OFFICIAL REQUIEM AETERNAM BIOGRAPHY

Requiem Aeternam [RA] -from Latin: "eternal rest"; also, "Requiem-Eternal"- came into being during September of 1995 in Montevideo, Uruguay, featuring their first single, "Emergent", in a local metal compilation (Underscream), song tracked by Martin Lopez (Amon Amarth; Opeth) on drums, Martin Mendez (Opeth) on bass and vocals, Pablo Magallanes (Scarpoint) on guitar, and Jose Romero [JR] (Inner Sanctum) on guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Their initial recordings have been compiled through an EP named "Eternal", released in 2013. This album can thus be considered the first opus by Requiem Aeternam.

In 1997, the band -with Fabian Redondo on drums, Marcelo Aguilar on bass, and JR- entered Estudios Record in Uruguay to track their second album, which was mixed in Chile by Jose Corral (Criminal; Inner Sanctum) and mastered in Argentina by David Santos (Riff; Hermetica). "Eternally Dying" was released in July of 1998 via ICorp/Orion Music in Latin America.

The video clip of "Infamy" was aired by MTV Latin America and MTV Brazil as well as many other channels in South America. Afterward, the band completed another video: "Come Back". The "Eternally Tour" (1998-2000) included several shows in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In April of 2002, JR published a book entitled "Forbidden Writings", which deals primarily with philosophy and economics; yet it contains a poetic chapter that includes the original Spanish lines of the "Eternally Dying" song.

After JR moved to the USA in 2002, he was joined by Maciej Kupiszewski on bass and Alex Hernandez (Immolation) on drums. "Philosopher", their third album, was recorded and mixed between May and June of 2004 at Big Blue Meenie Studios in New Jersey by Joe Pedulla and Arun Venkatesh (Overkill; All Out War) and mastered in July in New York by Tom Hutten (Iggy Pop; Foo Fighters). This record was released in December of 2004 by Trinity Records Hong Kong in Asia, Europe, and North America; in March of 2005 by Rawforce Records in South America except Argentina; by Orion Music in Argentina; and distributed by The Art Records in Mexico and Central America. Philosopher's lyrics are based on part of the bibliographies of Gautama, Seneca, Rousseau, Heraclitus, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu. The title piece has its roots in JR's "Forbidden Writings".

During 2005, RA was enlisted in the main heavy metal festivals throughout the USA, including Milwaukee and Norwest Death Metal Fest among others, and participated in numerous metal compilations in Europe and North America. Philosopher's release party occurred at the legendary CBGB's, in New York City. Besides, the video clip of "Wisdom" was broadcast by various channels in North and Latin America.

In February of 2009, having returned drummer Fabian Redondo, RA registered their fourth and most ambitious album to date: "Destiny-Man", recorded at Big 3 Records in Saint Petersburg by Jim Beeman (Cheap Trick; Jefferson Airplane) and mixed at Morrisound Studios in Tampa by Tom Morris (Sepultura; Obituary). The compositions were inspired by ten classical composers: Takemitsu, Beethoven, Mozart, Piazzolla, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Chopin, Paganini, and Villa-Lobos. The video clips of "Purposiveness" and "Freewill" were finalized at the end of that year. The album was released and distributed in 2010 via ICorp/Century Media Records.

During November of 2013, the "Emergent Tour" included shows in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, in South America. 3 new releases via ICorp were promoted: "Emergent (LP, 2013)" [compilation of rarities], "Emergent (DVD, 2013)" [complete videos 1995-2013] and "Eternal (EP, 1995-2013)" [first recordings and others].

RA and JR are pioneers of "Philosophical Music", genre which entails not only philosophical lyrics, but also music that gets intertwined with philosophical thinking, music that has existential meaning, not simple imitation of already-known patterns of composition. Destiny-Man has become the First Official Record of Philosophical Metal in history, and inductively of Philosophical Music in the world.

Requiem Aeternam's Lineups (1995-2016):

(1995-):
Jose Romero: Vocals & Guitar
Pablo Magallanes: Guitar
Martin Mendez: Bass & Vocals
Martin Lopez: Drums

(1996-1999):
Jose Romero: Vocals & Guitar
Marcelo Aguilar: Bass
Fabian Redondo: Drums

(2000-2001):
Jose Romero: Vocals & Guitar
Gonzalo Perez: Bass
Fabian Redondo: Drums

(2004-2005):
Jose Romero: Vocals & Guitar
Maciej Kupiszweski: Bass
Alex Hernandez: Drums

(2009-2016):
Jose Romero: Vocals & Guitar
Sebastian Cobas: Bass
Fabian Redondo: Drums