Dark Independent Label

PRO PATRIA Biography

Pro Patria

Belgian-origin PRO PATRIA was founded in 1988 by keyboard virtuoso Peter V. (aka PVC) and quickly evolved into a dark EBM style. A first studio album, «Spasmaticae», was released on cassette tape in 1993, followed by five-track «Militaria» in 1994 and a live tape «Veni Vidi Vici» one year later. In 1996, PRO PATRIA signed with German CELTIC CIRCLE RECORDS and out of this collaboration arose the full CD «Quod Erat Demonstrandum» and the ensuing «Hard Times» maxi. The album, skilfully produced by Marc Schellekens, became a compilation of almost ten years of PRO PATRIA during which the band had developed its own, distinctive sound, characterised by complex layers and a myriad of different voices. The lyrics advocated a healthy mind, a strong aversion towards fascism and criticised religion. Unfortunately, C.C. faced bankruptcy when the CDs were about to be released and PRO PATRIA remained empty-handed. Attempts to have «Quod Erat Demonstrandum» released through other labels failed. In the meantime, Peter’s personal situation had changed much for the worse, undermining his motivation, and PRO PATRIA became forgotten.

In 2017, whilst assuming that PRO PATRIA had long been dead and buried, Peter was surprised to receive an invitation to play at the FAMILIENTREFFEN EBM festival near Leipzig, Germany. The concert was a success and being again surrounded by people who believed in PRO PATRIA, Peter dived back into the studio to produce a new album «Back to Basics», exactly 20 years after «Quod Erat Demonstrandum». The challenge was none of the least after such a long inactivity. For this reason Peter went back to his roots («Back to Basics»), to the era in which he had developed the real PRO PATRIA  sound and he wondered how PRO PATRIA  would have evolved if the band had continued to exist over the last 20 years. Building on the same, somewhat bombastic concept, the sound became harsher, more direct. Even though the old themes were still present, concern about the environment, overpopulation and a world dominated by social media also set the tone. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, «Back to Basics» became a much more personal album, largely inspired by the extremely dark period Peter had to go through.

One year later PRO PATRIA played live i.a. at the famous W-FESTIVAL in Amougies, Belgium. For the occasion, Peter received back-up from SebMer BlondWülf (keys) and Jérémie Venganza (percussion), which added significantly more power to the performance. The band was thrilled to receive a lot of positive feedback.

Encouraged by their increasing success, PRO PATRIA released a new album in September 2019 called «Executioner», intended to bridge the gap between «Quod Erat Demonstrandum» and «Back to Basics». It turned out to be much more than that. Not just more mature, but almost encyclopedical, compiling various Electro/EBM trends of the last 35 years in one album whilst maintaining and even expanding the typical PRO PATRIA sound.

Only a few months after «Executioner» was released, PRO PATRIA commenced work on yet another album named «Godless» and which was released early 2021 and which has received very positive acclaim. It became the band’s hardest and loudest album to date, or as Peter put it:

“There are many things that are going wrong with our planet and since nobody seems to listen I feel compelled to shout a bit louder.”

 

Information

 

LINE UP:

  • Peter V – Music, Lyrics, Keyboards, Vocals
  • Jérémie Venganza – Live percussion, Backing vocals

 

DISCOGRAPHY:

  • LP «Spasmaticae» (1993, cassette tape demo)
  • EP «Militaria» (1994, cassette tape demo)
  • LP «Veni Vidi Vici» (1995, live recording, cassette tape)
  • LP «Quod Erat Demonstrandum» (1997, CD & WEB, Celtic Circle Records – PVC Productions)
  • EP «Hard Times» (1997, CD & WEB, Celtic Circle Records – PVC Productions)
  • LP «Back to Basics» (2017, CD & WEB, PVC Productions)
  • EP «Pray for Salvation (Final 12” Mix)» (2018, WEB, PVC Productions)
  • LP «Executioner» (2019, CD & WEB, PVC Productions)
  • EP «It’s so Divine (Love Remix)» (2019, WEB, PVC Productions)
  • LP «Naked EBM» (2020, WEB, PVC Productions)
  • LP «Godless» (2021, CD & WEB, Insane Records)

 

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