Congress formed in 1993, when all HC activity in europe was low… Most bands played either straightforward youthcrew HC or emo/post HC. Congress tried to blend the aggression and fury of HC with the technique and heaviness of metal. The successtory started in 1994 with the release of the classic 7»/MCD ‘Euridium’. The term Edgemetal was born, the H8000 style of HC was created and lots envied that style and area. Goodlife contacted the band and in 1995 the milestone in metallic HC ‘Blackened Persistance’ was released. Congress found itself in a leading place touring with bands like Neglect, Morning Again, All out War…and playing festivals with either metal- or NYHC bands. In 1998, they released ‘Angry with the Sun’ in which the band mixed old school HC with black/trash/gothic metal and played concerts at the legendary ‘Dynamo Open Air’, ‘Graspop’ and ‘Dour festival’. One release later (‘Stake through the Heart’, which meant the end of the bands’ existence) the band fell apart.
After a short hiatus, Congress got their act together and started doing shows again. The newborn motivation led to another awesome record ‘Resurrection’in 2004, which placed the band once again in the spotlight. The band toured Japan alongside Integrity and did some videoclips to promote the record.
After the Spain tour, however, current singer Tim Jult left the band announcing he’d stick to the drumkit and leave singing for what it is…
Now, anno 2K5, the uppershriekmaster Pierre joined forces again and the old times were relived again. Unfortunately, the pace was too high for this line-up and after numerous discussions, letdowns and a very bad-luck-year, the band decided to call its quits. They recorded their final songs for a discography combined with these new songs called ’ The Legacy’ on Goodlife. Congress played their last show on november 11th in front of 800 overenthousiastic kids and are now part of HC history. Their legacy lives on throughout belgium, europe, the world…
www.congresshc.be/
