Uhm, have we mentioned recently how excited we are to partner again with the mighty Dame-Nation festival in Chicago, and introduce you to the hottest up-and-coming female-fronted bands in North America? Come join us on Saturday, June 30, 2012 at the Abbey pub for a night of bone-rattling metal and rock! If you can’t be there in person to throw some horns and bang your head until your brains leak out, show some metal love by checking out the gals and guys on the line-up.
Come meet Chicago locals, Virulence Factor, which was also a new band to us. Virulence Factor is a heavy/melodic metal band with female lead vocals, but also male vocalists with (as the describe on their Facebook page) “tasteful keyboard/piano parts, soaring leads from both guitarists, and a groove-driven rhythm section.” Formed in 2008, the band started out as a male-fronted band that recorded a five-song demo album. After the departure of one of the founding members, the band went on hiatus before resurrecting itself with frontwoman, Deborah Villanueva, securely behind the mic. In April 2012, Virulence Factor added a keyboardist to the mix, so Dame-Nation attendees will be among the first to see the band’s new line-up.
Virulence Factor are busily working on new material, so check them out!
Next up on our Dame-Nation 2012 line-up is another band from the Chicagoland area, Analog Digital Disorder.
What with the show this upcoming weekend, I’m getting pretty excited; I’ll keep this brief for you.
These guys are veterans to the Dame-Nation stage, having performed at the festival in October of 2010. They’re not foreign to the concept of rocking out; their music is more than willing to get in your face and amaze your pants off. Often featured on local radio stations, I first heard this band on a small road trip one summer, and looked them up as soon as I had access to the internet. You might also be familiar with the song “Hear Me Now” that was on the UTF companion compilation with last year’s Dame Nation show.
Since launching in 2007, they released their first full length album, Elements of Emptiness, and last year released their EP, Hear Me Now. Their songs feature a myriad of influences that would be liked by almost any hard rock or metal fan; despite this, A.D.D. promise not to be your average, cookie-cutter hard rock band, with their raw vocals about things like the hardships of reality that slap you in the face and stay with you for hours or days on end.
Next up on our Dame-Nation 2012 series is yet another local Chicago band, 4WITHOUT!
These guys are pretty new. So new, in fact, that they don’t even have a demo yet! All we curious music lovers have to go by for now are a few songs posted to YouTube and a somewhat uninformative facebook page, but don’t let that be a reason to write this band off. Despite what little this band has for us to hear, they do show incredible promise, and I, for one, am excited to see where this band goes and what Dame-Nation attendees think of them!
4WITHOUT aren’t your generic hard rock band. There’s something about their sound that’s refreshing and unique. There’s a good amount of old school rock sensibility here, but not your general classic metal sound (Judas Priest, AC/DC, etc.) that a number of bands these days are going back to. Instead, it’s a bit closer to classic rock. Combine that with a bit of crunchy hard rock, some fun guitar work, and a bit of an alternative edge and you have 4WITHOUT.
Check out their song “Move On” below:
Needless to say, the music needs a little polish, but given that they don’t even have a demo out, this is easily forgivable. The band’s got plenty of time to perfect their sound, and with a little work and the right production, they can go a long way. So give ‘em a chance, and maybe one day, you can tell people you knew them before they even released a demo!
4WITHOUT are:
Janey Age – Vocals
Jiri Jerry Cafourek – Guitar
Karel Carl Hudecek – Second Guitar
Filip Halas – Bass
Josh Rockel – Drums
See them at this year’s Dame-Nation and even if you can’t, listen to a few songs on their YouTube page and go ‘like’ them on facebook!
Next up on our list of Dame-Nation 2012 bands is another group of hometown favorites: Burning Eve!
Burning Eve are a melodic metal quartet from Elk Grove Village, Illinois. The band was formed by guitarist Kenn and bassist / keyboardist Jeremy in 2008. However, it wasn’t until when Polish-born singer Toyah joined in 2010 that the line-up was complete and the songs began to take shape. Since then, Burning Eve has played a number of local gigs and recorded a self-titled, three-track EP, which was released on May 25th. The band’s Facebook profile also mentions an upcoming full-length album called Mirrors, but I haven’t been able to find more information on that…
Burning Even has described their sound as a “female fronted powerhouse that can blow your socks off one minute, and then send chills down your spine the next.” (That quote comes from the band”s recent interview at Hail The Hero, which you can read here.) Based on the three EP tracks on Burning Eve’s ReverbNation page, I have to agree with that description. Each song offers a different flavor of melodic metal. “Bleeding” is a radio-friendly anthem with terrific guitar hooks and electrifying vocals from Toyah. She really shows off her talents on “Serpent,” shouting and belting it out over thunderous riffs and dynamic rhythms. I really like the mix of grit and sassiness that oozes from “Serpent,” so much that I’d call it my favorite Burning Eve song so far. Finally, there’s the ballad “Embrace.” This one is quieter and brooding and has an acoustic rock-soul vibe for the first minute-and-a-half before the full band kicks in.
Below is Burning Eve’s recently released video for “Embrace.” Don’t panic when you hear silence at the beginning – the song doesn’t start playing until 0:27 seconds.
Burning Eve are:
Toyah: Vocals
Kenny: Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jeremy: Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Michael: Guitar
(Hmmmm, does that mean that Burning Eve is looking for a full-time drummer?)
Check out Burning Eve at their official website as well as on Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, and YouTube. And remember: Dame-Nation 2012 is at The Abbey in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, June 30th – 2 weeks from today!
Before we get too far into our Dame-Nation 2012 Check It Out series, we should mention that two bands previously covered here at Unleash The Furies are returning to this year’s festival. DEADMANSWAKE is making their fourth Dame-Nation appearance, while Lindz Riot of Mary And The Black Lamb will bring her solo project Schoolcraft to Chicago for its US debut. So, congrats to both bands for making it onto this year’s bill!
Now… It’s time for Persistence of Memory!
Hard rockers Persistence of Memory have been making a name for themselves in the Chicago area for the past couple years. They’ve done so with their vision of a dark, melodic sound highlighted by personal lyrics. Despite being unsigned and relatively young compared to some bands, Persistence of Memory keep making – and achieving – one goal after another. Professionally record a 5-track EP titled Mind’s Eye? Check. Win the Chicago House of Blues’ Battle of the Bands competition? Check. Play at over 30 venues in 7 months, with the likes of Adrenaline Mob, A.D.D., Tantric, and Adema? Now that’s ambitious!
What exactly does Persistence of Memory sound like? Not sassy or oozing with attitude, as their promo photos may imply. I’d call their music emotionally charged hard rock with melodic female vocals and harsh male vocals. That doesn’t quite cover it, though. The band’s list of influences is long and varied: 30 Seconds to Mars, Evanescence, HIM, In This Moment, Guns ‘N Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, and Stone Sour are just a few. Jennifer’s singing style is melodic and lightly sensual, and her lyrics can be brooding, courageous, or angry. She admits on the band’s website that she’s not afraid to sing about upbeat topics as well as more melancholic ones, including her father’s death. To quote from her bio: “Jeni strongly believes the best time to write a song is when something significantly affects you because your emotions will fill up the paper without you having to create them.”
Each song on the band’s Mind’s Eye shows a different side of Persistence of Memory. “Pirate Ship” has a ska rock feel that reminds me of No Doubt, while “Cast Your Stone” and “Fade Away” seesaw between metallic crunch and softer melodic moments. My favorite track by far is “Ruin” because it’s full of surprises. Pianos, cinematic keys, Jeni trading cleanly sung lines with drummer Justin Luebeck’s grunts, tempo changes – and I won’t tell you how long it is. Just listen to it, and prepare for a rollercoaster ride.
Here’s the music video that POM shot for “Alone,” the single from Mind’s Eye. It gives you a taste of their sound and a glimpse of their in-your-face stage presence. And – *ahem* – a little sauciness, too!
At the moment, Persistence of Memory are finishing their first full-length album, which they plan to release before the end of 2012. The band also hopes to be signed to a record label before year’s end and earn a spot on the 2013 Warped Tour. (I told you they’re ambitious!) Based on their track record so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if both goals become reality for Persistence of Memory.
Persistence of Memory are:
Jennifer Imparato – Lead Vocals
Dan Bikar – Lead Guitar / Back-up Vocals
Grant Forkenbrock – Rhythm Guitar
Justin Luebeck – Drums / Screams
Keith Hensley – Bass
Learn more about Persistence of Memory now at their official website as well as their Myspace, Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, and YouTube pages. And don’t forget: Dame-Nation 2012 is at The Abbey in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, June 30th!
Unleash the Furies is tickled pink (in a properly bad-ass, metal way) to once again be a promotional sponsor for the mighty Dame-Nation festival, which is celebrating its fourth year of burning Chicago to cinders with an inferno of up-and-coming female-fronted metal and rock. Circle your calendar and plan on being there on Saturday, June 30th! But even if you cannot make it there in person, you can still be there in metal spirit by supporting the festival and the bands on the line-up.
We’d like to introduce you to Dame-Nation newcomers, Last Red Ransom from Atlanta, Georgia. LRR’s debut album, Sleep Well Sweet Vanity, moves effortlessly between industrial soundscapes, metal riffs, silky vocals and lung-splitting screams, with a male and female singer — Charlotte Kelli and Saint — sharing vocal duties (although female vocals predominate). I rather like the switch-up of hearing a band where the male vocalist sings solely in ”clean” mode, while the female vocalist alternates between smooth melodic vocals and banshee screams. Oh, and did we mention that Charlotte also switches between the keyboards and guitar, while singing? As someone with all the talent of a sock monkey, watching the the guitar-keyboard-sing-scream acrobatics is more than a little impressive.
Last Red Ransom holds a special place in my heart because I have seen them perform numerous times, in venues ranging from seedy joints (where I had to convert all my pictures to black-and-white to obscure the grime on the ceiling and walls) to the largest metal venue in Atlanta. No matter where they play or the size of the crowd, these guys always pour their hearts into their live shows. In fact, it was at a LRR show that I focused on the percussions for the first time, after being swept away by Adair’s ferocious drumming. Zakk joined as the bassist in late 2011, and now adds a thrum of menace to the tracks.
Last Red Ransom are hard at work on their upcoming album, and (hopefully) will give Dame-Nation attendees a sneak peek at some of their new material!
Last Red Ransom is:
Charlotte Kelli - vocals, keyboard and guitar
Saint - vocals and guitar
Adair - drums
Zakk – bass
You can check out Sleep Well Sweet Vanity on Last Red Ransom’s Facebook and ReverbNation profiles.
We’d love to hear what you think of the band! (robin)
Ok, so it’s a little awkward to write about a band who’s only (officially) released one song so far, but I feel like Huntress is a good enough discovery for me to do just that. Formed in Highland Park, California in 2009, Huntress signed a deal with Napalm Records last year and released a badass music video for their equally badass single, “Eight of Swords.” Check it out below:
Ok, that banshee scream by vocalist Jill might be a turn-off for some, but I personally am damn impressed! Add to that the fantastic instrumental work and that classic metal sound with a bit of pagan flair, and I’m sold! If the rest of the band’s debut, Spell Eater, due out April 27th in Europe and May 8th in the US, is anything like this song, the CD is bound to melt before I’ve listened to it enough.
Don’t think you can wait to hear more? Huntress is one of the band’s featured on this year’s Paganfest America tour this spring, supporting Turisas, Alestorm, Ex Deo and Arkona! Make sure to check them out, along with the other fantastic bands on the bill (especially Arkona!)
Time to feature yet another gem from The Netherlands! Cardamon hails from Utrecht and sounds similar to our previous Check It Out band (and fellow countrymen/woman), Only Fate Remains. What makes Cardamon different from OFR is its balance of sounds: their songs contain metallic riffs, semi-progressive structures, acoustic passages, and enchanting melodies courtesy of Floortje Donia. The best word I can use to describe Cardamon’s music is “melancholy.” You can hear and sense that emotion in the lyrics, the vocals, and the moods created by the music. Think of Cardamon as a female-fronted version of Katatonia during their Last Fair Deal Gone Down days – or a mix of Katatonia, Autumn, The Gathering, and circa-1999 Anathema.
Cardamon has played a number of shows in their homeland over the past couple years. A number of those gigs were opening slots for Delain, Stream of Passion, Kingfisher Sky, and Autumn. So, this band has had a lot of great opportunity to get their name out there in Holland. Oh, and two trivia bits for you: Cardamon guitarist Koen Romeijn is the lead singer of the melodic death metal band Detonation. And, bassist Luuk van Gerven played the same instrument for After Forever until that band split up in 2009. Just goes to show that Cardamon’s members have a wide range of tastes in metal music!
Cardamon has two albums under their belt: The Primrose Path, released in 2007; and Sun As Never (pictured above), which came out last month. Sun As Never sees the band going in a heavier direction. As a result, the music has a stronger electric-guitar base and is generally more uptempo. The lyrics and prevailing moods, however, are still dark, somber, and introspective. Cardamon has actually released Sun As Never for free download only at their website. So if you haven’t heard of Cardamon before, this is a good opportunity to do so – without opening your wallet!
Out of both Cardamon albums, however, I prefer The Primrose Path a smidge more. I find something charming about that record’s delicate balance of electric and acoustic moments as well as Floortje’s clear, lilting harmonies. A great example of all of the elements that make up The Primrose Path is the song “Sleepless World.” The intro grabs your attention while building in intensity, and the song as a whole is full of those contrasts that make up Cardamon’s signature sound.
We haven’t done one of these articles in a while! So, let me introduce you to an up-and-coming band from The Netherlands.
Only Fate Remains (formerly known as Trisomy) is a band I’ve heard about from a number of people – primarily John at Sugar & Spikes Radio, and my Sonic Cathedral colleague Doctor T – before I finally got around to listening to their music. They’re another one of what I’d call the “second wave” of Dutch female-fronted metal bands. In other words, they’re not symphonic or gothic (like Within Temptation, After Forever, Epica, etc.), but more rock oriented like Autumn, Cardamon, or even The Gathering. Now that I think about it, OFR singer Eva Kokken’s voice reminds me a lot of Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering, Agua de Annique) and Floortje Donia (Cardamon). So, what you get with OFR is a strong melodic metal experience with hints of gothic, atmospheric, progressive, and hard rock styles.
What else can I tell you about OFR besides what they sound like? Well, this band has been around for a while! Guitarist Michiel van Veen founded the band back in 1996. (Michiel is also the only remaining original band member.) OFR’s current formation has been together for less than a year; guitarist Jacques Maas joined the band earlier in 2011. This Eindhoven-based sextet has also had the opportunity to open for a number of well-known Dutch femme metal acts (Epica, Autumn, Stream of Passion, and Delain, just to name a few) as well as male-fronted bands such as My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. Quite a variety of bands they’ve supported, huh?
Just a few weeks ago, OFR released its debut album, Breathe, through the UK-based Ravenheart Music Records. Breathe is a brief but power-packed collection of dark melodic metal. The quality of the album’s production is solid, too. It create a healthy balance between the vocals, the guitars, and other instruments, and lets in little bits of ambiance and keyboards when you least expect it. The two songs I recommend the most are “Lost” and “Shallow Water.” Both are uptempo, guitar-driven tracks with catchy melodies that make the songs quite likeable.
OFR has filmed a music video for one of the songs on Breathe. I haven’t found out which song they chose to film – but as soon as the video is online, we’ll make sure to share it with you!
Prog-power label, Nightmare Records, is the home of old and new favorites — Seven Kingdoms, Clandestine and Memoira, to name a few – so I pay close attention when it adds another band to the roster, because odds are good that the band will suit my taste very well. I’m happy to report that Divine Ascension’s debut album, As The Truth Appears, is well on its way to claiming a place among my favorite albums of 2011.
So, what can you expect out of these relative newcomers from Melbourne, Australia? Prepare your ears for a feast of power metal, liberally seasoned with progressive metal and a smidgen of symphonic and Middle Eastern elements for extra flavor. Divine Ascension is fronted by the full-throated, midrange voice of Jennifer Borg, whose theatrical training undoubtedly contributed to the emotional intensity of her vocal performance. As The Truth Appears is, after all, an album that speaks of destruction and rebuilding, questioning norms, and searching for answers in the midst of chaos — themes that are foreshadowed by the album artwork of a little girl building a sandcastle on an empty beach with a smoke-wreathed skyline on the far horizon. Although the overarching message is hopeful, it does not lend itself to a light, airy vocal treatment. Grit and pathos and moments of outrage are called for, and convincingly delivered by Borg.
Borg’s voice is complemented by five musicians who know their craft: Karl Szulik & Robert Inglis on guitars, David Van Pelt on keys, Simon Mahoney on bass, and Luke Wenczel on drums. (Former keyboardist, Don Marciano, is credited on some songs.) I am a big fan of bands with two guitars and a keyboardist, because the result (if done right) is greater musical complexity and sophistication than the typical guitar-bass-drum configuration. Just listen to the dazzling twin-guitar riffing on “Visionary,” the progressive rhythm line on “Another Battlefield,” and the Middle Eastern inflected keyboards on “Guided By Osiris” for prime examples of infusing songs with crackling energy, without overpowering the vocals or digressing into self-indulgent prog noodling.
As The Truth Appears will be released worldwide on 11 October 2011, and undoubtedly will be available at most online and physical retailers. You can preorder the 10-track edition at Nightmare Records or the special 12-track Japanese edition at Hydrant Music. In the meantime, Divine Ascension has released the music video for their first single, “Answers,” featuring fellow-Aussie, Silvio Massaro of Vanishing Point. Enjoy!
