Liva was founded in Sherbrooke, in 1997. Then, in 2001, the group launched its self-titled 4-songs demo. Those songs would later end up on its first album, Requiem, released in November 2002. A monumental display of imagination and virtuosity, enhanced by a refined use of Latin lyrics, Requiem has conquered many music fans. This spring, Liva issues its long-awaited second disc, De Insulis, inspired by the Latin writings of the French theologian and poet Alain de Lille, also known as De Insulis (12th century).
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Throughout the years, Liva has successfully opened for many internationally-acclaimed bands such as Voivod (October 2000), Gorguts (September 2nd 2001), Nightwish (September 6th 2003) and Therion (September 11th and 12th 2005). The band also played on the night dedicated to metal’s future in Quebec at the Week-end extrême, on June 2nd 2002. On stage, the Liva experience offers a meeting between the age-old nobility of classical music and the contemporary urgency of metal. This fascinating collision creates a musical Big Bang of volcanic proportions, for the greatest pleasure of the audience.
Liva has been featured in reports, like the one for the program Bande-à-part on the Radio-Canada channel, aired in fall 2001 on the ARTV channel. Furthermore, the radio concert from March 8th 2002 with 13 guest musicians, recorded for Bande-à-part, has been aired in April 2002. This memorable event thus gave listeners a glimpse of the majesty emanating from the group’s live shows.
On March 9th 2003, the quartet won the Mimi prize for the most avant-garde artist who “most radically break with stereotypes and established criterions: language, musical style, artistic considerations”. The members of Liva have received this prize because “[t]hey have the capacity to harmonize classical music with metal”. This award emphasizes not only the firm will of the musicians to explore uncharted artistic horizons, but also their determination to overcome the challenges of such a bold fusion.
Nowadays, Liva features in its ranks Sébastien Breton (drums), Catherine Elvira Chartier (soprano vocals and electric viola), Pier Carlo Liva (death and baritone vocals and guitar) and Simon Roy-Boucher (bass). More than ever, Liva aims to become a leader into the classico-metal circles.