Young, talented and hungry: what other words could better describe the four members of DAGOBA ? Furious maybe. It wasn't by accident that their first EP was titled Release The Fury . DAGOBA members grew up listening to Pantera, Machine Head, Fear Factory and some black-metal bands. They decided to keep the best elements of each, melting them into something different, emulating a new horizon of metal. With machine-like drums, crushing guitars, pounding bass, powerful vocals, and a touch of electronics, DAGOBA formulates their first self-titled album in 2003. And those 15 tracks are pure DAGOBA for sure.
The history of DAGOBA starts in September 2000 when then-20-year-old Shawter (vocals) decided to revamp the line-up of his old band due to the lack of motivation from his partners (despite two demos and an opening slot for Rammstein). He teamed up with Franky (drums), Werther (bass), and Izakar (guitar) and together, the four dedicated and creative musicians began writing songs and building a backbone for DAGOBA. In November 2001, their first 6-tracks EP is released and acclaimed by the European press; Hard Rock Magazine exclaimed, " How powerful is this EP?! This first step into the music scene is impressive." Rock Sound praises these young men by saying, "The energy and power levels delivered by this EP are just insane!" After a short tour, the band immediately wrote 22 more songs and chose 15 for their first proper album. Recorded at Praxis Studio in South of France between January and March 2003, then mixed one month later at Philia Studio in Oxford ( England ) by Dave Chang (Stampin' Ground, Linea 77, Orange Goblin) the outcome was fierce and ready to erupt amongst the metal scene. As Shawter would say, " With DAGOBA, we try to turn violence into energy and emotion." The album was released in June 2003 and once again, the press loved it; Hard N'Heavy delivers their satisfaction, " Impressive! Huge! This album is killer." Rock Hard once again shrieks, "DAGOBA just wrote the soundtrack to murder!" Rock Sound says, " DAGOBA crushes everything and leaves no one alive!" Time to hit the road again, something they do with complete devotion. To have their album acclaimed is one thing, but to meet their fans is another. DAGOBA has been touring nonstop since August 2003. They have since built a very strong reputation as a live band thanks to the amazing amount of energy they can deliver. And now, they have a few highlights to remember : opening for Machine Head in Brussels and for Fear Factory in Amsterdam, playing the Dour festival (Belgium) in front of thousands of people in Summer 2004, and touring in Northern Europe with Samael. By the way, did we mention that DAGOBA is a French band? Honestly, does it really matter?!
