Phenris

12/09/08
PHENRIS + Frostmoon Eclipse @ Moby Dick Località Pogliola di Mondovì (Cuneo)
31/10/08
PHENRIS + Aevum @ Culture Pub (Ciriè)
15/11/08
Handful of Hate + PHENRIS + Shadowfost @ La Tenda (Modena)

This page is the official MySpace of PHENRIS. All information is approved and supervised by the band members themselves.
The songs on the page are taken from our self financed debut cd "A Journey Through Inner Solitudes"; the original pressing is sold out, but we are planning to have a new and better packaged edition (possibly including lyrics) as soon as possible. Phenris has been laid on ice for a while due to the members's commitment to other bands as well as personal life priorities; however the writing for the second album is underway.
Phenris started as a raw Black Metal/Black'n'Roll band under the monicker Hater; they later evolved towards a more symphonic sound, and nowadays incorporate influences from various subgenres. Phenris is being described as "Symphonic Dark Metal", "Atmospheric Blackish Metal", "Melodic Extreme Metal" and so on...We just call ourselves Metal, and leave it up to the listener to decide which description we might fit.
2000
After several failed attempts to start a band, Maverick and Lord J. H. Psycho decided to take the serious path and formed HATER in September 2000. Initially consisting of Maverick on vocals and Lord J. H. Psycho on bass plus various volatile session members, HATER played a very rough and promitive for of Black Metal with some Black'n'Roll influences.In December, the arrival of Andrea Simari (guitar) and Salvo (drums) completed the band's first official lineup.
2001
In early 2001 Ivan Gheller replaced Salvo behind the kit and Andrea Astesiano joined as a second guitarist. The band, whose sound had gradually started to evolve towards more melodic and epic atmospheres, tried to incorporated keyboards in their sound but finding a permanent keyboard player proved to be an impossible task; Giovanni Abdel partecipated for a while, but it didn't last long. Around this time the band decided to leave their old monicker behind to match the metamorphosis of their music... thus, PHENRIS was born! During Summer Francesco Ventura joined the band ..boards on a semi-permanent basis, and in September 2001 the first demo, "Wrath Of Phenris", was recorded in Rock Lab studios. However, what was meant to be the next step forward for PHENRIS turned out to be a disaster: the session was marred by continuous technical problems and the lineup collapsed literally during the recording (only one song features the full lineup, and Andrea was forced to play keyboards on the rest of the tracks). While the demo, which was only circulated informally among the Turin underground scene, received a good response, the band entered one of the darkest phases of their history so far.
2002
Enduring frustration marked the Winter of 2001/2002 for Phenris;Alex of DYING AWKWARD ANGEL (drums) and Domenico (guitar) joined for a while, but left right after as they didn't have enough time for another band. The band then auditioned Bruno (exDark Omega) on drums and Raistlin (WIND OF HATE) ..boards; both left for similar reasons, but Raistlin introduced his friend and fellow keymaster Endymion to the band, and he soon became the band's first (and to this day only) official keyboard player. Shortly after, Sorath (ex-DEVASTATE, later also in OCTOBER RUST) joined as a second guitarist and, for a short while, Max Gordiani (a very active individual in the underground) became the band's drummer; he soon abandoned the project and was promptly replaced by Deathestor. The band also parted ways with Andy Simari, who was replaced by Tormentor, one of the earliest HATER session members. During a 9 hours session at Dracma Studios the band recorded "Black" (a deeply expanded and reworked version of an old HATER classic) as a promo single; like the first demo, the cdr was given for free to friends and fellow bands, and was met with positive feedback. Unfortunately in Summer Maverick was faced with severe health problems, forcing the band to cancel some live dates they were planning; however, in the meantime 50 homemade copies of a promo cd (simply called "Promo 2000" featuring the "Wrath Of Phenris" demo and the "Black" single) were pressed and immediately sold out. Finally in December the band hit the stage at Turin's Docks 8, supported by obscure metallers Decadence, and shortly after the recording sessions for the debut cd, "A Journey Through Inner Solitudes", began at Bluwave Studio.
2003
Right after the Christmas break the recordings were finished; due to an insane amount of techical fuck ups, the band has to reschedule their original plans, so the mix of the album got pushed back to Spring. In the following months, new divergences between the members caused Sorath and Deathestor to leave; the band recruited Agony (also in VINTEFROST, and back then part of IN CORPORE MORTIS with Maverick and Lord J. H. Psycho) as their new guitarist and Thrymir on drums. The mix and postproduction of the album were finally completed between April and May at Turin's Mirrorstudio. Due to skyhigh costs, the band decided not to press the album in a plant but distributed it themselves in the form of homemade copies; even this method, however, ultimately proved to be too expensive, and the album is nowdays sold out and waiting to be repressed. In September PHENRIS and Thrymir parted ways due to reciprocal unsatisfactions; Fabio Alessandria of HIDDEN SIDE replaced him but didn't last long as his main band took too much of his time.
2004
Another hard year for PHENRIS. Maverick, which in the meantime had moved to Genova, was forced to partecipate only sporadically, while Agony quit the band. Luckily a new drummer was found in Michele (ex-GATLING GUN, also in PERSEVERANCE (R.I.P.), now in WOLF MOOD), so the band more or less managed to carry on and work on new material.
2005
Maverick finally moved back to Turin and the band dived headfirst in their new creative phase. The new songs, however, are much longer and complex han the older ones, and the absence of a second guitar really held the sound back, making it difficult for the band to come up with definitive arrangements. In late 2005, Francesco (also in VESPERO) joined PHENRIS as second guitarist; the lineup is once more complete after more than 18 months.
2006
The writing sporadically continues; the band is often held back due to the members' commitment to other projects, as well as other priorities in their respective personal lives. After being laid on ice for a while, PHENRIS is now about to come back and finally complete the writing for their long awaited second opus.
2007
After a long hiatus, Phenris resume their activity as a band; however, guitarists Tormentor and Francesco can't keep up with the band's schedule anymore. After an extensive research, underground veteran Necrum (Iprite, Inner Violence, ex-Ensis Tenebrarum, ex-Hotlittlemouth) joins Phenris first, followed by Halphas after some months. The new line-up immediately starts working on new material for the long awaited second full-lenght, as well as perfecting older classics for future live shows.
To be continued...
Check out Phenris @ Metal Archives for discography details.