Artists
Back in 2002 three school friends – Christian, Nils and Sebastian – formed a band. They didn’t know much about music theory or room acoustics – in fact they simply played in different garages and basements in the city of Aue. And they performed loud!
Until 2005 the line-up was completed by adding a drummer (Robert) and a couple early rock-songs were born (“Timeless”). In 2005 “The Gray” played their first live gig at the station Breitenbrunn and in the following years some more “giggin’'” was done. It was a strange but easygoing time – meeting in the headquarter Cavalino in Aue at weekend and trying to get this one particular sound out of the instrument that defined metal for us. Unfortunately that sound did not come easily at first. Sometimes the band sounded more like semi-acoustic Kettcar. So we started from scratch every week. It was all a matter of opinion, and the character of this first band wasn’t easy to define. With the new drummer Falk joining the Band in 2007, The Gray transformed again. It turned out that all of us were big Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Fans and so the new band name was found: Elliot Vance!
The journey through different rehearsal rooms led us to “the recording sessions” that culminated in the years 2010 to 2013. In this period of time the sound sharpened and we were able to work on our songs and finally tune them to Metal frequencies! Our first collection of songs was called “The Mars Saga” – a six song narrative science fiction album with poor sound, but very catchy songs. With “Changed Ending”, “Blackout” and “Utopia Prime” a couple more singles followed. Those songs were mostly written and created by Nils and Christian, both playing the axes in that age of the band.
There are none of these albums still out there, but some of the songs will always remain in our heads and even find their way through our fingers into our guitars while rehearsing…
In 2014 fortune was on our side when we had the chance to move to our current rehearsal room in Aue. It was shaped to our needs and with enough space for all the gear and stuff – a new quality for us. Sebastian morphed into a guitarist and the sound turned more and more into metallic direction.
When old school friend Toni showed up in 2018 to deliver his keys to the Band we found out that Elliot Vance was now finally complete. He added some different layers of sound to the band that we had never missed but sorely needed. In 2019 the milestone “Dead Reckoning” album was finished, completely recorded, mixed and mastered by the band itself. The Songs are mostly science fiction themed with inspiration from 20th century literary, especially Lovecraftian horror. We really enjoyed playing those songs live.
Then COVID hit, and “gigging” was put to a hold.
At this moment we are about to create a new monstrosity of an album called “The Battle for Terra”. Recording is almost finished and some songs are already finalized. More Metal to come…
Through 20 years of Band history, we were constantly changing but never lost devotion for this kind of music. In fact, we constantly try to evolve and create the music that we love.
In 2022, we will finally resume the live playing – it will surely be like a liberation, meeting our friends out there to celebrate Metal together!
Because one thing is absolutely clear: We started as a band of friends and for sure in 20 years we will still be there – playing riffs and drinking beer backstage together as friends!
Metal!