Pythia

PYTHIA (pronounced pie-thee-ya) believe that the art of music is a hallowed path, only to be undertaken by the strong willed and the dedicated. Formed in 2007 in London, England, by drummer Marc Dyos, vocalist Emily Ovenden, and guitarist Ross White, Pythia quickly established their own blend of thrash, power and gothic metal, with epic symphonic keys and soaring female soprano vocals. The band’s debut show was as main support to Tarja Turunen, playing to a near sold-out crowd. This was quickly followed by main support slots for bands such as Ministry and Fields of the Nephilim, performing at some of the UKs most prestigious venues, including Shepherd’s Bush Empire, The Forum and The Electric Ballroom. Beneath The Veiled Embrace (2009) Their debut album ‘Beneath The Veiled Embrace’ was released in October 2009. Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Amaranthe), it also featured a spoken-word part performed by legendary British actor Brian Blessed. The first single from ‘BTVE’ was ‘Sarah (Bury Her)’ in August 2009, featuring a cover of the Gary Moore classic ‘Thunder Rising’, as approved by Gary Moore himself. The video for “Sarah (Bury Her)” received airplay on Scuzz and Lava Music TV. The release of the second single, ‘Army Of The Damned’, was accompanied by a video consisting of live and backstage footage from the band’s tour of Benelux in 2010 including the Power, Prog and Metal Festival in Belgium where the majority of the live footage was taken. ‘BTVE’ quickly received a plethora of fantastic reviews, articles and buzz from the rock and metal press including Kerrang, Metal Hammer, Terrorizer, Classic Rock, Bazaar, Classic Rock Prog, and Powerplay magazines. Following airplay on the Bruce Dickinson rock show on BBC 6, the band were invited into the studio for an interview with Bruce in April 2010. “... a truly mesmerizing mix of thrash, power and ladylike class.” – Terrorizer The band continued touring in both the UK and mainland Europe, supporting the likes of Arch Enemy, Threshold, Theatre of Tragedy, Amberian Dawn, and Pagans Mind. They also appeared at festivals including Metal Female Voices Festival in Belgium, Hard Rock Hell festival, PPM Festival in Belgium (headlined by Scorpions), and a headline performance on the first ever Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock Open Air festival in August 2009. The Serpent’s Curse (2012) The second chapter of Pythia’s tale... ‘The Serpents Curse’ was released in February 2012. Once again the band chose award winning producer Jacob Hansen to handle mixing and mastering duties. ‘TSC’ delivered a darker, heavier, bleaker and yet even more engrossing version of Pythia’s epic emotional storytelling, and boasted album imagery by legendary artist Brian Froud (Star Wars, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal). “Pythia have produced one of the most exciting albums of the genre that I’ve heard for many years…” – Planet Mosh "a towering magnificent creation", "barmy, brilliant & brain-bursting (10/10)” – Subb-Cultcha "…most unique album of the genre for quite some time" – Metal Music Archives The first single from ‘TSC’ was ‘Betray My Heart’ released just prior to the album, complete with music video. The album spawned a further double-A-side single of ‘Just A Lie’/’The Circle’, with the latter accompanied by a stunning video directed and produced by Graham Trott. The album launch show saw the band perform a blistering headline set at a packed-out Borderline in London. They went on to support Serenity for their UK dates in early 2012, followed by dates supporting Dragonforce, including a memorable show at the legendary 100 Club. Three of the band’s tracks were selected for release as downloadable, playable tracks for the computer game ‘Rock Band’, and have proved very popular with gamers, with fans filming their attempts at highest scores for the songs ‘Army Of The Damned’, ‘Just A Lie’, and ‘Heartless’. After a co-headline UK tour, Pythia returned to Bloodstock Open Air festival in August 2012, followed by support slots with the likes of Evile and Wolf. Early 2013 saw the band announced as main support for Sonata Arctica on their UK tour, which included dates in Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, and finishing with a sold-out show at The Garage in Islington. The band’s brief respite following the Sonata Arctica dates, as they prepared to start work on their follow-up to ‘TSC’, coincided with two line-up changes: Tim Neale and Richard Holland replaced by Oz Wright and Marcus Matuziak. The new line-up took time out of their recording schedule to support Leaves’ Eyes on their UK tour in early 2014. These shows gave the band the chance to air some brand-new songs live. The tour was a great success with the band receiving great reviews and building the fan’s anticipation for the new album. Shadows of a Broken Past (2014) Pythia’s 3rd album ‘Shadows of a Broken Past’ was released to much acclaim in December 2014. The band chose once again to have Jacob Hansen mix and master the album, and features the photography of Scott Chalmers and artwork by Chilean artist Claudio Bergamin (Halford, Battle Beast, Criminal). ‘SOABP’ also saw the return of Brian Blessed, performing a spoken word part on the galloping power metal anthem ‘Sword of Destiny’. The album saw the band pushing their song writing even further, penning some of their fastest and most complex music, yet it also sees the band writing some of their slowest, most melodic, progressive and dynamic material to date. ‘SOABP’ is the sound of Pythia spreading their wings and in doing so creating perhaps their finest album yet. "Shadows...' brings a new sense of dramatic urgency and a sharper cutting edge… the most intriguing album yet from Pythia.” – Metal Talk “There’s no denying that Pythia do what they do incredibly well, a style that fuses symphonic and gothic elements, transporting us to a fantasy-driven wonderland” – Metal Hammer “High fantasy lyrics, operatic vocals and racing power metal riffage, there is even a guest appearance from Brian Blessed, and if you can hate on that, you’re hating on the very spirit of metal itself!” - Kerrang In June 2015, it was announced that Emily Ovenden had departed Pythia and the band would continue with a new singer. Sophie Dorman was announced as Pythia's new singer in October 2015, and the band returned to the live scene supporting bands such as Ancient Bards, Ensifirum, and Stream of Passion, and not forgetting a return to Bloodstock Open Air festival in August 2016, with a slot which saw them nestled nicely between Anthrax and Slayer! November 2016 saw bassist Ash Porter join the ranks following the departure of Mark Harrington. 2017…. The band are confirmed for festival appearances in 2017, but will focus much of their time on writing and recording their 4th album. In a time where marketing, industry politics and insubstantial music reign supreme, Pythia are amongst the few hard-working, independent and sincere metal bands, singing, writing and playing from the heart, fighting to bring honest and true music to the listener and sweeping their fans along with them on their journey, their quest, their battle. The Pythian Army will continue its ascendance, and endure.... The latest album - Shadows of a Broken Past - out now.