It was sometime in '92/'93, when Vitalij Kuprij, who was studying classical music in Switzerland at that time, met Roger Staffelbach, a Swiss guitarist who was also studying at the Jazz School in Lucerne.

They soon founded their band "Atlantis Rising", which played several instrumental gigs in Switzerland. After having recorded some demos, they got in touch with Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records, who showed great interest in the band but suggested to add some vocal lines to their songs. Vitalij had already known stunning drummer Mike Terrana from one of Yngwie Malmsteen's tours. His friend, bassist Kevin Chown, also joined the band and enriched their sound with solid experience and great musicianship, and Artension was born.

Mike Varney introduced Vitalij and Roger to several musicians, one of them being John West, whose soaring vocals, along with Vitalij's and Roger's lightning-fast solos, became the trademark for Artension's neo-classical and aggressive music.

The band has released 7 albums so far, with their latest masterpiece Future World seeing release on Lion Music in early 2005.

Future World is home to some of the most intricate and progressive frameworks that the band have ever committed to disc. The interplay between Staffelbach and Kuprij is world-class whilst the vocals of John West (Royal Hunt) soar like never before. This coupled with the rock solid rhythm section of Mike Terrana and Steve DiGiorgio (Testament) make this a progressive metal super group.