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 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!
Our latest poll was a battle from start to finish. Omega Lithium and Dimlight duked it out during the first half of July. And then during the second half of the month, Die So Fluid fans started voting like crazy and challenged Dimlight for the top spot. In the end, however, the Greek symphonic metallers reigned supreme. And so Dimlight is Unleash the Furies’ Band of the Month for August 2011!
Click here to visit of Band of the Month page for Dimlight.
Once again, thank you to everyone who made their voice heard in this poll! Over 2,200 votes were cast. Here are the overall results for the August 2011 Band of the Month Poll:
Dimlight: 875 votes (38.75%)
Die So Fluid: 827 votes (36.63%)
Omega Lithium: 384 votes (17.01%)
Kerion: 157 votes (6.95%)
Eyes Set to Kill: 15 votes (0.66%)
Now, we have a special twist to our September 2011 Band of the Month Poll. Since our staff is still on a Dame-Nation high, our latest poll has a Dame-Nation 2011 theme! This year’s entire line-up is on the ballot. So, to refresh your memory, here are all 9 bands in alphabetical order:
Shield of Wings, a symphonic metal band from Chicago, Illinois.
Solarsphere, a melodic modern hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois.
The Unvoiced, a melodic metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
To cast your vote, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Voting closes on Wednesday, August 31st, and you can vote once a day!
Which bands would you like to see featured in our next Band of the Month Poll? Let us know by sending an email to unleashthefuriesmetal@gmail.com!
There are so many avenues for discovering bands on the Internet. A number of recent good finds for me have come from listening to the Sugar and Spikes Radio Show. And during one of S&S’s recent episodes, I heard Losing Scarlet for the first time. I knew very little about the band at the time, but I had no doubts about what I was listening to: a blend of American metal and hard rock that’s energetic, in-your-face, and alive and kicking with melodic attitude. And now, with Dame-Nation just around the corner, it’s a good time to finally tell you all about Losing Scarlet!
Losing Scarlet is a four-piece band from Chicago, Illinois with double the “femme metal” factor: bassist / live backing vocalist Petra, and sassy lead singer Jodi. Musically, the band is all about aggressive rhythms, high-powered guitarwork, wickedly catchy melodies, and lyrics that can be cheek, shameless, and brutally honest. I can’t think of another female-fronted metal band I can compare Losing Scarlet to. Maybe the Canadian band Kobra and the Lotus, or a more fiery Era for a Moment. Losing Scarlet has also opened for well-known bands such as Five Finger Death Punch, Tantric, Taproot, and Bullet for My Valentine. So, imagine a female fronting a band along those lines. That’s what Losing Scarlet sounds like.
Learning to Bleed is Losing Scarlet’s second album and was released in March of this year. It picks up where the band’s self-titled debut CD left off and offers more and more ass-kicking, unapologetic rock ‘n roll. I can tell when I listen to Losing Scarlet that its members keep live performances in mind when they’re composing their songs. They’re just so full of that unique energy that you only get when you’re at a gig. That makes Losing Scarlet a fun band to listen to!
At first listen, the Losing Scarlet songs I’d recommend most are “Shameless Prayer,” “Shade of Hate,” and “Halo of Stone.” Here’s a promo video that Losing Scarlet made for “Shade of Hate.” It gives you a good idea of how animated this band is when they play live.
And speaking of gigs, here is some footage of Losing Scarlet at the Metro in Chicago last year:
Losing Scarlet are:
Jodi – Vocals
Scott – Guitar
Petra – Bass
Shawn – Drums
Check out Losing Scarlet at their official website as well as Myspace, Facebook, and ReverbNation. And if you’re in the Chicago area this coming Friday, July 29, make sure you check out Losing Scarlet and all the other awesome bands at Dame-Nation 2011!
DEADMANSWAKE is from Chicago, and they really describe themselves well: “Female-fronted melodic metal with a whole lot of balls.” I agree wholeheartedly. I first heard of the band in late fall of 2010. I was walking through Borders one day where I saw JP Soule [the one on the far right]. I had to: I gave him a high five for being awesome; I think that’s pretty reasonable. We had a small, polite discussion, and he gave me a card with details about the band. I relayed the encounter to a friend of mine, who recommended the band absolutely. Upon retreating to my house for the night, I gave the band a listen and became a fan. I’ll tell you: It was one of the better decisions I made that day. Great story, right?
The band’s new album, “It Comes To This” is just full of badass that makes you just keep wanting to rock out. The album has all the components of a good metal collection. The songs are relatively short–that is, if you’re comparing them to something like “Kingdom of Heaven” by Epica–and pack a punch. It’s got a lot of heavy, sort-of-angry-but-not-really songs, but at the same time you can feel the emotion behind them. There’s also an acoustic bonus track at the end which shows a whole other side of the group. It’s sing-able, dance-able, and a whole lot of other -ables that would be redundant to mention. Go pick up a copy. It’s great stuff.
The band performed at Dame-Nation in 2010, and will be appearing with In This Moment in May. You can check out the band and find concert details on Facebook or on their own website, where you can also buy the album or T-shirts, among other awesome things.
Anyway, I’d like to share a recent discovery of mine called Shield of Wings, who hail from the Chicago area. The American metal scene is dominated by hardcore/metalcore bands these days, so what a nice change it is to hear some well done, classic, old-school symphonic metal emanating from within our own borders instead of having to import it from across the sea. Vocalist Grace Méridan gracefully (haha, get it?) soars over a bed of the symphonic metal we’ve all come to know and love. Though we see a million of these kinds of bands from Europe, most of those are low quality Nightwish copies. There’s something about Shield of Wings that sets them apart from them and makes their debut EP Solarium an enjoyable listen.
Solarium consists of six tracks, on which you can also hear some folk and death influences, but the core of it is straight-up symphonic metal. Take it or leave it, but this band’s pretty damn good. Hope to hear more from them soon!
