EQUAL VECTOR
“CHRONICLE AND A PRESENCE”
(Demo)
Equal Vector was formed in Greece in the year 2002. The band has already
released one more demo titled “Awakening Hours”, which was
instrumental.
They recently supported Pain Of Salvation in their live show in Athens,
but unfortunately I didn’t manage to see them on stage, since I arrived
later in the club... The band plays progressive metal and it is very
influenced from Fates Warning. Everything here will remind you of Fates
Warning, but most of all, the very good vocals of Leonidas Xatzimixalis,
which reminded me much of Ray Alder’s vocals! The guitars (Haris
Antonatos)
and the rhythm section (Theodore Pegousis on drums and John Katsiafliakas
on bass) are technical but they are also melodic and emotional. Finally,
the lyrical keyboards of Vagelis Kakarougas are very important for their
music. The CD includes three new tracks (one intro and two tracks) and
lasts about 15 minutes. The production is very good and as I read in the
booklet, they almost recorded every instrument in a different studio...
Generally, this is a very good demo and those who like Fates Warning and
this kind of progressive metal, will like Equal Vector too.
Band Contact:
E-Mail: equal_vector@hotmail.com
by George Kouvelis
THY FLESH
“CONCEPT FOR THE DEVIL”
(Demo)
Thy Flesh is a band coming from Thessaloniki (Greece) and was formed in 2004. The band plays
death/thrash metal and sounds very aggressive. The vocals are brutal and the guitars and the rhythm section are very
fast. The band must have been influenced from bands like Arch Enemy,
Slayer, The Crown and maybe some black metal bands, because of the aggressive
vocals... The CD includes three tracks and lasts about 12 minutes. The booklet is very professional and includes the lyrics of the three tracks and information about the
band. The production is really good and was made at the Q Studios in Thessaloniki by the
band. In the second track (“Inferus”), Nikodimos Triaridis (whom I remember as the sound engineer of another
band, The Nosferatu, from Thessaloniki. You will find some reviews of their demos in this
page...) has played a solo... As I read at their website, the band has received interest from three
labels, in order to sign a contract and to release its debut album. You can contact the band in order to buy this demo or for everything else you
want, by sending them an e-mail at the address below...
Band Contact:
Website: www.thyflesh.com
E-Mail: info@thyflesh.com
by George Kouvelis
THE GRAND TRICK
“THE DECADENT SESSION PROMO”
(Promo)
This is the second CD that I received from The Grand Trick band, in a very
short period (see below for the first CD). This promo includes three songs
of which two of them are new (“Long Way From Home” and “Without
Anything Within”). The third one is the track “Never Felt So Good”,
which was the forth track of their previous release. The band is about to
release its first full-length album (“The Decadent Session”) and is
searching for a label. So, the tracks that included here are going to be
in the track list of their future album, which is going to include about
10 songs. These three songs balances between the familiar band’s sound
or else the 70’s heavy rock sound. The two new songs are very
interesting and as I have already written “Never Felt So Good” is an
amazing song which, I believe, is going to become the hit of their debut
album. The sound of the songs isn’t very good, because these tracks are
unmixed and not mastered. So, the final result will be much better! I hope
that the band will find a good label soon, if it hasn’t found so far...
Band Contact:
Website: www.thegrandtrick.com
Email: thegrandtrick@hotmail.com
by George Kouvelis
SINAMORE
“FOLLOW INTO THE CRY”
(Promo)
Sinamore is a band that was formed in 1997 in Finland. This is their fifth promo CD (!), as I found
out, and I am wondering why they haven’t signed a contract with a record label so
far. I don’t know how their previous releases sounded, but this one is very
interesting! The band seems to be influenced from the late albums of
Sentenced, Katatonia and Charon mainly. The three tracks that are included here are very melodic and very well
orchestrated. The guitars (Mikko Heikkila and Tommi Muhli) are heavy, melodic and
melancholic. The vocals (Mikko again) are melodic and have a dark feeling and will remind you the singer of Sentenced… The rest members of Sinamore
are: Jarno Uski on bass and Miika Hostikka on drums. Mikko has composed all the tracks and seems to be a very talented
musician. The production is very good and was made at Woodbine Studio by Teemu
Aalto. Although that this promo includes only 12 minutes of music, I believe that the band is ready for a label contract and a
full-length album! Fans of the above bands should listen to Sinamore!
Band Contact:
Website: www.sinamore.com
E-Mail: band@sinamore.com
by George Kouvelis
THE GRAND TRICK
“THE FIRST TRICK”
(Demo)
The
Grand Trick was formed in 2003 by Michael Karlsson (guitars), Jonas
Malmqvist (bass) and Daniel Larsson (drums). “The First Trick” demo CD
was recorded by the above trio and Karlsson did the vocals since the band
didn’t have a lead singer that time. Stefan Johansson on guitars and
Daniel Sandberg on lead vocals later, completed the line-up and the demo
we present you here, is a re-recording of “The First Trick”, with
these new musicians. The music style of this new Swedish band can be
easily characterized as 70’s heavy rock! The guitars will remind you
bands like Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Grand Funk and UFO and in general the
sound will remind you of the aforementioned bands and the early NWOBHM
groups! Even the production sounds so oldschool that you would never guess
that this demo was recorded before a few months and not 25 or more years
ago! The four tracks that they present on this CD are very good and
interesting for those who love the old heavy rock days… I am now waiting
for their debut album in order to listen more songs from the band. Listen
to the following two tracks and you will understand what I am talking
about: “Rollercoaster Ride” and “Never Felt So Good” (the Rainbow
influences are clear!). Contact the band through their e-mail or order the
CD at: www.recordheaven.net
(Sweden) and: www.secretport.com
(Greece).
Band Contact:
Website: www.thegrandtrick.com
Email: thegrandtrick@hotmail.com
by George Kouvelis
THE HAG
“DEPREDATIONS”
(Promo CD)
The Hag is a band coming from
Poland. It was formed in 2002 when Hoaxer A. (vocals and guitars) left his
projects in order to form a real band together with Prex (drums) and K.han
(guitars). In 2003 Rood (bass) enters the band and they record a rehearsal
tape. In the same year they started composing and recording the parts of
their debut mini album “Depredations”. This mini CD contains seven
tracks of experimental music and lasts almost 26 minutes. There is no way
that I can categorize their music, because they sound different from
everything else and they change their style many times in each track! The
vocals are sometimes clean, others electronic and others more aggressive
and even brutal! The guitars sounds very sick and you will feel like
drowning or something like that! The same things go for the rhythm section, which follows the guitar with an unexpected
way. I must also
mention that the lyrics are bizarre and one track (“The Conqueror
Worm”) includes parts from an E. A. Poe’s work! The production is
excellent and makes the final result more interesting. Generally, the
music that these guys play is very difficult and sounds very strange and
even sick in some parts. The main thing is that they play music that
cannot be categorized and their influences are very hard to be found and
since the final result is good, I think that the labels should be
interested for the band.
Band
Contact:
Website: www.thehag.tk
E-Mail: thehag@o2.pl
by George Kouvelis
THE UNLEADED
“REVENGE”
(Demo)
The Unleaded was formed in 1998 in Nicosia, Cyprus, by Andrew (guitar),
Nick (bass, vocals) and Iakovos (drums). In the same year they entered the
“Battle Of The Bands” contest in Nicosia, where they shared the first
place with another band. Through the years they have made many interviews
in Cyprus local newspapers and radio stations and have given many local
live shows. They have also recorded one full-length album, which was sold
out in Cyprus stores. Their new 3 track demo CD contains the following
tracks: “Revenge”, which is a winning song in the Rock category of
2004 “Song Of The Year” competition. “Scream At The World”, which
reached No.1 in Garageband.com Rock charts, out of over 1000 songs and it
is in the top 4 in the all time Rock charts out of over 15000 songs.
Finally, the track “Lie” is a finalist song in the Rock/Indie category
of 2004 UK songwriting contest. All the tracks are very good and you can
understand from the first moment that these guys are very talented. The
songwriting is very good and their sound is a mixture of hard rock,
alternative and grunge music. The vocalist has done great work and all the
members seem to enjoy what they do and that’s why the CD sounds so fresh
and nice. The band has just moved to London and now belongs to the London
rock scene. The Greek readers must definitely visit their site in order to
download the track “Elladara”, which is a song, written for the great
success of the national Greek football team in the Euro 2004! For more
information about the band and other statistic achievements check their
website.
Band
contact:
Website:
www.theunleaded.com
E-mail:
theunleadedband@yahoo.com
by George Kouvelis
VALOR
“THE NAMELESS ONE”
(Demo- Eat Metal Records)
Valor is a new Greek band which was formed in August 2003 in
Athens. The
band’s members without even being one year together, they have managed to release this demo under the Greek label Eat Metal Records! The band consists of Vaggelis Krouskas
(vocals), Chris Remoundos (bass), Spyros Soldatos (guitars) and Thodoris Andritsos
(drums). Their power/ epic metal music is remarkable, because the whole CD is very
good! The above musicians must have previous experiences in other metal
groups, because their playing is very good and their abilities to compose
melodic-epic metal music are
good enough. The guitars are very heavy and very melodic. The vocals, together with the guitar
melodies, give an epic feeling, which lasts in the whole album. Their influences must be Manilla
Road, Blind Guardian and Battleroar as I figured out. The demo contains four tracks
(plus one acoustic instrumental track) and a nice booklet, which contains all the
lyrics, some photos of the
band’s members, a nice artwork and information about the band. The album was recorded in the Musicon Studios in Greece and the production is
good. I think that the band gives a fresh breath in the power/epic metal scene in
Greece. Fans of real epic music must find them out at once!
Band Contact:
Website: www.valor.gr
E-Mail: valor@valor.gr
“THE INNER CONFLICT”
(Demo)
Agnosia is the failure to recognize familiar objects although the sensory mechanism is intact and also a new coming band from
Greece. “The Inner Conflict” is their first demo and as they say, it is inspired by the “Empty Hours”
concept, which is going to be their first full-length release. The demo contains four tracks of progressive metal with some heavy and aggressive
elements. The vocalist Manos Xanthakis (and also the rhythm guitarist) has a very touching voice and I think he can do much better in the
future. His main influence must be Geoff Tate because in some parts he sounds like
him. The guitars (Dionysis Sourelis is the other guitarist) are sometimes heavy and others sound like coming from a clearly progressive
group. The rhythm section is very good and consists of Kostas Exarchakos (drums) and Vangelis Yalamas
(from Fragile Vastness) on the bass, as a guest. Last but not least is Christos Kyrkilis on keyboards and
samplers. He has done excellent work here and the keyboards are really wonderful and give a nice and dreamy
atmosphere! The main influences of the band are Queensryche and Dream Theater, but they have added many personal
elements. The lyrics are wonderful and it seems like the words become dreams and feelings…
Finally, the production is very good. I am looking forward to listening to their debut
album.
Band Contact:
E-mail: agnosia@mailbox.gr
Website: www.agnosia.tk
ACID RAIN
“WAR IN THE SKY”
(Demo)
“War In The Sky” is the first demo that Acid Rain released after the comeback to the active
action. The band comes from Volos, Greece, and is popular in the Greek underground metal
scene. Acid Rain were formed in 1998 by Antonis Koumiotis (vocals). The members that were added in the band by Antonis
are: Jim Vlahonatsios (bass), Spyros Apostolou (guitar), John Geropoulos (guitar), Stavros Albanis
(drums) and George Fysaris (keyboards). Most of them have played in other bands before Acid
Rain. The band’s music is epic heavy metal, nothing more-nothing less! This demo has three tracks that the lovers of epic metal will love
them. The second track “Revenge” can also be found in the “Revenge” promo CD that is now sold out… The tracks are not
fast, but mid tempo and reminded me much of Manilla Road, which I think, is the band’s main
influence. Other influences are Doomsword and Manowar… The vocalist reminded me much of the vocalist from Manilla Road and he gives a clearly epic feeling although that he must try
harder. The guitars are heavy and mid tempo and sound like the warrior’s march to the
battle! The booklet is very simple, but also very good, because it has a very nice artwork and contains all the
lyrics. The production could have been better, but as the band claims, the better production is in their future plans… Contact them in order to get this interesting
CD.
Band Contact:
E-mail: acidrainband2003@yahoo.gr
and acidrain@xweb.gr
Website: www.acidrain.gr
“OSIRIS EYES”
(Demo)
Reviver is a group that comes from
Holland. They were formed in 1997 by the guitarists Fred Mantel and Tom
Heemskerk. After some line-up changes, three promotional CDs and many live appearances they release this 3 track
MCD. The group must be familiar in the underground scene, because they have played live in some very important festivals such
as: Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival (2 times), Metal Heart Festival and many
more! The CD begins with the homonymous track which is a progressive/power metal track influenced from groups like Crimson Glory and the past days of Iron
Maiden! A very nice and powerful track with great melodies and riffs. The next track is titled “Another Day” and it is more in the
heavy/power metal style of the American scene and less in the progressive metal
style. This track has a very catchy refrain and very melodic guitars. The last
track, “Garden Of Eden” is more or less in the same style with the previous
one. Generally, I was very impressed by their ability to compose interesting melodies and by the
vocalist, Patrick van Maurik, who has a great voice! The production is very good and heavy
enough. This CD aims at the labels as I can guess, because the three tracks included here are a very small sample of the band for people like
me, who have never listen to them in the past. Anyway it’s worth listening to this CD and the labels should make their move now…
Band Contact:
E-Mail: info@reviver.nl
Website: www.reviver.nl
NOCTA
“COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!”
(Promo)
Nocta is a Greek
band, which was formed back in 1998 by the guitarists Ares and Kostas. They
managed, in a short period after they formed the band, to release their first
album, which was titled “Prima Nocta”. That release was a hard rock album with Greek lyrics and it did pretty good in the Greek rock
community. But the members of the band were not totally satisfied with the whole situation and they call it
quits. So, in the summer of 2003 an “old” friend of the band, singer and sound engineer of a known
pop-rock band here in Greece (I do not know which that band was) joined them in order to do a new
beginning. The result of all those changes was the first promo-CD of the
band, which is titled “Come Out Wherever You Are”. I haven’t listened to the first album of the band so I can only say some things about this
promo-CD. First of all the lyrics are in English now and the influences of the band seems to be bands form the N.W.O.B.H.M. era like
Witchfynde, Witchfinder General, and of course the big band that have influenced millions of bands in the world
(and of course the aforementioned ones) Black Sabbath. The production of the
promo-CD is fine but I believe that it could be much better and it will be in the future cause Nocta have many good ideas and I liked what I’ve listened to on that
promo-CD which has only four songs. The accent of the singer is also very good and does not remind all those Greek singers that are trying to sing like Englishmen and they totally fail in the
end! I hope that Nocta will continue to work hard and in the end they will achieve their
goals. I do not know if they are selling this promo-CD but you can contact them for further info in the
e-mail addresses below. By the way “Beam Of Light” is the best song of this
promo-CD.
Band Contact:
E-mail: Stavros: nocta@freemail.gr, Kostas:
kymar@hol.gr and Ares: nocta@panafonet.gr
Website: www.nocta.org
by Thanos
THE NOSFERATU
“NON-STOP MADNESS”
(Demo)
Well,
what do we have here? Another demo CD from the crazy guys of Thessaloniki!
Ok, let’s see what they have made for us this time. First of all the
band’s members, as you remember I mentioned in the last review, left the
band except Christos (drums, backing vocals). So, Christos gathered two
friends with the following nicknames: Mr. P (ink) (guitars, bass) and Mr.
T(ea) (lead vocals). This is not going to be the new line-up, but only the
line-up for this release. I am going to mention their new line-up with
their next release and the band’s friends must be prepared for surprises…
Musically, the band managed to surprise me once again, cause although that
they haven’t changed they heavy, punk and rock‘n’roll style,
Christos found a very good vocalist who sounds very experienced and all
the tracks sound more mature than in the past. Also the lyrics and the
song titles remain funny and cheerful (for example: “Santa Claus Is Gay”).
All the six tracks included in this CD seem to have been worked out harder
than in the past and that is very pleasant, because this will lead the
band to a contract. The best tracks here, which all the rock‘n’roll
fans should listen to, are: “Beat Up The Camera” and “Christmas
Vacations”. The recordings were once again made at Q studios and the
production is for once again very good. Take a look at the artwork, which
is very interesting again…
E-mail: thenosferatu1998@hotmail.com
“THE ONE TO JUDGE”
(Demo)
Rain
Novelty were formed in 1999 in Athens by Nick (guitar, vocals), Manolis (bass),
Babis (piano) and Sam (guitar). Up to now, they have already released two
demos and in 2002, two new members were added to the line-up: George (guitars
and ex-member of the Greek group Litany) and John (drums). With these new
members they recorded this promo-CD in order to sign a contract. Their
music is very dark and atmospheric and I think there are few groups in
Greece, and specially in Athens, that play this kind of music. Their
influences are coming from gothic, atmospheric metal and the dark
soundtracks! In order to give better emphasis to the dark emotions, they
hired four session musicians, which played cello, violins and synths. I
admit that the group sounds very interesting and knows exactly how to
create dark sounds! The vocals sound like coming from a pure gothic group
and are very melancholic. The artwork is great and proves that the group
wants to work on a professional level. Also the production is very good
and I think that the guys are ready for a contract! My only objection is
that this CD includes only two tracks (and the first one is instrumental)
and I (who have never listened to their previous demos); would like to
listen to more tracks from this band. Anyway, I support their experimental
music and I wish them to find a contract really soon!
E-mail: rain_novelty@hotmail.com
and rainnovelty@hotmail.com
HAVE YOU EVER TASTED A COLD
SPRING?
“RAIN OVER PEOPLE”
(Demo)
The group with the weird name was created in 2001 in Ioannina
(Greece). So far they have made many live appearances around Greece and last year they released their first
demo-CD, “Rain Over People” and a multimedia CD titled “A cloud In Your Hand”. As you can guess from their
name, these guys play atmospheric music full of emotions and passion. Their music has many
keyboards, but it also includes guitars, which have an aggressive tone
sometimes. The female vocalist, Elera, does pretty well her job although, as I can
guess, she can do much better, because as I was informed the tapes, with her vocals were lost a short period before this CD was released and so they added the vocals by using a PC…
Anyway, their music has a sweet melancholy, which can travel you in onirical
situations! I can’t characterise their music clearly so I would say that they play atmospheric experimental music that it mainly expresses dark and deep
emotions. Very interesting work and very nice artwork! The production is good enough for a demo
release. I believe that the fans of The Gathering, Mogwai and the lovers of
atmospheric-psychedelic rock will appreciate them. Finally, I must say that these guys are now preparing their first
video-project, which is going to accompany their live appearances. They are also planning to release their second demo (“Head Full Of Whispers”) in a short
period, which I hope I will be able to listen to pretty soon. (Best tracks: Reflections and
Sub-Human).
Band Contact:
E-mail: haveuevertasted@yahoo.gr
and tasteacoldspring@hotmail.com
Website: www.coldspringband.tk
TWILIGHT ZONE
“ONIRICAL INHERITANCE”
(Demo)
Twilight Zone is the group that was formed back in 1993 in
Italy. The masterminds of the band are Stefano Giusti (guitars and vocals) and Christian Angelini
(guitars and backing vocals). Lets say a few words about the band, which won a rock contest in 1995 and then recorded its first
demo-tape (“Wandering Reflection”). In 1996 the band split-up and was
built-up again in 1997. During this period the masterminds wrote a concept opera called “Scarlet”
(which has never been released by the band), and Stefano, together with Pierluigi Salvatori were playing as session musicians with
Tornado. Finally in 2000 and after many live appearances they recorded their second
demo-CD. Now they have recorded the demo, which we present you here, and includes four new tracks and two bonus tracks
(the unplugged live version of the band’s anthem “Twilight Zone” and “A Journey Far Beyond”, which is a live recording that has never been recorded in
studio). Their music style balances between classic heavy metal (with N.W.O.B.H.M
influences) and the American heavy and power metal. The guitars are very good and melodic and have an epic feeling on most
tracks. The vocals are really very nice and melodic, but I think that if the production was better everything would sound
right. The best tracks are: “Onirical Inheritance” and of course “May Death Have Me On The Battlefield”, which is an epic song that brings in your mind the good moments of the most known epic bands… The two bonus tracks
(live recordings) have a production that doesn’t let the listener to estimate on the instruments… A better production would surely help them a
lot. I think that the main disadvantage with this CD is the production, cause most of the songs are really
interesting. I hope the next time I hear from them they will have made improvements…
Band Contact:
E-Mail: Stefano@twilightmetal.com
Website: www.twilightmetal.com
PLAYTHING
“PLAYTHING”
(Demo)
Plaything was formed in 2001 in
Athens. After some difficulties and the search for the appropriate musicians they recorded this
demo, during the summer of 2003. Their music sounds like the heavier period of
Soundgarden, when the Black Sabbath influences were clearly. Apart from this their music has also a melancholic
tone, because the guitars (played by Tryfon Lazos and Evagellos Vassilakos) have a moody
feeling. Also the vocalist (Tryfon Lazos again) uses his voice in a strange
way, which creates a claustrophobic atmosphere! The rhythm section is tight and the chemistry among the band members seems to work very
nice. I must also mention that Vissos Sarris, who after the recordings was replaced by Tassos
Lekarakos, recorded the drums you that you hear in this CD. The artwork and the production are impressive enough for a band that releases its first
demo. Finally, as I was informed by their biographic, their track “Take”, where the backing vocals belong to a
female, is featured in Sound And Vision’s “Greece Attacks The Next Assault”
collection, which is about to be released. Hopefully, this collection will help these guys to sign a contract with a
label, which is what they want most right now adding the live shows they want to take part
in.
Band Contact:
E-mail: plaything@freemail.gr
THE NOSFERATU
“RAVE ‘N’ DARK”
(Demo)
This is the second demo that I receive from the band coming from
Thessaloniki. A few months ago I made the review for their previous demo, titled “CockTales” (you can read it in this
page), and now a new demo is released. Their style has been changed a little
bit, by means of putting more rock ’n’ roll elements in their sound and reducing the punk
influences. I personally like them more with their new sound and I really had fun when I listened to
it. Not only because of the cheerful music, but also the lyrics that are really
enjoyable. The booklet is very interesting as you can see by the cover…and the production is for once again very
good! The members that took place in these recordings are the same with the previous
demo, but as I was very recently informed by the mastermind of the band, Christos Mouroukis
(drums), all the other members (the guitarist-bassist and the vocalist) have left the band something that it is not going to be a major problem cause the drummer has been in the same situation in the
past. In fact he is in touch with new musicians in order to release their first
full-length and self-financed album very
soon…
Band Contact:
E-mail: thenosferatu1998@hotmail.com
Website: www.gpd.gr/nosferatu
ACID BABY
“GREATEST SHIT”
(Demo)
This
is the first demo for the Greek band named Acid Baby, which was formed at
the end of 2001 by George Lancet (vocals) and Rusty Nail (guitar). In the
beginning of 2003, the two mentioned guys found the appropriate members
for their group and these are: Mampre Kasarjan (bass), Anestis Taylorson (drums)
and Stefanos (keyboards). So, the mentioned guys entered the Base Line
Studios, a few months ago, and recorded this demo named “Greatest Shit”,
which is a title that reveals the group’s funny side. Let’s now pass
to the music part, which is the most important. The group plays heavy-rock
music and is much influenced from classic rock sounds and progressive rock-metal
music. All five songs (included the Beatles cover of “Paperback Writer”)
are very melodic, with nice guitars and wonderful keyboards. All lyrics
are written by Rusty Nail and are really good. The vocals are pretty good,
although that a little more try would make them much better. On track “Stonedaze”
there is an interesting duet of the vocalist with a female singer (Marion
Koutsiouki) and the result is very nice. The artwork is professional and
includes many photos of the group during the recordings and all the lyrics.
You can get this CD by contacting the band, which will soon have its
website ready.
Band Contact:
E-mail: AcidBaby_band@yahoo.com
DISHARMONIC
“KICK OVER THE TRACES”
(Demo)
Disharmonic is a death metal group
(with hardcore influences), which was formed in Volos (Greece) at the end of 2001 by Anestis
(guitars), John (vocals and bass) and Theofilos (drums). In 2002 they released their first demo
("Unholy Remains") and since then they have made many live appearances in
Greece. In April 2003 Apostolis joined the band and was the new vocalist. Later this year they released their second
demo, which is presented here. This new demo is a death metal and oldschool thrash metal mixture with some hardcore
influences. The five tracks (plus one very short track which as I can guess is a remix for the refrain of the fourth
track) included in this CD are very aggressive and have enough interesting
moments. The only problem is the production, which sounds like the 80's underground productions that demo tapes used to
have. I think that they should be more careful with the production cause it downgrades the final
result. On the other hand, the lyrics are very good and aggressive and match their extreme
music. Finally, this demo is accompanied by a wonderful booklet, which is colored and includes all the lyrics and information about the
group. This professional booklet testifies that the group has the will to create something really
interesting, but I think that they should focus more on the production so as to present us something better next time and the labels will pay more attention to them…
Band Contact:
E-mail: disharmonic666@hotmail.com
Website: www.disharmonic.s4u.org
BLACK HILL
“NASTY NIGHTS”
(Demo)
Black Hill is a band that’s coming from Italy but they do not
play, as many of you
may think, symphonic power metal music. Therefore they play good sleaze/glam rock
music, which is rather influenced from bands like Motley Crue, Poison and
Ratt. “Nasty Nights” has seven songs that are well produced (although the production always can be
better)
and they manage to give the message that Black Hill wants to pass with their
songs: Have fun, sex, beers and more sleaze/poser rock music! Personally I like that kind of music and I like a lot the demo of Black
Hill. As I was looking
at the photo of the band, I “traveled” some years back in the late 80’s where that kind of music was very
popular! Black hill have chosen a music path that although is on the rise not many new bands are choosing to cross
it. The best songs of this demo-CD are, the sleaze-rocker “Bitch”, the
melodious, cathcy “Fat Love”, and the
acoustic “Strange Days”. The fans of glam, rock music will like this demo and once thing is sure that Black Hill love this kind of music and they really have fun doing
this. Let’s hope a label, which deals with this kind of music, will contact them soon and give them the opportunity to release their first
full-length album. “Nasty Nights” is the most “professional” and
well-produced demo that I have listened to lately. Do not miss the chance to contact them and to “bite” “Nasty Nights”. Nice work guys…
Band Contact:
E-mail: traveller@jumpy.it & htgigi@yahoo.it
Website: www.black-hill.it
by Thanos Aggelakis
KINETIC
“KINETIC”
(Demo)
Kinetic is a new Greek band which was formed in 2002 in Athens. The members of the band are experienced
musicians, as they come from other Greek bands such as: Acid Death, Brain Fade and
Wisdom. This mini CD is the first release for the band, which is self-released and was recorded in their
studio. The three songs included in this CD, are a sample of the songs they have composed so
far, which are enough to record a full-length album. Their music is a mix of technical thrash metal with influences of death and progressive
metal. They have been very influenced from Death and this is something you can understand when listening to this
CD. This is something good, because Death is one of the best (or maybe the
best) death metal groups, but on the other hand, if the band wants to succeed in the music industry must get rid of the similarities with the groups that have affected them and create their own
sound. I don’t say that this is something easy, but these guys are really good musicians and if they try hard I believe they will
succeed. The production is very good, although they made it in their own studio and they didn’t hire a professional producer to help
them. Finally, the layout is very good with beautiful colours, but it does not contain the lyrics of their three
songs. The band now is in the search of a label in order to sign a
contract. You can receive this demo by contacting with the band for more
details.
Band Contact:
E-mails: kineticgr1@yahoo.gr &
kineticgr2@yahoo.gr
Website: www.kinetic-band.gr
THE SUN OF WEAKNESS
“THE SUN OF WEAKNESS”
(Demo)
The Sun Of Weakness is a new
(they were just formed in August ’03) that comes from Italy. The three members of the band were playing before in a death metal
band, which was called Catacombal Womb. Although all of them were playing in the aforementioned
band, the music style of The Sun Of Weakness does not have similarities with death metal music at
all. I would characterize the music style of the band as atmospheric and gloomy and in some parts they bring on my mind the first attempts of
ex-death/black metal bands to play atmospheric music. No, their music isn’t bad at all but I would prefer a drummer in some
songs. They must work together as a complete band with a drummer of course this time
(who told that drums do not make music sound atmospheric?) and to add some elements from atmospheric bands like Anathema and Katatonia in their music as
well. They have some good ideas in some songs of this demo, like “Sunrise” and “Grateful Time”, which if they work them out
well, those songs can help them sign a contract with a label. They have made a good start so the only thing that they need now is more and more
work in order to achieve all those things that they have in mind. Personally I’ll wait to listen to their next demo
(or CD) where they will surely be,
tighter as a band.
Band Contact:
E-mail: thesunofweakness@katamail.com
NORTHWIND “FAR AWAY FROM HOME”
(Demos)
In this review we present you two demos and one group, which changed its name from Northwind to
Frostborn. The story in a few words goes like this: Jarmo Makinen (guitarist) and Anssi Herkkola
(drummer and keyboard player), after previous group experiences, decided to form their own group back in 1999 in
Finland. After some difficulties and many line up-changes they recruited Alois Weimer
(bassist) and Tommi Erkkila (vocalist) and the group released its first demo “Far Away From Home” under the name Northwind in 2002. At the end of this year they recruited a keyboard player named Chris Hopper and changed their name to
Frostborn. Under this name, they recorded the demo titled “Far Away From Home”. Now lets get back to Northwind and their
demo. Their music style is melodic heavy metal with some progressive parts. This CD contains four
tracks, which have very nice
guitars, good drums and vocal, melodic keyboards (played by the drummer Anssi
Herkkola) and a clean but not very powerful production. All tracks are full of clever song writing and
melodies. The booklet is very good and contains all lyrics. The best track, which has very impressing guitar
work, is “How Come (Still Cannot Let You Go)”. Lets go now to their last release
(first under the name Frostborn), “Only The Strong Will Survive. In this CD the group seems to be balancing between power and progressive
metal. The tracks are for once again very melodic and pleasurably hearing but the
production, although it is more powerful than the previous CD, is a little bit
low, but it still remains clear. Finally, the lyrics of this demo are much better than the old one and the booklet remains at the same high
standards. Very nice work, and I hope that the next time I hear something new from the
band, they will have signed for a label!
Band Contact:
E-mail: band@frostborn.net
Website: www.frostborn.net
SICKS DAZE
“SIX DAYS”
(Demo)
Sicks Days were formed in Greece in 1999 and they recorded two demos with their first
line-up. After the retirement of one member, the band replaced him with a new one and they released this demo (“Six Days”), at the end of 2001. The title of this demo is a very smart wordplay of the group’s name and it contains six tracks and one hidden song
(each one of the tracks is arithmetically corresponding to a day). The band plays stoner rock’n’roll and has plenty of influences from the punk and the
heavy-rock music, as well. They sound very fresh, dynamic and powerful and their music brings a rock’n’roll feeling to the listener and that is mainly due to the dirty and hard sound that most of the tracks
have. The bands that will come straight in your mind (because of the feeling or the
sound), when listening to this demo, are: Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Entombed, Motorhead and
Hellacopters! The vocals in some parts become almost brutal and punky, but the rock’n’roll feeling still
remains. The other instruments have their own role, to the rock’n’roll feeling that the album
exhales. The production is so good that you will be able to hear all instruments
clearly, something that some famous bands which are under a label, haven’t succeeded yet… The artwork is very nice and it contains all the lyrics and the information about the
group. All tracks are very nice but I prefer to listen more the following
tracks: “Bar Code Song”, “Dreamworld” and “The Better Man” (there is also a hidden track in this CD which is an acoustic version of this
song). This time the band is on the ice due to military services, but as they have promised to their fans they will get back soon…
Band Contact:
E-mail: sicksdaze@hotmail.com
Website: listen.to/sicksdaze
SIENA ROOT
“IV”
(Demo)
Siena Root is a band coming from Sweden and has been touring there since 1997. The demo presented
here, is the band’s forth release (that’s why, it is simply
titled “IV”). Their music is a mix of stoner rock, blues, psychedelic rock and the hard rock music of the 70’s. The great differences that this band has with most of the other hard rock bands are the use of the hammond and the great - emotional
vocals! The sounds of the hammond and the great melodies will remind you the classic era of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep! Time seems to have stopped for these
guys, because the atmosphere that this demo exhales will transfer you three
(or maybe more) decades back and everything will remind you the classic hard rock
music, as we really like it and love it. The best tracks in this CD are the
following: “Trippin’” and “Into The Woods”, which is an 8:26 minute track full of
inspiration, melodies and emotions. For the last track mentioned, the band also uses the
hurdy-gurdy organ and the flute… Finally, the production is fine and was made by the members of the
group. The band, as I was informed from their website, is going to release the first
full-length album in the 31st of May in 2004, since they have signed with the
label, named Rage Of Achilles, this summer. A very nice and original band, which you should listen
to! I’m looking forward to listening to their full-length album.
Band Contact:
E-mail: sienaroot@yahoo.com
Website: www.sienaroot.com
CORONA BOR
“LIKE THE GIANT HITS THE DWARF”
(Demo)
This Greek underground band exists since 1998 and released the first demo in 2001
named, “Real Is”. Their sound is mainly a mixture of the grunge and the American
heavy-rock music. Despite the above, when you listen to it, you will realize that there are many more influences in their
music, cause you can listen to acoustic guitars, a female talking, catchy melodies and even some progressive
parts! All the six tracks that you can find in this CD are full of
inspiration, energy, personal sound and feeling. These guys seem to know pretty well what they are doing and this will probably lead them to success pretty
soon. It is also remarkable that this CD was not recorded in Greece, where they come
from, but in the Deja Vu Studios in Wien, although that they still haven’t signed with a
label! Taking this economical risk, they succeeded to make a flawless production that many
world-known groups would envy. Everything here is unique, starting with the vocals
(George Prokopiou), the guitars (Dino Haikalis and Dimitris Kalaitzidis), the bass
(Stelios Milonas) and ending with the drums (John Bolovinis). The labels must pay attention to this
band, which has many things to offer in the Greek music scene (and the abroad music
scene). Very nice work from clever and hard working people. The least that you can expect from a band like this is to find a
label, to release a full-length album and to become more known. Contact them
immediately!
Band Contact:
E-mail: corona_bor@hotmail.com
Website: www.coronabor.cjb.net
NATIONAL PORNOGRAPHIC
“NATIONAL PORNOGRAPHIC”
(Demo)
Here is another band from
Greece, which doesn’t have a contract with a label yet. The group’s
name, as I can guess, is wordplay of the famous “National Geographic”. This is the first demo that the band has ever
recorded, because of some other obligations that the group’s members
have, although that they have been together with the same line-up for three
years. Their music style is mainly influenced by the psychedelic rock scene of 60’s and 70’s and the atmospheric metal (you can also find many other music elements in their
sound). Their sound can be compared with the one of Gathering, not only because of their music
style, but also because they have a female vocalist, Chrysa, who has a very
nice, melodic voice and knows how to use it very well! The guitarist,
Sakis, who is experienced from other groups in the past, Elias, the
bassist, and Foivos, the drummer, give a very nice performance in these
recordings. In this demo they present us four tracks (the forth one, “Soundverse”, is the same with the third
one, “Soundverse” (tell the difference mix) as I didn’t find any differences between them…) with a very good
production. The band has made some live appearances and their next live show will find them supporting Amorphis in Thessaloniki this
December! Everyone interesting about this promising band can contact them to the following
mail. Keep it up guys!
Band Contact:
E-mail: national_92@hotmail.com
MARATHON
“THE BEST OF MARATHON 1995-2003”
(Self Financed)
Marathon is another group from
Greece, which was formed in the beginning of 1995 from previously experienced
musicians. In their first days the group made some live appearances, covering only classic rock and blues
tracks. In 1996 though, the group decides to record its first demo on its own and named it “Marathon”. Since
then, when they give a live show they play most of their own songs and a few
covers. Up to now, Marathon have released five demos, one videotape and have made many live appearances in Greek
festivals, party’s and motorcyclist gatherings. This new release gathers the groups’ best tracks through these
years. All the tracks have a bluesy atmosphere and sometimes sound like a hard rock band from the
past. Most of the tracks are really ok, but in some of them (the old ones) the vocals are too
wick. It is positive though, that the singer (who is the heart of the group and also the guitarist and the
lyricist) has made great progress through these years because the songs from their last demo
(recorded in 2003 and three of them presented here) sound very nice and worth to be heard from those who like this
bluesy/rocky style. The artwork may be poor but the CD contains 14 tracks and 60 minutes of pleasant
music. You can order this CD by contacting with the band.
Band Contact:
E-mail: marathon@mail.gr
THE NOSFERATU
“COCKTALES”
(Demo)
New demo for this
strange/crazy group that comes from Greece. Nosferatu were created in 1998 in
Thessaloniki. In the same year they released their first demo, which was a live appearance somewhere in
Greece. Since then they had many line-up changes but have also released fifteen (!!!) demos
(most of them are live appearances!). The CD, presented here, is their thirteenth demo and it’s their last studio
recording. After this, they released their forth best-of collection and a
CD-DVD with their history through now. Their music is a heavy, punk and rock’ n’ roll mixture with many good
moments. The title of this demo is a wordplay (careful it’s CockTale and not Cocktail…) and reveals the funny approach of the group to the
music. Also, all the lyrics are connected with the frantic way of life (drugs,
drinks, girls…) and so all tracks can be pleasurably heard. The only thing that the group has to improve
is, without doubt, the vocals, because the vocalist doesn’t use his
voice, as he should, which results to become very monotonous and
predictable. Also, his accent leaves no alternative but to do great effort in the future…
Finally, the production is really good and the whole atmosphere shows that these guys are having fun with what they are doing and that’s what matters
most!
Band Contact:
e-mail: thenosferatu1998@hotmail.com
website: www.gpd.gr/nosferatu
BLADE OF SPIRIT
“JOURNEY TO FADELIFE”
(Promo CD)
Blade Of Spirit is a band coming from
Greece. The group was created in 1996 and since then they have released five demos and
promos, after the addition and retirement of many members. They have also made many live performances in
Greece, since 1998, in some big cities. Almost a year, since their last promo (“Serpents Of Decay”), they present us their two new
songs: “Depressions Of Ages” and “Reflections Of You”. The band plays power metal with some heavy
influences. Both of these two songs have wonderful bridges and choruses and can easily attract the interest of the
audience. The only weird thing about this promo is the vocals, which I can’t say that either I like them or I don’t, but for my ears are a little bit
strange. After many listenings, though, I can say that the vocalist is doing good job but he should try
harder. The production is a little bit low but it’s ok. Finally, the whole layout is really
good. The artwork picture is very nice and inside you can find all lyrics with very nice
printing. If you are interested in listening to this band contact them for more
details.
Band Contact:
E-mail: blade_of_spirit@hotmail.com
SEMIC
STAINS
“SWORN
TO SILENCE”
(Promo
CD)
Semic Stains were formed in October 2001 in
Greece. This promo CD is their first recording and they are doing pretty
well. They play a mixture of thrash, death, heavy and progressive metal and they sound melodic and aggressive in the same
time, without being boring. That is because in the three tracks, presented
here, they have many riffs and melodic parts and the vocals, alternate from brutal to
clear. The clear vocals should be worked more, because there are parts that these vocals don’t fit the song or are in front of all other
instruments. On the other hand, brutal vocals are pretty good but they will remind you much of Rotting Christ or Death in some
parts. The track that I spotted from the first listening is “Sworn To Silence” which is really
excellent! The sound in general is very good and clear. The recording of this promo CD was made at the Fragile Studios in
Greece. The band
has also composed two new songs, which, as the members say, are more
technical. The band has made many live appearances around Greece with highlight the support of Rotting Christ for a
show. Finally, the booklet is simple, but also well worked and includes all the
lyrics. If the band continues working so hard, as they seem to be working so
far, I believe that they will soon sign with for a label. Everyone, who is
interested, can contact the band to buy this promo CD.
Band Contact:
E-mail: semic_stains@hotmail.com
Website:
www.metalprovider.com/semicstains