Ignea
IGNEA was started in Kyiv, Ukraine back in 2011 under name Parallax. Intentionally, it was the first Ukrainian band to play oriental metal. The band, however, didn't limit itself to strict boundaries of oriental metal, and included elements from symphonic, industrial, modern, progressive and other modern subgenres of metal. In 2013, the band entered Morton Studio, well-known rock and metal studio in Ukraine, to record its debut EP, titled Sputnik.
In 2013, the band prepared a follow-up single titled Petrichor, featuring bouzoukitara playing and a guitar solo from Yossi Sassi, at that moment the guitarist of oriental metal fathers band, Orphaned Land.
In 2015, the band finally changed its name to IGNEA and released a new work called Alga, named after a war call of Crimean Tatar people. This song is contributed to Crimeans who are defending their land.
Alga is the first ever original song from a Ukrainian band, recorded with a full symphonic orchestra. The video was shot unintentionally and on low budget as the band wanted to use orchestra sessions footage in something bigger, than video diary. Over the year, the video gathered over million views on YouTube.
Recently, IGNEA opened the show of Orphaned Land, fathers of oriental metal, in Kiev, Ukraine.
In 2017, the band released its first full-length album called The Sign of Faith, having a heavier sound, both clean and extreme vocals, and authentic middle-eastern melodies. Its first song, Şeytanu Akbar, was accompanied by an animated anti-terrorism video in a surrealistic style. Despite the provocative title of the song, the band’s intention is to carry the idea of peace.
Over 2017, IGNEA has been promoting the new album through solo shows and festivals in Ukraine within ‘The Tour of Faith’. Early 2018, IGNEA has released an official live experience video for Şeytanu Akbar recorded at national The Best Ukrainian Metal Act awards, where the band has entered the top 3 best metal bands in the country.
In April 2018, the band has released an animated video for its OST-like song How I Hate the Night, the lyrics to which belong to the paranoid android Marvin from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The video contains lots of references to the original movie.
For IGNEA, the years 2018 and 2019 were dedicated to touring and writing the new material. In May 2018, IGNEA has toured in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, together with the Nordic death metal legends Illdisposed, as well as performed selected shows in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and festivals in France, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
September 2018, IGNEA released a new single Queen Dies with an art video and hopped on a 3-week tour across 9 countries within the Female Metal Voices Tour 2018 headlined by Butcher Babies and Kobra and the Lotus. In summer 2019, IGNEA had a small leg of headline shows in Spain and performed at the main stage of the Vagos Metal Festival in Portugal.
IGNEA’s second full-length album The Realms of Fire and Death was released on April 17, 2020. It was fully funded by the band's patrons. It is a concept album with strong story-telling, metaphors, symbols, and is accompanied by a book of short tales incorporating the lyrics of each song. It is divided into three major parts, each consisting of 3 songs, plus a bonus track — an English version of the Ukrainian Чорне Полум’я (Chorne Polumia). Songs of each part are outlining a certain separate story, bringing the themes of fire and death from various perspectives. The band also released two official music videos video for the song Disenchantment and Jinnslammer.
According to the national awards The Best Ukrainian Metal Act, The Realms of Fire and Death has been selected as the metal album of the year and IGNEA has been named the best Ukrainian metal band of 2020.
In June 2021, IGNEA signed a deal with Napalm Records and started working on the third album that was planned for 2022. The album release has been postponed to 2023 because of the Russia-Ukraine full-scale war.
Before bringing the new full-length record to the world, in October 2021, the band treated its fans with BESTIA, a concept EP about the human nature of Slavic mythological creatures and the world’s duality. In Ukrainian, BESTIA (Ukr. «бестія») means both a savage beast and a mischievous person. This is a split record that consists of songs by two Ukrainian bands — IGNEA and ERSEDU — and is a result of their 10-year friendship.
IGNEA’s third full-length album Dreams of Lands Unseen is out through Napalm Records on April 28th, 2023.
In 2023, IGNEA has released official videos for the songs Nomad's Luck, Dunes, and Incurable Disease.
The 10-track concept album reflects the life of Ukrainian photographer and documentarian Sofia Yablonska, known for traveling to very distant corners of the world while documenting the lives of tribes and natives, which was especially dangerous and uncommon for a woman of her time. Sonically, IGNEA creates a captivating masterpiece which resembles, thanks in part to diverse genre-influences, an epic soundtrack-like experience.
The band will present the album live at such European festivals as MetalDays, Leyendas del Rock, SummerBreeze, as well as at club shows on EU & UK tour with Fear Factory and Butcher Babies.
IGNEA are:
Helle Bohdanova — vocals;
Yevhenii Zhytniuk — keyboards;
Oleksandr Kamyshin — bass;
Ivan Kholmohorov — drums;
Dmytro Vinnichenko — guitars.
In 2013, the band prepared a follow-up single titled Petrichor, featuring bouzoukitara playing and a guitar solo from Yossi Sassi, at that moment the guitarist of oriental metal fathers band, Orphaned Land.
In 2015, the band finally changed its name to IGNEA and released a new work called Alga, named after a war call of Crimean Tatar people. This song is contributed to Crimeans who are defending their land.
Alga is the first ever original song from a Ukrainian band, recorded with a full symphonic orchestra. The video was shot unintentionally and on low budget as the band wanted to use orchestra sessions footage in something bigger, than video diary. Over the year, the video gathered over million views on YouTube.
Recently, IGNEA opened the show of Orphaned Land, fathers of oriental metal, in Kiev, Ukraine.
In 2017, the band released its first full-length album called The Sign of Faith, having a heavier sound, both clean and extreme vocals, and authentic middle-eastern melodies. Its first song, Şeytanu Akbar, was accompanied by an animated anti-terrorism video in a surrealistic style. Despite the provocative title of the song, the band’s intention is to carry the idea of peace.
Over 2017, IGNEA has been promoting the new album through solo shows and festivals in Ukraine within ‘The Tour of Faith’. Early 2018, IGNEA has released an official live experience video for Şeytanu Akbar recorded at national The Best Ukrainian Metal Act awards, where the band has entered the top 3 best metal bands in the country.
In April 2018, the band has released an animated video for its OST-like song How I Hate the Night, the lyrics to which belong to the paranoid android Marvin from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The video contains lots of references to the original movie.
For IGNEA, the years 2018 and 2019 were dedicated to touring and writing the new material. In May 2018, IGNEA has toured in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, together with the Nordic death metal legends Illdisposed, as well as performed selected shows in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and festivals in France, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
September 2018, IGNEA released a new single Queen Dies with an art video and hopped on a 3-week tour across 9 countries within the Female Metal Voices Tour 2018 headlined by Butcher Babies and Kobra and the Lotus. In summer 2019, IGNEA had a small leg of headline shows in Spain and performed at the main stage of the Vagos Metal Festival in Portugal.
IGNEA’s second full-length album The Realms of Fire and Death was released on April 17, 2020. It was fully funded by the band's patrons. It is a concept album with strong story-telling, metaphors, symbols, and is accompanied by a book of short tales incorporating the lyrics of each song. It is divided into three major parts, each consisting of 3 songs, plus a bonus track — an English version of the Ukrainian Чорне Полум’я (Chorne Polumia). Songs of each part are outlining a certain separate story, bringing the themes of fire and death from various perspectives. The band also released two official music videos video for the song Disenchantment and Jinnslammer.
According to the national awards The Best Ukrainian Metal Act, The Realms of Fire and Death has been selected as the metal album of the year and IGNEA has been named the best Ukrainian metal band of 2020.
In June 2021, IGNEA signed a deal with Napalm Records and started working on the third album that was planned for 2022. The album release has been postponed to 2023 because of the Russia-Ukraine full-scale war.
Before bringing the new full-length record to the world, in October 2021, the band treated its fans with BESTIA, a concept EP about the human nature of Slavic mythological creatures and the world’s duality. In Ukrainian, BESTIA (Ukr. «бестія») means both a savage beast and a mischievous person. This is a split record that consists of songs by two Ukrainian bands — IGNEA and ERSEDU — and is a result of their 10-year friendship.
IGNEA’s third full-length album Dreams of Lands Unseen is out through Napalm Records on April 28th, 2023.
In 2023, IGNEA has released official videos for the songs Nomad's Luck, Dunes, and Incurable Disease.
The 10-track concept album reflects the life of Ukrainian photographer and documentarian Sofia Yablonska, known for traveling to very distant corners of the world while documenting the lives of tribes and natives, which was especially dangerous and uncommon for a woman of her time. Sonically, IGNEA creates a captivating masterpiece which resembles, thanks in part to diverse genre-influences, an epic soundtrack-like experience.
The band will present the album live at such European festivals as MetalDays, Leyendas del Rock, SummerBreeze, as well as at club shows on EU & UK tour with Fear Factory and Butcher Babies.
IGNEA are:
Helle Bohdanova — vocals;
Yevhenii Zhytniuk — keyboards;
Oleksandr Kamyshin — bass;
Ivan Kholmohorov — drums;
Dmytro Vinnichenko — guitars.
