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| - In 1992, Morten Veland and Kenneth Ølsson formed Uzi Suicide. Since Veland was getting more interested in the UK gothic scene, his songwriting began to take a more darker feel.Fragments of the band later became Tristania. Vibeke Stene joined Tristania at the age of 18, and was the band's soprano vocalist for over a decade. Tristania was founded in Stavanger, Norway by Einar Moen (keyboards), Morten Veland (vocals/guitar), and Kenneth Olsson (drums) in 1995. A few weeks later Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars/vocals) and Rune Østerhus (bass) joined the band. In May 1997 the band entered the studio for the first time and recorded their demo in Klepp Lydstudio. Vibeke Stene was initially recruited as a guest singer for the demo recording, but she later joined as a regular member. During the summer of 1997 different labels showed interest in the demo. Tristania signed with Napalm Records and released the EP Tristania. Tristania's first full-length album, Widow's Weeds, was recorded at the end of 1997 and released early 1998. The album is symphonic metal with elements from a large variety of genres including gothic metal, death metal, classical music, and black metal. Two guest performers who were involved in Widow's Weeds would later get more prominent roles on Tristania’s albums; singer Østen Bergøy (who would later become a full band member) and violinist Pete Johansen. Tristania got to do their first shows outside of Norway as support act for Lacrimosa in Belgium and at the Mind over Matter festival in Austria in August 1998. Later the same year Tristania went on their first European tour, with Solefald and Haggard. The band's second full length album Beyond the Veil was released in 1999. As on the debut album, Moen and Veland wrote the majority of the music, but Moen and Hidle emerged as a songwriting team. Jan Kenneth Barkved appeared as an additional singer. Tristania followed up the release with their first headlining tour with The Sins of Thy Beloved, Trail of Tears and Antichrisis as support acts. The band also toured with Tiamat and Anathema in 1999. The band continued touring extensively in 2000. In December 2000 Veland and the rest of the band agreed on going separate ways, due to musical and personal differences.World of Glass was released in September 2001, with guest contributions from Ronny Thorsen, Johansen, and Barkved. The album added classical and industrial elements to Tristania's sound, and included the band's only cover version: "The Modern End," originally by Seigmen. Bergøy, now a permanent member of the band, also began to write lyrics on this album and became the band's main lyricist. Kjetil Ingebrethsen joined the band prior to the World of Glass tour on extreme vocals. On that tour Tristania was supported by Rotting Christ, Vintersorg, and Madder Mortem. More touring of Europe and Latin America followed in 2002. In 2003–2004 Tristania took a break from performing live to focus solely on songwriting. Ashes was released on SPV/Steamhammer Records in February 2005 and featured a stripped-down sound that de-emphasized the classical and operatic elements of the previous albums. The band then toured Europe and Latin America (sometimes without Moen, who chose to remain at home and focus on songwriting) along with Nightwish , Gothminister , and Kreator . After the tours, Ingebrethsen decided to leave the band as he wanted to continue his musical career at a lower level.The band decided not to recruit a replacement, and Hidle took over the growling vocals.
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