Our musical journey started over 20 years ago in the hot, dusty capital of Namibia, Windhoek. In a home made studio with crappy equipment five guys proceeded to record the first ever heavy metal songs in a country with no penchant for this musical style whatsoever. Fully aware that no established metal act would probably ever tour the remote African country, the founding members of Arcana XXII decided to take things into their own hands. And so it began with the recording of Demonflower a 4 song demo tape that preluded an intense time of about five years of playing concerts in the bush, dilapidated country clubs, cockroach infested clubs, abandoned cinema halls and smoke filled live venues. So many firsts, exciting times. Being the sole representatives of this style of music in the country – or on the entire continent for that matter - brought with it a distinct feeling of ''us against the world“ - the purest of all heavy metal sentiments. Then, after four recordings and many trips and concerts, things fell apart and the band members pursued radically different routes in life.


Now many years later two founding members, Johan de Jager and Sven Heussen, hooked up again in Germany, far from home but still kindred in spirit. And so it was decided to finish what they started so long ago. After activating the only true voice of Arcana XXII., Johann Smit, in the States, things fell into place quickly. Anthems of Adversity is our swan song, a testament to the fact that all true ventures must be brought to their ultimate conclusion and whilst many metal bands have since risen from the dark continent – almost none to date have survived as long as Arcana XXII.

Anthems of Adversity is the present day companion to our retrospective Return to the Darkland album (released 2021 by Einheit Produktionen in Germany). So, the circle has completed and our unique style of catchy melodic heavy metal with the odd touch of gothic glory brought to its ultimate conclusion. Thank you for listening.