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biografía : Obliveon

OBLIVEON was formed in January of 1987 under the almost same name of OBLIVION. Martin Gagné and Stéphane Picard are the only original members from the first line-up, rounded up at the time by Francis Giguère. Two demos were recorded by the power trio in that year; the first one in March and the second one, "Whimsical Uproar", in September.

In 1989, after the departure of Francis, the band upgraded the line-up to a quartet. New drummer Alain Demers and guitarist Pierre Rémillard completed the line-up, which lasted for four years. They recorded the successful "Fiction Of Veracity" demo. The year 1990 saw the release of the band's first full lenght album for Active Records, entitled "From This Day Forward". Despite the fact that the album received good reviews and worldwide acclaim, the album suffered from a lack of promotion, which eventually led the band to part ways with the label. The album was distributed in Europe exclusively but it still helped the quartet to get further in their young career. This album has finally been re-released in Canada by Press Play Records. It has an entirely new lay-out and it has been re-mastered. It is available outside of Canada by the band itself. Get in touch for prices.

In 1993, OBLIVEON released its second album entitled "Nemesis", which was a success of its own, selling around five thousand units without any proper promotion or distribution and without the support of a label. Rave reviews from around the world helped establish the band as one of the most professional band in Québec, with the likes of VOÏVOD and GORGUTS. A video-clip of the crowd-favorite "Dynamo" was shot and played on a regular basis on canadian Much Music and Musique Plus music television channels. This album has also been picked up by Press Play Records and is now once again available. It is also available to people outside of Canada by getting in touch with the band itself.

OBLIVEON was upgraded to a quintet in 1994 with the addition of Bruno Bernier on vocals. Stéphane Picard was then able to concentrate more on his bass playing, but he is still writing most of the lyrics.

The band's third album, "Cybervoid", was released in 1996 on A.S.A. (a division of Cargo Records). Just like "Nemesis", this album was recorded, engineered and produced by guitarist Pierre Rémillard. After A.S.A. went bankrupt a while after, OBLIVEON was free again and then signed a licensing deal with Hypnotic Records (VOÏVOD, ANVIL, RAZOR...) for the European release of "Cybervoid". The Hypnotic version includes another song entitled "Psychomatrix" as a bonus track.

In early summer 1998, the defunct label Soundscape Music Canada re-released the band's cult demo "Whimsical Uproar" on a mini-CD to commemorate the band's ten years of existence. This piece of retro Death/Thrash has been restored and re-mastered and sounds even better now than it did back in 1987. Also available through Press Play or the band's contact.

A cover of the song "Suicide Solution", from OZZY OSBOURNE, has been recorded and appears on Olympic Records' tribute album "Legend Of A Madman". It is now available on the American market and certainly elsewhere as an import.

1999 has seen the band record their second video-clip of their famous cover song "Planet Claire" from the B-52's. Meanwhile the guys finished composing their new material and got ready to record their follow up to "Cybervoid". This new album, entitled "Carnivore Mothermouth", is now recorded and has just been released by Hypnotic Records on several territories, including Europe and Canada. And, once again, the album was entirely produced by the band itself with Pierre behind the board.

Were you ready for it?!

In March 2002 the band reported that they were splitting up after 15 years and four albums released. Martin and Pierre started a project right away together with the drummer from Cryptopsy and composed new song material.

OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY (1999)