Draft:E-an-na

E-an-na
Origin	Sibiu, Romania
Genres	rock, heavy metal, folk-metal, Folkcore, Unexpected Deviations
Instrument(s)	guitar, bass, piano, drums, bagpipe, pipe, flute, recorder, accordion, keyboard
Years active	2014-present
Website	https://e-an-na.com

E-an-na is a Romanian folk metal band from Sibiu, formed in late 2014. In 2022, E-an-na has participated in Romania's Eurovision Song Contest 2022 national selection, with the song "Malere". E-an-na has gained popularity in the Romanian metal scene due to the band's unique blend of traditional Romanian folk music and metal.

Etymology

The band's name comes from ancient Sumerian language and represents the name given for the temple of goddess Ishtar. The concept behind the band wishes to convey a metaphysical world in its music, which defies the laws of the universe, that are seen as unjust and unruly, in favor of a world in which mankind rejects entropy, departs itself from negative thoughts and focuses on achieving their life goals.

History

In late 2014, Andrei Oltean and Ovidiu Cioban had been involved in a musical project "Prohod", aiming to provide the Romanian metal scene with traditional Romanian folk music. Shortly after, Andrei and Ovidiu left the project in order to create E-an-a. The remaining band members as well as current lineup have joined in the succeeding months.

In September 2016, the band started their tour "Jocurile Jienei" ("Games of Jiana"), promoting their EP "Jiana", released through the polish label "Art of the Night Production" in collaboration with "Soundage Productions".

In 2017, E-an-na won second place in Wacken Open Air's Metal Battle contest, becoming only the second Romanian band to achieve a top 5 result, alongside Dirty Shirt in 2014. During the same year, the band followed up with two tours and an international run in Hungary and Poland.

Two years later, the band released "Nesfârșite" album, becoming E-an-na's most ambitious project to date, which includes notable appearances from former Eluveitie member Michalina Malisz and Archy Jay known as "The Snake Charmer".

E-an-na entered the national selection for Romania's entry in Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Malere" in 2022, a unique blend of the manele genre and folk metal. The song was very well received by fans, yet sparked some controversy due to the criticism from the judges, which was later perceived by the media as unfair.

Band members

• Andrei "Solomonar" Oltean - lead vocals, pipe, flute, recorder, accordion, cimpoi
• Ovidiu "Cio" Ban - guitarist
• Andrei Piper - guitarist
• Dragoș Geomolean - bassist
• Paul Cristian - drummer
• Ioana Popescu - pianist, keyboard
• Roxana Amarandi - violinist, backing vocals

Discography

Albums

• Nesfârșite (2019)

• Alveolar (2023)

Singles

• "Jiana" (2015)
• "Tinca Popii" (2015)
• "Sârba Ciobănească" (2016)
• "Cei Căzuți" (2016)
• "Jiana" (2016)
• "Epitaf" (2017)
• "Viu" (2018)
• "Epitaf" (Acoustic version) (2019)
• "Apele Înghețate" (2019)
• "Nesfârșite" (2019)
• "Apele Înghețate" (Instrumental version) (2019)
• "Pielea" (2019)
• "Floare de Fier" (2020)
• "Călăuză" (2020)
• "Doi" (2020)
• "Ies" (2020)
• "Dulce" (2020)
• "Biba" (2020)

Extended Plays

• Fascinathanatango (2021)
• Malere (2021)

Videos

• "Epitaf" (2017)

• "Malere" (2021) (feat. "Bogdan de la Vâlcea")
• "Suit în nor" (2022)
• "Toropeală" (2022)
• "Paraxinus" (2023) (feat S.P.P)