2004 will be the year in which Orphanage will prove that they're still the Number One heavy metal band in the Netherlands. The new album 'Driven' has its European release date set at April the 5th, which will be accompanied by a busy tour-schedule in April, May and June, followed by several festival shows.
Orphanage was one of the first to combine grunts and female vocals in heavy metal, and together with the exploration of a broad palette of musical contrasts they turned it into a unique style. The 'Orphanage' style, soaked with the burning passion for making music that strikes both head and heart.
On 'Driven' it was this fire that pushed Orphanage to make the new record as elaborate as possible. 'Driven' is brutal. 'Driven' is beauty. 'Driven' holds no compromise!
Orphanage started out as a project in 1994, after which they released 2 demo tapes, 3 studio albums and a live CD. Shows were done throughout the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland; some of the raving festival shows were at "Dynamo Open Air" (twice !), "Graspop", the "Summer Metal Meeting" and "A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise". Audiences throughout Northern Europe react with great enthusiasm when they hear Orphanage play on stage, among colleagues like Within Temptation, Anathema, Kreator, the Gathering, Grip inc., After Forever, Sodom, Samael, and My Dying Bride. Guest appearances on stage have included members of Within Temptation, Exodus, After Forever, Celestial Season, Gorefest, a 5-piece horn-section, a string quartet and a 14-piece Gregorian Choir !
All Orphanage members have their own specialty, the extreme combination of all these elements is what makes Orphanage so intriguing ...
George Oosthoek - lead grunt singer - Combines an aggressive, full-blown grunt with perfect timing, because of his drumming background. With help of the strong frontman-ship of George Orphanage has become one of the most powerful and exciting live-acts around.
Rosan van der Aa - lead female singer - In contrast with George's grunts-from-the-grave, Rosan's voice stands for beauty and romanticism. As a strong woman she defines the Orphanage atmospheres with conviction, not only afraid to show her emotional anger, but also her fragility. With the dual lead-singer role of George and Rosan, the possibilities for composing and arranging are endless.
Sureel - drummer - Sureel is very eager to show the world that he's one of the most multi-talented drummers around in the Metal-scene. Both mechanized brutality and subtle grooves are part of his deal. His skills provides Orphanage a rock-solid base for their polyrhythmic adventures, but don't be afraid: Sureel never forgets the "one"! His philosophical approach will bring the necessary balance into the Orphanage-team. He's the engine for Orphanage, making the audience dance, slam and going nuts !
Lasse Dellbrügge - keyboards - Lasse is of priceless value to Orphanage, because he exactly knows what ultra-heavy music needs in terms of harmony, melody and atmosphere. He's a Music-Technology student ; his sound shaping talents and skills help Orphanage to explore the boundaries of music, without losing the original characteristics that made Orphanage what they are today. His love for METAL ensures bombastic, theatrical, emotional heavy music of the first grade !
Remko van der Spek - bass guitar - There's simply no bass-guitarist around with a better timing than Remko. His understanding and interpretation of the sometimes difficult rhythmic structures in the Orphanage-songs are amazing. He has molded the new Orphanage, both on stage, in songwriting and producing the new album. Check out our new sound on 'Driven', this is mainly Remko's merit!
Guus Eikens - guitar - Guus played keyboards for Orphanage for over six years, but was born a guitar player. In contrast with his former role of laying down melody and harmony, as a guitar- player he gives Orphanage a foundation of extreme brutality ; a thick wall of staccato riffs, cool polyrhythms and ultra-heavy power chords.
Source: Label Officiel: http://www.nuclearblast.de
