Dagoba

Biography

Dagoba is a French groove metal band formed in Marseille in 1997. They have released eight studio albums.

History

The band chose the name as a nod to Dagobah, the fictional, swamp-covered planet from the sci-fi saga Star Wars. Following many line-up changes, Franky Costanza joined the band in mid-1998, while Werther, Izakar, and Stephan joined the band in 1999.
In 2001, Dagoba signed on Enternote Records and recorded its first EP, Release the Fury×Release the Fury19 November 2001 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Rush4:522Agression Comes Back to You4:313Something Stronger6:164Time 2 Go4:555My Army2:286Gods Forgot Me3:587Rush5:00, in digipak format and accompanied by a video for "Rush". Distributed by Edel/Sony, Release the Fury received positive reviews.
In March 2003, Dagoba released their first self-titled album. The band's sound had changed since Release the Fury. After Stephan left the band, Dagoba continued to play as a quartet and gave distribution rights to EMI. They followed up the album release with a successful European tour. The tour included opening for acts such as Samael and a headlining stint throughout France.
In February 2006, after two years, Dagoba released What Hell Is About, produced by Tue Madsen. Very different from the last album, What Hell Is About×What Hell Is About20 February 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1What Hell Is About0:432Die Tomorrow (…What If You Should?)5:253The Fall of Men2:504The Man You're Not5:215Cancer4:346It's All About Time6:497The Things Apart1:048The Things Within4:149Livin' Dead3:38100421041:2311Morphine - The Apostle of Your Last War3:3112The White Guy (Suicide)5:05 was more somber, with a more gothic sound. Simen Hestnæs formerly of Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, and Arcturus performed guest vocals on two songs. After the release of the album, Dagoba went on tour in Europe, opening for the likes of Machine Head, Metallica and completed a continental tour with In Flames and Sepultura. They also attended Summerbreeze 2007 and With Full Force 2007.
Dagoba's third album, Face the Colossus×Face the Colossus14 October 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Abyssal0:492Face the Colossus4:543Back From Life4:164Somebody Died Tonight5:555The World in Between6:096Transylvania1:377Orphan of You6:108The Nightfall and All Its Mistakes5:459Silence #34:1810The Crash6:5411Sudden Death3:46, also produced by Tue Madsen, was released on 29 September 2008 via Season of Mist. Dagoba's fourth album, Poseidon×Poseidon30 August 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks143° 17'N / 5° 22'E1:002Dead Lion Reef5:433Columnae Herculis4:234The Devil's Triangle3:525Degree Zero3:476The Horn Cape2:497Black Smokers (752° Farenheit)3:138Ha Long0:549Shen Lung3:4610I Sea Red4:1711There's Blood Offshore5:0112Waves of Doom4:43, was released 30 August 2010. Dagoba's fifth album, Post Mortem Nihil Est×Post Mortem Nihil Est3 June 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1When Winter...5:342The Realm Black6:183I, Reptile5:054Yes We Die4:405Kiss Me Kraken4:246Nevada1:427The Great Wonder4:468The Day After the Apocalypse5:229Son of a Ghost5:0210Oblivion Is for the Living4:2911By the Sword3:38 was released on 27 May 2013. Dagoba's sixth album, Tales of the Black Dawn×Tales of the Black Dawn22 June 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Epilogue1:142The Sunset Curse4:483Half Damn Life3:384Eclipsed4:115Born Twice3:456The Loss3:167Sorcery5:188O, Inverted World4:129The Dawn4:0810Morning Light6:07, was released on 16 June 2015.

Dagoba's seventh album, Black Nova×Black Nova25 August 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Tenebra1:412Inner Sun4:543The Legacy of Ares4:524Stone Ocean4:525The Infinite Chase5:076The Grand Emptiness4:457Lost Gravity5:188Fire Dies4:249Phoenix & Corvus6:4810Vantablack5:2211Inner Sun (demo Track)4:5912The Legacy of Ares (demo Track)4:55, was released on 25 August 2017. It was produced by Jacob Hansen (Epica, Volbeat, etc.) in Denmark. The band signed with Century Media Records for a worldwide distribution of the album released on Sony Music/Epic Jive. The band followed up the release with their first Japan tour. They were also part of the European tour with Kreator and Vader in January 2018.
Dagoba's eighth studio album, and their first in five years, By Night×By Night18 February 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks1Neons2:082The Hunt4:263Sunfall4:404Bellflower Drive4:535On the Run4:046Break0:467City Lights3:488Nightclub3:519Summer’s Gone4:2310The Last Crossing4:3711Stellar2:36, was released on 18 February 2022.

Izakar's departure

On 23 July 2012, Izakar, the band's lead guitarist, announced via Facebook, that he was leaving the band due to "Irreconcilable differences with one of the band members" and that he was now mainly focusing on his side projects Blazing War Machine and the Full Metal Studio. Though he would not disclose who in particular prompted his decision, he stated that he "wishes Dagoba all the best" and thanked them for the years they have played together.

Franky Costanza and Z's departure

On 25 May 2016 it was announced that drummer Franky Constanza and guitarist Z were both leaving the band. Nicolas Bastos (L'Esprit du Clan, Deep In Hate) was announced as the new drummer, and Jean-Laurent Ducroiset of Xplore Yesterday was announced as the new guitarist.

JL Ducroiset's departure

On 21 December 2017, Dagoba announced that they parted ways with guitarist JL Ducroiset. Richard De Mello (a.k.a. Ritch DM), the current guitarist in the black metal act, Deluge was announced as the new guitarist.

Band members

Current
Pierre "Shawter" Maille – lead vocals, sampling (1997–present)
Richard De Mello - guitar, backing vocals (2017-present)
Theo Gendron – drums (2021-present)
Kawa Koshigero — bass (2021-present)
Former
Franky Costanza – drums (1998–2016)
S.T. – guitar (1999–2002)
Jean-Pierre "Izakar" Isnard – guitar, backing vocals (1999–2012)
Werther Ytier – bass, backing vocals (1999–2021)
Yves "Z" Terzibachian – guitar, backing vocals (2012–2016)
Jean-Laurent "JL" Ducroiset – guitar, backing vocals (2016–2017)
Nicolas Bastos - drums (2016-2021)
Timeline