Tvangeste is a Russian/Canadian symphonic black metal duo composed of husband and wife Mikhail "Miron" Chirva and Naturelle Chirva.
The band's name comes from Twangste (also spelled Tuwangste, Tvankste or Twankste), Old Prussian for "Dam".Prussian dictionary https://wirdeins.twanksta.org/#tw%C4%81nksta Twangste was also the name of a small Old Prussian village at what is now Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) that was seized in 1255 by the Teutonic Knights. In the site of the settlement, the now-demolished Königsberg Castle was built. The House of Soviets now stands on the former site of the castle.
Biography Tvangeste was formed in 1996 in Kaliningrad, Russia. Its line-up at the time consisted of Miron Chirva, Edgar, Nikolay "Kok" Kazmin and Klaus. The following year, Edgar and Klaus left the band and were replaced with Asmodey and Julia. In 1998, they released the demo singles Thinking... (later re-recorded and included in their debut album) and Blood Dreams. Asmodey and Julia left shortly after and were replaced with Viktoria Kulbachnaya of Romowe Rikoito and Vano Mayarov, also known as Vanoe Mayoroff or Mayorov. This line-up released their debut full-length in 2000, Damnation of Regiomontum, via now-defunct Norwegian record label Valgarder.
In 2001, Miron's then-girlfriend Naturelle joined the band. In 2003, they released their second studio album, Firestorm, via also now-defunct Japanese label Worldchaos Production. Polish musician Cezary Mielko played session drums on it. Also in 2003, Max Naumov joined Tvangeste.
In 2005, Miron and Naturelle married and moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The three other members stayed in Russia. Around that time, Miron provided vocals for Israeli black metal band Arafel's second studio album, Second Strike: Through the Flame of the Ages.
Since 2006, Miron and Naturelle have been working on Tvangeste's third studio album. Tentatively titled Satori (Japanese for "Illumination"), it was scheduled for release on their own record label, Regiomontum Productions. Norwegian musician Jørn Øyhus played session drums. According to Miron, the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra provided orchestral instrumentation. The album has no set release date.
On 7 September 2016, the band announced on their official Facebook page the death of their former bassist/guitarist, Vano Mayarov.
Discography Studio albums Damnation of Regiomontum (2000) Firestorm (2003)
Demo tapes Blood Dreams (1997) Thinking... (1998)
Band members Current Mikhail "Miron" Chirva (Михаил "Мирон" Чирва) – vocals, guitars, orchestral arrangements (1996–) Naturelle Chirva (Натюрель Чирва) – keyboards, vocals, orchestral arrangements (2001–)
Former Edgar (Эдгар) – guitars (1996–1998) Klaus (Клаус) – guitars (1996–1997) Nikolay "Kok" Kazmin (Николай "Кок" Казьмин) – guitars (1996–2005) Asmodey (Асмодей) – drums (1997–1998) Julia (Юлия) – keyboards (1997–1998) Viktoria Kulbachnaya (Виктория Кульбачная) – keyboards (1998–2005) Ivan "Vano" Mayorov (Иван Майоров) – bass, guitar (1998–2005; died 2016) Max Naumov (Макс Наумов) – bass (2003–2005)
Session Cezary Mielko – drums (2003) Jørn Øyhus – drums (2014)
References
External links
Regiomontum Productions' official website