Demians is a French alternative rock band started by Nicolas Chapel in 2007. Chapel's inspiration for the name Demians came from the novel Demian by author Hermann Hesse, and his musical inspiration came from a variety of artists and sources, ranging from Radiohead to Tori Amos to ambient music. Chapel plays all instruments and performs all vocals on the first two Demians studio albums, though he performs live with a full band. All Demians releases have been self-produced and recorded in Chapel's home studios, the locations of which have changed from album to album.
Chapel's inspiration for the name Demians came from the novel Demian by author Hermann Hesse, and his musical inspiration came from a variety of artists and sources, ranging from Radiohead to Tori Amos to ambient music.
Chapel plays all instruments and performs all vocals on the first two Demians studio albums, though he performs live with a full band. All Demians releases have been self-produced and recorded in Chapel's home studios, the locations of which have changed from album to album.
Demians' first studio album Building an Empire was released on May 19, 2008 to positive reviews. The success of Building an Empire led Chapel to assemble a live band with Ga?l Hallier (drums) and Antoine Pohu (bass), and they subsequently were granted opening slots for several well-known rock and metal bands, including Oceansize, Anathema, Aviv Geffen, and Jonathan Davis of Korn. They toured throughout Europe, playing more than 40 shows in more than 12 countries.
The follow-up entitled "Mute" came out on June 28th, 2010. Chapel once again performed all instruments and vocals on the album, with two guests, Ga?l Hallier playing drums on "Swing Of The Airwaves" and "Hesitation Waltz", and Lepolair playing electronics on the song "Porcelain".
?Very different from its predecessor, the album once again gathered excellent reviews worldwide, and brought the band's music to a wider audience.
Nicolas Chapel chose not to tour after the release of the album, focusing on production works. He got involved in the soundtrack of the movie "L'Apprenti P?re No?l" with French singer Arthur H, and is currently producing various artists in the studio he created during the recording sessions of "Mute".
In late 2010, he officially joined the Metal band Vetha as their bass player, with fellow bandmate Ga?l Hallier as their drummer.
Fred Mariolle officially joined Demians as a guitar player after the release of "Mute".
In June 2011, the band announced that they have started working on their third album and a dvd to be released in the Spring of 2012, the members of the live band being now involved in the recording process.
Discography
Building an Empire (2008)
Mute (2010)
Untitled new album, TBA (2012)
Band members
Nicolas Chapel - vocals, guitar, piano, and all instruments on studio recordings
Antoine Pohu - bass guitar
Ga?l Hallier - drums
Fred Mariolle - guitars