A.D.D.
Analog Digital Disorder
Today's audiences are searching for something fresh...something new...something different...A.D.D., from humble Lockport, IL welcomes this challenge and gives rock fans hope of what's been missing in today's cookie-cutter world of music. This quintet, led by Margaret Young's words of real-life's hopes and failures, covers a cross-section of influences from the 70's to the present. As heard on their 7 song CD, produced by Tadpole (3 Doors Down, Disturbed), their mix of lyrical passion and superb musicianship, make for a great recipe for success.
http://www.myspace.com/addloud
ELEMENTS OF EMPTINES CD
Brave
Created in 1997 by guitarist Scott Loose and drummer Trevor Schrotz, Arise From Thorns (AFT) began exploring and writing melodic, atmospheric and diverse music. Shortly thereafter, Scott’s sister, Michelle Loose, joined the band to provide keyboards and lead vocals. The music of AFT began to take form as the three members wrote and recorded their first self-titled CD that was released in 1998. AFT began playing in and around their hometown of Dale City, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C., and established a name for themselves in original, avant-garde music. In 1998, the trio was joined by bassist Chris Welborn, who previously played in the Northern Virginia-based band Division (www.division-usa.com) and guitarist Tom Phillips, founder of the band While Heaven Wept (www.whileheavenwept.net). The five of them began work for their follow up CD entitled Before An Audience of Stars and continued to play clubs and festivals on the East Coast.
In March 2000, AFT changed their name to BRAVE to make a distinction between the origins of the project and the band in its most complete form. With the name change, the music has taken a slightly more progressive direction while retaining the passionate and atmospheric melodies of the original material.
In January 2001, the American label Dark Symphonies re-released Before An Audience of Stars featuring three bonus tracks and brand new artwork. In March 2001, BRAVE self-released their first four song EP entitled Waist Deep In Dark Waters. Both the re-release and the EP have received national and international praise and sold over 7,000 copies to date.
In February 2002 BRAVE entered Assembly Line Studios in Vienna, Virginia to record their debut full-length CD. The new CD, entitled Searching for the Sun contains 11 tracks and features elements of contemporary rock, progressive rock and metal. Dark Symphonies released the record in July 2002.
Following the acclaimed release of Searching for the Sun, BRAVE added violinist Suvo Sur. Suvo, a classically trained violinist, previously played in Forty Days Longing. Later in 2002, BRAVE won 2nd place in Jaxx’s Battle of the Bands, a contest that spanned 6 months and included over 250 bands from the Washington, D.C. Metro area.
In 2003, BRAVE was joined by long-time friend and bass player Ben Kelly. Ben also previously played in Forty Days Longing and currently plays in Modulus.
In early 2004, the five band members recorded their Passages EP at Cue Studios in Falls Church, Virginia. The band continued to perform in the Washington DC area, opening for such bands as Lacuna Coil, Symphony X, Fates Warning, Therion, Opeth, Devin Townsend, Moonspell, Asia, Spock’s Beard, and Katatonia.
They have also recently added a second guitarist, Matt Kozar, whose previous bands include Forty Days Longing, Betray My Trust and Time of the Wolf. After 4 years of writing and 10 months of recording, BRAVE self-released their 6th studio album Monuments in May 2008. Monuments is their heaviest, most diverse album to date, and contains almost 60 minutes of all new music. They will resume playing shows in and around their hometown of Washington DC in late summer 2008.
http://www.myspace.com/braveband
LOST IN RETROSPECT CD
Cardamon
2004
Cardamon is formed by Koen Romeijn and Thomas Kalksma, best known for their playing in extreme metalband Detonation. Floortje Donia joins during the summer after impressing the guys with her beautiful voice and musical skills.
2005
A promo-cd is recorded containing ‘Sleepless world’, ‘A burden less to bear’ and ‘Bliss of loneliness’. All instruments where played by Koen and Thomas. The first gigs follow.
2006
Talented musician Kevin Storm is added to the line up as second lead/rhythm guitarist. At the end of the year, Cardamon enters Excess studio’s in Rotterdam to record it’s debut album. The album is produced by the band and Hans Pieters.
2007
Cardamon takes time to be ultimately satisfied with the album, being over-the-top perfectionists. During the summer the mixing and mastering of ‘The Primrose Path’ is finished.
2008
Luuk van Gerven (After Forever) joins the band on bass guitar.
Cardamon is -more than ever- ready to storm the stages in the Netherlands and abroad…The time has come to bring ‘The Primrose Path’ to the masses in live fashion!
2009
Cardamon signs a one-album deal with UK-based indie label Femme Metal Records, making the bands debut release available to an international audience. The label will re-release The Primrose Path with an added bonus track called The bliss of loneliness. Meanwhile, the band focuses on playing live shows and the writing of new material.
http://www.myspace.com/cardamon
THE PRIMROSE PATH CD
AraPacis
AraPacis was formed in early 2003 with the goal of recreating some of the original aspects of the 70s era's hard rock and progressive music and allying it with a 00s prog, doom and gothic metal feel, to make an interesting hybrid. We have played shows such as the Hard Rock Cafe Montreal, and opening for Anvil and Raven, etc. The present line-up dates from Feb. 2008.
Our debut CD came out in April 2006 and we're presently recording our 2nd one and doing plenty of shows.
Influences: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mountain, Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Led Zeppelin, Lacuna Coil, Leaves' Eyes, Rush, Evanescence, Candlemass, Dream Theater, Flyleaf, Janis Joplin, Otep, etc.
http://www.myspace.com/arapacis
CONSEQUENCES OF DREAMS CD
Lyriel
Lyriel was formed in autumn of 2003, after some of the members had been in a band called "Sorrowsend". One member was Oliver Thierjung (guitar), who decided to found a side project with his wife Jessica. Also two other Sorrowsend-members joined the new project: Sven Engelmann (bass) and Daniel de Beer (drums). They chose to add some other instruments, consequently Martin Ahman (keyboard), Linda Laukamp (cello) and Claudia Schäfer (violin) joined the band and Lyriel was born.
The music can be defined as "dark romantic celtic rock" and combines rock with medieval, classic and folk-elements. On top of this Jessica's strong but gentle voice brings a melodic vibe into the music.
The band supported artists such as Xandria,Schandmaul, Corvus Corax, Saltatio Mortis, Oomph, Schelmish and "Mannfred Mann's Earth Band". Lyriel's first album "Prisonworld" was released on January 17, 2005 by their label Black Bards Entertainment. Whats very individual about the album is, that it contains a song sung in "Sindarin", the language of the elves in "Lord Of The Rings". A live video of the song called "Lind e-huil" can be watched below. The video is part of the live-dvd "Live auf Burg Greifenstein", recorded at the "Celtic Rock Open Air" on Greifenstein-castle on July 15, 2005.
Soon after "Prisonworld" was released they supported Elis and Visions of Atlantis on the "Dark Clouds In A Perfect Sky"-tour, from 2nd to 10th of April 2005, with the new violinist Joon Laukamp, brother of Linda Laukamp, who had joined the band in March 2005 since Claudia Schäfer had left the band.
Another tour, the "Romantic Darkness Tour" with Regicide and Xandria, followed in February 2006.
After this tour Lyriel started working on their next album and also formed the side project "Lyriel-unplugged", without Martin Ahman (keys) and Daniel de Beer (drums), but with Marcus "Fidi" Fidorra on percussion.
The second album "Autumntales" was released on September 29, 2006. This page features one song of that album, entitled "The Promised Land". The album also contains guest vocals by Sabine Dünser (Elis), who died on July 8, 2006 at the age of 29. Lyriel added a dedicated version of the song "My Favourite Dream", which only features Sabine's vocals and classical instruments.
http://www.lyriel.net/EN-News.html
http://www.myspace.com/lyrielband
PARANOID CIRCUS CD
Ancestral Legacy
The very beginning of Ancestral Legacy can be traced as far back as the last days of 1995 when Eddie Risdal and Kjell-Ivar Aarli, two buddies who shared the interest in metal, got the idea to start a band. They had heard a lot of new and inspiring music over the years, and bands like Dissection, Ulver, In Flames & Unanimated where the main inspiration, and they named the band Permafrost. The first songs were written early 1996, but there was'n too much progression in the band until their friend Øyvind Rosseland joined the band as a synthist in late 1998, around the time the band changed the name to Ancestral Legacy. The sound changed naturally from guitar-driven to more synth-based songwriting, inspired by Dimmu Borgir, Covenant and Cradle of Filth. The first demo was cut in spring/summer 2000 when some decent recording equipment was obtained. Some of the older songs were included together with the fresh material. 2001 saw a participation on a Norwegian underground sample-CD with bands like 1349 and Lunaris. Early 2002 the second demo "Emptiness" was finished, with five new tracks and some re-recordings. Shortly after the release Rosseland left the band, and later the same year also Aarli left after being involved in a car accident, and the damages restrained his playing abilities.
Eddie Risdal was now the only remaining member of the band, and used the opportunity to change the musical style by using songs he had written parallel to Ancestral Legacy, and that actually were intended for a solo project. This was more or less the "easy way out" instead of trying to recruit a new synthist and keep the old style, as keyboard players dedicated to metal are hard to find in a small town like Arendal. The new songs were more influenced by his favourite bands at this time; Opeth, Lacuna Coil, Novembre, Katatonia, Rapture and The Gathering to name a few.
First member in the 'new' Ancestral Legacy was drummer Børre Iversen who played in a band next door to where the rehearsal room was. Soon after Børre's bandmate Tor Arvid Larsen joined the band as an extra guitarist, and Elin Anita Omholt, who played in the rock band Miasma Paradox with Risdal, joined as a vocalist. The free spot as a bassist was filled by Atle Johansen, aka Anton Dead, and this completed the new line-up early in 2003.
Just around these days the third demo, "Of magic illusions", was recorded. It consisted of one piano intro and seven songs in the new style, once again recorded and mixed on own equipment. Not long after the release, in April 2003 the band had it's first concert ever, and in December Ancestral Legacy played at the "Kjellerrock 03" festival in Kristiansand, Norway, where the band won the first prize in a contest among the almost 25 bands participating. The prize was free studio time at Lynor studios, where the promo "Goodbye Reality" was recorded in March 2004. Thanks to a guy that didn't do his work it lasted until September the same year before it got mastered.
In November 2004 the shooting of the band's first music video, for the track "Crash of silence" from the "Goodbye Reality"-promo, took place during three days on various locations in the region, among others in some old church ruins and an old house that is supposed to be haunted.
In February 2005 "by:Larm" included Ancestral Legacy in the line-up, and the band was favoured by no less than concerts in two nights in a row. "by:Larm" is concidered the largest festival/showcase arrangement in Norway, and this year it featured among others Theatre of Tragedy, Mortiis, Arcturus, Mayhem and Gehenna on the bill.
In 2007 the band started recordings for the first proper album, and since everything was done by the band there were no time limits, thus things wasn't finished until January 2008, when 14 songs were brought over to Mølla studios to be mixed and mastered by Knut Magne Valle. The results are an EP with the name "Trapped Within The Words", which contains 5 tracks of new and older songs, released in April.
http://www.ancestrallegacy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ancestrallegacy
NIGHTMARE DIARIES CD
Soulgrind
Soulgrind; Dark Pagan Metal With A Difference
• Soulgrind has been formed in 1992. Soulgrind is a melodic dark metal band from Finland playing very unique and intelligent metal
• Soulgrind has released 7 albums
• Soulgrind has toured in Germany, Holland, Finland, Belgium & France. Soulgrind has done over 200 gigs and is hungry for more.
• Soulgrind was in the studio in June 2006. Next album shall be released through Holy Records in February 2007. Album is titled “Pakana” ( Pagan in English ).
• Soulgrind seeks inspiration from the Finnish myths & beliefs. Soulgrind is strongly influenced by Finnish poet Eino Leino.
Soulgrind is now stronger than ever and is ready for the new challenges. The music is here, the word is here and it must be spread.
http://www.myspace.com/soulgrind
THE TUONI PATHWAY CD
hAND
hAND are a 3 piece Progressive Gothic Metal band from Sussex, England. Originally a duo combining elements of rock and trance, the two founding members Kat Ward and Kieren Johnstone joined forces with drummer Cris Nelson early in 2006 and the band in its current incarnation was born.
The band self released two E.P’s, working with Fony guitarist Chris Hamilton on their second “Shadow: Word Pain”, which was not only excellently received by the press but also earned them sponsorship with Mapex and Paiste as well as being a significant contributing factor in the acquisition of a record deal.
In 2007 they took part in the AKG Unsigned Heroes competition beating over 800 acts to secure their spot in the top 20. Later that year the band signed to Copro Records, the birthplace of acts such as Panic Cell, Forever Never & I-Def-I.
Their "totally groundbreaking" (Dead Earnest) debut album “Deadroom Journal” was recorded at Philia Studios with producer Nick Hemingway (Isor, Cancer, Desecration) in May 2008 and a full endorsement with FVF Drums soon followed. Released worldwide on September 22nd 2008, the album received high praise from Kerrang! & Metal Hammer, as well as national airplay from BBC 6 Music, and numerous positive reviews from within the industry.
In December 2008 hAND signed to UK based label Femme Metal Records, and have so far played alongside the likes of Octavia Sperati (Norway), Season’s End, 3rd Room (Italy), Ayin Aleph (France), Delain (Netherlands) and headlined the 2009 Damsels of Destruction Festival in London.
http://www.myspace.com/handgothicband
hAND will be releasing a new album early 2011, watch this space for more info!
