Swedish Independent Artist Promoter JONO media proudly welcome another two bands to the JONO-family: “The Melodic Metal Masters” – Narnia founded by Christian Liljegren and CJ Grimmark in 1996, and Empire 21, melodic metalband, fronted by Ricard Hulteke and CJ Grimmark.
Narnia is finally back for the metal attack! Celebrating 20 years as a band, they are back with a brand new studio album. Their long awaited & 7th studio album is released on Sept. 16 through Deep Within Management. During the years Narnia has been established as one of the leading forces in melodic, neoclassical metal, with a strong reputation of being a great live act that always delivers. And so it continues.. The fans are asking for more and the band is hungrier than ever!
The line-up for Narnia 2016: Christian Liljegren -Vocals, CJ Grimmark – Guitars, keyboards & backing vocals, Andreas “Habo” Johansson – Drums, Martin Härenstam – Keyboards, Andreas Passmark -Bass. Our review for Narnia‘s self titled album can be found here.
Upcoming Narnia Shows
November 5th: Blast Of Eternity – Neckarsulm, Germany
November 11th: Brainstorm Festival – Apeldoorn, Netherlands
November 12th: Praise Together Vol.2 – Hutwill, Switzerland
More tour dates will be announced soon.
Video below: Narnia – ‘Reaching For The Top’
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The members of Empire 21 are all experienced from international bands including Narnia, DarkWater, Rob Rock, Harmony and many more.
The band was originally founded by drummer Tobias Enbert and singer Germán Pascual who were both part of the 2009 touring lineup of CJ Grimmark’s band Narnia. When CJ decided to put Narnia to rest, the idea of Empire 21 was born. They eventually talked CJ into the project and recruited Andreas Ålöv and John Svensson for the bass/keyboards positions.
During the recording of the debut album, Empire 21 parted ways with Germán Pascual who was then replaced by singer Ricard Hulteke.
Ricard, being one of the best kept secrets in rock and the last piece finalizing the Empire 21 puzzle, is likely to put a big smile on the faces of metal/rock fans around the world. His soulful and intense vocal performance on this album is certainly one of the best in the history of metal.
The band is comprised of: Ricard Hulteke –Vocals, CJ Grimmark – Guitars, keyboards & backing vocals, Andreas Ålöv –Bass, John Svensson: Keyboards, Tobias Enbert –Drums
Check out our review for Empire 21‘s self-titled debut album.
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JONO media was started in 1999 by Jonatan Samuelsson primarily to be able to manage the economy for his former band (Safemode). The little company grew and expanded with booking, management, distribution, and also served as record label, and music publisher.
JONO Media: Facebook / Website
Lyric video below: Empire 21 –‘I Can’t’