METALLIAN - Royal Hunt

Land Of Broken Hearts - 1992 - X-Treme/Rondel
Clown In The Mirror - 1994 - Rondel/Teichiku
Moving Target - 1995 - Kick/Teichiku
1996 - 1996 - Steamhammer
Paradox - 1997 - Semaphore
Paradox: Closing The Chapter - 1998 - Steamhammer
Fear - 1999 - Steamhanmmer/Rondel
The Mission - 2001 - Purple Legions/Century Media/Frontiers
Eyewitness - 2003 - Frontiers
Paper Blood - 2005 - Frontiers
2006 Live - 2006 - Frontiers
Paradox II: Collision Course - 2008 - Frontiers
X - 2010 - Scarlet
Show Me How To Live - 2011- Frontiers
A Life To Die For - 2013 - Frontiers
Devil's Dozen - 2015 - Frontiers
Cargo - 2016 - Frontiers
2016 - 2017 - Frontiers
Cast In Stone - 2018 - NorthPoint
Dystopia - 2020 - NorthPoint/King
Dystopia - Part II - NorthPoint

Members

Vocals

Jaded Heart>>Henrik Brockmann>>Evil Masquerade, Sages Recital, Missing Tide, Highway Jam, N'Tribe, Timeless Fairytale - D.C. Cooper [Donald Christopher Cooper]>>Solo, Missa Mercuria, Silent Force, Amaran's Plight - Diamond, Destiny, Cozy Powell, Badlands, Sun Red Sun, Artension, Michael Lee Firkins, Lynch Mob, Solo, Feinstein>>John West>>Artension, Feinstein, Emir Hot, Mythodea, Solo, Ten Man Push, Sun Red Sun, Artlantica, Sages Recital, Deezl - Savoy Brown, Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, Ring Of Fire, Seven The Hardway, Iron Mask, The Codex, Holy Force, Air Force>>Mark Boals>>Iron Mask, Holy Force, Joshua Perahia, Labÿrinth, Seven The Hardway, Adrian Galysh, Dokken, Lyraka, Byron Nemeth Group, Dramatica, Air Force, Dio Disciples, Atlantis Drive, Foundry, Vindictiv, Ring Of Fire, Shining Black, Ghosts Of Gods, Circus of Rock - Solo, Missa Mercuria, Silent Force, Amaran's Plight>>D.C. COOPER [DONALD CHRISTOPHER COOPER]>>Amaran's Plight

Guitar

André Andersen - Jaded Heart, Cornerstone>>Jacob Kjaer>>Cornerstone, Missing Tide - The Ring, Evergrey>>Marcus Jidell>>Evergrey, Pain, Krux, Candlemass, Avatarium, Solo, Soen, The Doomsday Kingdom - Barock, Highway Jam, Stratosphere, Scorpions Tribute, N'Tribe, Mooe Lizzy, Kings Of Rock>>JONAS LARSEN

Bass

Rebellion, Apart, Cornerstone>>Steen Mogensen>>Cornerstone - André Andersen - Per Schelander>>Pain Of Salvation, Flames Of Fire, Christian Liljegren - Stormwind, Eclipse, Narnia, Harmony, Rob Rock, DivineFire, 7days, Tower Of Babel>>ANDREAS PASSMARK [ANDREAS OLSSON]>>Stormwind, Wisdom Call, Rob Rock, 7days, Tower Of Babel

Drum

Kenneth Olsen>>Highway Jam, Bloody Dice, Pangea - Stonehenge, Narita, Prime Time, Cornerstone>>Allan Sørensen>>Statement, Pretty Maids, Highway Jam, At The Movies - Stonehenge, Narita, Prime Time, Cornerstone>>Allan Sørensen>>Statement, Pretty Maids, Highway Jam, At The Movies - Sentinel, Christian Liljegren, Wisdom Call, Rob Rock, Narnia, Avatarium, The Doomsday Kingdom>>ANDREAS "HABO" JOHANSSON>>Christian Liljegren, Rob Rock, Narnia, Avatarium, The Doomsday Kingdom

Keyboard

Witch Cross, Apart, Narita, Prime Time, Solo, N'Tribe>>ANDRÉ ANDERSEN>>Narita, Prime Time, Solo, N'Tribe

Violin

Marcus Jidell

History & Biography

The hard rock/pomp rock band from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, was founded in 1989. André Andersen was the mastermind and is the sole original member left standing today. Bassist Steen Mogensen was the co-founder although over the years the narrative has become that Andersen was the sole founder. The band's website writes: "a brainchild of André Andersen (main songwriter in the band) this outfit was created in order to combine basic values of Classic Rock with progressive…" Andersen had received piano lessons since childhood. Mogensen was inspired by his older brother, who played the guitar, and had started in a 1980s' band called Rebellion (later called Rebel Lion featuring White Cross and Narita members) after playing in hard rock cover bands for a couple of years. Andersen and Mogensen would join forces in the group Apart in 1988, which after a couple of line-up changes and the passage of a year would become Royal Hunt in 1989. Royal Hunt would go on to touch progressive realms and amaze through its skilled musicianship that employs keyboards and a myriad of comings and goings.

Land Of Broken Hearts was the debut and released in 1992. The band remembers this to be 1991. It was released by a little-known Swedish company called X-treme. The band was composed of singer Henrik Brockmann, guitarist and keyboardist André Andersen (who was born in Russia), bassist Steen Mogensen and drummer Kenneth Olsen. Royal Hunt had already opened for Saga and Talisman prior to the debut's release. Majestic Entertainment (USA) signed the band and a world-wide publishing agreement was signed with Warner Chappell. Majestic also operated the Rondel imprint. The instrumental Martial Arts was adopted by the Japanese Wrestling Federation. Andersen even wrote a song called Triumph especially for the same organization, which is performed on the 1996 video tape. This video was recorded live in Tokyo. The band found favour in Japan and received a push there with its sophomore record, which added second guitarist Jacob Kjaer who had worked with singer Henrik Brockman before. Singer Brockman was out as of 1994. The official reason: a dislike for travelling. The group also hit the land of guns 'n nuts as openers for Warrant before the next record. Moving Target was on a new label in Europe again and introduced American singer D.C. Cooper. Sales were spectacular and the band moved over 100,000 units. Cooper's first tour with the band was in Japan where promoter Captain Wada had championed the band. The single Far Away was dedicated to the victims of the earthquake of Kobe, Japan in 1995. The fourth one again was on a new label and again featured a new line-up. The act was down to a quartet. Olsen was gone and Narita's Allan Sørensen drummed beginning with a mid-tour gig in Switzerland. The earlier man would rejoin full-time less than a decade later. Olsen was hit with pneumonia during a tour with Gotthard and was soon diagnosed with Tinnitus as well. Elsewhere, the band was releasing compilations like a broken record. Paradox was a concept about a man going through doing what he wanted 2,000 years after Christ. The implication was that man does what he wants and imagines it is the will of God.

Fear saw the Danes switch to Steamhammer. Andersen dedicated himself to the keyboards. 1998 was a slow year for the band as Andersen recorded a solo record and decided it was time for Cooper to depart. Mike-for-hire John West was on vocals now. He was also in Artension and was fighting cancer while still in Royal Hunt later. To support this record, touring took the band to new territories, South Korea and Russia. The band also appeared at Wacken. Yes, you guessed it. The Mission was on a bunch of new labels. Century Media stepped in for the USA. Kenneth Olsen did some guest drumming. The album was based on The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury and had many songs interspersed with mood-setting instrumentals. The Watchers album, released to coincide with The Mission, featured one track as part of the same story, several live tunes and several self-cover versions performed by John West now. Ironically, The Watchers was a longer release than The Mission. The band toured with Manigance.

Eyewitness was on Frontiers in 2003. There were no compilations between this record and Paper Blood. Something was amiss surely! Well, probably Frontiers did not have the rights to any music other than the Eyewitness material, but surely the older label should be pumping out those compilations! Guest drummer Allan Tschicaja (later in Pretty Maids) was heard on this record. Bassist Steen Mogensen and guitarist Jacob Kjaer had left at the end of 2003. No reason was offered. Regardless, Paper Blood appeared in the summer of 2005. No awards for guessing that the line-up had shifted. André Andersen handled the keyboards and bass. Marcus Jidell (later in Evergrey) was on guitar as of late 2004. A sequel to Paradox of 1997 was called Paradox II: Collision Course and released in 2008. Well, an even worse case of a mike-for-hire, Mark Boals, was on vocals. Allan Sørensen was back on drums and Per Schelander was on momentary bass. Marcus Jidell was also on cello. The band appeared at the Sweden Rock Festival. There was a tour with Godiva in Europe. Some 2008 touring featured drummer Magnus "Dynamite" Ulfstedt.

X was (studio) album number X and awarded to Scarlet Records. And just to check to make sure people were paying attention, Show Me How To Live was on Frontiers Records. D.C. Cooper had rejoined. The story was that Mark Boals was unavailable for touring to support X. At first, the band reported that Royal Hunt and DC Cooper had decided to reunite - for a few dates – in order to perform the entire Paradox album (the band’s first concept album from 1997) and several other songs from that period. The stay became permanent instead. The market was clamouring for Royal Hunt compilations so the band made sure a couple more were released before A Life To Die For. The title for this record was in contrast to its predecessor. This album incorporated orchestral and classical choir arrangements. The act also re-signed with Frontiers Records in 2013. The band was billed for ProgPower USA XVI (where the band had played in 2009) and Loud Park 2015 - 10th Anniversary in Japan. Cargo and 2016 were live albums. The latter came with a DVD, was recorded in Russia and commemorated the act's 25th anniversary. The band was comprised of two Danes, two Swedes and an American at this stage. The pattern indicated that the band was releasing live albums, among others, every sixth year of each decade.

Cast In Stone was supported through a video for the song Fistful Of Misery. NorthPoint Productions was reissuing a re-mastered version of the debut album, Land Of Broken Hearts. The Special Edition 2018 included an extended booklet with rare pictures and a video. NorthPoint was André and Alexandra Andersen's studio and marketing agency. The studio had, in fact, moved over the years. Andre has produced the band's albums there since Fear. Andersen had also recorded other bands there in the past. Coincidentally, or not, the band's move to its own label coincided with diminished touring for this record.

Dystopia and Dystopia - Part II were up next. Dystopia was inspired by Ray Bradbury´s classic novel Fahrenheit 451, which narrated the story of a society in the grips of a right-wing government that has banned books and burnt any that were confiscated. The cover artwork depicted a burning book. The band had adopted Bradbury's work last with The Mission. Dystopia entered the Japanese metal charts at position No. 3. Dystopias featured guest vocals by Mark Boals, Henrik Brockmann, Mats Levén (formerly Candlemass and Yngwie Malmsteen) and Alexandra Andersen. Half Past Loneliness (Dance Remix) was a single in 2023. The original was on Show Me How To Live. The band picked up Mark Boals and drummer Daniel Rasch Nielsen (Statement) in 2024 to perform at Leyendas Del Rock in Spain on August 7th and at Jailbreak Festival in Denmark on August 17th. The band reported that singer DC Cooper and drummer Andreas Johansson were unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. The act was announced for Epic Fest 2025 in Denmark. The band was working on an EP for 2025 and launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of it.

Royal Hunt has been a constant since formation, but the members are part-timers who spend time in a minimum of half a dozen side-acts simultaneously. The band reports having sold over 1.5 million records world-wide.

Reviews

ROYAL HUNT - FEAR - RONDEL
Danish/ American pomp rock band Royal Hunt has been doing the rounds for a few years now, and have seen the backs of a few members who have been in and out of the combo for one reason or another. But, I have to admit, this is my first encounter with the band. Fresh perspective being everything (or so I tell myself in cases like this!?), the band with the obviously suitable moniker can certainly be better known than their current status. While their L.A. Guns-ish cover art and odd choice of album name might hint little at the band's direction, RH are simply a must for fans of the prog/pomp rock genres. Genres populated by Dream Theater, Saga and early Yngwie Malmsteen. With the entire unit exuding long virtuoso passages titillating between hard rocking blitzes (remember DT's Images And Words?) and keyboard-laden flashy symphonies, new-ish vocalist West knows how to pull off both arena-suited vox and arty musing. It's a definitive work from a solid line up and one which can only be essential for fans of the genre as described above. - Ali "The Metallian"

ROYAL HUNT - THE MISSION - MAJESTIC/CENTURY MEDIA
According to chapters.ca, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is only explicitly a book about mankind's travel to Mars. In essence the story deals with the country to the south - contemporary America. Denmark's Royal Hunt have written an album based on the work, and the end result is an incredibly successful opus with a mesmerizing science fiction cover. Royal Hunt has hit its stride with The Mission. There is barely any cause for criticism here. In The Mission, the hard rockers have brought together a series of elements that would normally render an album incohesive - not so here. The band's progressive hard rock is intact and passionately strong. But there is much more and much more that is done well. A strong production and sound only serves to amplify the strength of the vocals (powerful and soaring), guitars (both classic, exotic and hard rocking), rhythm section (tight and professional) and a plethora of influences (metal, hard rock, progressive and classical) in a manner that never puts an element out of place. There is a slew of talent on this album. In fact there is enough to put the competition to shame. Take a song like Surrender for example: it has it all. Listen to the scream on World Wide War! Bang your head to the album's opening riff; then crank up the assault on Total Recall. Fans of everything from the band's earlier work to Stratovarius and post-Dio Rainbow to early Yngwie Malmsteen will find in The Mission an album from a band enjoying renewed pickup and urgency. - Ali "The Metallian"

ROYAL HUNT - THE WATCHERS - MAJESTIC/CENTURY MEDIA
Progressive hard rockers Royal Hunt need little introduction. In today's tough climate they have gone from strength to strength and always manage to deliver improving and genuine art to their fans. The Watchers is not an exception. Designed as a stop-gap 70-minute album, The Watchers features different versions of Intervention from the last full length The Mission, brilliantly powerful live songs and several older studio songs now sung by singer John West. Ironically, The Watchers is best recommended to non-fans. It may serve as a fantastic introduction to this multitalented band with a knack for powerful art symphonies.

Interviews

Royal Hunt