Fairyland is a French

symphonic power metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

band, created by songwriters Philippe Giordana and Willdric Lievin in 1998. After going through several line-up changes in the 2000s, the band turned into a one-man musical project, when Giordana parted ways with the rest of the band in 2007. He subsequently released '' Score to a New Beginning'' in 2009 as Fairyland, with guest musicians and singers. In 2015 however, Fairyland became a band once again with a full line-up, including Lievin, returning for the first time since 2004.

Biography

The band was created in 1998 as "Fantasia" by keyboardist Philippe Giordana together with bassist/drummer Willdric Lievin. The two musicians shared the same passion for epic and symphonic heavy metal. Following the release of their first demo, '' Tribute to Universe'', their basic metal style began evolving into something more fantastic and symphonic, as in '' Realm of Wonders''. Through various metal contacts, Fantasia enlisted guitarist Anthony Parker (Heavenly) and soon gave up looking for a label to enter Wizard Studio in February 2002. During the recordings of their debut, the band began looking for a vocalist and they found Elisa C. Martin, already known for her work with the successful Spanish power metal band

Dark Moor Dark Moor is a Spanish symphonic power metal band from Madrid. Formed in 1993, they produced three full-length albums before undergoing a line-up change in which three members left the band to form their own project, Dreamaker. Afterwards, the ...

. Around that time, the band's name was changed to "Fairyland". With their first full-length complete, they signed on with Denmark-based Intromental Management, and shortly thereafter secured a recording contract with the French label N.T.S. (now Replica Records). '' Of Wars in Osyrhia'' was released in April 2003. The response from media and fans enabled the band to tour with Sonata Arctica in France, as well as to perform in the

Sweden Rock Festival The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to de ...

in 2003. Internal band problems led to both Willdric Lievin and Elisa C. Martin leaving the band. The band continued on without them to finish the recordings for the new concept album '' The Fall of an Empire'', again composed by Philippe Giordana and Anthony Parker, who had gathered a new line-up composed of vocalist Max Leclerqc (formerly of

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...

), drummer Pierre-Emmanuel "Piwee" Desfray, and bassist Thomas "Tom" Cesario. The unreleased album soon caught the attention of the Austrian-based label

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

, who signed the band and released '' The Fall of an Empire'' in the fall of 2006, along with a re-release of ''Of Wars in Osyrhia''. A European tour with

Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood, in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album ''Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in Apr ...

and Leaves' Eyes soon followed. Shortly after the tour that followed the album, Philippe and the rest of the band parted ways. As the sole composer of Fairyland material, finding a new line-up would not pose much of a problem for Philippe Giordana. Yet after working on the new material, he decided to take a completely different approach by enlisting instead the services of guest musicians for his latest release. The album '' Score to a New Beginning'' was completed in 2009, keeping the same musical style of its predecessors. In 2015, Fairyland became a full band once again, with Giordana being rejoined by Fairyland co-creator Willdric Lievin, who had left the band in 2004, and by new members Francesco Cavalieri, Jean-Baptiste Pol, and Sylvain Cohen. The group immediately went on to work on their next album. On May 31, 2016, the first song from the album, "Heralds Of The Green Lands", was released on YouTube. In February 2018, they revealed the tracklist for their next album, ''Osyrhianta'', another concept album that will serve as a prequel to their original trilogy. On March 31, 2019, the band confirmed that the album was fully recorded and mastered, and would be released around November 2019. However on September 29, they stated that the band "had to rearrange release dates with regards to parallel releases", and would instead release ''Osyrhianta'' in early 2020. It eventually came out on 22 May. Philippe Giordana, keyboardist and main composer of the band, died on October 21, 2022.

Lineup

Current members

* Philippe Giordana -

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 ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(1998-2022, died in 2022),

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s (2007-2022) * Willdric Lievin -

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 ...

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 ...

(1998-2003; guest: 2009),

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 (2003, 2015-present) * Francesco Cavalieri -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(2015-2020) * Sylvain Cohen - guitars (2015-present) * Jean-Baptiste Pol - drums (2015-present)

Former members

* Thomas Caesar - bass (1998-2003, 2005-2007), guitars (2003) * Elisa C. Martin - lead vocals (2003) * Anthony Parker - guitars (1998-2007) * Max Leclerq - lead vocals (2004-2007) * Pierre-Emmanuel Desfray - drums (2004-2008)

Timeline

Discography

*'' Realm of Wonders'' (2000, demo) *'' Of Wars in Osyrhia'' (2003) *'' The Fall of an Empire'' (2006) *'' Score to a New Beginning'' (2009) *''Osyrhianta'' (2020)

References

External links

Fairyland
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairyland Musical groups established in 1998 French power metal musical groups French symphonic metal musical groups Napalm Records artists