About Mago De Oz
Mägo de Oz are a Spanish folk metal band from Begoña, Madrid formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus di Fellatio. The band became well known for the strong Celtic feel to their music strengthened through their consistent usage of a violinist and flautist. The name for the band was chosen, according to founding member Txus, because "life is a yellow brick road, on which we walk in the company of others searching for our dreams." On the 26th of October, 2018, the band played a special concert to celebrate their 30th anniversary, playing with a symphony orchestra at the WiZink Center in Madrid.
The band was founded in 1988 by the drummer Txus di Fellatio, who slowly recruited the rest of the members for the band, finalising the line-up by 1992. Originally, the band was called "Transilvania" , named after an instrumental piece by Iron Maiden, a heavy influence on the band. In 1992, the band members were Txus , Mohamed , Charlie , Chema , Salva , and Juanma . They recorded several demos: Y qué más da , Canción de cuna para un bohemio , and Con la cabeza bien alta, in 1992. Their music had a wide range of styles and influences, but was primarily based around folk metal and Celtic music.
In 1992, the band was a finalist in the "Concurso Villa de Madrid", and in 1994, the band released their debut album, produced by Txus and Alberto Plaza under the name Mago de Oz. This album found very little success and people were barely aware of the band's existence. During this time, Mago de Oz went through a period of turbulence and substantial line-up changes, before the line-up that has persisted almost until the present time was formed in 1996. At this point, the lineup consisted of Txus , Mohamed , Carlitos , Frank , Salva , and José Andrëa .
The same year, the band began recording their rock opera album, Jesús de Chamberí, produced by Alberto Plaza and the band themselves, which told a story of Jesus returning to the Madrid neighbourhood of Chamberí. The album was edited and released on the label Locomotive Music. Mago de Oz saw a huge surge in popularity across Spain following the release of the album, which was promoted with the "Via Crucis Tour". In 1997, the band decided to re-record five songs from their debut album with the new singer. The resulting EP was officially self-titled, but it referred to by many fans as La Bruja , as the album cover features a witch playing a violin with a moon backdrop. The name has now become as a de facto name for the EP and even the official website now refers to the EP as "La Bruja". La Bruja surpassed the success of Jesús de Chamberí, further raised Mägo de Oz's profile, and led to more festival appearances.
Clearly fans of concept albums and rock operas, Mägo de Oz released their third album, La Leyenda de La Mancha, a modern retelling of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote. Rock opera has been a feature of all of their albums from Jesús de Chamberí onwards. Mägo de Oz embarked on "The Riiiichal Tour", which consisted of 115 dates, their longest to that point. To mark the success of La leyenda de La Mancha, and to mark their tenth anniversary, the band released a documentary about themselves entitled "Resacosix en Hispania", in 1999, later released on DVD in 2004.
Towards the end of 1999 Mägo de Oz started writing and recording a double album named Finisterra, released in 2000. For this album they added Sergio "Kiskilla" on keyboards and accordion and Fernando on flute. This album was the most folk of their albums, while still rooted in heavy metal. The live tour supporting this album featured more elaborate stage production, with more sophisticated sets, pyrotechnics, and lights. Around this time bassist Salva left the band, to be replaced by Sergio. In 2002, the band released their first live album, Fölktergeist, a compilation of songs played at various shows on the tour.
In 2003, Mägo de Oz released Gaia, the first album in a trilogy which would be completed in 2010. The album was a concept album with two main themes: the Spanish conquest of America and the ecological damage wrought by mankind on Earth . The CD liner notes detail the plot of the concept album. The album, with a Celtic rock sound, features flutes and violins, and met with a mixed reception. Around this time, Mägo de Oz started performing concerts in Latin America.
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