Our April 2012 Band of the Month Is…

Vainglory

Atlanta heavy metallers Vainglory owned this poll from March 1st and onward. Not even a last-minute surge could get metal’s newest starlets Huntress to snatch the lead away. So, in convincing fashion, Vainglory wins the honor of being our April 2012 Band of the Month!

Click here for Vainglory’s Band of the Month Page.

Here is how the final tally shaped up:

1. Vainglory– 228 votes (43.85%)
2. Huntress– 158 votes (30.38%)
3. Arkona – 74 votes (14.23%)
4. Shadowside – 52 votes (10%)
5. Mortad – 8 votes (1.54%)

Since Unleash The Furies celebrated  its first anniversary last month, we decided to do something special for our May 2012 Band of the Month Poll. It’s our first “Second Chance” Poll! We picked the six best-performing second-place finishers from the past year’s polls and are giving them another shot at winning the Band of the Month contest. The chosen six are:

• Die So Fluid, who battled it out with Dimlight to the very end for August 2011, but lost by 48 votes (827 to 875). Die So Fluid are currently working on their fourth studio album, due out later this year.
• Kells, who couldn’t match Stream of Passion’s 2,823 votes for July 2011, but still gathered 1,731 of their own. Kells recently released their third album, Anachromie, and areplaying headlining shows in their native France this month.
• Meden Agan, who came so close to winning for November 2011, but couldn’t overcome Dama’s 76-vote lead (1295 to 1371). Meden Agan are currently promoting their latest album, Erevos Aenaon, and are scheduled to play at this year’s Metal Female Voices Festival.
• Opus Doria, who were neck-and-neck with Modified for February 2012 until Modified ran ahead with a 600+ vote lead (2,783 to 2,143). Opus Doria recently announced a new lead singer, just a few months after releasing their debut album Infraworld.
• Pythia, who never caught up to Elyose’s 1,468 votes for March 2012, but were well ahead of the rest of the pack with 965. Pythia released their second album, The Serpent’s Curse, at the end of February.
• Sacramento, who couldn’t hold off a last-minute rebound by EarlyRise and came up short by 54 votes (394 to 448) for October 2011. Sacramento recently released a video for “Everything To Waste,” from their 2011 album Weight Of Sin.

As always, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Vote once a day, every day through Monday, April 30th!

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.

Check It Out: Die So Fluid

Die So Fluid was my nominee for last month’s Band of the Month Poll. And what a fight their fans put up – only to have the band lose by a few votes!  (OK, more like 20 votes, but that’s still very close.)  No matter, though. DSF is so fun, unique, and freakishly good that we just HAVE to tell you about them.

Die So Fluid is a trio from the United Kingdom that the rock/metal media have dubbed as a reincarnation of the “power trio.”  Musically, … well, it’s actually tough to describe what Die So Fluid sounds like.  Think dark punk rock with roots stretching into alternative, hard rock, metal, gothic, and blues music styles. Or, try this metaphor: Build a firework using the chemical bases of Green Day, Halestorm, The 69 Eyes, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, then set it off. BAM! That’s DSF for you. The focal point of the band is the black-clad pixie Grog. Like her band’s music, it’s hard to describe Grog’s voice. It’s distinctly feminine and very high, yet it’s throaty, sultry, accented, and full of attitude. Altogether, Die So Fluid is a joy to listen to on CD – and I’m willing to bet they’re just as ballsy live.

Die So Fluid has released three albums, their latest one being The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime. This record shows a lot of range stylistically. In other words, the songs show different moods and styles, and therefore different sides of DSF’s overall sound. The band goes from psychedelic (“Figurine”) to hard-hitting (“Mercury”) to anthemic (“Hearts Are Hollow”) to full-out wacky (“How Vampires Kiss” – cool title, huh?). My favorite track from Lifetime is, without a doubt, “What a Heart Is For.” I can’t tell you how many times in the past couple weeks that song has been stuck in my head! I especially love the bridge after the second chorus. It really helps to build the song to its climax.

I’m not as familiar with Die So Fluid’s older albums, Spawn of Dysfunction and Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending. But during a recent episode of the Sugar and Spikes Radio Show,  I heard “Existential Baby” (from Happy Ending) for the first time. Grog has called this song “sexy” (you’ll hear in the video below) – and I have to agree! Plus, it flat out rawks.

Currently, DSF has no other planned gigs in support of Lifetime. But we can forgive the band for that – because they’re getting ready to start pre-production on Album #4! Woot woot!

Die So Fluid are:

• Grog: Vocals, Bass
• Drew Richards: Guitar
• Al Fletcher: Drums

You can learn more about Die So Fluid at their official website as well as Myspace and Facebook.

~ Sara

Our July 2011 Band of the Month Is…

Stream of Passion

 

Our readers must love the Dutch/Mexican symphonic metal band fronted by the lovely Marcela Bovio. Stream of Passion took the lead on the poll’s first day and ran away with it faster than you can say ¡Arriba!  Thus, Stream of Passion is Unleash the Furies’ Band of the Month for July 2011!

Click here to visit of Band of the Month page on Stream of Passion.

Our July 2011 poll is now our most successful BotM to date! Over 5,800 votes were cast before the results shaped up as follows:

1. Stream of Passion: 2823 votes (48.5%)
2. Kells: 1731 votes (29.74%)
3. Skeptical Minds: 689 votes (11.84%)
4. Benedictum: 539 votes (9.26%)
5. Visions of Atlantis: 39 votes (0.67%)

Many, many thanks to everyone who voted! We appreciate it so much!

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

• Die So Fluid, a hard rock trio from London, United Kingdom. Die So Fluid is currently on the road promoting its third album, The World is Too Big for One Lifetime.
• Dimlight, a symphonic metal band from Athens, Greece. The band is currently in the studio finishing its second album and is gearing up for an appearance at the D-Festival on July 8th with headliners Rotting Christ.
• Eyes Set to Kill, an alternative metalcore band from Tempe, Arizona. ESTK recently finished the Horror Nights Tour with headliner Aiden and has currently scheduled an August 9^th date for the release of their fourth album, White Lotus, via their own label Maphia Management.
• Kerion, a French symphonic metal band.  Kerion’s latest album, The Origins, was released in 2010 and was inspired by the writings of fantasy writer Chris Barberi.
  
• Omega Lithium, a Croatian industrial gothic metal band. Omega Lithium’s second album, Kinetic, was released last month and is considered to be one of the most highly anticipated “femme metal” releases of 2011.

To cast your vote, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Voting closes on Sunday, July 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