When a band is unsigned and isn’t listed on heavyharmonies.com, details are often hard to come by … so I create a page here on the site with whatever details I can find.
Hard rock/melodic metal band from Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain, that was formed in 1987.
The following info is from mallorcanochentas.com
Elikat is a melodic Heavy Metal group formed in October 1987 in Palma. It was after his obligatory military service that Luis Hierro , with a long career in the Mallorcan heavy scene and having spent time in groups such as Gorg Blau, Acero and Drakkar since the early 80s , decided to start a new group. To do this, he contacted Rafa Bohorquez, drummer, former member of groups like Alambrada or Orthak, and Miiro Heikkila , a Finnish guitarist based in Mallorca. They would complete the group with Rafa Vicens on bass and soon they would start rehearsing and composing their own songs. In a very short time they would have prepared a repertoire and were encouraged to enter the Digitals studios to record their first demo with 4 songs. The recording would be in December 1987, just a month and a half since the creation of the group.
During the beginning of 1988 they dedicated themselves to presenting the model on different stages and radio stations with very good reception. In the month of June they participated in the VI Pop-Rock Contest of the City Council, failing to reach the final, which was echoed by the local press that claimed them as winners. From that contest, the phrase that Luis Hierro addressed to the culture councilor remained in history: Ave Marta, those of us who are going to lose greet you .
But the result of the contest did not discourage the group at all and they continued throughout the summer presenting their live performances in clubs, concert halls and festivals. Contacts would also be initiated with national and international record labels. Some national magazines specialized in hard rock, such as Metal Hammer and Heavy Rock , also echoed at that time the quality of Elikat’s first demo and the good prospects of the band.
At the end of 1988, Rafa Vicens left the band and Jose Sanchez , a former member of groups like Estrirpe and Orthak, joined in his place . With this new line-up they would once again record four new songs in Toni Fernandez’s Digital studios that were going to make up the band’s first album. A Maxi-single self-produced by Elikat and released by the Catalan label Justine Records . The striking cover of the maxi was designed by Enrique Parietti and the recording would also feature the collaboration of Ernesto on keyboards.
Their brand new debut album would finally begin to be distributed in the month of June and they would be presented in Palma at the Parc del Mar in the month of July, with Tolo Grimalt (Tolo Morello) joining the bass, replacing Jose Sanchez . The promotion would be completed with the edition of a video clip of the song that gave its name to Maxi Caught in Love , a video made with limited resources and paid for entirely by the members of the group.
The following year (1989) would be a year of intense self-promotion work since the support of the record company would be almost non-existent and also a year of important changes in the line-up. Jose Sanchez would return to the band to take care of the bass again and Tolo Morel would take over the guitar, replacing Miiro who would be forced to return to his country to fulfill his mandatory military service. With this new formation and the incorporation of Jose Miguel Movemel on keyboards, they would continue presenting their music live in different venues on the islands, at the Musical Show organized by the Palma City Council in the month of May and at the Illenc Rock Night in January 1990 within the framework of the Sant Sebastià festivities.
With Miiro’s return at the end of his military service, the concerts continue and they work on new compositions. They participated in the “desembarc” in Barcelona, where in May 1990 they presented at the Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona some of the music that is made on our island together with groups such as Cucorba, Bourbon gratis, Murder in the barn or Jaume Sureda.
In the month of August 1990 they entered Digitals studios to record their new songs. These new compositions, thanks to the support of the Palma City Council, will become their second album, an LP of 10 songs titled Electrikat , which would be mixed and produced by Allan Shephard (The Doctor), known for having produced different international groups. The cover would again be the work of Enrique Parietti and would be published on the Madrid label Avispa.
After months of working on the master and preparing the edition, it would finally be presented at the end of the year accompanied by the making of a video clip with the song Stealer of dreams . Once again the reviews in the specialized press, both national and international, were very good but once again the support in promotion and distribution was zero. The record edition and its corresponding video would be mentioned on various occasions in the music press and on television, the songs would be presented live both in Palma and in various towns and would participate, among other events, in the Sant Sebastiá rock festival in 1991 and in the program dedicated to Mallorca from RNE’s Tres a lo grande.
Despite good reviews and after several changes in the line-up, Elikat ended up dissolving that same year 1991. A hard rock band that was undoubtedly penalized by its insularity and that if it had been born in any European capital they would surely have had other recognition. much older.
Personnel
- Luis Hierro – Vocals
- Miiro Heikkilä – Guitars
- Jose Sanchez – Bass
- Rafa Bohörquez – Drums
- J.M. Movemell – Keyboards, Background Vocals
- Tolo Grimalt – Bass
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