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Mägo de Oz ("Wizard of Oz" with a heavy metal umlaut) is a folk metal and heavy metal band from Spain.[1] The band was formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus.[2] In 1992, the band was finalists in the "Villa de Madrid" contest. They went on to achieve great success in Spain and in 1995 were declared Revolution Rock Band. Around 1996 the band's definitive line up began to emerge. That same year, theybegan recording the rock opera CD "Jesús de Chamberí", produced by Alberto Plaza and Mägo de Oz. The CD was released in 1996, through Locomotive Music. The band is well known for the strong Celtic feel to their music, strengthened through their usage of a violinist and flautist. The name for this band was chosen, according to founding member Txus, because "Life is a yellow brick road on which wewalk in the company of others, searching for our dreams."[3]
Contents[hide] * 1 History * 2 Members * 2.1 Former members * 3 Discography * 3.1 Studio albums * 3.2 Live albums * 3.3 Compilations * 3.4 Videos * 3.5 Singles * 3.6 Demos * 4 Notes and references * 5 External links |
[edit] History
The band was founded in May 1989 by thedrummer Txus Di Fellatio, who slowly recruited the rest of his members for the band and by 1992 had a lineup. Originally, the band was called "Transilvania" (Transylvania in Spanish) named after the metallic instrumental piece of the same name from their idols, Iron Maiden. In 1992, the band members were:
* Txus: drums and backing vocals
* Mohamed: violin
* Charlie: lead guitar
*Chema: rhythm guitar
* Salva: bass
* Juanma: lead vocals, backup drums
They recorded several demos: "Y qué más da" (1989), "Canción de cuna para un bohemio", and a third one in 1992. Their music was open to a wide range of styles and influences, but still basing their full musical potential in folk metal and Celtic music.
In 1992 the band was the finalist in the festival, "Concurso Villade Madrid". But even still, Chema, the guitarist, decided to leave the band. His replacement was Carlitos. Through two recording sessions, and the ousting of Charlie and Chema's reentry into the band, the band launched their debut in 1994, produced by Txus and Alberto Plaza under the name, Mago de Oz. This album found very little success and people were barely aware of the band's existence. Duringthis time, Mago de Oz suffered one of their most difficult times, now with the definite expulsion of Juanma and Chema. In 1996, the lineup that has persisted almost until the present time was formed. Here, we see the entrance of José Andrëa replacing Auri, a singer who had only recorded a couple of demos then decided to leave the band, and Frank replacing Chema. By then, the lineup consisted of:* Txus: drums and backing vocals
* Mohamed: violin and backing vocals
* Carlitos: lead Guitar and backing vocals
* Frank: rhythm Guitar, acoustic guitar, and backing vocals
* Salva: bass and backing vocals
* José Andrëa: lead Vocals, keyboards
The very same year, the band began recording their rock opera album, Jesús de Chamberí, which dealt with the theme of Jesus'return to the Madrid neighborhood of Chamberí. The album was edited and sold under the label Locomotive Music. Mago de Oz saw a huge surge in popularity following the release of the album, due largely in part to the addition of their newest singer, José Andrëa, who was clearly a far superior singer than the original Juanma.
The band promoted the album with the "Via Crucis Tour", which furthercemented the band's popularity in Spain. In 1997, the band decided to rerecord five songs from their debut album, now with the new singer. The EP simply bears the title Mago de Oz, however many fans refer to it as La Bruja, meaning "The Witch" in Spanish, as there is a witch playing a violin with a moon backdrop, on the album cover. The name has now become as a de facto name for the EP and even the...