MANTICORA was formed in 1996 by Lars (vocals), Kristian (guitars) and Mads (drums) - these three have made up the core of the band ever since. In the early days the band was a foursome with bass player Rene as the last member. Soon after the forming, the band recorded the now legendary mini CD "Dead End Solution", which marked the beginning of the MANTICORA-trademark sound; hard hitting power metal with both epic and thrash elements. In 1997 MANTICORA signed with Intromental Management and shortly afterwards their first record deal was signed with Greek record label Black Lotus. The same year the band added an extra guitarist, Flemming Schultz, and a keyboardist, Jeppe Eg, to the line-up. The debut full-length disc, "Roots Of Eternity", was released in summer 1999, and received tremendously good response from both media and fans around the world. 2000 saw the band signing with the Italian record label Scarlet Records, and half a year later the next opus, the somewhat more symphonic album, "Darkness With Tales To Tell", was released, and once again receiving great acclaim. In 2001 the band also played at ProgPower Festival in Holland, and all looked good in the MANTICORA camp, when bassist Rene decided to leave the band to focus on his family. Kasper was enrolled in the band as new bass player, and his young energy kicked the band into even higher gear. Along with the change of bassist came also the change of guitarist, as Flemming was kicked out of MANTICORA and Martin Arendal joined the band. In the fall 2002 "Hyperion" was released. This was the so-far most wide-spanning work of the band; an epic concept album, based on the award winning sci-fi novel "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. The album was whole-heartedly embraced by fans and media worldwide, and with a European tour in spring 2003 (with label mates Platitude as support band) MANTICORA took another step up the ladder. In early 2004 the band began work on their new disc, "8 Deadly Sins", yet another conceptual disc, this time about a dying man reflecting on his past life and the decisions (right and wrong) that he has made. The album was recorded in March/April 2004 in Jailhouse Studios with producer Tommy Hansen (Helloween, Pretty Maids, HateSphere, TNT etc.). The sound was incredible - an audio experience of the largest scale! Joining the band on this album was keyboardist Finn Zierler (Beyond Twilight, ex-Twilight), making the overall sound more eerie and progressive. "8 Deadly Sins" saw its official release in October 2004, and received the bands absolute best reviews to date. In February 2005 came the so far biggest experience in the bands life. A European tour, supporting Angra! The tour was a great success and helped spread the name even further out to fans. At the same time, it was announced that Manticora would open the ProgPowerUSA festival in September 2005, making the band have their debut in the USA. The show was an immense success and it was a highlight of the 10 year career of the band. Now, Manticora is ready with their 5th full-length album. Part 1 of the double album that is titled The Black Circus (Part one with the subtitle Letters). A fantastic horror concept story that will drag you down into Manticoras dark universe once again. This time, keyboards have been composed by Tommy Hansen just as the album was recorded at Jailhouse, and the release is on the following labels during August/September 2006: ART UNION/STAY GOLD in Japan, MASSACRE RECORDS in Europe/Australia, LOCOMOTIVE RECORDS in USA/Canada, MELODIC HEAVEN in Asia and REPLICA RECORDS in France. A smaller European tour is set to take place in September 2006, and further tours will be arranged In the future, so the name MANTICORA will be known to every metal head on the planet.