Biography
Dark Sanctuary is a French neoclassical darkwave band formed in Paris in 1996.
The band’s first release was the single-track CD "Funeral Cry" in 1997, featuring Arkdae on keyboards and Marquise Ermia on vocals. In 1998, the lineup expanded to include Hylgaryss (keyboards), Sombre Cÿr (percussion/bass), and Eliane (violins), and they recorded their debut album "Royaume Mélancolique." The group performed their first concert in September 1998 near Paris.
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In November 1999, Dark Sanctuary signed with Wounded Love Records. With the addition of Marguerite on violins, they recorded their second album, "De Lumière Et d'Obscurité," released in November 2000. Following these sessions, Marquise Ermia left the band to continue her studies, and Dame Pandora joined as the new vocalist.
Their third album, "L'Être Las - L'envers Du Miroir," was released in early 2003, preceded by a two-track single. After performing several concerts in France, they recorded their fourth album, "Les Mémoires Blessées," in Germany, released in early 2004. This album marked a further development of Dark Sanctuary’s style, with greater maturity and exploration of new musical directions.
In 2005, the band released the compilation "Thoughts: 9 Years in the Sanctuary," followed by the two-part albums "Exaudi Vocem Meam – Part 1" (2005) and "Exaudi Vocem Meam – Part 2" (2006). Dark Sanctuary entered an indefinite hiatus in 2009, during which they completed a collaborative album with Victoria Francés, titled "Dark Sanctuary."
In 2017, Avantgarde Music released "Metal Works," a compilation of the band’s reinterpretations of select tracks in a gothic-doom metal style. The band returned in 2022 with the EP "Iterum," signaling a renewed creative period. In 2023, they announced a new album, "Cernunnos," their first studio album in 14 years.
Dark Sanctuary was involved in a notable copyright case in Germany. Rapper Bushido sampled 16 of their songs without permission, including "Les Mémoires Blessées," which appeared on his single "Janine" from the album "Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück" (2006). In 2010, German courts ruled against Bushido, requiring him to stop sales of the affected albums and singles and to recall and destroy unsold copies. A video comparing Dark Sanctuary’s original works to Bushido’s songs was later leaked online by music reviewers Marzel Becker and Stephan Heller.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.