Cassiopeia was formed in July 1999 on the fundaments of Tremor. The band decided to change its name, because they felt it didn't fit their music, symphonic metal, anymore. Eventually they chose Cassiopeia, an Ethiopian queen from Greek mythology. Cassiopeia was cursed to inhabit and circle the sky forever, which is why there is a constellation of the same name.
In 1997, by the name of Tremor, the band released a self financed CD entitled A Storm is Brewing. This CD got excellent reviews in the national, as well as in the international media. As a result of that the band played with bands as Within Temptation and they also toured The Netherlands together with the Dutch bands T-Nailed and Gail of God at the end of 1998.
In
April 1999 the band recorded a demo for the Dutch label DSFA Records in Studio
Moskou, Utrecht the Netherlands. These recordings were then mixed and mastered
by Oscar Holleman in studio RS29, Waalwijk the Netherlands. The demo was released
in October 1999 and received excellent reviews in The Netherlands and abroad.
As a result of that the band toured the Netherlands in 2000 with After Forever
and Horizon, besides many other gigs. The band also participated in the Benelux'
most prestigious metal contest, called Metal Bash, organised by the Dutch
leading magazine Aardschok. Also the band signed a management contract with
Dutch agency Sea of Dreams management, and an agreement was made with Brazilian
based Hellion Records to distribute Eye of Time in Brazil.
Now
our follow-up to Eye of Time is available, called Duality. A demo-CD with
five brand-new tracks that showcase all sides of Cassiopeia, from furious
metal to innocent pop. The CD was recorded and mixed between December 2000
and March 2001 by our own sound technician Mark Nijssen at his studio in Oudelande,
the Netherlands. The recordings were mastered by Willem Steentjes at the Muziekfabriek
in Kruisland the Netherlands. The demo received an excellent review in the
Aardschok of December 2001.
After the release of Duality the band had a lot of line-up changes, which
resulted in a new drummer, bass player and the decision not to search intensively
for a new female vocalist.
In June the band will open for Tristania's only club show in the Netherlands,
followed by a tour through the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with Hungarian
black metallers Sear Bliss.