APHAZEL is the founder of Ancient and also the only original member of the band. Born in the sign of Aries in the stormy night of April 1st, 1972 in Bergen, Norway, Aphazel is a misanthrope at heart and a very independent being. Few has gotten the chance to establish a close friendship with Aphazel, but those who have describes him as an apparently calm and quiet person, yet with a lot of energy and visions inside himself. Aphazel is the kind of person that likes to unleash most of his feelings and energies through music unlike the most of us do in life. He is truly a person that lives in his own endless fantasy world inside himself, though the only way we can see this is through the creations of Ancient. Aphazel doesn't take a lot of direct influence from other artists in his writing- process, his inspiration mainly comes from within himself. Artists that has influenced Aphazel over the years include the old works of King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Bathory, Iron Maiden, Dio, Slayer, Metallica, Manowar and lots more from the classic metal of the '80s. From the '70s : Kiss, Black Sabbath & Deep Purple. Among the '90s Black Metal there are rather few artists that really influenced him, but some who has is Immortal, Emperor and Tartaros. Even non- metal bands like Devil Doll, Lycia, Dead Can Dance etc. is music Aphazel is listening to. He proclaimed the birth of Ancient in early 1992, after having left a local death metal band in Bergen, where he lived at the time. Tired of this band's musical direction and the way it functioned, he decided to start his own band where he would be in full control of all aspects. He made a lot of demo-tapes on his own with the help of a drum machine, adding guitars and bass himself. Songs like "Trumps Of An Archangel" and "Likferd" was a direct result of these demos. Later, his old friend Grimm joined him as drummer and vocalist and from this point Ancient started to become a real band.
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