ARCANA XXII was formed in May 1997 with the intent of spreading the Metal Gospel in a country where music styles like Kwaito, Rap, and Traditional reign supreme. From the outset the bands' mix of heavy guitars, dramatic vocals and melodic song writing was well accepted by music fans in Namibia. Due to the very small circle of "Metalheads" in this southwest African country, an ARCANA-audience consists of people of all ages and from all walks of life.
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ARCANA XXII was formed in May 1997 with the intent of spreading the Metal Gospel in a country where music styles like Kwaito, Rap, and Traditional reign supreme. From the outset the bands' mix of heavy guitars, dramatic vocals and melodic song writing was well accepted by music fans in Namibia. Due to the very small circle of "Metalheads" in this southwest African country, an ARCANA-audience consists of people of all ages and from all walks of life. Especially in the capital Windhoek and the coastal town of Walvis Bay, ARCANA XXII managed to nurture a good fan base. After numerous gigs in Namibia, favourable press coverage, and successful stints with South African Bands the Album ,"Fallen From Grace", the first ever Metal album recorded by Namibian musicians, saw the light at the end of 1999. The album was produced locally by Konrad Schwieger. The band released its second CD titled "Barren Land" in November 2000. This release was intended mainly for promotion purposes and has been complimented by many reviewers and fans. After visiting the Wacken festival in Germany in 2001 and writing a lot of new material, the band hit the studio again on 21 March 2002 (Namibia's independence day) to record the third official release "This Burning Darkness". Aided once again by Burton Reid of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation the album was recorded live in approx 20 hours. The result is easily the best ARCANA offering to date in terms of musicianship, song writing and sound. High hopes rest on this recording to propel ARCANA, as one of the few serious metal acts in Africa, onto the international music scene. ARCANA last album, "Your Fatal Embrace", is dated 2003 but comes out in Europe only in the 2005. Three of the founding members Johan de Jager (guitar), Sven Heussen (guitar) and Johann Smit (vocals) still constitute the core of the band. David West (drums), who is a drum and percussion tutor by profession, joined as a full band member in November 1999. He has since left the band to pursue a drumming career in South Africa and has been replaced by Thomas Hoffmann at the beginning of 2001. Sigi Mueller(bass) has joined the band in July 2000. After splitting up in 2005, some members formed the band Submission. The band reformed in 2019. The current known line-up of ARCANA XXII is: Johan de Jager (guitars), Sven Heussen (guitars), Johann Smit (vocals) Disco DemonFlower - Demo- 1997 Fallen from Grace - Full-length 1999 Barren Land - EP 2000 This Burning Darkness - Full-length 2002 Your Fatal Embrace - Full-length 2003 A Return to the Darkland - Compilation 2011 Anthems of Adversity - Full-length 2022
