Triquedraco

Bellfast was formed in 1993 in Nagoya/Japan under the leadership of bass player Shuji Matsumoto. In December 2001 the six-song debut CD "Faraway Prayers" was released by Mustang Records. However, for various reasons, the band's activity decreased suddenly after the release.

In 2006, Bellfast was resurrected and became active again with very capable members as a solid seven-piece folk metal band. The band performed gigs, continued to work on songs, and started the recording of their 1st full-length album from the early summer of 2009. All tracks were recorded in Japan, and mixed and mastered by Andy La Rocque (g/KING DIAMOND) at his Sonic Train Studios in Sweden. The album "Insula Sacra" was released in Oct. 27 2010 via King Records in Japan. "Insula Sacra" has been very well received by both fans and the media, and BELLFAST has successfully put itself at the center of the music scene as the only Viking/Folk Metal band in Asia.

in 2016, The band head into the recording studio from that summer. The recording started with the drum track recording at NEWS 90 in Studio (Aichi, Kiyosu), and each part is proceeding at Sound Koala Studio (Saitama/Kitaurawa) which is owned by our guiterist/engineer Taro Arai (g). The recording was completed by the beginning of July. Afterwards, all data was sent to Andy La Rocque (g/KING DIAMOND) in Varberg, Sweden who created the amazing sound of the previous album. He again mixed and mastered at his own Sonic Train Studios, and the long-awaited second album is coming into the world just seven years after "Insula Sacra".

"Triquedraco", This new work is crowned with a mysterious coined word referring to an ancient crest shown on the artwork. The word combines the Celtic symbol Triquetra representing the Trinity idea and Draco meaning the dragon in Latin. "Triquedraco" will be released from King Records on October 11, 2017.

While the 1st full album, "Insula Sacra", included songs that had been written since the band's formation in 1993, all 11 songs recorded on this 2nd album "Triquedraco" have been written since "Insula Sacra" was released in 2010. Even though this time again the folk/Viking taste which boldly featured the violin and the flute provides the main axis, they do not overwhelm the variety of melodies in the songs. In this album, BELLFAST presents a modern heavy metal sound, while at the same time, echoes the classic dynamics reminiscent of '80s hard rock/heavy metal such as NWOBHM. Whereas many other folk/Viking metal bands are taking an extreme approach like death/black metal, our approach highlights the uniqueness of BELLFAST's sound and allows us to offer up this Traditional heavy metal feast.