IMAGIKA was formed in late 1993 by guitarist STEVEN D. RICE and vocalist DAVID MICHAEL with the intention of playing music that was free of trends and would remain timeless. Taking their influences from the Bay Area Thrash scene and mixing it with their love for classic bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Mercyful Fate, they recruited HENRY MORENO on drums and Mike Dargis on bass. Wasting no time, IMAGIKA hit the studio and recorded a 3-song demo that showed the band in their infant stages but reflected the quality songwriting they would become known for. The band hit the live scene and found what had already been known: metal was out, garbage/alternative was in!
Undaunted, the band continued to play as many shows as possible and built up a reputation for providing kick-ass metal in those lean years. By late 1994, the band had begun work on their infamous debut CD album that was finally released in 1995 to the un-expecting metal underground. Taking a "Do-It-Yourself" attitude, the band pumped hundreds of copies of the disc to the worldwide press and radio and became known as a modern resurrection of the classic Bay Area sound. The album contained a wealth of material that ranged from all-out brutal to beautiful and exhibited a huge leap forward in songwriting from the early demo. The band was able to sell 2000 copies on their own Headless Corpse label by word of mouth alone.
By 1996, IMAGIKA had attracted quite some interest in Europe and was able to secure licensing for the CD through ABS Records who re-released the CD in Europe with the original 3-song demo added as bonus tracks. By early 1997, the band had found management in Europe through Flying Dolphin Promotions, headed by Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger fame. The band had already finished their sophomore effort, "Worship", by this time, and was prepared to unleash it on the masses. No label in the U.S./Europe would touch the CD, so the band was once again forced to make it happen on their Headless Corpse label. This time, though, the band would have much better distribution through Radiation/Indigo and promotion with Flying Dolphin.
Released in late 1998, "Worship" garnered fantastic reviews, which the band followed up by touring Europe with Grave Digger and Iron Savior in January of 1999. The band was well received and proved to the fans that the Bay Area thrash scene was still relevant. Buzzing from the tour, the band set to work on new material to follow up the success of the album and tour. Putting together a 3-song demo, the band was able to attract some much-needed label interest from Massacre Records, securing the band a deal in 2000.
"And So It Burns" was released in October 2000 and received much critical acclaim. Sadly, Mike Dargis had by this time decided to leave the band, which put to rest any touring the band was intending on doing to promote the release. The band had the unfortunate task of finding a suitable replacement. After six months, they found their new bassist, ELENA LUCIANO (who happens to appear in the Metallica movie “Some Kind of Monster. Another story altogether.) It was worth the wait, as she was able to come in and give IMAGIKA a much-needed boost with a fresh perspective and enthusiasm. Time was not wasted, as the band put together a slew of material that raised the bar once again.
After eight years and three overseas releases, the band finally saw a North American release on WW III Records. The label agreed to license the "And So It Burns" CD and made it special for the North American fans. The band and label decided to "repackage the effort" with all new art and 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks and unleashed it in July of 2001. With this release the band was able to break new ground in North America and gain more fans that now had the chance to hear the band for the first time.
So after many delays, both personal and professional, IMAGIKA finally started recording the new CD with famed producer NEIL KERNON. Everything was going great when co-founder and vocalist Dave Michaels decided after ten years, countless shows and three albums, that it’s time to call it a day. Not happy with the turn of events being that Dave laid down eight vocal tracks that were now essentially useless, the band began the hunt for a new voice. As luck would have it IMAGIKA came in contact with local vocalist NORMAN SKINNER who is a vet of the local metal scene (Machine Called Man, Tramotane) that was up for the job. After one audition and show of dedication by writing all new lyrics and melodies to four new songs in a matter of days Mr. Skinner showed us why he is now the new voice of I IMAGIKA! Also at this point the band decided it was high time to bring in that second guitarist that the new material called for and PAT TOMS was laying in wait. Pat is another vet of the local scene with his past band Punisher and happened to be a friend of the band for many years.
Upon the completion of recording the new vocal tracks IMAGIKA was again forced to play the waiting game to finally mix the recordings. NEIL KERNON’s schedule became quite impossible to deal with between by the time they brought Norman on board; hence they called in JUAN URTEAGA for the mixing job. Juan was a logical choice since he was local and had a good reputation for doing Metal right and working in the past with respected bands like Skinlab, Vile etc.. Finally after having started recording nearly a year before the final mix, the new album was in the can, and actually well worth the wait and effort!
"Devils on Both Sides" continues the next chapter in the history of IMAGIKA.
