At Vance

Biography

With the combined credentials of vocalist Oliver Hartmann and guitarist Olaf Lenk on their résumés, At Vance easily obtained a deal with Shark Records. Rainald König (guitar), Uli Müller (keyboards), Jochen Schnur (bass), and Spoony (drums) rounded out the lineup that recorded 1999's debut No Escape. European fans lapped it up, and the group's second release, 2000's Heart of Steel (featuring new drummer Jurgen Lucas) was a surprise hit in Japan and encouraged At Vance to quickly issue a followup in 2001's Dragonchaser. Barely pausing for breath, the next year saw the band switching to AFM Records, losing their bassist and keyboard player, releasing their fourth album Only Human, and then hitting the road across Europe with Rhapsody and Angel Dust. A number of personnel changes ensued in 2003, as At Vance welcomed new vocalist Mats Levén and bassist Sascha Feldmann before recording their next LP The Evil in You. A tour with Kamelot followed the release.

Later, Lenk fired König and Feldmann, replacing the latter with bassist John ABC Smith (born Dario Trobok) (ex-Scanner, ex-Gallows Pole). All guitar work was performed by Lenk, and drums by Mark Cross (ex-Helloween). This formation released a new record, Chained, which transpired to be the last album with Mats Levén on lead vocals. In April 2007, At Vance's MySpace webpage announced a new record would be released in May 2007 entitled VII, introducing young singer Rick Altzi on vocals. The album was mastered at Finnvox by Mika Jussila.

Several of At Vance's albums contain transcriptions of classical pieces such as the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and "Spring" and "Summer" from Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." Their new lineup was announced on the band's webpage, adding Alex Landenburg (from Annihilator) on drums and Manuel Walther on bass.

In May 2009, the band announced via their MySpace page that Manuel Walther left At Vance and would be replaced by Wolfman Black of the German band Justice. On July 2009, AFM Records announced that the band's latest album, entitled Ride The Sky, would be released on September 18. In April 2012 band released their ninth studio album, Facing Your Enemy via AFM Records.

Band members

Discography