Chitral Somapala

Chandana Chitral Somapala (born 4 November 1966: චිත්‍රාල් සෝමපාල), aka Chity Somapala, is a Sri Lankan hard rock and heavy metal vocalist and a music director.

He is known for his work with European power metal bands Firewind, Power Quest, Avalon, Faro, Red Circuit, and Civilization One.

Chandana Chitral Somapala was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 4 November 1966.

His parents, P. L. A. Somapala and Chithra née Perera, were musicians, music directors and producers.

His parents' song, "Dambulu Gale", was recreated by Somapala and received mixed feedback by critics.

He has three brothers: Prasanna, Rohan, Nalin, and one sister, Piumi.

Somapala was educated at Isipathana College (formally Greenlands College), a national school for boys, located in Colombo.

While there, he played cricket, football (soccer), and hockey.

Somapala joined the Sri Lankan alternative band, Shock, founded by Diliup Gabadamudalige, and considered a pioneer of computer-based music production in Sri Lanka.

On Eurasia, Somapala can be heard playing the chapman stick, an electric musical instrument created by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s.

As a band, Avalon was more diverse than the usual power metal groups, and incorporated Euro power metal with prog metal in their music, giving it a somewhat unique sound.

The release of Eurasia was followed by a European tour with Metalium.

Avalon disbanded shortly afterwards.

In 1986, Somapala toured Europe with Rendesvouz (later re-named Friends).

Avalon was in the midst of the underground scene going back to 1992.

The third album by Avalon, Vision Eden, received excellent reviews in the international press.

The band's Vision Eden Tour used Avalon as a support act for bands such as HammerFall, Uriah Heep, Metallica, Motörhead, Royal Hunt, Pink Cream 69, and others.

He joined German underground metal act, Court Jester in 1996, with whom he recorded the album Forced II Believe, which received favorable reviews in the European press.

Somapala gained popularity in his home country due to his Sinhala track "Nadee Ganga" which was released in 1998.

In 1998, Somapala contributed the song "Nadee Ganga", which became a hit.

It was originally recorded for a TV/Radio commercial to promote Lion Beer.

The song was based on the melody of "Many Rivers to Cross" by Jimmy Cliff, and sung in the Sinhala language in a hard rock and metal style.

Somapala joined a German progressive power metal band, Avalon, as front man and lead singer.

Avalon was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, a German sound engineer and producer who had worked mostly with power metal bands.

During the summer of 2000, Somapala participated on Avalon's 4th Album, Eurasia, under the direction of Sascha Paeth, known for his work with bands such as Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, and Heaven's Gate.

In 2002, Somapala contributed "Greenland's Theme" for his alma mater Isipathana College's International Rugby Championships in Sri Lanka.

Later that year, Somapala formed a melodic rock outfit called Faro.

The band released the albums Dawn of Forever and Angelost through MTM Music, also in 2002.

In Summer 2003, Somapala recorded the album Echoes of a Nightmare with the Swedish symphonic metal band, Moonlight Agony, for Massacre Records.

In late 2003, Somapala joined the band, Firewind, for a January 2004 headline tour of Japan.

Following the successful Japanese tour, Gus G asked Somapala to join the band on a permanent basis, and they collaboration on Firewind’s third album, Forged by Fire, entered the Japanese TOP 100, and internationally received excellent reviews.

After a joint tour with Hammerfall in 2005, he decided to leave Firewind.

In 2006, Somapala formed his own band, Civilization One, together with guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere), bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pelisson (Maladaptive, Ex-Heavenly), and drummer Luca Cartasegna (Secret Sphere).

They intended to form a band which created hard and aggressive riffs with the sensitivity of classical music combined with memorable vocals and choruses.

The band received increased attention due to their performance at the PogPower UK Pre-Party in 2007.

By the end of the year, the line-up of Civilization One changed.

Only two of the original members, Somapala and Pelisson, stayed on; Christian Muenzer (Majesty, Necrophagist) joined the band as lead guitarist.

He was followed by Boern Daigger (Majesty, R:I:P) as second guitarist.

At the beginning of 2008, Holly Rodammer (formerly of Ancient Ceremony and Hellmasters) was announced as the new drummer.

In November 2008 and October 2009, Civilization One were invited by TNL (the biggest rock music radio station in Sri Lanka) to perform as the main act at the TNL Onstage Finals in Colombo.