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

From the beginning on passion always was the driving force for Belgian guitar master Dushan Petrossi. In the slipstream of his symphonic metal band Magic Kingdom, Petrossi followed his neo-classical influences with IRON MASK for 10 years now. All the dedication he put into the band finally resulted in IRON MASK becoming the more successful of the two. Especially in Japan they are is hailed as one of the best neo-classical power metal band for years now, but also the following in Europe is steadily increasing.

This development surely will continue with the new (fourth) album "Black As Death". Even more: the perspective for IRON MASK is very promising and it's likely that the band will advance to the next level of popularity. As their new vocalist ex-Yngwie Malmsteen frontman Mark Boals was chosen by Petrossi.

"After having the material recorded I realised that Mark Boals would be the best singer for most of the new songs, range-wise this is my most technically difficult album to sing, so Mark ended up on 10 songs, Goran Edman on one and Valhalla jr. on one (+ the vinyl bonus track), as he is recovering from a neck surgery and couldn’t do more", Petrossi explains.

IRON MASK stand out from many other artists of the neo-classical metal genre because they manage to combine high musical ambitions with a certain kind of accessibility and lots of variety. Therefore you find high-speed tracks ("Feel The Fire", "Blizzard Of Doom", "Nosferatu") epic songs like "Genghis Khan", the impressive title track "Black As Death" and the incredible "God Punishes, I Kill" beside catchy hard rock tracks ("Broken Hero", "Rebel Kid", "The Absence") – a varied mixture, forged by Petrossi´s songwriting skills. With "Magic Sky Requiem" (sung by Goran Edman) "Black As Death“" also offers a beautiful ballad. On the European bonus track "Evil Strikes In Silence" we get to hear Götz "Valhalla jr" Mohre on vocals, as well as on "March Of The Slaves” which will be available on the vinyl edition (2-vinyl) of "Black As Death" only.

The album´s mix and mastering was handled by the experienced Dennis Ward (Krokus, Pink Cream 69, Silent Force, Angra) who made the song material (which was produced by Dushan Petrossi himself) shine in the best of ways.

With "Black as Death" Dushan Petrossi and his band manage the feat of musical claim to be merged with accessibility, so fans of Firewind, Dio, Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen and Rainbow will all have their joy in this extraordinary album.

IRON MASK´s debut album "Revenge Is My Name" was released in 2002. Three years later the band made the biggest leap forward and impressed with "Hordes Of The Brave", a strong and versatile neo-classical power metal opus. Here also the collaboration with Oliver Hartmann (Avantasia, ex-At Vance) began, who from then on sang full songs or choir provided support on any IRON MASK record. Nevertheless, it should take almost five years before IRON MASK released their third album "Shadow Of The Red Baron". A death in the family threw back the creative bandleader. But the reactions on "Shadow Of The Red Baron" were again excellent, and so it is hardly surprising that not even two years later a more than adequate successor is at the start now with “Black As Death”. Feel the blackness.

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