For the first time in Brazil, the Danish band Pretty Maids will perform their greatest hits at Bangers Open Air 2025! Considered an iconic name in hard rock, heavy and power metal, they have been on the road for over four decades. Their influence can be noticed in many bands of the genre, including Blind Guardian, mainly due to their ability to mix melody and heaviness in a balanced way, in addition to the dynamic vocals of Ronnie Atkins, who stepped into Brazil with Avantasia in 2023, performing at the first edition of the event.
Pretty Maids has always presented versatile musicality, combining the weight of heavy metal, the speed of power metal, the melody and pomp of melodic rock/AOR and the malice of hard rock. Formed in the city of Horsens in 1981, the band, led by vocalist Ronnie Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer, went through several line-up changes until it stabilized. In addition to the founders, Atkins and Hammer, the current lineup features Chris Laney (guitar and keyboards), René Shades (bass) and Allan Tschicaja (drums), musicians who promote the album “Undress Your Madness” (2019).
Their recording debut came in 1983 with the self-titled EP, followed by their debut “Red, Hot and Heavy” (1984) and “Future World” (1987), considered a milestone in their extensive discography, which also includes the following studio albums: “Jump the Gun” (1990), “Sin-Decade” (1992), “Stripped” (1993), “Scream” (1994), “Spooked” (1997), “Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing” (1999), “Carpe Diem” (2000), “Planet Panic” (2002), “Wake Up to the Real World” (2006), “Pandemonium” (2010), “Motherland” (2013), “Kingmaker” (2016) and “Undress Your Madness” (2019).
Friday, May 2
Pretty Maids
For the first time in Brazil, the Danish band Pretty Maids will perform their greatest hits at Bangers Open Air 2025! Considered an iconic name in hard rock, heavy metal, and power metal, the band has been rocking for over four decades. Their influence can be noticed in many bands within the genre, especially in their ability to balance the fusion of melody and heaviness. The powerful and dynamic vocals of Ronnie Atkins even inspired Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian). Interestingly, Atkins has already stepped on Brazilian soil with Avantasia, performing at the first edition of the festival in 2023.
Pretty Maids has always embraced a versatile sound, blending the heaviness of heavy metal, the speed of power metal, the melody and grandiosity of melodic rock/AOR, and the attitude of hard rock. “The basic concept was to mix the heaviness of heavy metal with the lighter, more melodic elements of AOR. If a song feels softer and needs keyboards, it’ll have them. If it needs heaviness, then we bring in more guitars. That’s what we love! It doesn’t matter where we go, what matters is the melody,” Ronnie Atkins once explained to Roadie Crew magazine.
Formed in Horsens, Denmark, in 1981, Pretty Maids has seen several lineup changes but remained anchored by its founding members, Ronnie Atkins (vocals) and Ken Hammer (guitar). The current lineup also includes Chris Laney (guitar & keyboards), René Shades (bass), and Allan Tschicaja (drums), who are actively promoting the band’s latest studio album, Undress Your Madness (2019).
Their recording career began in 1983 with a self-titled EP, followed by the full-length debut Red, Hot and Heavy (1984), which quickly established them as one of Europe’s most promising metal acts. In 1987, they released Future World, a landmark album highlighting tracks such as “Future World” and “Love Games”. Their extensive discography includes: Jump the Gun (1990), Sin-Decade (1992), Stripped (1993), Scream (1994), Spooked (1997), Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing (1999), Carpe Diem (2000), Planet Panic (2002), Wake Up to the Real World (2006), Pandemonium (2010), Motherland (2013), Kingmaker (2016) and Undress Your Madness (2019).
In 2019, Ronnie Atkins announced that he had been diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer. This forced the band to put their activities on hold for a while, but even during treatment, Atkins continued to record and release music, both in his solo career and with the Nordic Union project alongside Erik Martensson (W.E.T. & Eclipse).
