Announcing the Winners of Our 1st Annual Readers Choice Awards!

Thanks once again to everyone who voted in our 1st Annual Readers Choice Awards! Over 1,100 votes were cast and 46 albums nominated!

Our original plan was to feature the top 10 vote-getting albums. However, due to a three-way tie for the last spot, we have 12 albums instead! Let’s see if you can identify the albums in the collage below!

Thanks very much to Mimi of the UtF staff for putting this image together!

So, now you see the covers of the honored albums.  Here is a more detailed list of the winners:

1. Modified – Modified
2. Dama – Eirwen
3. (tie) Stream of Passion – Darker Days
3. (tie) Echoterra – Land of the Midnight Sun
5. Crysalys – The Awakening of Gaia
6. Nemesea – The Quiet Resistance
7. Amaranthe – Amaranthe
8. Only Fate Remains – Breathe
9. Benedictum – Dominion
10. (tie) Cassandra Syndrome – Satire X
10. (tie) Draconian – A Rose for the Apocalypse
10. (tie) Noctura – Surrender the Sun

Once again, thanks to everyone who voted this year!  The Awards were a great success – so let’s have it again next year, shall we?

Video: Dama – “Regina D’Inverno”

Did you know that our current Band of the Month, Dama, performs songs in their native Italian as well as in English? If you didn’t, here’s a video that Dama released earlier this year for “Regina D’Inverno” (“winter queen” in English). This clip has some stunning colors and cinematography that suit the band’s lush symphonic/gothic metal and Barbara’s Italian lyrics.

Bella, no? Let us know what you think!

~ Sara

Our November 2011 Band of the Month Is…

Dama

Well, these Band of the Month Polls get more and more interesting each time!  The leader for this month’s honor changed three (maybe four) times. And just when it appeared that Greek symphonic metallers Meden Agan had wrapped up the win, fans of the Italian gothic metal band Dama answered with a vengeance. And now, we can announce that Dama is Unleash the Furies’ Band of the Month for November 2011!

Click here to visit of Band of the Month page on Dama.

And here are the complete results for the poll:

1. Dama: 1371 votes (34.4%)
2. Meden Agan: 1295 votes (32.49%)
3. Van Canto: 675 votes (16.93%)
4. Crysalys: 337 votes (8.45%)
5. Dylath-Leen: 166 votes (4.16%)
6. Autumn: 142 votes (3.56%)

Here are our nominees for Band of the Month Poll for December 2011:

• Adrana, an operatic meal band from Tours, France. Adrana released its second full-length album, The Ancient Realms, in September and have a number of local gigs lined up before the end of the year.
• Cardamon, an alternative metal band from Utrecht, Netherlands. Cardamon will hold a CD release party at Poppodium de Peppel in Zeist (Netherlands) on November 26 and perform their new album, Sun As Never, in its entirety.
• Devilskin, a modern metal band from Hamilton, New Zealand. This relatively young band is fronted by Jennie Skulander, the ex-vocalist of Slipping Tongue.
• Nemesea, an alternative rock band from Groningen, Netherlands.  Nemesea’s third album, The Quiet Resistance, will come out this month via Napalm Records.
  
• Trillium, the rock/metal project of American-born singer-songwriter Amanda Somerville. Trillium’s debut album, Alloy, was released today (November 1) in North America and will be released on November 4 in Europe, both through Frontiers Records.

To cast your vote, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Voting closes on Wednesday, November 30, and you can vote once a day!

Also, our sincere apologies for posting our BotM content late this month.  We had some technical issues due to some recent bad weather in the United States (where we’re based). Thanks very much for your patience and understanding!

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!

~ Sara

Our Band of the Month for October 2011 Is…

EarlyRise

Talk about a fight to the finish! EarlyRise and Sacramento flip-flopped between the #1 and #2 positions all week long. But in the end, Sacramento couldn’t hold on the lead they had for most of the month as the melodic rockers from Israel came on strong. So, EarlyRise is our Band of the Month for October 2011!

Click here to visit of Band of the Month page on EarlyRise.

Once again, thanks to everyone who voted in our poll! Here are the results:

1. EarlyRise: 448 votes (43.12%)
2. Sacramento: 394 votes (37.92%)
3. Bare Infinity: 115 votes (11.07%)
4. Me Talk Pretty: 50 votes (4.81%)
5. Charetta: 32 votes (3.08%)

We have six bands to choose from in our November 2011 Band of the Month Poll. And those bands are:

• Autumn, a progressive alternative rock band from Groningen, The Netherlands. Autumn’s fifth studio album, Cold Comfort, will be out on November 4^th in Europe and November 8^th in the U.S. via Metal Blade Records.
• Crysalys, an operatic metal band from Italy. Crysalys’ debut CD, The Awakening of Gaia, was released last month via Wormholedeath Records. Click here to read Max’s review on The Awakening of Gaia here at Unleash the Furies.
• Dama, a gothic metal band from Italy. Dama’s debut CD, Eirwen Imaginary/Immaginario¸ was released via Ravenheart Music in July and is a unique album – it’s a double album, with one CD featuring English-language songs, and the second CD containing songs sung in Italian.
• Dylath-Leen, a death metal band from France. Dylath-Leen released its third album, Cabale, in September, and the band will make its fourth appearance at the Metal Female Voices Festival in Belgium later this month.
• Meden Agan, a symphonic metal band from Athens, Greece. Meden Agan released its first full-length album, Erevos Aenaon, last month.
• Van Canto, an a capella metal band from Germany. Van Canto is currently on the Out Of The Dark 2011 Festival tour (featuring Tristania, Serenity, Amberian Dawn, and Xandria) to promote its new album Break the Silence.

To cast your vote, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Voting closes on Monday, October 31^st, 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!

~ Sara