Narnia Calls It Quits

C.J. Grimmark (guitar, keyboards) of Swedish epic/melodic metallers NARNIA has issued the following update:

"Some of you may have heard rumors, and some of you may be surprised by what you're about to read.

"We confirm today that we're facing the end of the journey of this band.

"We want to thank all our fans, friends and our families who stood behind us all the time. Thank you for believing.

"The decision was made around New Year '09/'10.

"It's time to move on. Music business is tough, and it's getting tougher every day. But it's also the greatest business to be in thanks to the crowds and the people we've met along this long road.

"Thank you for sharing your stories and for letting our music and message be a part of your lives.

"Last summer, after a concert, a guy around the age of 20-25 walked up to me, thanked me for the show and said, 'I listened a lot to you guys when I was a kid'. (...and I thought WE were still kids...hey, wake up.)

"To celebrate this long journey, we will do ONE more concert that will serve as the grand finale of NARNIA. The event has been chosen with great care and we hope to announce this... soon

"Stay tuned, God bless... over and out."

Narnia, LOL.

As I said on the CMR - its a shame because their last cd was excellent.

I've given Narnia several tries and just couldn't get into them.

That said, I haven't heard the last one (which everyone seems to love) but regardless this is a disappointing event IMO.

tohostudios wrote:

I've given Narnia several tries and just couldn't get into them.

That said, I haven't heard the last one (which everyone seems to love) but regardless this is a disappointing event IMO.

The last one was the best one imho.

I was never a fan, but their last one with the new singer was/is fantastic. I do not think I will be delving at all with their past releases as every song I have heard online just does not click with me.

Meh. I had their DESERT LAND disc a while ago... it was OK but not a keeper.

Not a fan of this band.

I used to own their entire catalogue. Just got very very bored with it.

Trite lyrics. Trite music. Pass.

Never heard of them.

Leatherface wrote:

Never heard of them.

If you've ever heard Yngwie Malmsteen and Dio, you got the idea.

Only a very boring, generic version of those two great bands. They are the real deal. Narnia was the 'Christian' version.

I quit Narnia long time ago......they were still around?

GrandNational wrote:

I quit Narnia long time ago......they were still around?

Yes, they were. Still truckin'. I guess I gotta give em props for that at least. They lasted longer than most Christian metal bands do.

I wish Sacred Warrior had been around the length Narnia was. They would have put out some truly quality material for us.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

I used to own their entire catalogue. Just got very very bored with it.

Trite lyrics. Trite music. Pass.

Me too MB. I like cheese, but it was getting too cheesy for me. The lyrics were cringe inducing after a while.

I hope to see C.J. Grimmark stay in music and metal. That man can tear it up on guitar and did it better then most neoclassical guitar players. One of the best in the genre....

C.J. Grimmark has been playing with Rob Rock for years now. I'm sure he will continue to do so.

Narnia were great! They had a unique sound, especially their vocalist Christian Rival. Had a chance to see them live in Switzerland several years ago and they were great! Grimmark is quite the shredder.

Frankly, when Christian left the band, I thought Narnia was finished. I have yet to hear their one album without him.

Good band. I was there with Scott. Nice guy's too.

ultmetal wrote:

C.J. Grimmark has been playing with Rob Rock for years now. I'm sure he will continue to do so.

Narnia were great! They had a unique sound, especially their vocalist Christian Rival. Had a chance to see them live in Switzerland several years ago and they were great! Grimmark is quite the shredder.

Frankly, when Christian left the band, I thought Narnia was finished. I have yet to hear their one album without him.

Ironically, I think their best work is on that last cd without Christian..

I agree exact. I have two albums with Christian and they're good enough but the last one was much better.

The last album was really good. The sounded changed a little bit and I think it was a little less cheesey than the previous releases. I was hoping to hear another album with this line up but I guess its good to quit on a high note.

"Kings will come" from the last cd is a great tune!! clearly its like the sabbath/dio deal..when C.J. took over the lead spot;it clearly gave the band a new sound and seemed to me that they were headed in the right but,different direction! sad to see but,wish all the guys well and blessings always!

very sad news, since the band was at their best. I which they would continued, but I understand how hard it is to sell music these days

I couldn't get into them. I've even seen them live.

But those Rob Rock albums rule!

Plenty of respect for them for doing what they did all those years though. Though protestant Christian, Scandinavia is probably not the easiest environment to play Christian metal in. I'm not sure about Sweden, but at least Norway is heavy on the black metal bands, and Finland has a hundred new pagan folk metal bands popping up every month.

Sad news. I like these guys.

I'm sure that one way or the other, they'll come back. Don't they all?

They'll be in different bands so they'll play on.

tohostudios wrote:

I've given Narnia several tries and just couldn't get into them.

Same here.