Pneuma was formed in 2003 at San José, Costa Rica, by four guys with a taste for thrash metal, death metal and experimental rock. In their first couple of years, Pneuma earned a good reputation in the metal and progressive scene, recording in 2003 their first EP A Run Through….
Pneuma, 2003 Lineup
In 2005, along with December’s Cold Winter, Pneuma went on “The Awakening Tour”, which made a big impact in the Central American metal scene and captured the attention of the local media. In 2006 Pneuma was voted Best Band of the Year by readers of one of the most popular rock websites in the country: La Escapatoria. In that same poll, the band took home Best Local Concert of the Year for their “Awakening Tour” efforts.
The band continued playing in 2007, becoming very well known in the underground metal scene. After one failed record contract in 2008, the band decided to play gigs in order to fund their first professional album.
Pneuma, circa 2008
In 2009 Pneuma recorded their album Anomaly at Audio Arte Studios in Costa Rica; they mixed and mastered the record at Sonic Response Productions in Los Angeles, California.
Anomaly was released in 2010 along with the video for their song “Dethroned”, drawing great reviews from the national and international metal scene. This lead to PNEUMA being chosen as opening act for Metallica and Mastodon, in the Costa Rican leg of their World Magnetic Tour. In this concert Pneuma had a standing ovation and acceptance from more than 30 thousand screaming fans (this has been Costa Rica’s biggest concert to date).
Before the World Magnetic presentation
In 2011 Pneuma went again on the “AWAKENING TOUR” through different cities in Costa Rica (rural and urban) and also played different big festivals in front of hundreds and even thousands of people.
In the same year Pneuma won “Best Metal Composition” at the ACAM awards (National music awards) for “Anomaly” and also took home honors in “Best Sound Engineering” proving that the band is greatly respected locally by the media and music authorities.
Pneuma now has confirmed two International tours in 2011 with the booking agency Rebel Music Productions : Mexico (August) and Europe (September – October) and is currently in 1st place in a Worldwide online voting contest Metal Masters to earn a spot in this year’s Wacken Open Air 2011.
Pneuma is also currently filming the video of their second single “Crazed Apocaliptic Wave” set to be released in June 2011.