CRIMSON FIRE-
Crimson Fire
AUS Demo CD 2000
2 TRACKS: Blackened Reign - Empire Of Fear
The band was formed in 1997 and exists of five young metallians from Down Under. This two track demo proves that they know how to play good power metal. But let me introduce them to you. We have Louie Lewis on vocals, Paul Yoannidis on bass, Domenic Pinto on drums, Anthony Tabone on guitar and the female member in the band is Dianne Melichar on keyboards. The two songs on this demo have a total playing time of about eleven minutes. The songs are called "Blackened Reign" and "Empire Of Fear". After a beautiful intro by Dianne, the riffs start to fall in. Louie has a perfect voice for singing metal and the guitars sound great too. Halfway the song, the band takes down the speed a little. Dianne is not a keyboard player, who is hired to fill up the sound a bit. No, she actually is very much upfront in the mix, which makes the band sound a bit bombastic. Nonetheless, this first song sounded very exciting indeed. In "Empire of Fear", they're shifting gear. Louie sounds a lot like Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN vocalist). I read he was hired after jamming the IRON MAIDEN classics "The Trooper" and "Run To The Hills" with the band. I can imagine that they were very impressed. "Empire Of Fear" could well be a IRON MAIDEN leftover with keyboards added to it. A great song that proves us once again that this band needs to be kept in mind in the (near) future. Thanks a lot to Peter Fundeis (Manic Prog.) for bringing this band to our attention.
LINE UP: Louie Lewis (v), Anthony Tabone (g), Paul Yoannidis (b), Dianne Melichar (keys), Domenic Pinto (dr)
EMAIL: crimsonfire5@hotmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#22/Dec.2000)
MAHAVATAR-
Mind Hypnotic Vision Towards Revolution
US Demo CD 2000
4 TRACKS: BH - Open Your Minds - The Time Has Come - The E Song
Jack Little already introduced them to us with their previous one track CDsingle. The song on that release is also to be found on this four track demo. It has a playing time of about seventeen minutes and shows us a young and well-talented three piece band, containing two female members. Lizza Hayson is their singer. She's from Israel. Karla Williams is from Jamaica and she plays guitar. Their male drummer is called Peter Lobodzinski and he comes from Poland. At this moment, the band is working with a bassplayer called Eddie Gasior. Their music is based upon dark vocals, industrial sounds and tight rhythms. It's a good example of the dark metal of the new millennium. I think the aforementioned track "The Time Has Come" shows us best what this band is all about. The vocals are more brutal and the music is very groovy. They easily change the atmosphere by adding a mysteriously sounding spoken part and then they go on with the normal rhythm again. I think the band sees this song as their masterpiece. But the rest of the songs sound very interesting indeed, too. "The E Song" closes this demo in a really brutal way. MAHAVATAR also does a great thing promoting their stuff in a very professional way. To me, this certainly was the second highlight. It all looks very impressive and after all this is the first impression the press gets from a band. So if you're into some brutal, dark, industrial like, groovy metal, then you'll have to check out this band from New York.
LINE UP: Lizza Hayson (v), Karla Williams (g), Peter Lobodzinski (dr)
ADDRESS: MAHAVATAR c/o P.O. Box 314, JAF Station, New York, NY 10116, USA.
WEB SITE: http://www.mahavatar.net
EMAIL: info@mahavatar.net
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#22/Dec.2000)
IRON RAIN-
S/T
US Demo CD 1999/2000
4 TRACKS: Believe - No Way - Domme - Velvet Moon
This is a four track demo CD of the band that previously released their full length album "Garden Of The Gods". These four songs will actually be on their upcoming album "Sardonic". You'll get a preview of eighteen minutes of music here. What do they have in mind for you on that new album? "Believe" opens this demo CD. The sound of the band is very characteristic: it's a bit creepy and horror like. "No Way" also has this sound which is difficult to describe. It's BABES IN TOYLAND mixed with BLACK SABBATH or something like that. "Domme" continues this CD. Cee's singing is unearthy and very sick in this song. It will (again) give you the creeps, I think. They end their ride on this spooky trail with "Velvet Moon", which opens with a dark keyboard and drum intro. When the voice of Cee appears, the sound changes into a definate new IRON RAIN classic. The song also has a hellish bass part somewhere in the middle. For more details about this dangerous but very well talented band, go to their website or drop a line to the address below.
LINE UP: Cee (rg/b/k/lv), Beigh (b/lg/ks/bv), Ess (perc), Emm (ks/bv)
ADDRESS: IRON RAIN, PO Box 6273, Eureka, CA 95502, USA.
WEBSITE: www.ironrain.com
EMAIL: ironrain@earthlink.net
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#23/March 2001)
ENTER TWILIGHT-
Enter Twilight
AUS Demo tape 2001
5 TRACKS: Soultears – Angelic Sacrifice (live) – Memories – Angelic Sacrifice (live video) – Memories (live video)
ENTER TWILIGHT hails from Australia. This promo contains three long songs (total running time is about twenty-five minutes!) and two live videos. What a great way to profile yourself! This way, the people can hear and see what this band is all about. Let’s first introduce the band to you. ENTER TWILIGHT consists of Damir Sisak on guitars, Richard Hausberger on guitars, Robert Laghi on bass, Leigh Askew on keyboards, John Wauchope on drums and Lidia Szymczak on vocals. The music that this band plays is progressive, symphonic rock with angel like, female vocals. Their long songs are full with nice, musical ideas. The CD opens with a demo version of “Soultears”, a song that probably will be on their soon to be released debut album. They continue with two live tracks, namely “Angelic Sacrifice” and “Memories”. These songs are also to be found on this promo in the mpeg1 video format. Lidia adds some great vocals to the songs. Sometimes she even sounds like a real opera singer. Put this next to the progressive sound of the band, add some excellent guitar breaks to the songs and you’ve got the sound of a very promising band. A band, that surprised me a lot. Where else can you still hear a drumsolo in a song? Well, in “Angelic Sacrifice” there is one. And a damn good one, too. Not too long, but long enough to catch your attention. I’m glad, that our Australian friend Peter Fundeis introduced us to this band. He always knows to surprise us (remember AMETHYST?!?). I don’t really know, if this promo is also for sale. But if you want to get in touch with the band, they love to communicate with people, then I suggest you send an email to: entertwilight@hotmail.com. You will be positively surprised!
LINE UP: Lidia Szymczak (v), Damir Sisak (g), Richard Hausberger (g), Robert Laghi (b), Leigh Askew (ks), John Wauchope (dr)
WEBSITE: no details available
EMAIL: entertwilight@hotmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#26/Dec. 2001)
EVERGLOW-
A New Life
BEL Demo tape 2001
6 TRACKS: Into The Unknown – Labyrinth – Lost In The Woods – Like A Shadow – A New Life – Golden Lion (bonus track)
I want to introduce you to EVERGLOW from Belgium. The band consists of Jeroen van Hiel on keyboards, Steven Demey on drums, Dominic Heynderickx on bass, Manu van Poeck on guitars, Alain de Block on guitars and female vocalist Cindy Baert. Their music can be described as power metal with melodic vocals. This demo contains six new tracks and has a playing time of about twenty-five minutes. Cindy and Alain started their musical career in the death trash band POSEYDON. In 2000 they decided to continue as a power metal band, so they changed their name to EVERGLOW. This is their first demo. The title of the intro “Into The Unknown” couldn’t have been chosen any better, because you never know what happens next after such a beautiful sweet intro. OEAAAARRRRRGH!!!!! Is this the sound of the inferno, that will destroy everything? What a mighty killer riff! What a great song! Because of this song, they will become immortal for me. And it’s not over yet… “Lost In The Woods” is a bit darker, but just listen to the ice cold screams of Cindy during this song. This girl has really lost her way. Jesus Christ, what a power! “Like A Shadow” is another ultrafast killer song, with a great riff at the beginning. The keyboards create a bombastic sound, but the biting guitars of Alain and Manu definately make up for this. “A New Life” sounds a bit mystical through the use of keyboards, but again the great guitar sound compensates for that. Bonus track “Golden Lion” is named after (and dedicated to) a motor club with the same name. If you don’t believe what I’ve just told you, then I’d suggest that you find out for yourself. Or come over and have a look at the mess, that was left in my room after hearing this demo. Killer stuff!!! This demo CD is a real must for every true metal fan out there, so don’t miss it
LINE UP: Cindy Baert (v), Alain de Block (g), Manu Van Poeck (g), Dominic Heynderickx (b), Jeroen van Hiel (ks/bv), Steven Demey (dr)
ADDRESS: EVERGLOW c/o Cindy Baert, Grote Baan 174/1, B-9120 Melsele, Belgium.
WEBSITE: no details available
EMAIL: cindy.baert@skynet.be
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#26/Dec. 2001)
FADING STARLIGHT-
Lost
GER Demo tape 2001
8 TRACKS: Chained – Here I Am – Salvation – Nights In Paradise – Lost – Once A Time – Banned To Be – Fading Starlight
If you already liked what I wrote about EVERGLOW, then I’d suggest to hold on for a minute and read these lines very carefully. FADING STARLIGHT is another well talented band. Like EVERGLOW, singer Inga Scharf gives them a bit of a melodic sound, in contrary to the fast instrumental parts. In “Chained” I hear guitars that sound almost as fast and mean as the Toomey brothers of BITCHES SIN. The band easily switches from fast, almost thrashing parts, to a bit more melodic and neo classical parts. To my opinion, it’s a great introduction to this band from Germany. There are eight long tracks on this CD, which has a total running time of about fifty-five minutes. Let’s introduce these musical geniusses to you here. FADING STARLIGHT is Pierre Leyendecker on drums, Florian Schulz on bass, Frank Ruhnke on guitar, Sebastian Scharf on guitar and Inga Scharf on vocals. “Here I Am” contains some fast guitar salvos from these gentlemen in the first ranks. Their guitar solos reminded me of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN (RISING FORCE) or Michael Romeo (SYMPHONY X) sometimes, especially in the neo classical parts of course. Inga’s vocals are high and crystal clear. Sometimes they form a contrast with the fast music, but they fit really well in the overall sound, adding a melodic dimension to their great music. The music shows so much variation, which makes it easy to listen to. You won’t expect a sweet ballad like “Once A Time” on this demo CD for example. You get carried away by it, and before you know it, the fifty-five minutes are over. If you like the excitement of fast guitars combined with a singer that adds some beautiful vocals to a song, then I’d suggest to have a listen to FADING STARLIGHT’s “Lost”. I know for sure that you will be pleasantly surprised. You can contact the band, by writing to the address below or send them an email
LINE UP: Inga Scharf (v), Sebastian Scharf (g), Frank Ruhnke (g), Florian Schulz (b), Pierre Leyendecker (dr)
ADDRESS: FADING STARLIGHT c/o Pierre Leyendecker, Wiesenweg 4, 37619 Hehlen, Germany.
WEBSITE: www.fadingstarlight.de
EMAIL: pierrely@worldonline.de
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#26/Dec. 2001)
DRIONIDE-
S/T
NL Demo CD 2001
5 TRACKS: Sacred Egos - Strife - Dim And Obscure - Propagator Of Pain - Superindustrial Desire (+ bonus video clip Strife)
DRIONIDE consists of Niels on vocals, Mantram on keyboards and drum programming, The Haze on bass, Lexander on guitars and Joan (FACEHUGGER) on guitars. The five songs have a total length of twenty-five minutes and I think we have to watch this band very closely. This is the metal of the new millenium. It has got power, heavy riffs, lots of weird electronic sounds and it’s dark as hell. Mix gothic metal with a dose of powerful heavy metal and add some dance beats to that. Put a slight industrial sauce over it and serve this mix in black glasses. I bet you will be very surprised about the overwhelming sound, which takes you to another dimension. The drums may sound a bit static, but that is not really disturbing here. After you received your first cybersmash, you are sent directly to a dark room where DRIONIDE is checking out if you can cope with their dark mystical side in “Dim And Obscure”. When you survived this dark gothic treatment, the band introduces you to the “Propagator Of Pain”. It shows you the dance/industrial side of DRIONIDE. Sometimes, I have to think about FEAR FACTORY when listening to the great songs on this demo CD, but I think that the music of this band is darker and a bit less accessible than FEAR FACTORY. The demo ends with “Superindustrial Desire”. And you’ve guessed it already: the song opens with industrial soundscapes and some great heavy riffs! For the people, who want to hear something different than the average stuff, I’d suggest to check out this Cdemo of DRIONIDE. One thing is for sure my friends: this is only the beginning! DRIONIDE has the prospect of a very long future! [Note: Don’t forget to watch the excellent five minute long Quicktime movie of “Strife”, included as a bonus here!!! You can also download the video clip at their website].
LINE UP: Niels (v/dr.prog), Mantram (keys/dr. prog.), The Haze (b), Lexander (g), Joan (g).
ADDRESS: DRIONIDE, P.O. Box 92104, 1090 AC Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: drionide@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.drionide.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#27/March 2002)
GALLOWMERE-
…Changes In My Mind
NL Demo CD 2001
5 TRACKS: Gallowmere - Tomorrow - The Mummy - Fear (Is My Father) - Journey In Vain
GALLOWMERE is a five piece band from The Netherlands, that shows us there are still some great progressive rock bands in our country. Their songs contain some great musical ideas and a lot of interesting speed changes. Your thoughts will immediately go out to DREAM THEATER, but I think it’s no shame to be compared to this band - is it?? The voice of singer Mirjam sounds much darker and lower than you might have expected, but it fits really well with the music though. “Gallowmere” and “Tomorrow” are two up tempo songs with many speed changes. In “The Mummy” they turn back the speed, changing it into a dark, mystical song. It’s definitely one of the highlights for me, because of the nice song structure. The Cdemo closes with “Fear (Is My Father)” (where DREAM THEATER meets PANTERA!) and “Journey In Vain” (the progressive version of IRON MAIDENs “Strange World”?!?!?). Getting interested already? I guess so. You can get more information by writing a letter to the address below or be sure to have a look at their website. A very promising band, in my opinion.
LINE UP: Mirjam (v), Conrad (g), Gert-Jan (b), Dennis (keys), Stefan (dr).
ADDRESS: GALLOWMERE, c/o Conrad Hultermans, Korenberg 115, 4614 GW Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@gallowmere.com
WEBSITE: www.gallowmere.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#27/March 2002)
ARABESQUE-
…S/T
NL Demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Inner Voice - Last Attempt
ARABESQUE was founded back in 1989. They started out by playing instrumental songs only. After searching for a vocalist, they got in touch with Nicole de Seriere du Bizournet, who was being replaced in 1998 by Katja Salemi. But Nicole returned and nowadays ARABESQUE has two female faces. The music style of ARABESQUE can best be described as prog-metal. As there are not that many bands in this genre with a female voice, hopefully they will also attract the attention of the regular prog-metal fan. The demo starts with “Inner Voice”. This pure prog-metal song knows many tempo changes. The interaction of the two female voices and the grunt vocals of Frank de Groot works very well. Although I hear many influences of bands such as FATES WARNING and DREAM THEATER in their music, they are able to create a sound of their own. The second and final song “Last Attempt” begins with a quiet piano intro, which eventually goes over to a riff with obviously DREAM THEATER influences. It’s much more melodic and has a refrain that stays in your mind after hearing it once. There is no domination of the guitar work and it is for the use of the song itself. In the middle of the song, we can even hear a tempo change with double bassdrums in the forefront. For more info about this well talented Dutch band, just visit their website.
LINE UP: Nicole de Seriere du Bizournet (v), Katja Salemi (v), Joop Wolters (g), Marc van Mierlo (dr), Frank de Groot (b), Rene Ubachs (ks)
ADDRESS: c/o Marc van Mierlo, Rijnstraat 3, 6021 EM, Budel, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@arabesque-site.com
WEBSITE: www.arabesque-site.com
by: Marcel van Santen (MM#28/June 2002)
DRACENA-
Labyrinth Of Darkness
SWE Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Craving – Labyrinth Of Darkness - Under A Bloodred Sun
Three great new songs fill this sixteen minute demoCD of Swedish underground black metal act DRACENA. The band consists of Mia on guitar and vocals, Emma (RUNEMAGICK) on guitar, Asa on bass and Mojjo on drums. The hair is waving on opener “Craving”, with the dark voice of Mia as biggest eyecatcher. The song has got a great mysterious ending. Are there any backwards messages sung here or how can we find out, what she’s singing?? Title track “Labyrinth Of Darkness” is a bit more uptempo, but it still sounds very dark. It matches really well with the title of the song. The demo closes with a song, called “Under The Bloodred Sun”, which is definitely not a reflection of the bands holidays in Spain, I can tell you that much. To me, it was the highlight on this demoCD, because of the great guitarwork. Former drummer Terror has produced and engineered the demo, which was recorded in his studio at the end of October 2001. DRACENA already shared the stage with great names like AGATHODAIMON, ANCIENT, SIEBENBÜRGEN, SACRAMENTUM, LORD BELIAL and SATANIC SLAUGHTER. But I do hope that we can see them on tour in the future, too. All you dark, black metal souls, that want to get a copy of this demo, should get in contact with Mia at the address below.
LINE UP: Mia (g/v), Emma (g), Asa (b), Mojjo (dr)
ADDRESS: DRACENA, c/o Mia Larsson, Januarigatan 24, SE-415 15 Göteborg, Sweden.
EMAIL: dracena.mia@telia.com
WEBSITE: http://hem.passage.se/dracena
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#28/June 2002)
STORM WITHIN-
Unleased
US Demo CD 2001
4 TRACKS: Listen – Bad Winds – Brides - Tonight
STORM WITHIN hails from Arizona and on this four track demo, they impressed me a lot. The long opener “Listen” opens in the best IRON MAIDEN tradition. It reminded me of their song “Iron Maiden”, but that was only in the beginning. Old school heavy metal is what we’re gonna hear on this demo. And you’d better beware, that it’s high quality old school heavy metal, you’re about to hear. The second track opens with a traditional thunder, wind, rain and lightning. The song is called “Bad Winds”. You may call the beginning of the song old fashioned, but it fits perfectly with the song and type of metal, STORM WITHIN plays. Touches of PEGAZUS and MANOWAR come in mind. Superb!! Great guitar solo!!! Shortly, it’s the ultimate metal song. “Brides” sounds a bit more commercial, but perhaps it’s not wise to use a term as ‘commercial’ for a song, that is a bit more catchy than the rest. Old HEART freaks (“Crazy On You”) may wanna check this one out. The song contains some JIMI HENDRIX like guitarwork, with HEART riffs backing that up. This precious little diamond closes with a song, called “Tonight” - the obligatory ballad. I mean, it’s predictable that an old fashioned metal band would come up with a strong ballad. Aren’t all these metal bands from the eighties well known for their great ballads?!? Well, you can add STORM WITHIN to this long list now. Their music has got its roots in the eighties, and they show us that they’re able to play some decent, high quality heavy metal on this four track demo, that runs for about nineteen minutes. This demo is definitely a must for the old school metal fans out there. You can get in touch with the band by sending an email to: stormwithin@yahoo.com. More information about the band can be obtained from their website at: www.mp3/stormwithin.
LINE UP: Debra Darlene (lv/rg), Michael Redstone (lg), Jocephus (b), Chad Edwards (dr)
LOCATION: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
EMAIL: stormwithin@yahoo.com
WEBSITE: www.mp3/stormwithin
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#28/June 2002)
TADPOLE-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: Elevator – I’m A Jerk – What Are We Made Of - 16 Trains – Sleepwalker – Loose Women
Six new songs in fifteen minutes of music. That’s what you get when you buy the new TADPOLE demo. TADPOLE exists of four ladies who played in the underground scene for a long time already. Singer, guitarplayer Mia Ferraro played in BULIMIA BANQUET, SPOON, BOBSLED and HOLE. Bassplayer Dvin played in a band called THE NEED. Drummer Judy Cocuzza also played in BOBSLED and she also played in BORAX and BETTY BLOWTORCH. Last but not least we have guitar player Sharon Needles who played in BOBSLED too. But we also we know her from her work with bands like LOVE DOLLS, BUTT TRUMPET and BETTY BLOWTORCH. So these ladies are well experienced musicians, and you can not only tell that from their experience in their former bands. But when you listen to these six tracks, you’ll be convinced that they are experienced. There are six catchy rock songs on this demo. There are touches of punk in the songs sometimes, but catchy, straight forward rock with a touch of melody is the description that I was thinking of when I would describe the sound of this band. “What Are We Made Of” is the sensitive ballad here, which is also the longest song on this CD. After that, the ladies fly away in the third gear again, in a short track called “16 Trains”. TADPOLE is more melodic than BETTY BLOWTORCH, but they’ve got the same potential to grow big. Keep them in mind! By the way, if you ever run into a band that is called BLACK TADPOLE, then you’ll see the same girls but now as a BLACK SABBATH coverband. Would I lie to you??!!
LINE UP: Mia Ferraro (v/g), Sharon Needles (g/v), Dvin (b/v), Judy Cocuzza (dr)
ADDRESS: TADPOLE, P.O. Box 3424, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
EMAIL: tadpolians@aol.com or judydrums la@aol.com
WEBSITE: www.flyingbugrecords.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#28/June 2002)
DEADPAD-
S/T
UK Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: In My Shadow – Face The Day – Drown In Hope
This demo CD is the first warlike deed of DEADPAD. According to the included biography, their music is a mixture of grind, metal and gothic, but I think also industrial would be appropriate for this demo CD. Mick Storrie (guitar, programming), Betty Rogers (vocals) and John Cook (bass, vocals) fill up this band. So there’s no drummer and you can hear that especially by the chilly drumbeats. In this genre, DEADPAD is certainly not inferior to other bands and for a first release, this is very properly done. Starting with “In My Shadow” (almost six minutes) shows the real band. Industrial metal, though not really aggressive, but heavy. Betty’s voice is varying, then pure, completed by the raw voice of John and the combination of this all is very promising. The production for a demo CD is very good. It sounds as it should do and it will fit in just as any other regular CD. The best song I think is the third and last song “Drown In Hope”, as DEADPAD knows how to mix heavy metal with industrial sounds to a great song. The combination between the voices of Betty and John shows off just as well. They obviously are a great team together. I find DEADPAD a great band and with this demo CD, they’ll surely drag in a record deal. Watch out for this band!!!
LINE UP: Mick Storrie (g/prog.), Betty Rogers (v), John Cook (b/v)
ADDRESS: DEADPAD, c/o John Cook, 117 Alice Street, South Shields, Tyne & Ware, United Kingdom.
EMAIL: john@deadpad.com
WEBSITE: www.deadpad.com
by: Richard van Oudheusden (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
FUZZY COMETS-
S/T
US Demo CD 2000
5 TRACKS: Across the World – Superman – Breath & Bones – Heart Of The Dead - Diamonds
The FUZZY COMETS host Girls Night Out. It's held at the Rosebud Club in Pittsburgh on Tuesday Nights. Besides girl friendly music, there are other services available like hair stylists and manicures. The FUZZY COMETS’ music is the kind you hear on soft rock stations. It's not weak. All the songs show some intensity. “Breath & Bones” isn't a rap title, as you might think. It's slow and insightful. A wise woman looks at her world. She knows what the situation is. The speakers reaction is understanding, not anger. This is different from some girl bands. Next is “Heart Of The Dead”. This song has a little more tempo. The vocals are quicker. It's like jazz without the horns. They use rest notes well, too. On the last song, all bandmembers shine. Christine plays some good guitar. Melissa's vocals blend well with this sort of song. They’re expressive and emotional enough to carry the song. Her vocals don't overpower everyone else. They are the two main songwriters in the band. The rhythm section is solid enough to support the song. There are some touches of rock here and there. Folk music is an influence. When all of this is mixed together, it can be beautiful.
LINE UP: Christine Carnevali (g), Heidi Kohne (d), Melissa Ippolito (v), Megan Williams (violin/mandolin), Matt Campbell (d)
ADDRESS: Christine Carnevali c/o FUZZY COMETS, 342 Taylor Street, Pittsburgh PA 15224, USA.
EMAIL: band@fuzzycomets.com
WEBSITE: www.eggfx.com/fuzzycomets
by: Jack Little (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
MIMIC-
Black Print
US Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Drown – Divide – Hollow Spirit Empty
This new three track demo contains two new songs and a remix of “Drown”. They start the demo with the remix. Riffs are fired at your face with the rhythm of a machine gun. The anger is real, the beat is heavy and the song is very cool. “Divide” sounds dark and mysterious, comparable with bands like MY RUIN or MANHOLE. The vocals of Tina are a bit clearer though. Highlight of this new demo is definately “Hollow Spirit Empty”, where the band releases all its power in just a little bit of over two minutes. On this new demo (worthy of almost nine minutes), MIMIC proves us that they’re definately one of the best all-female metal bands in the scene right now. There aren’t many other bands, that can express as much power that I’ve heard from this band. Right now, MIMIC is preparing a tour around the West Coast with PROMISQUES, which will mean another big step forward for the ladies, I guess. These songs will surely impress their fans. MIMIC consists of Tina on vocals and guitars, Dana on drums, Lily on bass and Carla on guitar. Their “Black Print” is an absolute ‘blue print’ for the all-female metal bands of today! Go to: www.mimic.com to read further information about this band.
LINE UP: Tina Neal (v/g), Carla Chacon (g/bv), Lily Olive (b), Dana Gautier (dr/bv)
ADDRESS: c/o 551 Grassy Creek Rd., Pinnacle, NC 27043, USA.
EMAIL: mimic11117@aol.com (booking) or Promotions@mimic1.com (promotions)
WEBSITE: www.mimic1.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
MORNING-
Circle Of Power
NL Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: The Unknown Is Searching The Unfound – Seal Of Solomon – Fear Of Today – Big Colour Travel - A Hidden Place – Circle Of Power
MORNING consists of Gilles Van Hoof on guitars, Stijn Bannier on synths, Pol Bannier on bass, Mauro Pi on drums and Saskia Van Heugten on vocals. In the last issue of Metal Maidens, you could already read a review of their previous live CD “Live Moves”, in which I compared the band with FLOWING TEARS and THE GATHERING. Three songs, that were on that demo, are now on this new CD, called “Circle Of Power” and I remember that this song was definitely one of the highlights there. So I was very curious about the six songs on this demoCD. The six songs, including one intro, have a total running time of about thirty minutes, in which we get to hear some nice progressive rock songs. The band calls their music dream metal. But I believe, that their music is a bit too progressive or symphonic to call it dream or fantasy metal. Nonetheless, it’s a description that isn’t too far away from reality. Highlights of this new demo CD were “The Unknown Is Searching The Unfound” and “Circle Of Power”, the opener and closer of the CD. The other songs contain good ideas too of course, but as a whole, I liked these two songs best. The band members of MORNING are still very young, and they’ve got a long future ahead of them. Keep them in mind!
LINE UP: Saskia van Heugten (v), Gilles van Hoof (g), Pol Bannier (b), Stijn Bannier (synths), Mauro Pi (dr)
ADDRESS: c/o Kromstraat 3, 6114 BJ Susteren, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@morning.nl
WEBSITE(S): www.morning.nl or www.mp3.com/morning
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
MYSTERY BLUE-
Demo
FR Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Dark Visions – Roller Coaster Ride - Angel
MYSTERY BLUE hails from France and can be categorised as hard rock. The band was founded in 1982 already by guitar player Frenzy. Besides him, we can hear Dany on drums, Vince on drums and metal maiden Nathalie on vocals. This three track demo has a playing time of about eleven minutes. Starting off with a song called “Dark Visions”, which sounds like a slow ballad in the beginning. Later on, after the guitar solo, more power is added to the song. Great opener, especially the guitar solo of Frenzy! And that’s also the big eyecatcher in the fast “Roller Coaster Ride”. A great powerful track, which reminded me of MEANSTREAK (Remember this great all-female band from the 80’s?!?) sometimes. The speed metal rhythm is very tight, and I think it will be a great song to play live. “Angel” closes this demo. They put the pedal to the metal again. This is great stuff, ladies and gentlemen!! What I like most in Nathalie’s vocals, is that she sometimes hits a high note inbetween, besides the very clear vocal lines of course. It makes the lyrics a bit understandable. Once again the guitarwork in this song is absolutely breathtaking! I think, we can say that we’re dealing with some real talents here. No wonder, they’ve already played with big names like MOTÖRHEAD, GIRLSCHOOL, SAXON, DEF LEPPARD and ROCKBITCH. And I think that the old fashioned hard rock lover, who likes these names, will also be impressed by this demo of MYSTERY BLUE. Highly recommended by yours truly!!
LINE UP: Nathalie (v), Frenzy (g), Dany (b), Vince (dr)
ADDRESS: Frenzy Philippon c/o 158, rue Hubel, 67590 Ohlungen, France.
EMAIL: Hmysteryblue@aol.com
WEBSITE(S): www.mysteryblue.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
RAUMLOS-
Unbekanntes Land (2000)*
Demo (2001)**
GER Demo CDs
*6 TRACKS: www.ihr-da-draussen.de – Unbekanntes Land – Abgrundtief – Ist Das Noch Punk – Ick Kann Sehen – Jesus-Lied
**3 TRACKS: Kreuzzug – Das Weiss Nur Ich – Nur Manchmal
Two demo CDs in one review. We’re talking about the German rock band RAUMLOS here, who send us both their demos. Let’s start with the first demo CD, recorded in 2000. It contains six tracks and has a playing time of about twenty-five minutes. Before I’ll start to tell you about the songs, let me tell you first, that the information this band send, was very well taken care of, which is a good starter already. RAUMLOS sings in their native tongue, the German language, but that doesn’t have any effect on the catchy songs, that we hear on this demo. The band already exists for eleven years, and right now the line up is Rosie on vocals, Chris Barnes on bass, Hüchte on guitar and Mick on drums. I can hear some influences of old MARILLION (FISH era) and THIN LIZZY in their music. Highlight on this demoCD is a song called “Abgrundtief”. You can hear a cool sudden speed change at the end of this song. While in “Ist Das Noch Punk”, they make room for some pogo dancing. So pull away the chairs and go f*cking crazee on this one! “Ich Kann Sehen” is a nice example of how a good catchy song must sound. Their most recent demo is simply called “Demo-CD”. It contains three songs, worthy of about eleven minutes. The production is much better here, and also the song structure shows some progression. The band is still growing, and we can surely hear that on these two different sounding demos. I would definately call “Demo-CD” more modest perhaps, but it’s also much more mature than “Unbekanntes Land”. We’re dealing with a very talented and promising band here. They have the ability to write catchy songs, that really sound well. Highlight on this second (and most recent) demo-CD for me is the ballad “Das Weiss Nur Ich” and the fast “Nur Manchmal”.
LINE UP: Rosie (v), Hüchte (g), Barnes (b), Mick (dr)
ADDRESS: RAUMLOS c/o Rosalie “Rosie” Zogalla, Römerstraße 10, D-33729 Bielefeld, Germany.
EMAIL: kontakt@raumlos.de
WEBSITE: www.raumlos.de
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
RAZEL-
Perfect Little Mongrels
AUS demo CD 2001
4 TRACKS: Mr Snippa - Ridicule - Stegasaurus - Tony Lee (the English Journey of Tony Lee)
Don't let the brightly colored CD packaging fool you. This band is heavy, strong and spit firing! Their shouted choruses will remind you of punk. The rest of it is right in the style of the hard rock/heavy metal. If you like girls, who play dark, grinding music, RAZEL are for you. A lot of the songs are about people and situations, who aggravate the band. The exception is “Tony Lee”. It has a slow doomy sound. Metal fans would expect a battle with mythical beasts. What we have are epic battles fought by people in our time. Battles that go on inside ourselves. RAZEL remind us to “Remember, that this is an on-going battle with an axe in your fist”. “Stegasaurus” is brutal sounding. It’s about the "Prehistoric dude with an attitude." You may have heard the mp3 version of “Mr. Snippa”. Charging guitars are a treat. Vocals on this and all the songs are easy to understand. More bands should have clear vocals like this. The verses aren't overly long. This leaves time for instrumental jams. As I understand it, RAZEL were scheduled to be on the bill with KITTIE. KITTIE’s management got them dropped. I can see why. RAZEL do something similar to what KITTIE do. They do it very well. I’m not sure, who I would have been most impressed with.
LINE UP: Andy McWilliam (v/g), Kelly Rivas (b/v), Claire Obst (d/v)
ADDRESS: Tracey Kick, Kickarse Management, P.O. Box 1301, Coorparoo DC, Australia.
EMAIL: kickarsemanagement@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.geocities.com/razel_temp/
by: Jack Little (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
SPELLGATE-
Legends Of Ardigm
US Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: The Lands Of Ardigm – Curse Of Malgei – Najaeti Star
SPELLGATE (fomerly known as CHIVALRA) is a project consisting of two people. This demoCD contains three songs, worthy of twelve minutes of fantasy metal. We can hear Darynlard on synths and Dosashlia on synths and vocals. The music of SPELLGATE is very bombastic. You don’t really miss the guitars and the drums, because with synths you can make the music as complete as you want to. Hear the trumpets (!!!) in opener “The Lands Of Ardigm” and you’ll see that the music of these two people is finished. Maybe it’s not the fantasy metal, you are used to, but it definately sounds not bad at all. I would call this fairytale metal. It’s the ultimate soundtrack for a twelve minutes fairytale cartoon or something like that. On “Curse Of Malgei”, the music becomes a bit darker. I’m sure that these songs would sound even better when they would be performed by a whole band, ‘cause the compositions are great! The demo closes with “Najaeti Star”, which has some Eastern influences. SPELLGATE takes you away to spaces, that nobody has seen before. If you’re an open minded fantasy metal fan, you must really give this a try! For more info, surf to: www.spellgate.com or send the band an email at one of the addresses below.
LINE UP: Darynlard (synths), Dosashlia (synths/v)
EMAIL: darynlard@spellgate.com or dosashlia@spellgate.com
WEBSITE(S): www.spellgate.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
STRANGLEHOLD-
Demo
BEL Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: Deadly Smell – Hell Is Coming – Down On You – Eternal Rest – Human Disguise – Where Is God?
Five powerful songs are on this new demo of Belgian talents STRANGLEHOLD. They have a new singer in their ranks, named Rik Wullaert. Lorenzo Augusti plays guitar, André Kässinger- bass, and metal maiden Corina Stokmans hits the drums. It’s difficult to compare them to any other band in this scene. And perhaps that’s the way, they like it most. This means they have a sound of their own, which is powerful and full of heavy riffs and guitar solos. Their new singer is a very big step forward. Rik sounds just great! He does the band a lot of good and Lorenzo can concentrate himself more on his guitarplaying now. The uptempo songs sometimes have a rather complex character. Not that they can be categorised as progressive music, but the sound of STRANGLEHOLD isn’t always straight forward and it shows a lot of variation. I can still hear some SAXON riffs here and there, but the totality of the songs show much more variation. Except in the last song “Where Is God?”, where the band sounds like the good old crusaders of SAXON all the way!! If you’re into the US metal sound of the eighties (or comparable to that) and you like the spirit of the good old fashioned hard rock, then you must definately check out this new six track demoCD of STRANGLEHOLD. Visit the band’s website at: www.geocities.com/strangleholdof belgium, or email the band at the address below. You can also order this twenty minute demo there. You won’t be disappointed. Ths is great stuff!
LINE UP: Corina Stokmans (dr), Lorenzo Augusti (g), André Kässinger (b), Rik Wullaert (v)
ADDRESS: c/o Riemsterweg 12, 3740 Bilzen, Belgium.
EMAIL: stranglehold@skynet.be
WEBSITE: www.geocities.com/strangleholdofbelgium
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
SUPREMACY-
Demo
AUS demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Angel – Salted Wounds
SUPREMACY present us two new songs on their 2002 demo. They start this piece of art with “Angel”. You can hear influences of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’s bombastic sound, when they open this song. The vocals are clear and fit very well with this great song. When I hear the first notes of “Salted Wounds”, my thoughts immediately go out to FOREIGNER’s “Say You Will”. This song might be a bit slower than “Angel”, but also has these nice string arrangements. When I listen to the guitar solos, I have to think about Ritchie Blackmore (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, BLACKMORES NIGHT) at once, which can be seen as a huge compliment. SUPREMACY’s new style is innovative and cool. It’s still very powerful, but it opens more doors for people to enjoy their music. Recently, they played a gig in Australia with EDGUY. With the right promotion, this band may soon be too big for their home country, because they have the quality and the talent to become very huge! The band still consists of Teddie Dee and Jadi-Anne, completed with a bunch a new musicians, from whom I don’t know their names (yet). And soon you can find out everything else there is to know about this band, when their website is going online. Just check out www.supremacy.com.au on a regular base. You can also send an email to Jadi Anne or Teddie at: supremacy@bigpond.com.
LINE UP: Jadi Anne (v), Teddie Dee (g/keys)
EMAIL: supremacy@bigpond.com
WEBSITE: www.supremacy.com.au (up soon!)
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#29/Sept. 2002)
BOINK!-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
7 TRACKS: Prescription Cocktail – Rehabit! – Eastside Glamour Queen – Bomb – Punk Break Beat – Drunk Or Dead – Eurotrash Debutante
BOINK! plays short, catchy rock songs. The kind of songs that have this magic touch, and you can sing along to after hearing them once. I hear some touches of NO DOUBT here and there, but I think BOINK! is a bit heavier than the band fronted by Gwen Stefani. Just listen to the opening guitar solo of “Eastside Glamour Queen”. BOINK! are definitely not as punky as THE DONNAS. Maybe they come close to the happy punk sound of THE OFFSPRING, who are also very good in writing short and catchy punk songs. “Drunk Or Dead” sounds a bit darker, but the refrains are happy, so when you’re ready to sing along, please go ahead. I think, the average kid on the street will dig the sound of BOINK! and I can only agree with their taste, because they sound quite promising. On their website (see address below) or at: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/364/boink1.html, you can find all the information you need about this band from LA.
(CURRENT) LINE UP: Antonia Romeo (v), Kristee Lively (rg/v), Tommy Henriksen (lg), Andrea Zermeno (b), Glenn Sobel (dr)
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, USA.
EMAIL: boinktheband@yahoo.com
WEBSITE: www.boinktheband.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
CRUCIFIXION-
In The Shadows Of The Obscurity
BRA Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: The Abyss Of Desolation (Into The Purgatory Part II) – Eternal Judgement – End Of A Life – Apocalypse Sentence
CRUCIFIXION is a black metal band from Brazil. This four track demo has a running time of over twenty minutes and I have two things to say about it. The sound quality isn’t always that good. In fact, it’s recorded on 4-track equipment only and sometimes the drums sound very shrill. On the other hand, we can hear some very nice musical ideas here. The band consists of Grave (ex HELLISH PREDITION) on guitar, keyboards and vocals and Dark Moon (their female member) on drums, keyboards and opera vocals. Den Röde Med Horn is their bass player. He recorded two demos with the band recently. This demo contains four of their most recent songs. Songs that contain many mood swings. Grunts, screaming vocals and opera voices are part of this entirety. The music ranges from classical and dark (like the instrumental intro “The Abyss Of Desolation (Into The Purgatory Part II)”) to fast blasting pieces. Sometimes, the sound of the cymbals are very disturbing and too much upfront of the mix, but again when I listen to this demo as a complete production, then I can only say that I give this band a fair chance to become big in the black metal underground scene. Find out for yourself, if you’re into brutal black metal. You can contact the band by writing to the address below or visit their website.
LINE UP: Grave (g/v), Dark Moon (dr/perc/v), Den Röde Med Horn (b)
ADDRESS: CRUCIFIXION c/o Dr. Luis Martins Falcao, 451 Cohab 11, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil, ZIP 96211390.
EMAIL: crucifixion@bol.com.br
WEBSITE: www.crucifixion.hpg.com.br
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
DRAWING DOWN THE MOON-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
9 TRACKS: Blue – That’s Who I Am – Riverside – Never Ending Nights – Told Me So – Burn My Soul – Deny – Whiskey - Pride
The nine songs on this selftitled CD have a running time of almost thirty-five minutes. DRAWING DOWN THE MOON consists of Stacy Robinson on vocals, Jackie Paulson on vocals, Donna Eveland on drums, Christine Perior on bass and last but not least Jan Kuehnemund (ex-VIXEN) on lead guitar and background vocals. VIXEN fans don’t have to run to the record store right away, when they think that this band sounds like these four vixens did in the eighties. They might be very disappointed! These nine songs are very laid back and sometimes they sound a bit like ALANIS MORRISSETTE. This is real pop music, although it’s not bad indeed. But for a magazine like MM, it’s only interesting to know that Jan Kuehnemund is in their line up. “That’s Who I Am” and “Never Ending Nights” are the more uptempo songs here, but I am afraid despite of that, they’re even too soft for the average reader of this magazine. If you’re still interested in this band, you can find all the information you need on their website or go to: www.mp3.com/ drawingdownthemoon.
LINE UP: Stacy Robinson (v), Jackie Paulson (v), Christine Perior (b) Jan Kuehnemund (lg/v), Donna Eveland (dr)
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, USA.
EMAIL:imaginary_friends@msn.com
WEBSITE: www.drawingdownthemoon.net
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
THE EYESHADOWS-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Bondage - So What – Camouflage
I know you’re all tired of reviewers, who use THE GOGOs as a point of reference. But I fear, I have to do it again. THE EYESHADOWS have a light touch on their instruments, that reminds me of them. The songs have catchy rhythms and melodies that are easy to listen to. All three of these songs have introductions that suck you into the rest of the song. The first song is called “Bondage”. It is dominated by Dawn Loureen. She was in PINK SABBATH. (First there was BLACK SABBATH, then PINK SABBATH. How many color sabbaths are there?) The melody features Dawns’ bass guitar. Her vocals are breezy. It observes the bondage scene. The lyrics rhyme: day, pay and obey. Next is “So What”. It's about a relationship, that is now past. The speaker says: "So what? It's gone…”. Nicki Skistimas stays busy on drums. This song has a back beat that holds your attention. Last is “Camouflage”. It's about people hiding uncertainty and pain. Like all of these songs, it’s made up of a steady stream of chords. These are provided by Lisa Estrada and Molly Kindelberger on guitars. Its energetic sounds is like the younger sisters of THE GOGOs.
LINE UP: Dawn Laureen (b,v), Nicki Skistimas (d), Lisa Estrada (g), Molly Kindelberger (g)
ADDRESS: Dawn Laureen, P.O. Box 29126, Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA.
EMAIL: photodol@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://theeyeshadows.com
by: Jack Little (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
IZEGRIM-
S/T
NL Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Under The Banners Of Hatred – Persona Non Grata – Nail On Your Coffin
It’s good to hear that IZEGRIM is working on their new album, which will be out soon. This Dutch band has been described by me as very promising already and these three new songs deserve my respect even more. The band still consists of Ränz on drums, Khasz on guitar, Krisz on vocals, Goldyloxx on guitar and Aaargh on bass and backing vocals. The three songs have a running time of about twelve minutes. Already in the first song, they press the pedal to the metal. Riffs that are as sharp as a dagger. The fastness of a cheetah at full speed. And besides that, there’s still a touch of melody in their sound too. Krisz screams like a madman during this first ear attack, that’s called “Under The Banners Of Hatred”. In “Persona Non Grata”, they continue at the same speed. Aaargh adds some vocals to this song, which sounds surprisingly well. It gives the song an extra dimension. In “Nail On Your Coffin” I heard some influences of IRON MAIDEN, of which the band doesn’t have to be ashamed. It fitted very well with their ‘Dutch Terror Thrash Metal’, as they like to call it themselves. I am really looking forward to their full length album after hearing this pre taster.
LINE UP: Krisz (v), Khasz (g), Goldyloxx (g), Aaargh (b/ bv), Ränz (dr)
ADDRESS: IZEGRIM, Nieuwstad 62 A, 7201 NS Zutphen, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@izegrim.nl
WEBSITE: www.izegrim.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
JEZEBEL BANG-
Drown
US Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Drown – Prey - Broke Dick Dog – Etherial – Sunsets In Your Eyes And Reviews From KX
Five songs are presented here by JEZEBEL BANG. The band consists of Jez on lead guitar and Lucky on keys and other electronic instruments. The places for a bass player and a drummer are open at the moment. Their sound is experimental, heavy, sometimes dark and mystic, but never dull. Above all, it’s quite difficult to compare them to any other band. A touch of DORO is in the voice of Jezebel. They can see this as a compliment, because most of the time I have my references ready for every band that I hear. “Broke Dick Dog” was really the highlight of these five tracks. Just listen to the shredding guitar solo in this song. The last song are some reviews of KX, and some snippets from “Sunsets In Your Eyes”. It’s another way to be different from the rest, which makes them unique in their own way. More info on how to order this demo (and some other merchandise as well) can be obtained at the website below or surf to: www.luckyrrain.com.
LINE UP: RRain ‘Jez’ Kristian (lv/lg), Lucky Nelson (keys)
ADDRESS: RRain Kristian c/o LR Enterprises, P.O. Box 702461, Tulsa, OK 74170-2461, USA
EMAIL: rrainkristian@yahoo.com
WEBSITE: www.mp3.com/mwl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
LIANAN SHEE-
Soulscream
NL Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Soul Scream – Feeling – Shee – Love Is Rare – Burning Truth
All the members of LIANAN SHEE are twenty years or sometimes even younger (guitarist Tijmen is just fifteen years old) and knowing this information, the demo CD sounds really okay. The music of LIANAN SHEE knows obstinate ideas, but also shows influences of bands like SKUNK ANANSIE, NO DOUBT (once in a while) and the singer Marloes van Elswijk strongly resonates like ANOUK. The production is rather strange. Some of the pieces of music sounds really well, but most of the time the music is dull, especially the drums. The second song reminds me of KREZIP. It is nice and recognizable. That LIANAN SHEE does not only play heavy, you can hear in the next song, “Shee” which is beautifully filled with acoustic guitars and it contains a merry melody. And again I clearly can hear the KREZIP influences. I need to say, this song is very strong and mature. This might be their single! LIANAN SHEE obviously likes to melt several styles entirely; later on I hear a BLACK SABBATH riff on the CD. In short: a great band with very nice singing of Marloes and quite soundly rhythm sections. Next time a good production and everything will work out for this band.
LINE UP: Marloes van Elswijk (v), Sander Buss (g), Tijmen van Wageningen (g), Francis Locadia (b), Raymond Drenth (dr)
INFO: Raymond Drenth- Phone: +31(0)70-3236843 or Francis Locadia- Phone: 06-18189928
EMAIL: info@liananshee.com
WEBSITE: www.liananshee.com
by: Richard van Oudheusden (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
NEXX-
S/T
SP Demo CD 2002
10 TRACKS: In A Blue Moon – Hit Me – Remember – If You Could Read My Mind – Arches Of Faith – After The Storm – One More Day – Time To Fly – Get Fire - Consciously
NEXX hails from Spain, the land of BARON ROJO, MURO, NU, OBUS, MAGO DE OZ and DARK MOOR to name but a few. The demo is a home recording, but it sounds very good in my opinion. It contains ten songs and with a total length of about fifty minutes, you really get value for money here. We can describe the music of NEXX as melodic rock, or symphonic rock. I hear early MARILLION influences in their songs, but the songs of NEXX are more open, catchier and less complex than MARILLION. I also hear some TOTO and EUROPE here and there. The band already played at the Gods Of AOR festival in England, together with DARE, MITCH MALLOY, HAREM SCAREM, TERRY BROCK and HOUSE OF SHAKIRA. And in Madrid, they supported MITCH MALLOY. A good beginning of a band, that started their career in 1999. All the songs on this demo are a real treat for your ears, especially when you’re open to songs that contain a high quality of musiciansship and the warm vocals, added by female singer Patricia. The band is recording an album for future release right now, and after I heard this demo, I can’t hardly wait to hear it. Want to know more about this very promising melodic rock band from Spain? Then you’d better check out their website below.
LINE UP: Patricia Tapia (v), José Ángel De La Banda (b), Bernardo Llobregat (g), Francisco J Rodriguez (keys), ), Oscar Perez (dr)
INFO: NEXX, c/o Villa de martin 18, 9oB, Madrid 28029, Spain.
EMAIL: nexxcorreo@yahoo.es
WEBSITE: www.mejorsordos.com/nexx
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
RED LIGHT SPECIAL-
S/T
US Demo CD 2001
5 TRACKS: What It’s Like – Payday – Shut-Up – He’s So Strange – Backstabba
In American retail history, a blue light displayed over goods meant the price had been reduced. A red traffic signal tells you to stop. RED LIGHT SPECIAL’s songs might make you stop and pay attention to relationships. They are from women, who see deceptive men for what they are. Carol Heller can portray tension and anger with her voice. She wrote these songs with Janice. At twenty-six, Carol is the old lady of the band. She and Janice Struna both play guitar. This gives them a full sound. The instrumental part reminds me of THE GO-GOs. Sarah Maes on bass and Brian Coiner (drums) have the beat. They hold your attention with solid music. The best of the five songs on the CD is “Shut-Up”. The female speaker is saying “Shut-up and listen to me..”. It comes off as a statement, rather than an angry rant, because of the music that goes with it. The first track is “What It’s Like”. No instrument player stands out. Rather the sum of the parts is good. Vocals are stated firmly and follow the rhythm. If you like music in this vein, you’ll like RED LIGHT SPECIAL.
Note: RED LIGHT SPECIAL is no longer together as a band. Janice and Carol have started a new band, called GET THE GIRL [http://getthegirl.tripod.com]. They recorded a 4 song demo early this summer. To be continued…
LINE UP: Carol Heller (v,g), Janice Struna (g), Sarah Maes (b), Brian Coiner (dr)
ADDRESS: RED LIGHT SPECIAL, c/o Janice Struna, 1506 Colton Ave., Redlands, CA 92374, USA.
WEBSITE: www.angelfire.com/band/redlightspecial
EMAIL: swingtuna@aol.com (Janice); ch25violet @yahoo.com (Carol) or moodswirlgrrl@ aol.com (Sarah)
by: Jack Little (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
SEVEN ANGELS-
To Know God…And Make Him known
BRA Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: The Way – Power – Here I Am
The Brazilian white metal band SEVEN ANGELS really astonished me with their three track demo. The first song “The Way” could be on any of the latter RAINBOW albums for example. At first, you wouldn’t say that this band plays white metal, but when you take a closer look at the biography of the band and all the other information that we found at their website, then you guess the religious background of the band. Singer Debora asks God if a composition is suitable, before they’ll even record it for instance. Well, I can only congratulate the band with these three songs, because they sound just great! The other two songs on this demo CD are called “Power” and “Here I Am”. They sound less like RAINBOW perhaps and have a bit more power. I can definitely recommend this three track demo to every metal fan out there, because this band is not only suitable for the people, that are familiar with bands like PETRA, WHITECROSS, STRYPER, WHITEHEART or GUARDIAN. These sixteen minutes of powerful melodic metal are enjoyable to everyone!!!
LINE UP: Debora Serri (v/keys), Karim Serri (g/bv, Ricardo Bagatelli (b/bv), Eliezer Leite (dr/bv)
ADDRESS: SEVEN ANGELS, c/o Karim M. Serri, R. Almir Nelson de Almeida 461 ap-6, Blc C4- C. Comprido – Curitiba PR, Brazil.
WEBSITE: www.sevenangels.cjb.net
EMAIL: sevenangels@ig.com.br
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
UNIVERSA-
S/T
NL Demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Nameless - Flightline
UNIVERSA is a very young band, that exists since eleven months right now. With that in mind, we can say that with this first demo they set a big step for the future. Although this demo counts only two tracks, we can label their music as prog-metal. The song "Nameless" has some RUSH influences and is very varied. The voice of Vivian sounds normal and clear with a bit of jazzy accent. The second song "Flightline" has a drum intro, which reminds me of Cozy Powell's "Dance With The Devil". They use a lot of keyboards in this song. The furious beginning turns into a ballad almost right away and ends with an instrumental heavy jazzrock influenced part, that also has a long guitar solo. The band doesn't avoid other music styles in their songs and that is what makes them different from other prog-metal bands. People, who are interested in prog-rock music in general, keep this band in mind.
LINE UP: Vivian Stoop (v), Sander Kappen (dr), Sjoerd Rombout (key), Teus Kappen (b), Bart Roeften (g)
ADDRESS: UNIVERSA, Duyn en Daelseweg 6, 5391 EE Nuland, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@universa.nl
WEBSITE: www.universa.nl
by: Marcel van Santen (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
VERNICIOUS KNID-
Ra To The Sun
US Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Ghosts Of Metal – Still Waters – Alemaki – Open Road – Ra To The Sun
WHOEAAAAAARRRRGGGH! Yes, this is the kind of music, that I really like to hear!! VERNICIOUS KNID already impressed me on their first demo CD “VK1”, but the opener of this five track demo really did blew me away! Their sound reminds me of the good old US metal bands of the eighties. High (and I really mean HIGH!) screaming vocals, fast guitar attacks and furious power! Nothing can beat that!!!! The first song is called “Ghost Of Metal”, and it’s the highlight of this CD for me. In the second song, I hear some influences of the old RUSH and CIRITH UNGOL for the US metal adepts amongst us. It’s a short song, which is called “Still Waters”. It has these high pinching vocals of Amber and it sounds absolutely awesome to me! Listen to the great guitarsolos during “Alemaki”, where Amber screams like she’s slaughtered to death. “Open Road” is a ballad, but every good metal band needs one. VERNICIOUS KNID definitely brings back the golden days of the US metal scene with these five tracks, and I am more than thankful for doing that. The CD closes with a song called “Ra To The Sun”, the title track of this demo. The full story of this band is to be found in this very issue of MM, because from the first notes on of “VK1”, I could already tell that this band would be very interesting for our magazine and readers. US metal at its very best!! Do I need to say more?? Visit their website at mp3.com (and hopefully an official band page soon) for all the latest information about this band. The five songs have a total lengh of about eighteen heavenly minutes!
LINE UP: Amber Brown (v/g), Cory Brown (g), Bryan Bishop (b), Jeff Carnell (dr)
ADDRESS: VERNICIOUS KNID, c/o Bryan Bishop, 875 W. Meadowbrook Exp. #F. 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84123, USA.
WEBSITE: artists.mp3s.com/artists/212/vernicious_knid.html
EMAIL: vernicious_knid@hotmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
WITCH HUNT-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: Fed Up – Once Upon A Time – On My Honor – Shroud Of Silence – Backfire – Take A Stand
Janine tells me, that they first formed WITCH HUNT in July 2001, because they were fed up of going to hardcore shows to see all white male testosterone filled bands. What they did was form a feminist hardcore band. It addresses issues, that they believe need to be heard. They’re easy to hear. WITCH HUNT play loud, strong, high energy music. The guitar and drum parts vary from song to song, staying inside hardcore. Including a lyric sheet with this tape was a good idea. All of these songs address issues. “On My Honour” is about domestic violence world wide. Angry punk sounds drive home a point that needs to be made. “Shroud Of Silence” addresses gender apartheid in Afghanistan. While we may be rid of the Taliban, this will continue to be an issue. The fast guitar, rapid drum kit bashing and sneering vocals carry this song along. Another song is called “Once Upon A Time”. It’s about how christianity has been used to oppress women. There are plenty of vocal growls and urgent music. The last one is called “Take A Stand”. Political punk band often encourage you to take a stand. This time it’s against negative things that are directed towards women.
LINE UP: Janine (b/v), Nicole (g/v), RDB (d/v)
ADDRESS: WITCH HUNT, 107 N. Main St. Apt. #8, Topton, PA, USA.
EMAIL: witchxhunt@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.witch-hunt.cjb.net
by: Jack Little (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
ZODIACAL CIRCLE-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Amanic – The Prophet
In our A-Z of females in metal, we’ve already arrived at the Z right now. ZODIACAL CIRCLE was formed in 2001 and this is their recent two track demo. At the time they recorded it, the band consisted of Melody Gallegos on drums, Tim Gallegos on guitar and vocals, Mindi Johnson on guitar and Sean Bautista on bass. However, Sean and Mindi left the band shortly after that and they’ve been replaced by Kevin on vocals and Tommy on bass. Can you still follow me?!? Let’s face the facts first. The two songs on this demo are called “Amanic” and “The Prophet”. The songs have a total running time of over six minutes and we can hear a band, that stands with both feet in the new millennium. They originally started out as an all-female band, but in a short period of time they went through some serious line up changes. I hope they can hold their place in the scene, because their songs are not bad at all. The music is powerful and it shows some comparision to the old doomy sound of BLACK SABBATH here and there. Although we can’t categorise them as a stoner or doom metal band, in my opinion. The vocals show some resemblance with good old ZAKK WYLDE. Same goes for the fuzzy guitar sound. I liked these two songs a lot, but their future can only be bright, when they come up with a stable line up. On www.zodiacalcircle.com, you can find all the latest news about the band.
CURRENT LINE UP: Melo Gallegos (dr), Tim Gallegos (g/v), Kevin (v), Tommy (b)
ADDRESS: ZODIACAL CIRCLE, c/o Melo Gallegos, 20511 Anita Ave. #25, Castro Valley, CA 94546, USA.
EMAIL: mmelo88@aol.com
WEBSITE: www.zodiacalcircle.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#30/Dec. 2002)
AFTER DEATH-
Consumed By Fire
US demo CD 2003
2 TRACKS: Consumed By Fire – Sulphur-Mercury-Salt
AFTER DEATH consists of Lisa Lombardo, who we also know as Lisa The Wolf. This time she collaborates with Mike Browning on drums (ex-MORBID ANGEL, NOCTURNUS & ACHERON) and Bryan Hipp on guitar (ex-BRUTALITY, DIABOLIC & CRADLE OF FILTH). The two songs on this demo can be described as black metal with a bombastic feel to it. Refering to the heavy and dark keyboard parts of Lisa, who occasionally still howls like a wolf. The two loooong songs on this demo CD are called “Consumed By Fire” and “Sulphur-Mercury-Salt”. Together, they are worthy of about twenty-five minutes of dark metal. The guitar cries, when Bryan pulls the strings. The narration of the singer creates a touch of underground, which quickly disappears, when he starts to sing. The topic on this demo is about the ancient Egypt, one of the favorite subjects of many extreme metal bands. Because of the use of keyboards, there might be some resemblance to a band like DIMMU BORGIR, but AFTER DEATH sounds much darker and besides, they play a lot slower. AFTER DEATH has created a very mystical sound on this demo, which leaves a huge distance between the average black metal band and this band from Tampa, Florida. You can check out their website (see URL below) for more information about this promising threesome.
LINE UP: Lisa Lombardo (keys), Mike Browning (dr), Bryan Hipp (g)
ADDRESS: c/o Lisa Lombardo, P.O. Box 8173, Tampa, FL 33674-8173, USA.
EMAIL: lisathewolf@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.afterdeath666.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
ARGENTHEA-
Allegro Non Troppo
IT Demo CD 2002
7 TRACKS: Part 1 Intro – Part 1 – Part II Prelude – Part II – Part III (Sunlight) – Part IV Crazy Feels – Part IV Zaccaria’s HVLstI
This is a very interesting prog rock band from Italy. The seven songs on this CD have a playing time of about twenty-four minutes. On one hand, we hear influences of old school prog rock bands like EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER, YES and KING CRIMSON and on the other hand touches of the newer sound of DREAM THEATER. Innovative music with long instrumental parts is what you’ll get, when listening to songs like “Part I”. This “Part I” is related to the song “Allegro Non Troppo”, which is divided into seven songs on this CD. The keyrole of this Italian outfit is formed by Antonio Zaccaria on guitar and bass, and Marcello de Marzo on drums, percussion and organ. The female input comes from a girl named Valentina. Her warm voice mixes very well with the sound of this well- talented prog rock band. Valentina sings on the two longest songs of this new product (“Part 1” & “Part III (Sunlight)”). The short tracks are instrumentals, in which we can enjoy the musicianship of the two guys, like a drumsolo in “Crazy Feels” and an acoustic guitar solo in “Zaccaria’s HLVst1”. I liked their music very much and I hope to hear more from this band in the near future.
LINE UP: Antonio Zaccaria (g/b), Marcello De Marzo (dr/p/org)
WEBSITE: www.argenthea.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
DELAIN-
Amenity
NL Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Maniken – Predestined Lives – Amenity – Forest
Twenty minutes of high quality gothic fantasy metal is what you get when you buy the demo of DELAIN from the Netherlands. DELAIN is the band of ex-WITHIN TEMPTATION keyboardplayer Martijn Westerholt. You can say that Martijn was rather unlucky when he had to leave WITHIN TEMPTATION, because he suffered from glandular fever. After a few years of absence, he’s finally ready to strike back with his own band. Musically, he hasn’t drifted too much apart from the sound of WITHIN TEMPTATION. Listen to the beautiful music he created and the rather beautiful voice of frontlady Anne Invernizzi. Besides Anne and Martijn, we hear Roy van Enkhuizen (VIRTUAL FAKE) on guitar, Frank van der Meijden on guitar, Martijn Willemsen on bass and Tim Kuper (SEE MY SOLUTION) on drums. But there’s more, because George Oosthoek of ORPHANAGE added some guest vocals to the titeltrack on this four track demo. The four songs hold a certain magic, that could easily be compared to bands like WITHIN TEMPTATION and AFTER FOREVER. The bombastic sound of the keyboards being in the centre of DELAIN’s music. But when the two guitarplayers get into the picture, they come up with some very impressive guitarsolos. Anne’s vocals are a point of rest in this all. With the right promotion, this band can become very huge, mark my words!
LINE UP: Anne Invernizzi (v), Roy van Enkhuyzen (g), Frank van der Meijden (g), Martijn Willemsen (b), Martijn Westerholt (synths), Tim Kuper (dr)
EMAIL: info@delain.nl
WEBSITE: www.delain.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
EMBRACING WINDS-
The Astounding Dawn
PT Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: Secret Passage To The Main Gallery – This Magic Land – Transparent And Wild – Astounding Dawn – The Vision – Haunted Wind
EMBRACING WIND hails from Portugal and consists of Pedro Oliveira and Margarida de Moura. Their first demo is called “The Astounding Dawn” and contains about twenty-five minutes of ambient metal music. When you’re in the mood for this kind of music, you’re gonna be really pleased with these six songs. However, if you want to hear loud guitars, fast riffs and high pincing vocals, then you’d better leave this demo for what it is. The music sounds quite okay, but the production is very soft. To hear all the details, you must at least have a crystal clear production. Now you have to turn the volume knob up all the way to hear what the band is playing. I must say their music was really nice, and the concept of the whole story was rather good, too. Enjoy this music with the lights down low, on a Friday evening after a long week of hard work. I bet you will relax in a very fine way and escape to a peaceful world for about twenty-five minutes. After that you will return back to reality, unless you push the repeat button, for a second trip. The band is already working on a follow up to this demo, which will be callled “Autumn Stories”. They will play a more doomy style on that one, so they promised us. I am very curious…
LINE UP: Pedro Oliveira & Margarida de Moura
ADDRESS: EMBRACING WINDS, c/o Pedro Oliveira, Apartado 69, Sto. António de Oeiras, 2781-601 Oeiras, Portugal.
EMAIL: embracingwinds@megamail.pt
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
JUDGEMENT DAY-
Age Of Mine
RUS Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Confession On The Death-Bed – Demons’ Aria – Age – Someone Of Us – Tempting Sinfulness
Besides MERLIN, we recently got in touch with another band from Russia, called JUDGEMENT DAY. Their five track demo is a real masterpiece! JUDGEMENT DAY consists of Irina Kirova on vocals and lead guitar (Flying V!), Konstantin Mironov on guitars, Alex Zavolokin on bass and session drummer Dmitri Ostrovsky. The songs are in the Russian language, (but you can request an English translation through the band!) and their music can be described best as a mix between traditional hard rock and heavy metal. Their music may sound a bit outdated to some of you readers, but I just love this old fashioned sound with a fast beat and flashing guitar riffs! Irina has got a nice voice. She’s not a screamer or a talker, but she has a nice singing voice, which suits very well to the music. I hear a touch of ACCEPT in their guitar sound here and there, especially in songs like “Demons’ Aria” or “Age”, where the twin guitar solos sound quite similar to the recognisable sound of the ACCEPT guitar tandem. The picture on the cover looks very beautiful! A very promising Russian heavy metalband indeed!
LINE UP: Irina Kirova (v/g), Konstantin Mironov (g), Alex Zavolokin (b), Dmitry Ostrovsky (session dr)
EMAIL: k_mironov@mtu-net.ru (Konstantin Mironov) or irina.kirova @mtu-net.ru (Irina Kirova)
WEBSITE: www.judgementday.da.ru
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
KNIGHTS OF TETHYS-
Demo Crusades
US Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Orion, The Hunter – When Lightning Strikes In A Snowstorm – Summoning The White Knight
This is the three track demo of KNIGHTS OF TETHYS, a traditional/epic power metal band from Denver, Colorado, established in May 2002. The band consists of Ryan Darnell on guitar and vocals, Chris Clark on drums, Derek ‘Wraithchild’ Boyd on bass and lead vocals, Jeff Crowder on lead guitar and Amber Bingham on keyboards. Already in opener “Orion, The Hunter”, we hear some traditional heavy metal, with references to old school US metal bands like MANILLA ROAD, OMEN and WARLORD. Fast, powerful guitarwork, completed with some high pincing vocals. The compositions are good and far from easy, and the instrumental parts are very convincing. Vocal wise, you either love them or you hate them. I am with the first category of people, because I like those high pincing screams. But that’s my own (humble) opinion. If you like KING DIAMOND’s voice excorcism, you’ll definitely enjoy this as well. The weapon sound effects in “Summoning The White Knight” are done very well. It fits really well in the song. I am looking forward to hear more from this very promising band, because this is definitely my cup of tea!
LINE UP: Ryan Darnell (rg/lv), Derek ‘WraithChild’ Boyd (b/lv), Jeff Crowder (lg), Amber Bingham (keys), Chris Clark (dr&perc)
ADDRESS: K.O.T. c/o 5923 E. 121st Place, Brighton, CO 80602, USA.
EMAIL: KnightsOfTethys@aol.com
WEBSITE: www.geocities.com/knightsoftethys
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
LUCUBRO-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Held Within - Heaven Can Wait - Afraid To Be Alone - Another World
This CD of LUCUBRO (pronounced “Loo-Coo-Bro”) is heavy. It's not some hybrid with other forms of music. First up comes “Held Within”. The melody comes charging at you. Then Krista comes in with vocals. They carry the emotion in the song well. It’s about being betrayed and losing everything to someone else. There are a lot of chugging and pounding on all of these songs. Heath is evident on the next song “Heaven Can Wait”. The sound is slow and heavy. The vocals are well placed. There's a nice guitar solo. Metal has discussed fearing death before. Hear death is inevitable and just postponed. Then there's “Afraid To Be Alone”. It tells of falseness towards someone else and fear of the consequences. The dramatic sound tells you, this is important. The fastest song on this CD is “Another World”. It's the kind of music, that sends heads banging. All the instruments come through strong. Steve adds some drum rolls that raise the tension. Krista's vocals stand out against the back drop of the melody. It considers a relationship, that has gone into unexpected and uncharted places. Why isn't this band on some major record label?
Note: Chris Gervais (formerly RAWHEAD REXX) joined the band in July 2002 as their new drummer.
LINE UP: Krista Van Guilder (g/v). Jeff Provost (g), Heath Thayer (b), Steve Provost (dr)
ADDRESS: LUCUBRO, P.O. Box 2616, Worcester, MA 01613-2616, USA.
PRICE CD: US$5.00 (+ US$2.00 for shipping and handling)
EMAIL: music@lucubro.com
WEBSITE: www.lucubro.com
by: Jack Little (MM#31/March 2003)
PEACE CHILD-
House Of Mercy
US Demo CD 2001
4 TRACKS: House Of Mercy – Man Made Religion – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down – Dreams
This is the four track demo of PEACE CHILD, which was already recorded in 2001. The band was previously known as ARSENAL. But after some line up chances, they changed their name into PEACE CHILD. From the name of the band, you’ll know that we’re dealing with a white metal band here or a Christian rock band, as they’d like to call it. The music could be described as melodic rock or even A.O.R. The beautiful voice of Christine Steel is breathtaking. Their music can easily be played on any local radio station. Listen to the great guitarwork in “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down”, and you’ll know that we’re dealing with a very high quality band here. I am thinking of names like FOREIGNER, VANDENBERG, BOSTON, JOURNEY, WHITESNAKE, TOTO, etc., except that the lyrics of PEACE CHILD deal with the positive things in life. Which is a good thing and I think there should be more bands like this. Besides Christine, PEACE CHILD consists of Kevin Pike on guitar and bass, Brien DeChristopher on guitar and Stan Arthur on drums. The production is just perfect and I’m confident of a golden future for this band. However, there’s one negative aspect here: the band doesn’t exist anymore. Despite of that, they recorded such an impressive demo, with “Man Made Religion” as an absolute highlight, that I just needed to mention them here.
LINE UP: Christine Steel (v), Kevin Pike (g&b), Brien DeCristopher (g), Stan Arthur (dr)
LOCATION: Tampa, Florida, USA
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
THE PEPPERMINTS-
Pet Set Records
US Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Sweet Tooth Abortion - Don't Kiss Me - Twilight X Cinch
Remember when demos weren't as well produced as they are today? When somebody gave you a tape and said this is a kinda rough mix, it really was rough. If so, you'll like THE PEPPERMINTS demo. Their intention is punk rock. They capture that raw sound well on this tape. It's like hearing them live in a small club. That's where new bands play. Maybe that's what they really should sound like. The words aren't as clear as you might like. They come in angry short phrases. One song uses a shouted chorus. The melodies aren't real complicated. If the first song doesn't use much bass, it can be heard on the next two. PEPPERMINT’s guitar parts are mostly chords. Different chords in different rhythms. So there’s some variation. If this is the sound they’re trying to get, then this demo is a success. The band say they’ve been lowering standards in San Diego for five years. By now, too smooth recording has gotten to be something of a standard. That means we need punk bands to defy it. If that's what you want, you'll like this tape.
LINE UP: Lill, Maren, Gream
ADDRESS: THE PEPPERMINTS, 3321 fir-B, San Diego, CA 92102, USA
EMAIL: petsetrecords@yahoo.com or peppermint.twist.666@bust.com
WEBSITE: home.earthlink.net/~marenthebest
by: Jack Little (MM#31/March 2003)
SOULSTITIA-
Second
NL Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Feast In Hell – Death Illusion – Dedicated – Correcting Madness
SOULSTITIA presents us their second demo, containing four tracks and a total length of a bit over twenty-five minutes. The band consists of seven persons, namely Angelique Tromp on vocals, Ivo van der Graaff on vocals, John van Tol on guitar, Kevin Storm on guitar, Bram Verhelle on bass, Alex Smith on drums and Thijs Nales on keyboards. This band seems to be a very democratic band. A song will only be recorded, when the ‘SOULSTITIA-vibe’ is there. I think that’s a solid base. But what exactly is this so called SOULSTITIA-vibe? Dark, atmospheric, ambient metal, mixed with death and black metal parts and male grunts could be a short description. But this only goes for the music of the band. Friendship should definately be added to this description, because this is another important ingredient in the whole concept. The songs on this second demo show us some very good musical ideas, a good production and a band that is not afraid to drift away from the paved paths in the metal music. Their musical ideas spread their wings, and the band flies away to their own world, which is full of nice musical sidesteps. The band already shared the stage with NEXT WASTE DIMENSION, CERBERUS, ORDO DRACONIS, SINISTER, DETONATION and AUTUMN, and I can only be very positive about the musical abilities of this Dutch septet.
LINE UP: Angelique Tromp (v), Ivo van der Graaff (v), John van Tol (g), Kevin Storm (g), Bram Verhalle (b), Alex Smith (dr), Thijs Nales (keys)
ADDRESS: SOULSTITIA, c/o Angelique Tromp, Beverstraat 51, 3513 AP Utrecht, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: soulstitia@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.soulstitia.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#31/March 2003)
AVIDOST-
A Silent Masquerade
US Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Claws Of Unrest – Game Called Ruin – Precipice – A Silent Masquerade
AVIDOST hails from the surroundings of Chicago. They present us their four track demo, worthy of twenty-five minutes of the finest in progrock music. The band consists of Oliver Homann on guitars, Joseph Degroot on guitars, Adam Schifler on bass, Shaun C. Mackey on drums and Jennifer Gore on vocals. Oliver, Adam and Jenifer have played before in a band called MOURNING SUN. However, this band didn’t quite go anywhere, so the three of them decided to start a band of their own and set out a different direction. Jennifer’s vocals are clear and reminded me a bit of Warrel Dane of NEVERMORE. The music however is much more progressive. In “Claws Of Unrest”, we already hear the musical abilities of the band. The song structures may have been used before, but the vocal parts, instrumental improvisations and guitar solos are far beyond average in this opener. The songs are long (every song lasts more than five minutes), and this way, they’re able to put many ideas into one song. In “Game Called Ruin”, we hear a more aggressive sound of AVIDOST. Double bass drums and faster rhythms are used, but we also hear some acoustic guitars later on. At the end of the song, we are treated on a nice instrumental part, too. Variation seems to be the key word for this song. “Precipice” is on next, and the four track demo is closed by “A Silent Masquerade”. From the start, you’ll know that this song might be something special. Once again they have put many different influences in the song, ranging from JOE SATRIANI and NEVERMORE to the opera like vocals, used in the beginning of this song by Jennifer. Seven long minutes of varied progressive rock parts. AVIDOST is well worth checking out. On the website of the band, you can find the lyrics to their songs, and the way to order this good four track demo.
LINE UP: Jennifer Gore (v), Oliver Homann (g), Joseph Degroot (g), Adam Schifler (b), Shaun C. Mackey (dr)
ADDRESS: AVIDOST, c/o P.O. Box 459, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, USA.
EMAIL: contact@avidost.com
WEBSITE: www.avidost.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
DEVINE ESSENCE-
S/T
USA Demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Seal The Deal - Osiris
DEVINE ESSENCE is a black metal outfit from Florida, led by Lisa ‘The Wolf’ Lombardo (GARGOYLES/LISA THE WOLF/AFTER DEATH). Lisa is becoming a real cult star and considering her many different projects over the years, she hasn’t been sitting still either. The lovely lady with the blood red BC Rich guitar convinces me once again with her talent. Together with Mick Browning on drums and vocals, and Tom Swain on bass and vocals, Lisa The Wolf forms the band DEVINE ESSENCE. Opener “Seal The Deal” is a very strong metal song, with a subtle touch of IRON MAIDEN in its rhythm, but the rest of the music sounds much darker. It even leans towards the melodic black metal. Just listen to the opening narration and the typical black metal screams. The lead guitar on “Seal The Deal” is done by Mark English, while Chris Farmer plays the second rhythm guitar on this one. Tony Norman plays the lead guitar on the long black metal like epic “Osiris”. While the band p(l)ays their homage to Osiris, we worship this metal lady to death, who knows to surprise us with every release. This two-track CD demo is packed with a beautiful multi colour inlay. Metal adepts must definitely check it out.
LINE UP: Lisa The Wolf (g/v), Mick Browning (dr/v), Tom Swain (b/v)
ADDRESS: DEVINE ESSENCE, c/o Lisa The Wolf, P.O. Box 8173, Tampa, FL 33674, USA.
EMAIL: sweetserpent93@hotmail
WEBSITE: www.devineessence.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
THE DRIVE-
S/T
USA Demo CD 2002
6 TRACKS: Cursed – Important - Drip Trickle - Dirty Money - Suicide Note – Sever
I took THE DRIVE’s CD for a test drive. What I found was music that reminded me of ALICE IN CHAINS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and NIRVANA. Rachel's vocals are mixed evenly with the rest of the band. We can hear her well. The four instruments are good as a unit. There are series of chords, followed by words and more chords. This formula held my attention. For starters,there's “Cursed”. The words are about someone, who is haunted by what she thinks is expected of her. The vocals sound strained. Good drumming by Sarah and chugging guitars establish the rhythm. “Drip Trickle” takes the position, that we are pure at birth and become flawed as we live. It's not doomy music. It’s slower and more deliberate. The vocals are precisely stated. Later there's the near “Suicide Note”. It's slow and the words are long. There's a well-played instrumental break. In this song emotion is the invader. It disturbs the peace. This six song CD closes with “Sever”. It tells about excepting a bad past and going on. This long song goes through several phases. It could be an album cut, but it’s too long for a single. All the songs are fairly heavy. Relentlessly depressing, but well done!
LINE UP: Rachel Tricarico (v/g), Jea Scott (b/v), Eva Chavela (g/v), Sarah Vasil (dr)
EMAIL:thedrive@nyc.com
WEBSITE: www.thedrive.info
by: Jack Little (MM#32/June 2003)
GET THE GIRL-
S/T
USA Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Traffic Jam - The Fire - Glazen Eyes - What Would You Do
When the MM satellite detected band formation near Laguna Beach, CA., I was sceptical. The GET THE GIRL’s CD won me over. Both music and lyrics are well written. I'd call this rock, but not heavy metal. Janice Struma provides enough guitar bombast. She plays the four songs equally well. Carol Heller adds a second guitar were necessary. What she does best is sing. Carol provides a light touch on “The Fire”, a tense sound for “Glazen Eyes” and a questioning tone with “What Would You Do”. On the low end, Caryn Hoffert plays bass. She’s emphasized on two of these four songs. Similarly, Kristen Bartownski, on drums can come forward when necessary or play as part of the group. Lyrics to these songs have some story to them. Most of the time, they can be heard. They may be longer than average, however the combination of words and music keep you listening. GET THE GIRL have been playing together for about a year. As good as they sound, I would have guessed longer. They also played a benefit for the Fender guitar museum. That's a project music fans can appreciate. There should be room in rock and roll for a band like this. Get GET THE GIRL!
LINE UP: Carol Heller (v/g), Janice Struma (g), Caryn Hoffert (b), Kristin Bartkowski (dr)
ADDRESS: Michael Ensch, P.O. Box 9215, Laguna Beach, CA 92652, USA.
EMAIL: abstractcoloring@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://getthegirl.tripod.com
by: Jack Little (MM#32/June 2003)
JAMBONE-
S/T
NL Demo CD 2003
5 TRACKS: No Way Out – I Don’t Care – You’re In My Hands – In My Own Backyard – The Bright Side
It’s always a pity, when people are leaving a successful band. However, most of the time they start their own career, creating another new well-talented and successful band. That’s the way the story goes and that is also why the music business is sometimes drowning in new talented bands. JAMBONE is a new Dutch band, with connections to WITHIN TEMPTATION. In our previous issue we already presented you the demo of Martijn Westerholt and DELAIN. Now we focus ourselves on Ivar De Graaf and JAMBONE. Ivar is also an ex-member of WITHIN TEMPTATION, and this is the five track, twenty minute demo of his new band JAMBONE. Besides Ivar, we can hear Michiel Parqui on bass, Edo Van Der Kolk on guitar, Judith Rijnveld on vocals and Zelda Weski on backing vocals. Judith sounds a bit like ANOUK, but the backgroud vocals of Zelda give the band a more melodic touch. Their music is a mix between the rock songs of ANOUK and the modest side of SKUNK ANANSIE and has nothing at all to do with the gothic fantasy metal, that we hear from WITHIN TEMPTATION. They bring you the stories from the real world, with “I Don’t Care” (remember MOTHERS FINEST?) as definite highlight. “The Bright Side” is a ballad like song, with a nice instrumental break at the end. JAMBONE is a very refreshing rock band, so keep their name in mind!
LINE UP: Judith Rijnveld (lv), Zelda Weski (bv), Michiel Parqui (b), Ivar de Graaf (dr&ag), Edo van der Kolk (g)
ADDRESS: JAMBONE, c/o Ivar de Graaf, Pahudstraat 83, 2593 TC Den Haag, The Netherlands
EMAIL: info@jambone.org
WEBSITE: www.jambone.org
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
LIANAN SHEE-
Better Way
NL Demo CD 2002
4 TRACKS: Better Way - You Don’t Deserve This Pain – Running –Blankness
My first introduction to this band, when I reviewed their last demo, was pretty positive and I was convinced this wasn’t the last I would hear of them. With their third demo CD “Better Way”, they’ve made another step to success (I sincerely hope) and I think they could easily break through to a big audience. Opener “Better Way” is a mix of ska, funk and rock and sounds like it could become a hit single. Lead singer Marloes has a great voice and musical wise everything is in order in this band. The band sounds tight and you can hear they’re having fun, when playing. Second song “You Don’t Deserve This Pain” is a wonderful ballad with great guitar playing and great singing by Marloes. “Running” opens with an acoustic guitar intro and has a nice solo in the end. This song sounds a bit poppy in the good sense of the word and also has hit potential. Last song “Blankness” starts with a dance intro, which erupts in heavy guitars to acoustic sounds. I think you’ve got it by now: these songs are not boring. It’s just the opposite. I think, these five people can be proud of this effort. All band members are very young, but they know how to play their instruments (a little flaw on occasion) and in Marloes they have a good singer. Now the only thing they need is some good professional guidance and a record deal and, with a little luck, LIANAN SHEE could be big. Nice going, guys and good luck!
LINE UP: Marloes van Elswijk (v), Sander ‘Buss’ Bus (g), Tijmen ‘Temus’ van Wageningen (g), KK (b), Raymond ‘El Tente’ Drenth (dr)
ADDRESS: LIANAN SHEE music productions v.o.f., Postbus 13019, 2501 EA Den Haag, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: info@liananshee.nl
WEBSITE: www.liananshee.nl
by: Richard van Oudheusden (MM#32/June 2003)
NON OF US-
[' krî-sàl ´ î-dêz´]
GER Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Like U – Sweet Revenge – One Of The Cases – Distorted World – Headtwister
It’s possible to feel the power of NON OF US, when you turn up the volume. This powerful music was made to play loud. These five songs were recorded, mixed and programmed in (only) five days, and I can tell you the result is more than great. NON OF US calls their music ‘cross-core’; no borders, no limits. I can go for that, but if you’re a nu-metal fan you will also be pleased to listen to these five powerful tracks, I think. There are fast, furious drums on almost every song. Done by the four legged drummer Roeuh Düvel. Ruth Maassen has got a good voice. There’s almost nobody to compare her with, because the nu-metal scene is still dominated by male singers. But I liked her clear voice very much. The rest of the band consists of Pedro Beenen on bass, Maurice Dresen on guitar and backing vocals and Guhlenn on the ‘so called’ semi-bass-guitar. (whatever that may be) “One Of The Cases” is a short point of rest. I’m not sure if you call this a ballad in the nu-metal scene, otherwise I hope they can forgive me this mistake. NON OF US prove that they have talent, and they also show that you can bring out a good product even if you have limited time to do this. The name of the CD took me about five minutes to type it right. Watch out for a short hidden track at the end of the CD. The demo comes in a hard covered black slipcase with inprinted logo, which is very luxe for a demo recording. But it’s the first impression and that’s already perfect. A band to look out for in the future!
LINE UP: Ruth Maassen (v), Maurice ‘Dieke’ Dresen (g/bv), Guhlenn (semi-bg), Pedro (b), Roland ‘Roeuh Düvel’ Jaegers (dr)
ADDRESS: NON OF US, c/o Roland Jaegers, Hinsbrig 3, 6351 GX Bocholtz, Germany.
EMAIL: nonofus@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.nonofus.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
OCTAVIA-
Guilty
NOR Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Nebula – Deprivation – Guilty, Am I – A Dying Sun In The Morning Of Moonlight – Solicitude
This is a self-financed demo by the band OCTAVIA from Norway. Their music contains influences of gothic, folk, doom, and prog metal. Opener “Nebula” is doomy and melodic. Maybe this song doesn’t quite represent the Norwegian sound, I was expecting to hear. However, with “Deprivation” their sound is getting darker and slower and moving towards the direction, I was thinking of first. The voice of Silje Wergeland is very clear, and maybe a bit too cheerful for the doomy sound of the band. But this is only a minor detail. “Guilty, Am I” is definitely the highlight of the five songs presented here on this twenty minute CD. Think about BLACK SABBATH with Anneke van Giersbergen (THE GATHERING) on vocals! OCTAVIA is all that (and more), and the best is yet to come. We’re dealing with an all-female band here. A band, we will definitely introduce closer to you in the near future, because their sound is great and the songs they write are great, too. “A Dying Sun In The Morning Of Moonlight” is very melodic with touches of gothic rock here and there. The demo closes with “Solicitude”, a dark but sensitive ballad with only the sound of an ‘untuned piano’ (as they like to call it in the CD inlay) in the background. I think, OCTAVIA could be a great promise for the future. The underground is solid (this first demo), the promotion is there (Metal Maidens!), so let’s roll!
LINE UP: Silje Wergeland (v), Tone Midtgaard (synth/rhodes/untuned piano), Bodil Myklebust (g), Gyri S. Losnegaard (g), Trine C. Johansen (b), Hege S. Larsen (dr)
ADDRESS: OCTAVIA c/o Trine C. Johansen, Nygårdsgaten 58, 5008 Bergen, Norway.
EMAIL: trinecj@yahoo.com
WEBSITE: www.octavia.nu
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
PAPER DOLL-
S/T
USA Demo CD 2001
5 TRACKS: Dear John - Crush Song – Broke - In My Eyes – Imperfection
If you just listened to the melody of these songs, you might decide it's just another jingling pop band. There are occasional drum emphasis. We hear chords that are familiar to indie rock bands. That's all well and good, but the strength of this is really in the lyrics. Three of the songs are personal. Two are easily political punk. “Imperfection” is the most pointed of the political works. It's about the extremes some women go to over the idea of beauty. There are negative consequences like bulimia and diet scams. It's the sort of songs, grrrls will agree with. Girls should think about this. “Imperfection” starts out with a guitar intro. Then Emillie Pool picks up the pace on drums. Not so fast as to sound angry. Fast enough to sound concerned. I don't remember hearing a song about having a crush on someone. That is wanting to start a relationship with someone, but not knowing if they want to. A confusing series of thoughts go through your mind. PAPER DOLL cover it well on “Crush Song”. Kaytee O'Neill's vocals are featured. The rest of the band do their part. This is just their demo. When PAPER DOLL's CD comes out, I'll bet it’s even better.
LINE UP: Kaytee O'Neill (v/g), Talia Miller (b), Emilie Paul (dr), Stephen Spector (g/v)
ADDRESS: PAPER DOLL, c/o Kaytee O'Neill, P.O. Box 2133, Fairfax, VA 22031, USA.
EMAIL: paperdollrocks@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.paperdollrocks.cjb.com
by: Jack Little (MM#32/June 2003)
PLUIS EN DE STRUIKROVERS-
Rock Covers
NL Demo CD 2002
10 TRACKS: Beast Of Burden – Can’t Get Enough – Come Together – Do You Like It – Dolifn’s Cry – Eagle – Easy Lover – Hush – Keep On Rockin’ – Rock ‘n Roll
“Fluff And The Highwaymen” is the literally translation of this Dutch rock band from the middle of our country. Three out of the six band members have gained some experience in the best Dutch funrock band in the universe: STORM. I can tell you, they were even better than BAD NEWS for example, because this band could actually play very well and have fun at the same time, while BAD NEWS was more a gimmick and these guys couldn’t play one note right. I’ve seen it myself, when they played at Castle Donington in 1986. The band plays ten rock covers, which sound slightly heavier than the original versions. The band consists of Andreas ‘Pluis’ Smits (STORM) on guitar, Harm Jan Bloem (STORM) on drums, Robbie van der Vaart (STORM) on guitar, Antoine Walsemann on bass, Arjo Miedema (RAMPZALIG) on vocals and Marily Evers on vocals. What you see is what you get. There are no tricks hidden somewhere here. It’s rock in its purest form, with great and heavy versions of such classics as “Beast Of Burden” (BETTE MIDLER), “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love” (BAD COMPANY), “Come Together” (BEATLES/AEROSMITH), “Do You Like It” (KINGDOM COME), “Hush” (DEEP PURPLE) and “Rock N Roll” (LED ZEPPELIN). The band wants to play a lot of gigs in the future, because they say that they can better make use of their talents while being live on stage. Well, you’d better write to the address below, so you can hire them right now!!!!!!! Dutchies can even use the phone, just dial 030-2205617. A traditional rock party will be yours, and that’s a promise!!!
LINE UP: Marily Evers (v), Arjo Miedema (v), Robbie van der Vaart (g), Andreas Smits (g), Antoine Walsemann (b), Harm Jan Bloem (dr)
ADDRESS: PLUIS & THE STRUIKROVERS, c/o Andreas Smits, Plutolaan 8, 3721 MR Bilthoven
EMAIL: andreassmits@xs4all.nl
WEBSITE: www.shorties.nl/pluis
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
SAHARA DUST-
Cry For The Moon
NL Demo CD 2002
2 TRACKS: Cry For The Moon – Illusive Consensus
SAHARA DUST is the new band of Mark Jansen of AFTER FOREVER. We already knew that they started their new career with ex TRAIL OF TEARS vocalist Helena. But when she decided to return to Norway, she was replaced by Simone Simons. With this line up, they present us two new songs on this twelve minute demo CD. The music is very impressive, and I can only have lots of respect for Simone. Her voice is crystal clear, and she could consider herself as a real competitor for estalblished names such as Floor Janssen (AFTER FOREVER), Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION) and Tanja Turunen (NIGHTWISH). And this mezzo soprano is only seventeen years old. The two songs “Cry For The Moon” and “Illusive Consensus” are bombastic and they can be categorised as fantasy metal or fairytale metal. It’s not nice to put a young, talented new band in a box already, but it’s the best way to give you readers (read: buyers of the demo) a good view about what they are buying. The latest news is that SAHARA DUST has changed their name into EPICA. Under this name they’ve already recorded a debut album, called “The Phantom Agony”, which will be out this month. You will read more about that release in our next issue, of course. This great two track demo can be ordered by sending Euro 6,50 (incl p&p, for Holland only, I guess). Just send an email to the address below and you’ll receive all the details. And now I’ve heard these two great songs, I think they are only just the beginning of this new start. A very promising beginning, that is.
LINE UP: Simone Simons (v), Mark Jansen (g/gr&screams), Ad Sluijter (g/gr), Coen Janssen (keys), Yves Huts (b), Jeroen Simons (dr)
EMAIL: info@egmuziek.nl
WEBSITE: www.saharadust.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
ZEENON-
Inject The Truth
NOR Demo CD 2002
3 TRACKS: Alienated – Food – Code Of Life
ZEENON hails from Norway. They were formed in 1995 and turn up the volume loud to make sure everybody will hear them. This three track demo contains about eleven minutes of real brutal and aggressive metal mayhem, which is definitely not meant for the faint-hearted. Right in opener “Alienated”, I hear influences of MESHUGGAH, MACHINE HEAD, and SLIPKNOT, a lot of fast riffs, a double bass drum rolling like thunder and the enormous raw throat of Linn Pedersen, one of the three metal maidens of this band. The other two ladies are Linda Aurland on guitar and Elin Henden on bass. Their drummer is the only male member. He’s called Tom V. Nilsen. The second song “Food” shows us a mix between a normal chorus, and a refrain that will wake up those who tried to fall asleep. Linn spits out all the aggression, that’s inside of her. Having said all this, I’d also like to add OTEP and LINKIN PARK as an influence here. This is the bands sixth demo already, and I think it’s about time they start thinking about recording a full length album now. On the third song “Code Of Life” (which is the longest track here, by the way), the vocals still sound very raw. But the intonation is different, and it’s a bit more difficult to hear what Linn’s actually singing. At the end of this last song, the band returns to their early days with a slow and doomy outro. Last year, the band shared the stage with RAGING SPEEDHORN in Oslo, Norway. In the same year, they also released this three track demo CD. At the moment they’re working on a video clip for one of the songs on this good new product.
LINE UP: Linn Pedersen (v), Linda Aurland (g), Elin Henden (b), Tom V. Nilsen (dr)
ADDRESS: ZEENON, c/o Linda Aurland, Schous Plass 5, 0552 Oslo, Norway.
EMAIL: zeenon@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.zeenon.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#32/June 2003)
BLARE BITCH PROJECT-
S/T
US Demo CD 2003
5 TRACKS: Shut The Fuck Up – Get It – Walk Away – Numb – Runnin’ Outta Time
What a great name for a band! I already loved the “Blair Witch” movie, that has almost the same name. This is the new outfit of Blare N. Bitch, formerly BUTT TRUMPET and co-founding member of BETTY BLOWTORCH. The five songs on this demo have a playing time of about twenty minutes. Opener “Shut The F*ck Up” explodes right at your face with its double lead guitar breaks, while “Get It” could have easily been written by JOAN JETT. It’s very catchy and easy to sing along with. While the next song, “Walk Away” is a more laid back and relaxed. It reminded me of JOAN JETT again vocally, although this sounds a bit more aggressive. The guitars do an excellent job here, adding a nice bluesy guitar solo to it. The sudden speed change comes as a real surprise: a very powerful explosion hits my room. And my neighbours fully agree with that! “Numb” is a very poppy song with again some great lead riffs, which reminded me of good ol’ Ace Frehley (KISS) or Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS). But they definitely saved the best for last! An AC/DC like song, called “Runnin’ Outta Time” (think about the likes of “Heatseeker”). The solos are definitely not of this world and I completely lost my mind here. Wow, this is ultra cool!! The BLARE BITCH PROJECT consists of Blare N Bitch on guitar and vocals, Punky on guitar and vocals, Leah Casper on bass and vocals and Chris Markwood on drums and vocals, who replaced Becky Wreck (LUNACHICKS). A decent introduction to this band and a peak in the past with Blare N Bitch will be coming up in the next issue of Metal Maidens, hopefully. In the meantime, you can enjoy the five songs on this superb demo!
LINE UP: Blare N. Bitch (g/v), Punky (g/v), Leah Casper (b/v), Chris Markwood (dr)
ADDRESS: BLARE BITCH PROJECT, c/o P.O. Box 220848, Newhall, CA 91322-0848, USA.
EMAIL: blare@blarebitchproject.com
WEBSITE: www.blarebitchproject.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#33/Oct. 2003)
DAMNZAL-
S/T
AUS Demo CD 2003
2 TRACKS: Grrlfriend – Like Me
DAMNZAL hails from Australia and was introduced to us by PEGAZUS frontman Johnny Stoj. It’s a heavy rock band, consisting of Paula Condell on lead guitar (ex-VELVET HAMMER, RUBY DOOMSDAY), Tania Pennisi on vocals (ex-RUBY DOOMSDAY), Bindy Paxton on rhythm guitar (ex-FIRE SIGN), Vanessa Payne on bass (ex-RUBY DOOMSDAY) and Scott Danson on drums (ex-CYCLONE TRACY). They present us their two track demo here, worthy of almost six minutes of good solid rock. “Grrrlfriend” opens with a great rhythm guitar groove and repetative lyrics, making it easy to sing along to this song. “Like Me” is the second (and last) song on this demo, with another great (almost PANTERA like) groove. The whole sound is a bit more glam-ish though, but hey didn’t PANTERA start as a glam rock band first, too? The girls are dressed up with latex, make up, leather and ultra high heels. A good way to impress the reviewer, who gets his first punch in the face by the looks of this new band. When the sound is good too, such is the case with DAMNZAL, what else can go wrong? Four blonde rock goddesses and a charmful drummer with devil horns on his head rock out on these two songs. They sound pretty evil to me. I think, that this band has got a bright future ahead of them. In their live set, they even play their version of “Cherry Bomb” of THE RUNAWAYS. I hope to introduce them closer to you in one of our upcoming issues.
LINE UP: Tania Pennisi (lv), Paula Condell (lg), Bindy Paxton (rg), Vanessa Payne (b), Scott Danson (dr)
EMAIL: vpayne@bobjane.com.au
WEBSITE: www.damnzal.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#33/Oct. 2003)
STAY AT HOME BOMB-
S/T
US Demo CD 2003
7 TRACKS: Missed Your Mark – Amazon – Nobody’s Rib – Plastic Girl – Beg Borrow & Steal – One Of A Kind – Stranger
Another part of the BETTY BLOWTORCH heritage is called STAY AT HOME BOMB and consists of Alice Bag (aka Mothra Stewart) (ex-THE BAGS, CHOLITA, LAS TRES, GODDESS 13) on vocals and rhythm guitar, Lysa Flores (aka Lady Licuadora) on guitar and vocals, Judy Cocuzza (aka Judy Polish) (ex-BORAX, TADPOLE, BOBSLED, BETTY BLOWTORCH) on drums and Sharon Needles (aka Sharon Sewing Needles) (ex-BUTT TRUMPET, LEGAL WEAPON, LOVEDOLLS and BETTY BLOWTORCH) on vocals and bass. An all-female punk rock band, that plays very catchy melodic punk rock on this new demo. The demo has eight songs and contains about seventeen minutes of hardcore and punkrock music. The songs are fast and the lyrics have a slightly political background. The real punk attitude is there, and because everyone in the band is writing songs, you’ll hear lots of variation over the eight songs they present here. I hear ‘old heroes’ like THE PRETENDERS and BLONDIE relive in the songs of STAY AT HOME BOMB. The catchiness of the songs make them very easy to listen to, and I wouldn’t be too much surprised, if they would even get some radio airplay with at least one of them. Personally, I liked their song “Stranger” best, which one would you choose? Nice promo picture by the way, ladies!
LINE UP: Alice Bag (rg/v), Lysa Flores (lg/v), Sharon Needles (b/v), Judy Cocuzza (dr)
ADDRESS: STAY AT HOME BOMB, c/o P.O. Box 291288, Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA.
EMAIL: info@stayathomebomb.com
WEBSITE: www.stayathomebomb.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#33/Oct. 2003)
UNSHINE-
S/T
FIN Demo CD 2003
2 TRACKS: On The Broken Line – Patron Saint
UNSHINE hails from the land of the thousand lakes, Finland. This two track demo contains ten minutes of powerful gothic metal. Names like LACUNA COIL and a fast version of WITHIN TEMPTATION come in mind, when I listen to “On The Broken Line” and “Patron Saint”. The fact, that the band was formed in 2001, and they are only existing for two years now, makes you wanna talk about a talent boost here. The female vocalist sings clear and has a warm sound, that could be compared to Nienke de Jong of AUTUMN. Which may be another band that comes in mind, when you are searching for bands to compare UNSHINE with. No screams, but theatrical loaded clear singing. It’s still a bit too early to speak about a new superband here, but the two songs, I’ve heard surely have the potential to lift this band up to a higher level. The guitars riff their way through the song, that don’t have that superbombastic feel, that you hear a lot nowadays. So, this band cannot be sentenced of jumping on that bandwagon. I liked the music of UNSHINE, and I really hope to hear more from them in the near future.
LINE UP: Susanna (v), Harri Hautala (g), Jari (g), Teemu (b), Jukka Stibe (dr), Mika Lord (keys)
ADDRESS: UNSHINE, c/o Harri Hautala, Pitäjänmäentie 17 A 2, 00370 Helsinki, FINLAND.
EMAIL: band@unshine.com
WEBSITE: www.unshine.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#33/Oct. 2003)
ABIGAIL'S ATTICK-
S/T
US Demo CD 2003
4 TRACKS: Sky Blue Pink – Irony – Remains - Pshycotropic
This is ABIGAIL’S ATTIC. It should not be confused with KING DIAMOND’s “Abigail”. A better comparison would be HEART. ABIGAIL’S ATTIC say they’re full of emotion. "Not the regular. Hey, we’re girls, we can play." Maybe things have changed. A band with the talent and energy can be heard no matter, who they are. The first song is “Sky Blue Pink”. Cristina Sanchez can make it sound desperate and lonely with just her voice. There's a telling lyric "Think of what you've missed, the seeds you have sown." The band comes in to provide some melody. You can hear both electric and acoustic guitars on this CD. “Irony” has a nice sound to it. There are guitar notes that set the mood. Justeen Tyme braces it by crashing the cymbals. Valerie Easterbrook and Karen Chambers re-establish it with their guitars. “Pshycotropic” is an instrumental. We can hear the rhythm section clearly. It starts out with an engaging rhythm. Then the band has the opportunity to stretch out and play. “Remains” is a romantic song that is well done. There's enough guitar to carry it along without becoming tiresome. It examens a relationship, that is now over. The thoughts about it are all that remains. ABIGAIL’S ATTIC may not be everyones taste in music, but it is worth listening to.
LINE UP: Cristina Sanchez (v), Valerie Easterbrook (g), Karen Chambers (b), Justeen Tyme (dr)
ADDRESS: ABIGAIL’S ATTIC, c/o 1341 Rosecrans St #2, San Diego, CA 92106, USA.
EMAIL: booking@imnotabigil.com
WEBSITE: www.imnotabigil.com
by: Jack Little (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
AFTER THE SILENCE-
Weary Angels Heart
NL rehearsal CD 2003
5 TRACKS: King Of Hate – Let Love Surround Me – Roaring Silence – Resurrection – Weary Angels Heart
What we have here is nothing official, and it’s a only very rough impression of the Dutch band AFTER THE SILENCE. The five songs on this rehearsal CD have a total playing time of about twenty-five minutes, and my first impression of this band is overwhelming. The songs contain a lot of great and inventive speed and mood changes, the vocals are clear and powerful, and the band members know how to handle their instruments. A good example is opener “King Of Hate”, which is one of my favorite songs on the CD. In “Let Love Surround Me”, female vocalist Ingrid van den Hof-van den Berg reminded me a bit of BONNIE TYLER. And I’d really like to compliment both guitar players Willem van den Hof and Ardy van Breemen, because their solos sound really good. Drummer Edward van Galen opens the third track, which is called “Roaring Silence”. Here we hear the more brutal vocals of bass player Marcel van Rooij. It’s nice to hear a band, that has stepped away from the death grunt/angel like vocals structure, although they do use some brutal vocals in their songs. I would like to categorise AFTER THE SILENCE as a melodic, progressive rock band, from which I expect much in the near future. It’s nice to hear that there are still bands playing melodic rock music. And it’s also very brave of course not to jump on the gothic rock bandwagon, that lies miles ahead in popularity, comparing it to the melodic rock scene. “Resurrection” opens as a ballad, but becomes a more up tempo rock song after a while, with the brutal vocals of Marcel again, and some nice mood changes. The CD closes with the title track “Weary Angels Heart”, another long epic which shows us what this band is all about. I had a great time listening to this five track rehearsal CD, and I hope to hear their official studio CD soon, because this band sounds very promsing indeed.
LINE UP: Ingrid van den Hof-van den Berg (lv), Willem van den Hof (g), Andy van Breemen (g), Marcel van Rooij (b/v), Edward van Galen (dr), Joop de Rooij (keys)
ADDRESS: AFTER THE SILENCE, c/o Rotskruiper 5, 3435 RV Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
EMAIL: afterthesilence.rocks@hccnet.nl
WEBSITE: www.afterthesilence.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
ANOTHER DYING DEMOCRACY-
High Life
US Demo CD 2003
3 TRACKS: High Life – 6th Mass Extinction – Ghosts Of The Underdogs
ANOTHER DYING DEMOCRACY once started their career as SICK OF THE ABUSE. This band from New York is an all-female outfit, who have just released a new demo, which contains three tracks, worthy of about six minutes. The demo starts with a song called “High Life” AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGH!!!!!! What’s that? It’s an ultraloudextrater-restialbrutalmonsterousthrash attack, which only lasts short, but it has the intenseness of a rhinoceros running though your living room. Same goes for “6th Mass Extinction”. Just listen to the power of the drums, it’ll make your neighbours want to move to a cottage on a deserted island. And the power continues in “Ghosts Of The Underdogs”, which is pretty good music to tear down a wall. These ladies sound so brutal, that they will scare the shit out of any people that are not familiar with this doomy death metal sound. If you take a good look at the CD cover of this piece of dynamite, you’ll notice these ladies have even ripped out the eyeballs of a zombie like creature. I’m sure their full length album, they’re recording right now, will raise some eyebrowes here and there. Good for them, ‘cause it’s a tough life in which we’re living, but I think that these ladies of ANOTHER DYING DEMOCRACY will even survive the heaviest storms. Crank it up, ladies!!
LINE UP: Jessica “Jessicallica” Howard (g), Yvette (g), Mindy (b), K.T. (v), Gigi (dr)
EMAIL: sickoftheabuse@aol.com
WEBSITE: www.geocities.com/anotherdyingdemocracy
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
BLOWSIGHT-
Reality
SWE Demo CD 2003
4 TRACKS: When You’re Drunk – Breather – Lonely – What If I
If the name BLOWSIGHT doesn’t ring a bell to you, then we have to change that immediately. The band hails from Sweden and consists of Niklas Fagerström on vocals and guitar, Serban Carapancea on guitar and vocals, Fabien Perreau on drums and vocals and last but not least former DRAIN STH. guitarist Flavia Canel on bass and vocals. The four songs on this demo have a total running time of about fifteen minutes, and you’ll get to hear some nice alternative rock songs, which are very suitable for radio airplay. People, who dig the rock scene of the new millenium, will have to give this demo a few spins to hear the catchy yet emotional rock songs on this demo. The fact, that Flavia changed from guitar to bass might be a surprise, but she has developped herself into a very solid bass player, since the band formed in the beginning of this year. BLOWSIGHT still has got to go a long way, but if they work out their nice musical ideas, I’m almost sure that we will hear a lot more from them in the near future. The last two songs, “Lonely” and “What If I” are definitely the best and most powerful songs on this four track demo.
LINE UP: Flavia Canel (b/v), Niklas Fagerström (v/g), Serban Carapancea (g/v), Fabien Perreau (dr/v)
ADDRESS: MNG Management, c/o Mike “Neg” Gargano, Södermanna-gatan 50 III, 116 65 Stockholm, Sweden.
EMAIL:Mike@mngmanagement.com
WEBSITE: www.mng-management.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
GET THE GIRL-
Run Away
US Demo CD 2003
6 TRACKS: Run Away – Hope – Shut Up – Die Wrong – The Fire – Glazen Eyes
This (second?) demo by GET THE GIRL (we reviewed their “S/T” demo from 2002 in MM#32) has a playing time of about twenty minutes. GET THE GIRL is an all-female rock group, that mixes melodic rock with clear vocals. I’d like to refer to a band like GARBAGE, to give you some idea of their sound. Especially the nice vocals of Carol will catch your interest. Her voice is very much upfront in the mix and she’s definitely the biggest eye-catcher on this six track demo. The first two tracks; “Run Away” and “Hope” have an uptempo speed. The songs are short and catchy and wouldn’t sound bad on the radio either. “Shut Up” is a bit faster and heavier, like the title suggests. The distorted vocals fit perfectly in this song, I think. I liked the next song, “Die Wrong” very much. It’s another uptempo song with a strong heavy beat, and loud guitar riffs. I even hear a few touches of IRON MAIDEN here and there! After a short break, “The Fire” is on next. It’s another good pop/rock song comparable with GARBAGE. The demo closes off with “Glazen Eyes”, which is pretty heavy again. I was positively surprised by this Californian all-girl rock band. GET THE GIRL – definitely a name to remember!
LINE UP: Janice (g), Carol (lv/rg), Caryn (b), Nicki (dr)
ADDRESS: GET THE GIRL, c/o 24594 Sunnymead Blvd., Unit K, Moreno Valley, CA 92553, USA.
EMAIL: GetTheGirlMail@aol.com
WEBSITE: www.getthegirlmusic.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
LISA THE WOLF-
From The Graves
US Demo CD 2003
2 TRACKS: From The Graves – I Am The Wolf
Raise your fists for LISA THE WOLF! She has released two new demo tracks, worthy of nearly fifteen minutes. This means, you will definitely get value for your money! On this demo, we hear Lisa Lombardo on vocals, guitars and keyboards, Mike Browning on vocals and percussion and Tom Swain on vocals and bass. It was produced and engineered by Erik Rutan of MORBID ANGEL fame. When you push the ‘play’ button, you will be surprised by the powerful, doomy sound of LISA. Opener “From The Graves” is a long, and slow tune, full of musical violence. Sometimes the band gains some speed, to wave their hair up and down, but most of the time the slow and doomy sound is as dark and mystical as we already expected by LISA THE WOLF. “I Am The Wolf” opens with a narration of Lisa, followed by a howling wolf. Get ready for another long doomy attack by LISA THE WOLF. Lisa sounds like she’s slaughtered to death, but she’s the wolf and she will survive by her music. Look at her standing in the moonlight, holding her head up high, howling at a full moon. A sight to behold, while listening to these two great doom metal songs. HOOOOWWWLLL!!!!
LINE UP: Lisa Lombardo (v/g/keys), Mike Browning (v/perc), Tom Swain (v/b)
ADDRESS: LISA THE WOLF, c/o P.O. Box 8173, Tampa, FL 33674-8173, USA.
EMAIL:lisathewolf@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.lisathewolf.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
MINATORY-
Spiritual Damnation
BRA Demo CD 2002
8 TRACKS: Age Of Collapse – Atrocities – Immortal Menace – Guilty – Cross Of Souls – Wastedreams – Whispers Of Agression - Minatory
MINATORY are from Brazil and they present us their first demo CD, which contains eight great thrash death metal songs with a total running time of about twenty-five minutes. Eight short thrash death songs fill my room. It’s good to hear a female guitar player again. Their music is not that complex. Nonetheless, it’s very brutal and that’s what counts when you’re playing death metal. The band exists for about three years now, and they’ve already reached a second place at an unsigned band competition. In some songs, we hear some thrashy polka beats, like in “Guilty”. While other songs, like “Immortal Menace”, are a bit more in the brutal death metal style again. One of my favorite songs on this demo is “Cross Of Souls”, because of the nice tempo changes. I hear some SLAYER influences in the guitar solos of Mili, but the music of MINATORY is definitely more brutal than these thrash legends. Especially the singer screams a lot angrier than Tom Araya. I don’t predict the band a golden future, but silver is nice too, I think.
LINE UP: Mili (g), Marcelo (v), Paulo (g), Leandro (b), Rodrigo (dr)
ADDRESS: MINATORY, c/o Maria Emilia R. Brenny, Rua Allan Kardec, 201 Curitiba – Pr Cep 80520-370 Brazil.
EMAIL:minatory@brturbo.com
WEBSITE: www.bandaminatory.hpg.com.br
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
MISERIA-
The Night Of Fetus
FIN Demo CD 2003
4 TRACKS: The Night Of Fetus – Air – Nightmare – Sweetest Pain
MISERIA hails from Finland, and the band has four female members out of five, which is a brilliant score indeed. Their second demo contains four songs, with a total length of about fifteen minutes. The band exists for one year now, and they have already played a few live gigs. The band members are still very young. Drummer Annu for example, is only fifteen years old. Their music could be described as gothic metal. Joni, the one and only male member of the band, takes care of the brutal vocals. While Virpi does the female voice and plays guitar. The band also has something with harmony singing, which makes them sound a little bit different than the average gothic metal band. Maybe you can compare them with a heavier version of THE KELLY FAMILY, especially songs like “The Night Of Fetus” and “Air”. In “Nightmare” the band sounds a bit heavier, but the harmony vocals are still there. The keyboards of Päiva fill a prominent role in the sound of MISERIA. “Sweetest Pain” closes this demo, which didn’t sound bad at all. It’s a duet song between Virpi and Joni. Virpi sounds a bit like Jacqueline Govaerts of KREZIP here. MISERIA sounds different than most average bands in this scene, who always try to sound alike the bigger names, such as TRISTANIA, NIGHTWISH, WITHIN TEMPTATION, AFTER FOREVER or BLACKMORE’S NIGHT. I think, they can see this as a big compliment.
LINE UP: Virpi Loukkola (v/g), Joni Kantoniemi (v/g), Minja Loukkola (b), Päivi Korpi-Käkelä (keys), Annu Autio (dr)
ADDRESS: MISERIA, c/o Virpi Loukkola, Tikkuvuorenkatu 7 B 7, 60200 Seinäjoki, Finland.
EMAIL:miseriaband@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.turn.to/miseria
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
MORNING-
Inside
NL Demo CD 2003
5 TRACKS: Inside – When Shadows Dance In Light – You’re Setting Fire – Kill The Silence – Stop Drawing
MORNING is a talented band from Holland with some very nice songs. A combination of progressive rock, and melodic pop/metal. The songs are heavily influenced by bands like THE GATHERING, LACUNA COIL and sometimes PARADISE LOST, but that's allright by me. Being original is of lesser importance to me than making good songs and MORNING has some great ideas. First song “Inside” shows the influence of THE GATHERING, even in Saskia van Heugten's voice. She sounds a bit like Anneke van Giersbergen and her technique shows a strong resemblance to the voice of Anneke. Saskia sounds a bit young but she has the potential to become a great singer. MORNING's sound is very powerful and yet very melodic with heavy guitar parts and dreamy keyboards. Unfortunately, the production is not perfect. The drums sound a bit weak to me. Also I hear some mistakes in the drum parts especially in the breaks, but maybe that's just a matter of too little studio time. MORNING uses a real choir in the intros of “When Shadows Dance In Light” and “Stop Drawing” and this sounds very nice. The songs contain some surprises, like the cool piano playing in “You're Setting Fire” and the clean guitar intro of “Kill The Silence” with a nice solo, which later turns into a heavy thrash riff accompanied by nice keyboard sounds. Absolutely one of the best songs. Overall, I'm pretty impressed by MORNING's “Inside”. The band has been very successful so far. They've won the first round of the Metal Battle and they've played with bands like EPICA, AUTUMN, CALLENISH CIRCLE and AFTER FOREVER. I have a feeling, that everything will work out for these youngsters (Ages ranging from 15 to 26). Saskia has a good voice and musical wise, there are a lot of great things happening here. Check this dream metal out. They are certainly not the worst band around, on the contrary. Nice going, guys!
LINE UP: Saskia van Heugten (v), Bas Rensen (g), Martijn Brauwers (g), Pol Bannier (b), Stijn Bannier (keys), Mauro Pi (dr)
ADDRESS: MORNING c/o Kromstraat 3, 6114 BJ Susteren, The Netherlands.
EMAIL:info@morning.nl
WEBSITE: www.morning.nl
by: Richard van Oudheusden (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
QUEEN V-
S/T
US Demo CD 2002
5 TRACKS: Critical – Sober - Plan B - Good Girl Gone - Call To Arms
Sometimes heavy bands play slow deliberate songs. For example DOKKEN, GREAT WHITE, even GUNS N’ ROSES. In QUEEN V, we have a band that plays that sort of music all the time. The words are more emotional than descriptive. They sound heart felt. QUEEN V is both the name of the band and the woman, who sings and plays guitar. The rest of the band stamp a definate sound on the songs. However V is the focus of the show. “Critical” opens the CD. It starts out slowly and has slow verses. In between are blasts of energy. The lyrics introduce QUEEN V as the character. I'll bet, they open their live set with that. “Sober” sounds like its name suggests. It's heavy, slow and dramatic. Someone has come to their senses. They know they can't go back. They'll never be the same. There's a strong instrumental break, with lots of guitar. That hightens the drama. The pace picks up for “Good Girl Gone”. This one is faster rock. She's given up on a relationship in the interest of fun. It could be the other side of several male hard rock songs. There's a lot of instrumental fireworks here, too. There are a lot of people, who like this kind of music. QUEEN V's got it.
LINE UP: V (v), Tim Tate (b/v), Eric Sanchez (g,v), Joe Repice(dr)
EMAIL:queenvrocks@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: www.queenv.com
by: Jack Little (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
SIMON STINGER-
Here's Your Heart Back
US Demo CD 2003
4 TRACKS: French Connection - Trip On You - Presence Of Love - Let Me Burn
Today’s dance music is popular. So is pop or rock. If you combine the two, it should attract listeners. That's what Victor James and Mary Cary do, when they write SIMON STINGER songs. The CD starts with “French Connection”. It’s from the point of view of a woman, who finds a certain man attractive. There are some keyboard sounds. There are guitar chords too. “Trip On You” is a little slower. We hear about a woman, who's obsessed with a man. The band includes Elvis Katic on drums. “Presence Of Love” is a ballad. It's romantic, slow and it's about the memory of a previous time. Alicia Perrone sweetly coos the lyrics. Here too the speaker is a woman. SIMON STINGER also have a DVD available. This allows you to see their stage craft. We get to see the two dancers work with Alicia. It's all well choreographed. Reminds me of someone like MADONNA. Some tracks are from the Erotic Ball at the Cow Palace. (Yes, that's what one of San Francisco's biggest venues is called). Others are from a performance at Slims in February of 2003. Since there is a visual element to SIMON STINGER, the DVD gives a better impression of what the band is about. Stouthearted metal fans might think this too soft. There is definitely a market out there for SIMON STINGER.
LINE UP: Alicia Perrone (v), Victor James (b), Elvis Katic (dr), Mary Cary (g)
EMAIL: victor@simonstinger.com or alicia@simonstinger.com
WEBSITE: www.simonstinger.com
by: Jack Little (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
STRANGLEHOLD-
World Part II
BEL Demo CD 2003
7 TRACKS: World Part II – Monsters – Sands Of Time – Like A Ghost – The Voyage Home – Goodbye – Antartica – Moto Psycho + bonus: Sands Of Time (videoclip)
This band hails from Belgium, and they present us their new demo. It contains seven self-written songs and a MEGADETH cover, worthy of thirty minutes of metal music. As bonus, you’ll get a video clip for “Sands Of Time”. The demo starts with their own material, and I really like what I hear. The band plays some kind of technical heavy metal, with nice instrumental parts and clear vocals. I enjoyed the riffs in “Monsters” a lot, whereas the vocals reminded me of Dave Mustaine, which is not strange when you know they play a MEGADETH cover at the end of this demo. “Sands Of Time” opens with some great heavy riffs, and it also has a great guitar solo. It’s by far the best song until now. “Like A Ghost” could well be a ballad, written by CRIMSON GLORY’s vocalist Midnight, at least the beginning of the song. Later, when the speed goes up, it becomes a good, solid metal song. On “The Voyage Home”, the spirit of Dave Mustaine wanders around again in the vocals parts. The song, with a great guitar solo, is definitely the masterpiece so far. But wait, because there’s more. Just listen to the opening riffs of “Goodbye”. It seems, the demo becomes better and better with each song. The real metal spirit can be caught in each and every song, and I think this band will definitely raise some fists in the air, when they play live in the Belgian clubs. “Antartica” is on next. Again, it’s a nice metal track and a good warming up for the MEGADETH cover “Moto Psycho”, which closes the demo CD. They used this song to thank everyone, who helped STRANGLEHOLD in their career so far. What a great initiation! You can order this great metal demo by transfering 10 Euros into bank account 001-3478925-96. Don’t forget to write down your address details!! Or send an e-mail to the band, when you’re from abroad.
LINE UP: Corina Stokmans (dr), Lorenzo Augusti (g), Rik Wullaert (v)
ADDRESS: STRANGLEHOLD, c/o Lorenzo Augusti, Riemsterweg 12, 3740 Bilzen, Belgium.
EMAIL: stranglehold@skynet.be
WEBSITE: www.facimages.com/Stranglehold.html
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
SUPERTHRIVE-
S/T
US Promo CD 2003
2 TRACKS: Stitches – Stratofortress
This is New Jersey’s very own SUPERTHRIVE with superwoman Sue Karlik on lead guitar. The band introduce themselves to us with this two track demo CD, which contains about six minutes of powerful stoner rock like music. During opener “Stitches”, the vocals sound distorted sometimes. The drummer beats up his kit like a madman, and Sue lets her guitar growl, fuzz, squeak, peep and burn. The music is driven, heavy and alternative. I was thinking about QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and TOOL, with Ian Astbury (THE CULT) on vocals. (Especially during second song “Stratofortress”, which sounds a bit like THE CULT’s “Edie, Ciao Baby”). The most eye-catching moments are the guitarsolos of Sue, who sure is a great guitarplayer. The biography even told us, that she’s the only female lead guitar player in New Jersey. Well, she convinced me during “Stratofortress”, that’s for sure! The band has signed a record deal with Beard Of Stars Records in Italy recently, and they have already released an album, called “Seven Songs For Sinners” and an official bootleg, called “Live At CBGB’s”. It seems, that the band will be recording a new album soon with producer Chris Goss (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, KYUSS, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS), so the future looks very bright for this New Jersey outfit.
LINE UP: Sue Karlik (lg), Matt (v), Fernando (b), Raku (dr)
EMAIL: superthriveme@yahoo.com
WEBSITE: www.superthrive.com
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)
TRISOMY-
Entanglement
NL Sampler CD 2003
4 TRACKS: Stage Of Life – Despair – Cold Feet - Indifference
This sampler only contains five minutes of music. You get four short impressions of songs, that are released on a full-length demo (the fourth in a row, to be exact) that goes with the same name. The music of the band could be compared to bands like WITHIN TEMPTATION, AFTER FOREVER and AUTUMN. For what I hear, they sound less bombastic and more like a real band performing, not using the bombastic string arrangements, choirs or orchestral fillings. That’s a positive thing in my opinion. The music of TRISOMY goes back to basic. I would even like to compare them with older material of THE GATHERING (“Mandyllion”, “Nighttime Birds” era). Laura was the first vocalist for TRISOMY, but she has recently been replaced by Irene Visser, a woman with a beautiful voice, comparable to Anneke van Giersbergen. You will probably hear this comparision a lot, but it’s no shame to be compared to Anneke. For she’s a great singer of course. The full-length CD contains four songs and is good for twenty five minutes of cool gothic like rock music.
LINE UP: Irene Visser (v), Michiel van Veen (g), Pieter van den Berkmortel (b), Maarten Siem (synth), Frank Kraak (dr)
ADDRESS: TRISOMY, Thuishaven 16, 1186 MG Amstelveen, The Netherlands.
EMAIL: Info@Trisomy.nl
WEBSITE: www.Trisomy.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (MM#34/Dec. 2003)