Holy Martyr

Holy Martyr formed in the middle of the nineties. They were a trio and they were led by guitarist Ivano Spiga. The band started writing songs, which were in the vein of the classic British metal and of the eighties epic metal. After numerous changes in the line-up, the band finally found stability in 2002, when they released their first demo cd called “Hatred And Warlust”. With its relentless savage attack, the cd made proselytes all over Europe, and Holy Martyr gained prestige as one of the best undergound Italian Heavy Metal bands of the new century. Anyway, the band was not too happy of these great results, so after just 5 months they started composing new stuff and they recorded their second Ep called “Hail to Hellas”. It was based upon the famous battle of Thermopylae, fought by 300 Spartans. The Ep gained prestige among the most famous Italian, German and Greek magazines, and the band became a cult Heavy Metal band in Europe. For this album, Holy Martyr asked and got funds from more than 200 fans. This was quite unusual for an underground band, but they managed to create a huge group of faithful fans all over the world in a short time. Thanks to the numerous good reviews, Holy Martyr were asked to join the German Festival “Keep It True”, along with bands such as Manilla Road, Elixir and Wizard. The band got an enormous success in this first abroad appearance, and they were asked to join another festival, this time in Greece (Athens) and along with Cloven Hoof. Here, they received an enthusiastic welcome. In 2005, after the positive experience of the previous years, the band produced their third Ep, which was put of print within a few months after its release. It was called “Vis Et Honor”, and it showed another improvement in the style of the band, which anyway stick to their origins: an epic, aggressive and melodic work, this time inspired by the Ancient Rome and Roman Soldiers. This third chapter gained the interest of DragonHeart Records, which offered the band a contract and the chance to finally record their debut album, in the name of steel and blood!