In May 1999, after the temporary end of STORMWITCH, their drummer Peter Langer and their guitar player Damir Uzunovic got down to gathering a new band and starting from scratch. Sure, it was not easy to "step backwards" into small rehearsal rooms and local clubs - especially if one takes into consideration that STORMWITCH had played in sold-out arenas and still have cult status worldwide. Anyway, new comrades-in-arms were found easily: Matthias Mailänder (bass) - he once had been a bandmate of Damir's with MON AMOUR, and Mathias Nagl (keys) completed the provisionally line-up. Under the name of ARKANA, they began to write songs.
They honed their songs diligently before they recorded their first demo in June 2000 - in the meantime, they sailed under the name of THE ARMADA. 'Tribal Dance', 'Vermilion Lake'and 'Rage of The Armada' were recorded with guest vocalist Oliver Strasser (DROP OUT, FINAL CHAPTER) - one could already notice the band's enormous potential, nourished by seasoned professionals and fresh talents. THE ARMADA bundle melodic, symphonic and even progressive elements into a real fireworks of harmonies. Officially, the opus was never distributed, but passed on to some friends and labels. By chance, Dirk Schäffner, the singer of RITUAL SPIRIT, got hold of the demo and was totally excited about it - with him, the line-up was complete at the beginning of 2001.
And as if lady luck just had expected this moment - just two weeks after that, the band was offered the support job for Paul Di Anno. THE ARMADA mastered that challenge with bravado and were invited immediately after to be the opening act at the Summer Breeze Festival (which is, after all, one of the most known and biggest Metal Open-Airs in Germany), where they have played so impressively, that they were reinvited to play this years festival, too. In the meantime, they checked in at House Of Music Studio and recorded the MCD "The Scent of Darkness", mastered by the well-known Achim Köhler (PRIMAL FEAR, PINK CREAM 69, CHINCHILLA), which came out just before the festival, at the beginning of July 2001. The MCD got great reviews around the world and it rained down offers from interested records labels. But THE ARMADA took their time, until the end of 2002, to complete their album. Just after the final result of that work, called "Rage of The Armada", they checked all offers and decided to cooperate with Limb Music Products.
Every single track on "Rage of The Armada" is a storm of melodic, symphonic and progressive Metal elements. Unique, majestic, invincible - like the Armada. Bubbling talent on one side, professional experience on the other - that makes a musical mix bound for success.
Source: http://www.the-armada.de/
