WROCK FOR FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2018

31 AUGUST – 1 SEPTEMBER 2018

Apocalyptica return to Wrocław to play wROCK For Freedom on 31 August! Since their formation, this cello-armed band have repeatedly and unprecedentedly redrawn the boundaries between rock, metal and classical music. You will also hear Luxtorpeda and Illusion on stage that day!

Few bands have captured defiant individualism as well as Finland’s Apocalyptica. Four virtuosos from Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy formed the group in 1993, and just three years later the quartet were on everyone’s lips. Their 1996 “Plays Metallica By Four Cellos”, arranging the legendary Metallica’s songs for cellos, was a sensation. They expanded heavy metal’s boundaries with extraordinary ease and have regularly sold out concert halls ever since.

Two years after their debut, the Finns released the excellent “Inquisition Symphony”, which featured the band’s own compositions alongside covers of Sepultura, Faith No More and Pantera. To date, the group have released eight critically acclaimed albums, selling more than 4 million copies worldwide. Apocalyptica have built a reputation as a band who attract both heavy-metal fans and lovers of classical sounds, offering both a euphoric celebration of music.

Metallica covers, musical tributes to Wagner accompanied by an international symphony orchestra, collaborations with members of Slipknot, Soulfly, Slayer, H.I.M. and Bush: these wild Finns can reconcile musical genres like nobody before them.

In 2016, on the twentieth anniversary of recording their debut album, Apocalyptica released a remastered version with three additional tracks, “Battery”, “Nothing Else Matters” and “Seek&Destroy”, and embarked on an extensive tour that will include their Wrocław concert. Fans will therefore have the chance to hear material from this legendary record live!

On 1 September at Centrum Historii Zajezdnia, Inner Circle will be joined by Polish rock legends Czerwone Gitary, who celebrated half a century together three years ago! The line-up is completed by audience favourites Piersi, whose hit “Bałkanica” has become synonymous with having a good time.

Founded in 1968 by brothers Ian and Roger Lewis, Inner Circle, also called The Bad Boys of Reggae, initially achieved little success. In 1973, some members left to form Third World. The Lewis brothers persevered and began working with excellent singer Jacob Miller a year later. Tragically, in 1980, just as major international fame seemed imminent, Miller died in a car accident.

Inner Circle only achieved worldwide success in the 1990s. Released in 1992 as “Bad Boys”, the reissue of the fantastic “Bad To The Bone”, containing “Sweat (A La LaLaLaLong)”, “Rock with You”, “Wrapped Up in Your Love”, “Living It Up”, “Hey Love” and “Bad Boys”, sold 7 million copies and won the 1993 Grammy for Best Reggae Album. The group followed up a year later with “Reggae Dancer”, featuring another major hit, “Games People Play”.

The recipe for success proved to be Jamaican rhythms seasoned with a solid dose of pop and party energy, plus irresistible melodies that make their hits easy to hum from memory. On 1 September, a true musical celebration awaits: a timeless genre, reggae, and a timeless band. A truly killer combination!

Czerwone Gitary was founded in 1965 at Gdańsk’s “Cristal” café by Bernard Dornowski, Jerzy Kossela, Krzysztof Klenczon, Jerzy Skrzypczyk and Henryk Zomerski, later replaced by Seweryn Krajewski. Their arrival on the Polish music scene was like a volcanic eruption. They quickly became a symbol of the big-beat revolution, selling hundreds of thousands of records, figures utterly beyond today’s performers. In 2006, Czerwone Gitary received the Marmurowy Krążek, an award for the highest number of records sold in Polish recording history. No band has ever been more popular on the Polish scene!

The famous Piersi, founded in 1984 by Paweł Kukiz, guitarist Rafał Jezierski, bassist Zbigniew Moździerski and drummer Andrzej Olszewski, only recorded their first album in 1992, immediately gaining attention. Recorded a year later, “My już są Amerykany” proved one of Polish rock’s most hit-packed albums. The band continued their winning streak and have launched an astonishing several dozen hits to date! Their latest album, “Piersi i przyjaciele 2”, recorded with new singer Adam “Asan” Asanow, also went double platinum, while “Bałkanica” remained in the charts for months.

SCHEDULE:

31 August
15.30 – gates open
16:40 – Luxtorpeda
18.30 – Illusion
20.20 – Apocalyptica
22.00 – event ends

1 September
15.30 – gates open
16:40 – Piersi
18.30 – Czerwone Gitary
20.20 – Inner Circle
22.00 – event ends

Listen and watch

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