Biography

Like obsessed alchemists BALL NOIR mixes electronic metal with medieval instruments such as the harp and the hurdy-gurdy. Inspired by their heroes from Anathema, My Dying Bride and Qntal they write their own music, with a greed for haunting melodies and smashing heartbeats.

BALL NOIR is a band of experienced musicians that had already earned their degrees in the balfolk- and the metal scene before Ball Noir started. They come from bands like the metalband Eria d’Or (warming up for Anathema, Tivoli 2001) and the balfolkband Kelten zonder Grenzen (supporting Qntal, P60 2005), among others.

BALL NOIR first performed live on the Summer Darkness festival in Utrecht in 2010. After that a lot of live shows followed, among them in venues like Tivoli (Utrecht), Melkweg (Amsterdam), LVC (Leiden) and on festivals like Castlefest, Summer Darkness and as a headliner on Folkwoods.

In august 2017 BALL NOIR released their second album ‘LOST SERENADES’ and they played their album release show on the Castlefest (NL) main stage.

Band members:
Marco van Asperen – hurdy-gurdy, electric hurdy-gurdy, electric guitar, gramophone, theremin
Jeroen Gilhuys – voice, electric guitar
Mark van den Heuvel – drums
Richard van den Hoven – bass guitar, bass clarinet
Rutger van Krieken – programming, synths
Lies Sommer – harp, hurdy-gurdy

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