Below are the official band biographies for Iron Mask and Magic Kingdom with some personal information at the bottom.

4 years on from the critically acclaimed "Hordes Of The Brave" Iron Mask are back with their most potent release yet in "Shadow Of The Red Baron". Home to a fine collection of melodic neo-classical tracks, this album is full of first class material from start to finish. Chief songwriter and guitar virtuoso Dushan Petrossi's particular focus this time was to create superb songs first and foremost where the excellent musicianship only lift the music to an even higher level.

"Shadow Of The Red Baron" is home to 11 tracks which deliver melodic neo-classical metal yet is accessible enough for fans of traditional metal and power/symphonic metal to get into. Each of the 10 vocal tracks feature addictive vocal melodies in the verses and choruses. Dushan's virtuoso musicianship is stronger than ever here serving up a feast of metal treats. The lone instrumental "Ghost Of The Tsar" offers up something different with its aggressive vocals used to compliment Dushan's majestic fretwork.

Once again the stunning vocals of Valhalla Jnr are heard on the majority of the tracks whilst Oliver Hartmann has a guest lead vocal on "Dreams" as well as contributing to the backing choirs on the other numbers. New permanent drummer Erik Stout (Reign Of Terror) has added a solid backdrop to all tracks with Petrossi commenting "Erik is a real powerful drummer, I like his groove a lot, his tom files are like earthquakes, and he's the perfect guy for the melodic tunes we have on "Shadow Of The Red Baron". A new keyboardist in Andreas Lindahl (Wuthering Heights / The Murder Of My Sweet) is also present adding deft touches and fluid solos to the album whilts long term member Vassili Moltchanov still anchors down the bass. Finally Lars Eric Mattsson has a guest spot with his guitar solo being heard on the 3rd guitar solo on "Sahara".

On the album Dushan comments, "Once again there's a mix of epic tracks, melodic and neo classical numbers all with great musicians and vocalists, I'm very happy with the choruses of all songs, they stay in your head and this is really what I wanted. Nowadays it seems like bands have forgot how to write good songs, which is for me the most important thing".

In the run up to the albums creation Dushan endured a long family member illness followed by the passing away of his mother, this affected the lyrics and this emotional aspect can be heard in "Forever In The Dark", "My Angel Is Gone", "We Will Meet Again" etc. However, there are also the expected epic stories for the likes of "Black Devil", "Resurrection" and the title track. The album was produced by Dushan and mixed and mastered by Jen Bogren in Sweden at Fascination Street Studio (Symphony X, Opeth etc). Artist Eric Phillipe again produced a visually grabbing piece of artwork around the idea of the title track.

In addition a promotional video has been filmed for "Forever In The Dark" and this will be available on the limited edition first press only CD/DVD dual pack. The DVD is also home to in-depth interviews with the band as well as a guitar lesson with Dushan where he shows you how he plays various tracks on the album - a must own release.

For Dushan Petrossi it does matter whether a song is impressive because of the technical virtuosity of the instrumentalist or whether it also has a memorable tune suitable for normal music-lovers. "My compositions are always based on melodies you will remember. The listener should be able to keep the melody in mind, should be able to hum it and not be overpowered by the instrumentation." The interesting thing about this statement is the fact that Petrossi has the reputation of being an excellent guitarist, often described by the music press as being the legitimate heir to the Yngwie Malmsteen throne. But as we already said, for the guitar genius, there is more to a composition than ego manic self-importance. And it is just this that he proves on the second album "Metallic Tragedy" of his band Magic Kingdom, the appearance of which marks five years since the bands suitably named debut work "The Arrival". It was five years in which Petrossi and Co. had to conquer numerous setbacks, which however did nothing to dampen the energy and overflowing cauldron of ideas of "Metallic Tragedy".

Besides his activities for Magic Kingdom, Petrossi - when time permits - also works on his solo project, Iron Mask. His priority lies, however, with the band, which is wholly made up of excellent musicians. Singer Max Leclerq is from France. Magic Kingdom is his first professional band, which allows him to develop his talent as well as his fascinating voice. Bass player Vassili Moltchanov already played on the band's debut album, whilst drummer Anton Arkhipov (formerly Exhumator) and keyboarder Aymeric Ribot are new members in the band. "It was not easy finding suitable musicians with the required technical skills and the ability of integrating into the band," says Petrossi. "It was especially difficult to find a keyboarder, but we found the perfect person in Aymeric." At this point we should also mention the guest vocalist, Oliver Hartmann. The former frontman of the German Melodic Metal band At Vance is brilliant during two lead vocals spots (´Flying Pyramids` and ´Master Of Madness`) and also did all the choir parts and background vocals on the album. "I was always a great fan of his voice," Petrossi admits. "So when he left At Vance I contacted him and asked him whether he would like to help us out. I am really thrilled with his work on the album".

The band's style can be best described as ´Symphonic Power Speed Metal`. Yet there are definite differences between Magic Kingdom and the general clichees of this genre. "What separates us from other bands of this style is the aggressivity of our songs. We don't just always play an exclusively melodic style. We insert harder passages into our songs. Other bands don't like to do that because they're afraid of frightening away fans with aggressive parts. We like to experiment. My primary criteria is originality so it's not important for me whether a song turns out to be of an epic size, or whether it's short." And exactly these criteria are filled on "Metallic Tragedy". The title track, for example, touches the very borders of the genre in view of both its length and its style. The 13 minute long track is epic and theatrical, has five very different vocal moods, from dark and heavy to soprano and baritone, and can be described as a Metal mini-opera. "I think this song is progressive in the true meaning of the word. It doesn't have just one mood, but many, from low to high, all very different from each other."

The overall concept of Magic Kingdom also includes, short, straight tracks, because the overall concept is not permitted to bow down to any limitations. What is permitted, is to do what pleases the band and what the character of the song demands. In keeping with this, Petrossi can lean on his personal favourites and preferences. "As a young musician I was primarily interested in Melodic Metal, then Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen and Gary Moore were added to my list, but I was always fascinated by history's great composers such as Bach and Vivaldi. I adore baroque music, but not Renaissance much. My aim as a guitarist and composer is to create a new, exclusive sound of my own, based on all these influences.

The cover artwork of this album is from no lesser artist than Leo Hao, who, in the past, has worked for bands such as Iced Earth and Blind Guardian.




Age: 23/02/1973
Marital status: single, one 10 years old child (Anthony)
Nationality: Belgium
Current bands: Iron Mask, Magic Kingdom
Previous bands: Career started with MK and IM
Endorsements: Lag guitars, Elixir strings, Dunlop pics
Favourite bands: old Maiden, old Rising force, old Symphony X, Gary Moore, Handel, Bach and a lot more.
Favourite movie: Gladiator
Favourite food: 600 gr T- bone steak, Yugoslavic food, Italian, Chinese.
Favourite drink: Johnny walker red with coke, Slivovica, Jack Daniels, hoegaarden white beer, Perrier, Ice tea