical death metal background, as well as being the drummer for

Ska Punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...

Legends - Fuzigish. Thomas then suggested that they ask Pepi Petkov to assume second guitar/vocal duties. Pepi had come from Autumn Sun, a Melodic Death Metal band, having toured with the likes of

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédér ...

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

and other big names.

Dynasty (EP)

On 23 May 2013, Riddare av Koden debuted " Mjolnir", "The

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...

", and "The Battle Ov Bifrost Bridge", live in Johannesburg, South Africa with William Bishop on bass.

Dynasty (LP)

During this time, the concept & artwork for "Dynasty" was created by Jason Enslin & Heimdall av Koden.

Members

;Current members * Heimdall av Koden –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals (2006–present) * Pepi Petkov –

, vocals (2013–present) * Ruan Graaff –

, (2013–present) * Steven de Pina –

keyboards 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 ...

Woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

(2010–present) ;Former members *Nathan Wilson –

, backing vocals (2006–2012) Founding member *Kevin Webber –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals (2006–2012) *Daniel Wilson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2006–2011) Founding Member *William Bishop – bass, backing vocals (2013) *Thomas Hughes – drums (2013)

Discography

Albums

* A Voice Will Call (2009)Rock Finder Magazine Review
http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/elegy_f3 Rateyourmusic.com Review]

EPs

* Elegy (2007)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddare Av Koden South African melodic death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2006 Musical quintets