Almanac

Victor Smolski, the Belarus-born guitar virtuoso and former Rage member, launched Almanac in 2015 to keep exploring new territory where heavy metal meets classical traditions. Almanac echoes the scale of Lingua Mortis Orchestra, Smolski’s earlier Rage offshoot, by centering material composed for both the core band and a full orchestra while employing several lead vocalists. Smolski is joined by his LMO colleagues Jeannette Marchewka on vocals and Enric Garcia on keyboards, plus bassist Armin Alic, drummer Michael Kolar, and vocalists David Readman and Andy B. Franck. Nuclear Blast issued the collective’s first studio album, Tsar, in March 2016.