Pathfinder

Pathfinder were formed in 2006 by bassist and main composer Arkadiusz E. Ruth, who also handles the band’s orchestrations, together with guitarist Karol Mania. Their sound draws openly on Italian symphonic power metal, Rhapsody above all: sweeping keyboard arrangements, very fast tempos and lyrics built on fantasy themes. Two demos came first, Pathfinder in 2007 and The Beginning in 2008.

The debut album Beyond the Space, Beyond the Time was released in 2010, with Szymon Kostro on lead vocals and Kamil Ruth on drums. Guests included Roberto Tiranti of Labyrinth, Bob Katsionis of Firewind and Matias Kupiainen of Stratovarius. Soprano Agata Lejba-Migdalska, who would become a regular collaborator of the band, also sang on the record.

Fifth Element followed on 26 May 2012 through Sonic Attack Records, with Kacper Stachowiak now behind the drums in place of Kamil Ruth. An Asian edition had come out a few days earlier. Lejba-Migdalska returned for the sessions, and Kostro again handled lead vocals. In this period Pathfinder also collaborated and toured with Power Quest and Labyrinth.

After a break of about two years, the band returned in October 2017 with a new singer, Przemysław Uliczka (billed in the press release as Primal Alley), and a re-recorded version of the title track “Fifth Element” with a new video. The 2017 line-up around Ruth also included guitarists Karol Mania and Krzysztof “Gunsen” Elzanowski, keyboardist Bartosz Ogrodowicz and Stachowiak. No third full-length album has been confirmed, and no later activity could be verified.

Line-up as of 2017: Przemysław “Primal Alley” Uliczka (vocals), Karol Mania (guitars), Krzysztof “Gunsen” Elzanowski (guitars), Arkadiusz E. Ruth (bass, orchestrations), Bartosz Ogrodowicz (keyboards), Kacper Stachowiak (drums)