Switzerland: Godiva (Metal)

Location: Basel, Switzerland (2001 – present);

Genres: Heavy Metal;

Current line-up: Mitch Koontz (bass); Peter Gander (drums); Sammy Lasagni (guitars); Moses B. Fernandez (guitars); Fernando Garcia (vocals

“Sammy Lasagni (Guitar), Mitch Koontz (Bass), Peter Gander (Drums) and former member Anthony de Angelis (Vocals) had already gained a reputation as a fabulous live band in Switzerland when, in 2001, they recorded their first 3-track-demo on their own under the name of GODIVA and performed at a lot of festivals during the following year.

One Shot from Godiva (2003)

The first record of the Swiss with its simple title "GODIVA" was recorded at a renowned studio in Germany near Stuttgart with successful producers Tom Naumann and Achim Köhler at the knobs.

Shortly after finishing the debut album, GODIVA recruited first-class guitar player Moses B. Fernandez and started opening for bands such as Freedom Call, Shakra, Primal Fear, Dokken and Y+T. Top of that they played two stadium-shows in Greece in summer 2006 with The Scorpions and Whitesnake and the audience went wild for the Swiss.

Due to the high quality of the band, GODIVA was able to place itself at the helm of the Swiss Metal scene and soon after got well recognised within the European Metal Scene.

When Lightning Strikes from Call Me Under 666 (2005)

After vocalist Anthony de Angelis left the band during the recordings of the second album, the guys were able to hire no less than ex-Victory shouter Fernando Garcia as their new singer. Being still extremely young in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Fernando was then considered, together with Sebastian Bach, one of the big vocal talents of the Metal scene, and had worldwide success with his former band Victory (from Hanover). With the new line-up, GODIVA’s second album - Call Me Under 666 - was well accepted by the media as well as the fans and even made it into the FMQB retail charts in the USA.

Crawl In The Night from Destruction (2007)

Their third album Destruction was produced by no one less than Dennis Ward and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland. Through this collaboration with Dennis and Mika, GODIVA again has recorded a metal album, which will bear comparison to renowned bands and sure is another milestone for GODIVA.

Pedal To The Metal from Destruction (2007)

The new front man´s great, distinctive voice and years of routine provided the band with an additional spark of originality and freshness. Their hard modern riffing by the guitarists Sammy Lasagni and the outstanding new Greek guitarist Steve “El Greco” Papacharitos, relentlessly driving groove by the rhythm-section Mitch Koontz and Peter Gander as well as Fernando “El Toro” Garcia´s years of live experience as well as his charismatic appearance on stage helped GODIVA to enter the top ranking of heavy metal live acts.”

Discography:

2003 – Godiva (Full-length)

2005 – Call Me Under 666 (Full-length)

2007 – Destruction (Full-length)

You can find more information on Godiva’s official website, and follow them on Myspace.