Quo Vadis

Biography/History

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Quo Vadis (1992-2011): a Death Metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

amed after after the novel by Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis was a melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was formed in 1992 by founding members Bart Frydrychowicz (guitar), Yanic Bercier (drums), and Arie Itman (guitars/vocals/violin). Initially their music consisted of Metallica and Megadeth covers, but, over time, they would write originals and incorporate them into their live shows until they had enough material for their own albums, the first of which would be Forever... (1996) featuring new bassist Remy Beauchamp.

After signing onto 'Hypnotic Records' in 1999, Quo Vadis received a budget of around $20,000 to record their second album, Day into Night (2000). Whereas the composing duties for the previous album were credited to all members, a majority of the songs on the Day into Night album were in fact written and recorded by Itman alone. The sound of the album was notably different than its predecessor as well, as the female vocals and violins had disappeared and the focus shifted away from melody towards more technicality and progressiveness, featuring more complex song structures and time signature changes.

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The compilation Passage in Time (2001) followed featuring the entire Quo Vadis demo from 1995, two live tracks, two remixes, one new song and the Dysgenics video.

In 2002, Yanic Bercier relocated to Tennessee, United States for work but remained in the band, although not attending a single practice after August 2002; later that same year Itman and Beauchamp quit the band. This was the begining of major membership changes that would eventually see all original members leave.

By the time Defiant Imagination (2004) arrived Stéphane Paré would assume vocals. Indeed, the membership changes delayed work on the future albums, forcing the band to rely on guest musicians and stand-ins for live shows. Although the album was released on November 4, 2004, Defiant Imagination was actually written much earlier and in parts at a time.

In 2005, Defiant Indoctrination, a triple DVD documenting a concert in Montreal on 7 May 2005 was released. The first two DVDs featured the concert, in which Defiant Imagination was performed in its entirety along with various other tracks from previous albums, and the third DVD contained drum footage of the entire show, focusing entirely on Yanic Bercier.

Live in Montreal (2007) followed.

In 2008 the membership changes would come to rest with Marc-André Gingras (guitar), Roxanne Constantin (bass (2008-2011)/keyboards (2003-2008)) and Patrice Hamelin (drums) with Matthew Sweeney assuming vocals in 2010. This line-up didn't record, however, as the band split in late 2011.

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