Silent Stream of Godless Elegy is a

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

band from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

formed in 1995. As of 2020, they have released six studio albums and one EP.

Biography

Early years: ''Iron'', ''Behind the Shadows'', and ''Themes''

Silent Stream of Godless Elegy was formed in Hranice in 1995 by brothers Michal (drums) and Radek Hajda (guitar). They were joined by bassist Filip Chudý, vocalist and solo guitarist Petr Staněk, and violinist Zuzana Zamazalová. Within their first year of existence, they released the two demo albums ''Apotheosis'' (1995) and ''...Amber Sea'' (1996). They garnered some attention with their debut album, ''

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

'', released in 1996. The album featured strong melodies, Staňek's notable growling vocals, and Zamazalová's distinctive violin sound. In the summer of 1997, they were joined by cellist Michal Sýkora. SSoGE's second album, '' Behind the Shadows'', released in 1998 on Redblack, expanded the band's repertoire, with more pronounced rhythmic and stylistic techniques, which gained them a wider international audience. The first phase of SSoGE's history closed with the release of their third record, 2000's '' Themes'', which showcased a more progressive sound, combining doom metal with death and black metal tones, as well as a few lighter elements. The album won the band an Anděl Award (then known as ''Ceny Akademie populární hudby'') in 2000 from the Czech Academy of Popular Music in the "Hard & Heavy" category. The same year, SSoGE contributed three songs to tribute albums celebrating some of their musical heroes. These were "Zapálili Jsme Onen Svět", a song by Czech black metal band

Master's Hammer Master's Hammer are a black metal band from the Czech Republic. The band has remained active with several lineup changes between 1987 and 1995, with a reunion from 2009 to the present. It is considered one of the most representative groups of i ...

; "Blood, Milk and Sky" by White Zombie; and " Kashmir" by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

New lineup, new material

Following this, the band went through several lineup changes, leaving Radek Hajda as the sole founding member, though Michal Sýkora eventually returned. They began to emphasize Moravian folklore, as showcased on their next album, '' Relic Dances'' (2004). The record included collaborations with well-known Moravian folk musician Tomáš Kočko and the

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

ensemble Radošov. This won them a second Anděl Award (then known as ''Ceny Anděl Allianz'') in the same category. Due to the popularity of this record, in 2006, SSoGE released the EP ''Osamělí'', which contained additional material from the ''Relic Dances'' recording sessions, sung in Czech and Polish. ''Relic Dances'' was followed in 2011 by ''Návaz'', which was produced by

Roland Grapow Roland Grapow (born 30 August 1959 in Hamburg) is a German professional guitarist and music producer. Grapow is best known for his time in the power metal band Helloween, with which he played for 12 years after replacing founding member Kai Han ...

. The band's latest release is ''Smutnice'' (2018), produced by Israeli musician Yossi Sassi and mixed by Grapow.

Band members

Current members * Pavel Hrnčíř - vocals * Hana Hajdová - vocals (ex- Forgotten Silence) * Michal Sýkora - cello * Gabriela Povrazníková - violin * Radek Hajda - guitar * Stanislav Pavlík - bass * Michal Milták - drums Former members * Filip Chudý - bass (1995–1999) * Hynek Stančík - guitar (2001–2003) * Jarek Adámek - guitar (2004–2005) * Kiril Chlebnikov - violin/bass (1999–2001) * Michal Hajda - drums (1995–2003) * Michal Herák - vocal (2001–2004) * Michal Rak - drums (2003–2007) * Pavla Lukášová - violin (2000–2001) * Petr Staněk - guitar/vocals (1995–2001) * Zuzana Zamazalová - violin/vocals (1995–2001) * Petra Nováčková - violin (2001–2008) * Mirek Petřek - guitar (1997–?) * Dušan Fojtášek - bass (2002–?) * David Najbrt - drums (2007–?)

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1996) * '' Behind the Shadows'' (1998) * '' Themes'' (2000) * '' Relic Dances'' (2004) * '' Návaz'' (2011) * '' Smutnice'' (2018) EPs * ''Osamělí'' (2006) Demos * ''Apotheosis'' (1995) * ''...Amber Sea'' (1996) Compilation appearances * "Zapálili Jsme Onen Svět" ''A Tribute to Master's Hammer'' (2000) * "Blood, Milk and Sky" '' Super-Charger Hell - A Tribute to White Zombie'' (2000) * " Kashmir" ''Dead Zeppelin - A Metal Tribute to Led Zeppelin'' (2000)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy Czech heavy metal musical groups Doom metal musical groups Folk metal musical groups Death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 Season of Mist artists