THE HISTORY OF SEBASTIEN

SEBASTIEN originates from different parts of Czechia, and their style can be defined as melodic power metal with symphonic elements and great hit potential. The band was founded in 2008 and has demonstrated indisputable qualities on the domestic and foreign rock/metal scene since then.

Worldwide releases of the first albums produced by Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN, ex-HELLOWEEN) and numerous international collaborations with big names such as Tony Martin (ex-BLACK SABBATH), Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY), Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE), Yannis Papadopoulos (BEAST IN BLACK ) or Amanda Somerville (ex-AVANTASIA) confirms SEBASTIEN's high ambitions. Their position in the first league of European power metal was confirmed by regular international gigs (European tour with CIRCLE II CIRCLE, MASTERPLAN, SQUEALER, or participation in the iconic Wacken Open Air festival) as well as domestic ones, such as repeated participation on the main stage of the Masters of Rock festival or a special performance with Alice Cooper.

In the early summer of 2020, SEBASTIEN came out with the compilation "Identity 2010-2020", which recaps their first decade in the scene. A new chapter in the band's almanac is heralded by a key return to the mother tongue. At the same time, SEBASTIEN are focusing on making their music even more popular.

"Integrity", the band's first work sung completely in Czech was released in a limited version on CD with an exclusive 3D cover and on LP in 2020. Mastering was done by world-renowned producer Jacob Hansen. The album was also supported by a series of big concerts - a part of the traveling festival Monster Meeting (together with the bands TRAKTOR and DYMYTRY), Masters Of Rock, Benátská! s Impulsem or Ostrava v plamenech. SEBASTIEN teamed up with the Czech Miss 2014 finalist, Veronika Kašáková, supporting children from orphanages, and together they shot a music video for the song "Nechtěná". In 2021, a special single "Lví stopou" was also created for the ČT SPORT documentary series about the history of Czech football.

The band sponsored aid to people fleeing the war in Ukraine and recorded a bilingual acoustic version of the song "Nechtěna" in the form of a duet with Viktoria Surmøva. With the support of INTV, spol. s.r.o., it provided financial assistance to a professor at the Mariupol Conservatory, now living with her minor son in Ústí nad Labem.

In the fall of 2022, SEBASTIEN started recording the eagerly awaited new album. However, the departure of the bassist interfered with the formation process; and SEBASTIEN first presented itself in a new line-up in January 2024! The first work of the rejuvenated quintet is their version of OLYMPIC's hit "Slzy tvy mamy". What is more, this is a duet with the legendary singer Láda Křížek! The band also filmed an epic video clip for it in the premises of the Prague RockOpera and the creation was honored by the presence of Petr Janda himself!

SEBASTIEN returned to work again with its original producer, ex-guitarist of German HELLOWEEN, Roland Grapow, to complete the upcoming album "Quo Vadis".

GEORGE RAIN

George has had a close relationship with music since childhood. His father played in a local band in the 1960s and, thanks to his influence, George was surrounded by recordings of bands such as THE BEATLES, THE HOLLIES, ABBA, DEEP PURPLE; from Czech, then OLYMPIC, FLAMENGO, etc. When he was fourteen years old, his first own melody sounded in his head. Music completely absorbed him, and George began to devote himself intensively to composing songs and lyrics, singing and studying the guitar, bass guitar and drums. His main inspiration on the way to harder rock was the album "Heaven and Hell" by BLACK SABBATH.

In 1999, he founded his first band CALYPSO (renamed NAVAR two years later) in Pardubice. This group played more than a hundred concerts and released several albums. The best of them was the CD "1621" from 2005. In November 2008 (with a changed line-up and under the new name SEBASTIEN), George reconsidered his previous ambitions as a regional musician and decided to enter the international scene with the band. With SEBASTIEN, he released 3 albums and one EP in worldwide distribution, completed two European tours, and performed on the stages of important festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Masters Of Rock (currently 8 times!) and Metalfest. Over the years he has worked with major rock/metal producers and musicians from around the world.

In addition to active playing and singing, George was also a rock guitar teacher, participated in the creation of scenic music for the East Bohemian Theater and of the title song for the film "Ležáky 42". He was also a judge of the regional music competition for two years. He also worked as a company player of musical instrument brands Ibanez, Yamaha and FGN. As a songwriter and guitarist, he collaborated with the singer Apollo Papathanasios (GATHERING OF KINGS, ex-FIREWIND) on his first solo album titled “Waterdevils”.

In addition to his home band, George played for several years as an accompanying guitarist in the project LADA KRIZEK AKUSTICKY. In 2015, he became the bass guitarist of the Czech metal legend CITRON, with which he recorded the successful album "Rebelie Rebelu" and worked there until 2021. He was also involved in another cult domestic metal band - KREYSON - where he mainly ensured cooperation with foreign bandmates (Mike Terrana and Roland Grapow) and with the producer Chris Tsangarides.

In the course of the "coronavirus" year 2020, George and SEBASTIEN prepared the compilation album "Identity 2010-2020" and recorded a new record - for the first time in the band's history in the native Czech language! Entitled "Integrity", this album was supported by major concerts as part of the Monster Meeting touring festival. In the meantime, George created the musical accompaniment for the competition "We Sing to Jesus", the initiator of which was Count Depold Czernin.

In 2021, George participated as an author and musician in the soundtrack of the ČT SPORT documentary "Česká fotbalová mašina" and sang the theme song "Lví stopou". He also prepared NAVAR's new album, "Navrat havranu", which was created in the original line-up for the band's 20th anniversary and featured several interesting guests. Video clips were shot for four songs, including duets with Leona Šenková, "Černej anděl" and with Ota Hereš, "Navar". For the 11:11 Production film "Silver Requiem", George recorded a special version of "I Believe". He also collaborated on the RTP Teens project and sang several passages of the composition "KOMEDIE2021", based on a poem by Arthur Rimbaud. Here he met Petr Kolář as a singer, for example.

Subsequently, George organized several acoustic performances together with his wife Gabriela, presenting a cross-section of his entire work. From the fall of 2022, the recording of SEBASTIEN's next album, "Quo Vadis", took place, but due to various complications, it was extended into the following year. In the meantime, George continued to collaborate with the RTP Teens project, within the framework of which he wrote and sang, for example, the duet "Nespatrená" with Šárka Benetková (NEZMAŘI). A successful music video was also shot for this song, standing on the border of both singers' genres. George's next collaboration in 2023 was the prog-metal song "Synthetic Gods" by virtuoso Austrian guitarist Phil R. Porter. However, the most significant musical event of this period was the offer to perform at the Prague RockOpera. George first appeared here in the concert premiere of the opera "Ragnarock" on New Year's Eve 2023 as Odin followed by his appearance as the Duke in “Romeo and Juliet” in February 2024. In other operas, he alternates with the legendary Kamil Střihavka.

In addition, the RockOpera premises witnessed a historic event when, thanks to SEBASTIEN, two personalities of the Czech rock scene - Petr Janda and Láďa Křížek - reconciled after 32 years! The two musicians met here during the filming of the video for the duet George and Ládi Křížka - "Slzy tvy mamy". This cover of the famous OLYMPIC hit was honored by Petr Janda himself with his presence...

MOTTO „FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS.“

TOP 5 ALBUMS:

ELVIS PRESLEY – Elvis Presley (1956)
THE BEATLES – Abbey Road (1969)
MICHAEL JACKSON – Bad (1987)
CONCEPTION – Flow (1997)
ARK – Burn The Sun (2001)

ADAM IRONSTRIKE

Adam got into rock music around the age of four, by pure chance, when his dad and uncle were listening to the Sweet Fanny Adams CD by the British band SWEET. Similarly, he later got to know the SLADE and RAINBOW bands. The turning point came when, at the age of nine, he heard the Finnish band LORDI (again thanks to his dad). Since then his passion for hard music has flared up. He started to discover other bands like NIGHTWISH, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, DISTURBED and many others.

He got to the guitar in a detour through playing the recorder. From a young age, he wanted to play the songs of his favorite bands, and although the recorder gave him a great foundation in the world of music, the metal melodies on it did not sound quite to his liking. So, at the age of fifteen, he decided to fulfill his dream - to learn to play the electric guitar. Shortly after, he and his classmate started rehearsing at his home, and few years later, the melodic-power metal band REBEL was formed. From 2016, he started gaining further band experience in the Kutnohorsk folk-acoustic group MELISSA, where he plays percussion, recorder, and sings second voices. He is still active in both bands today.

He first noticed the band SEBASTIEN in 2015 when he was caught by the teaser for the Dark Chambers Of Déjà Vu album. At first, he didn't want to believe that it was a Czech band. The music production and the visuals impressed him as they appeared very professional. He got a step closer to SEBASTIEN through their former bassist - Petri Kallio, with whom he collaborated in the Dark Chamber Sounds studio on two CDs of the REBEL band in recent years. Thanks to this, he also kept SEBASTIEN under close observation. In the summer of 2023, the frontman George Rain approached him with an offer to be the lead guitarist, and he gladly accepted.

TOP 5 ALBUMS:

LORDI – The Arockalypse (2006)
NIGHTWISH – Dark Passion Play (2007)
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – The Poison (2005)
DISTURBED - Indestructible (2008)
TIMELESS MIRACLE – Into The Enchanted Chamber (2005)

PAVEL “DVORKYS” DVOŘÁK

Pavel "Dvorkys" Dvořák is a native of South Bohemian and the keyboard player. When he was seven years old, he started going to piano lessons in the musical school in Kaplice. Two years later, he switched to keyboard lessons, however, in a few years, this story of a musically gifted child ends for the time being - like most, Pavel had a lot of interests other than music.

The first signs of the formation of the band appeared at the secondary school, where he started to form various music groupings with his classmates, but they were never complete. At this time, Pavel found a taste in music and started recording not only remakes but also his original work. Over time, he gained a lot of followers on his YouTube channel and also met a lot of keyboard players. Joining the community of internet musicians was a valuable experience for Pavel.

In 2010, Pavel joined the power metal band WARHAWK from České Budějovice, with which he recorded his first full-length album "Depth of Your Soul". In this year, Pavel received an offer to join forces with SEBASTIEN, but he refused the offer. The following years were marked by touring, uploading videos to YouTube, improving the playing technique and recording WARHAWK's second album, "War of Memories".

In 2012, Pavel met SEBASTIEN again and this time joined their ranks as a keyboardist. This was followed by concerts in the Czech Republic and Europe, and the production of the albums "Dark Chambers of Déjá-Vu" and "Act of Creation".

In 2017, Pavel became a part of the DARKSTARANGELS studio project, and thanks to this, his footprint is also left in the songs alongside guests such as guitar magician MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO, singer ROBIN BECK, guitarist JENNIFER BATTEN and others. This year, Pavel also cooperates with the Exil Theater in Pardubice, where he records the soundtrack for the play "Z deníku židovky".

In 2018, Pavel released his first solo album "1.9.8.9" consisting of eleven instrumental tracks, which is available in all online stores. With SEBASTIEN, he is releasing his third full-length album "Act of Creation", touring and preparing material for the "Behind the World" EP. In the same year, Pavel becomes a corporate player of the KORG brand.

The following years are spent in the spirit of concerts, preparation and recording of material for new albums, as well as recording of his own work.

MOTTO "DO WHAT YOU ENJOY. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO IT."

TOP 5 ALBUMS:

NIGHTWISH - Ooeanborn (1998)
STRATOVARIUS - Elysium (2011)
AMORPHIS - Queen of TIme (2018)
TWO STEPS FROM HELL - Skyworld (2012)
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST - Seven (2020)

VOJTĚCH ŠKRÁČEK

Vojtěch is a native of a small village in the Hradec-Králové region. Already in his childhood, he showed an interest in musical instruments, which resulted in entering one of Hradec Králové's primary musio schools. Although he started playing classical music on the double bass, he soon succumbed to rock and heavy metal riffs and turned his attention to the bass guitar and vocals. He was particularly influenced by the music of the giants like AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and METALLICA.

During his studies, he played in several mostly revival bands, and playing on stage became a great passion and hobby for him. At that time, he met guitarist and singer of SEBASTIEN George Rain in Hradec Králové. He also heard SEBASTIEN's debut album Tears Of White Roses for the first time, which he still ranks among his favorite albums of the Czech metal scene.

A few years after his graduation, he had a three-year break from playing. He established a cooperation with the studio of the first producer of NAVAR and a former keyboardist of SEBASTIEN Vít Mazánek. While recording a special version of "I Believe" for 11:11 Production's "Silver Requiem," he reunited with George Rain after years. Approximately one year after that, towards the end of summer 2023, came an offer from SEBASTIEN to replace Petri Kallio as bassist.

TOP 5 ALBUMS:

METALLICA – Master of Puppets (1986)
METALLICA – Kill ´Em All (1983)
METALLICA – Ride the Lightning (1984)
AEROSMITH – Get a Grip (1993)
FEARED – Synder (2015)

LUCAS R.

He started playing music as a young child as his father was a drummer in local bands. At the age of six, he sat behind his drum set for the first time and began to learn from him. At the age of fifteen, he met the bassist Petri Kallio and together they founded the band WHY NOT. However, the band did not last long and soon disbanded. After the breakup of the band, he didn't play for a while, finished high school and then studied drums at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory.

During his studies, he nodded to the offer of metal band BRILLIEN (later renamed AWARRON), where he met Petri again. During his time with this band, he started thinking about creating his own project - close to the style of NIGHTWISH - and after two years of searching for a female singer, the band WISHMASTERS was born, where he recruited Petri again.

After the end of AWARRON and the end of WISHMASTERS, he was not a part of any band for about three years. After some time, he came across the news that SEBASTIEN had announced an audition for the position of drummer. He really liked their first album, so he started practicing again and contacted the group. There, he met Petri yet again, who had been playing in SEBASTIEN for some time! And thanks to SEBASTIEN, his dreams have come true!

MOTTO "WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU
MAKES YOU STRONGER."