d Day Archives

After their 6th album Knight Area felt a very strong urge to create an album with a deeper message within. The first single, 'Blood On The Risers' for example is dedicated to the American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, who made nightly parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6. In that respect is the whole a tribute to the fallen ones who fought for the freedom of Europe. The music blends orchestra and guitars perfectly together to create heavy symphonic rock that could easily be a soundtrack. Knight Area is an established musical entity in the world of symphonic and (neo-)progressive rock. They toured all over the world and recorded and mixed this new album with Joost van den Broek (Epica, Ayreon). The album features Robby Valentine on grand piano and is also an intoruction to new singer Jan Willem Ketelaers (Ayreon). 'To pass on the memory, to remind that today we live in peace, freedom and dignity because others gave their life for us.' -Knight Area.

The Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was simply awesome. What followed them was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war, at times as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side. The war in northern France marked not just a generation but the whole of the post-war world, profoundly influencing relations between America and Europe.