Black Majesty

There are several bands sharing the name Black Majesty: A melodic power metal band from Melbourne, Australia. So far they have released four LPs; ‘Sands of Time’ (2003), ‘Silent Company’ (2005), ‘Tomorrowland’ (2007) and 'In Your Honour' (2010). The band was formed in 2001 under the name Kymera and with various members already well known on the local metal and heavy rock scene. Guitarist Steve Janevski was drawn from Cyclone Tracy, a long-running heavy rock/hair metal outfit.

There are several bands sharing the name Black Majesty: A melodic power metal band from Melbourne, Australia. So far they have released four LPs; ‘Sands of Time’ (2003), ‘Silent Company’ (2005), ‘Tomorrowland’ (2007) and 'In Your Honour' (2010). The band was formed in 2001 under the name Kymera and with various members already well known on the local metal and heavy rock scene. Guitarist Steve Janevski was drawn from Cyclone Tracy, a long-running heavy rock/hair metal outfit. Bass player Cory Betts was also a member of Pegazus, another well-known Melbourne power metal band that had toured Europe in 1998, although he did not join that band until early 1999. Kymera’s other guitarist Hanny Mohammed had recorded an album with a band called Catwitch who had been featured on a television documentary.

With drummer Pavel Konvalinka and singer John Cavaliere the band was complete. During a brief flirtation with the name Arkaya, the band began recording material but Betts left and the group renamed itself Black Majesty. The Sands of Time album was recorded in 2002 and prefaced by a three-track promo disc that won them a contract with German label LMP. Bass tracks were recorded by both Betts and Evan Harris, and Cavaliere duetted with Silvio Massaro from Vanishing Point and Danny Cecati from Eyefear on two tracks. Joe Fata replaced Betts in the interim but left before the album was released in 2003 and since then Black Majesty has not had a permanent bass player. Proudly wearing their influences on their sleeves Black Majesty are inspired to play the style of metal they are most passionate about.

Old school is something that does not bother the band. Respectful of the music and bands they grew up on and still appreciate as metal-heads today. Coming from Australia which for the most has not been recognized as a heavy metal country makes it all the more interesting with influences ranging from European and US metal while also incorporating the band’s own Australian heritage. “It was never hip to listen to metal here.

It was definitely underground but we still grew up listening to classics such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, Queensryche to name just a few. I certainly was into it in a big way and the whole band still are. We’re all fans of metal make no mistake about that. Everything from the bands, the live shows and also the imagery.

For us the music is so powerful that it is also reflected in the band’s album covers. It kind of goes together. The whole metal concept is something special. It’s all part of the package,” explains guitarist Hanny.

Art work on the new Black Majesty album is again handled by Dirk Illing (Wizard, Paragon) which brings back the art style of the yesteryear. Black Majesty have been hotly tipped by many on the world metal scene to be the next Australian metal band to make its mark on Europe, making waves all over the world with excellent reviews in premier metal magazines (Rock Hard, Heavy Oder was!, Metal Hammer, Burrn & Kerrang!) with inclusion to Germany’s Rock Hard Dynamit compilation cd - all helping to endorse the band to the metal masses. The 2003 Sands of Time album was also highlighted in many magazine scribe’s top ten albums of the year with the album reaching number 3 on the Japanese Burnn Magazine Heavy Metal charts. Mark Kelson of Melbourne doom band The Eternal and Harris have featured as touring members. During the sessions Konvalinka recording his drum tracks in Germany with Piet Sielck of Iron Savior and the album’s release was preceded by a short tour of Europe. On the band’s return to Australia they toured with British band Dragonforce. Black Majesty’s third album Tomorrowland was released on 1 June 2007, with European tour dates to follow, including the world-renowned Wacken Open Air festival.

Black Majesty continued to gain exposure by supporting metal icons such as Saxon, before releasing their follow-up album “In Your Honour” in 2010. The release was promoted with several shows around Australia as well as a headlining slot at Indonesia’s Bla Bla Bla Festival. The band recently announced a European tour to support the album’s release. There is also a Black Majesty hailing from Trondheim (Norway) featuring a member of Kaosritual/Celestial Bloodshed. The Demos “Baphe Metis” and “Ateh Gibor Le’olam Shaitan” were released in 2007. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..