Our September 2012 Band of the Month Is…

Heaven Rain

Another month has gone by, and so has another UtF Band of the Month Poll. And once again, we’re surprised by the results. Our staff had never heard of this progressive power metal band from Bosnia & Herzegovina until one of our readers nominated them. Then we watched as Heaven Rain stormed to a commanding lead and kept it that way to the end. So, the September 2012 Band of the Month crown goes to Heaven Rain!

Click here to visit Heaven Rain’s Band of the Month page.

Here are the complete poll results:

1. Heaven Rain – 160 votes (59.26%)
2. Dorota Malek –   70 votes (25.93%)
3. Crystal Viper – 21 votes (7.78%)
4. Kontrust – 13 votes (4.81%)
5. White Skull –  6 votes (2.22%)

Time to reveal our nominees for the October 2012 Band of the Month! Your choices are:

• Akoma, a symphonic metal band from Silkeborg, Denmark. Akoma self-released their second EP, The Other Side, in March and is currently working on material for their first full-length album.
• El Cuervo de Poe, a gothic alternative metal band from Guadalajara, Mexico. February was a busy month for El Cuervo de Poe, as they opened for one of Within Temptation’s Mexican shows and released their second album Ex Libris.
• Embracing Soul, a gothic rock/metal band from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Embracing Soul released their second EP, Luna, via Illusive Records in July.
• Stone Cold Outlaw, a hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Stone Cold Outlaw has a three-track, self-titled EP out now and is currently booking shows in their local area for the fall.
• The Forsaken Creation, an ambient metal project from Paris, France. Comprised of singer Anne-Emmanuelle and instrumentalist Eric Valley, The Forsaken Creation released its debut EP, Fragments, in May.

Visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Vote once a day, every day through Sunday, September 30th!

Which bands would you like to see featured in our next Band of the Month Poll? Let us know by posting a suggestion on our Facebook page or emailing us at unleashthefuriesmetal@gmail.com.

Our August 2012 Band of the Month Is…

4Without

We thought this month’s Dame-Nation 2012 themed poll would be a close call. Turns out that it became a battle between two of Chicago’s up-and-coming hard rock bands: Burning Eve and 4Without. And after one day of Burning Eve at the top, 4Without fans came back with a vengeance. That’s why 4Without is our Band of the Month for August 2012!

Click here to visit 4Without’s Band of the Month page.

Thanks again to everyone who showed their support for Dame-Nation 2012 by voting! Here are the complete results:

1. 4Without –  851 votes (58.61%)
2. Burning Eve –  490 votes (33.75%)
3. Schoolcraft – 33 votes (2.27%)
4. Persistence of Memory – 28 votes (1.93%)
5. A.D.D. –  26 votes (1.79%)
6. (tie) MindShatter – 8 votes (0.55%)
7. (tie for 6) Last Red Ransom – 8 votes (0.55%)
8. Virulence Factor – 5 votes (0.34%)
9. DeadMansWake – 3 votes (0.21%)

Onto our September 2012 poll! Your choices are:

• Crystal Viper, a Polish heavy metal band. Crystal Viper released their fourth full-length album Crimen Excepta via AFM Records in April.
• Dorota Malek, a hard rock / metal singer from Wels, Austria. Her full-length debut album Dayphobia was released this past March via Noisehead Records.
• Heaven Rain, a progressive power metal band from Banja Luka, Bosnia. Their third release Second Sun is their first full-length album with current singer Miona Graorac.
• Kontrust, a cross-over band rock/metal band from Ried and Vienna, Austria. Although Kontrust have been around for several years, their popularity exploded in mid-2012 with the release of their new album Second Hand Wonderland.
• White Skull, an Italian heavy metal band. White Skull recently premiered the music video for “Red Devil,” the first single from their latest album Under This Flag.

Visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Vote once a day, every day through Friday, August 31st!

Which bands would you like to see featured in our next Band of the Month Poll? Let us know by posting a suggestion on our Facebook page or emailing us at unleashthefuriesmetal@gmail.com.

Check It Out: Intemperia

We’ve featured a lot of American and European bands here at Unleash the Furies. So now it’s time for something different: a group from South America! I’ve heard of female-fronted rock and metal bands from Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, but Intemperia is the first one I’ve heard from Venezuela. And from the get-go, I was quite impressed with what I heard from them!

Intemperia came about in late 2006 with its members wanting to create a melodic power metal sound with rock and electronic influences. The following year, the band released a five-song EP, Aurora, to introduce its music to the local metal scene. The sound that Intemperia has honed since then exudes attitude, catchy melodies, and just enough technicality to keep things interesting. Their singer, Juls, has a voice that’s youthful, entrancing, yet surprisingly powerful. She reminds me of Christianna of Elysion, and maybe even Cristina Scabbia circa Lacuna Coil’s In a Reverie era. So, yes, Intemperia is not a classically influenced power metal band by any means. But that’s what makes their music unique, in my opinion.

Intemperia self-released its debut album, The Mothman Prophecies, earlier this year. It’s a concept album that, as the band explains, “tells the story of a human heart in the middle of darkness and light, trying to find [its] right way and [its] right place.” Overall, The Mothman Prophecies maintains great passion and momentum. Each song stands on its own, thanks to great solos, solid songwriting, and Juls’ incredible voice. My favorite song on The Mothman Prophecies is the ballad, “I Hold On To You,” because of its tour-de-force nature. But the album’s first three tracks – “Chains of Gold,” “Embrace the Night,” and “No Hopes” – are also excellent. Here’s a full-length clip of “Chains of Gold.”

Based on a few videos I’ve seen, Intemperia’s studio sound translates very well live. Here is a clip of the band performing “Embrace the Night.”

Intemperia are:

• Juls Sosa – Vocals
• Carlos “Afro” Robles – Guitars
• Christian Estepa – Bass
• Rony Jose Borges Brito – Drums

Learn more about Intemperia by visiting their Myspace, Facebook, LastFM, YouTube, or ReverbNation. Oh, and you can listen to The Mothman Prophecies in its entirety on Facebook and ReverbNation!

~ Sara

Check It Out: Seven Kingdoms

Yes, everyone, it’s power metal time! But not the female-fronted power metal you’re used to hearing. No choirs, no classical instrumentation, no operatic singing whatsoever. Just plain ol’ in-your-face power metal with lots of solos, fantasy lyrics, and one of the most versatile young singers on the scene. Oh, and some death growls, progressive twists, and bits of speed and thrash metal thrown in for good measure. This is how Seven Kingdoms does power metal, and boy does it kick ass!

Seven Kingdoms actually originated out of the Florida (U.S.) death metal scene. The band’s original vocalist, grunter Bryan Edwards, who was a big fan of author George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novel saga A Song of Fire and Ice. (FYI: The series’ first book, A Game of Thrones, is now a hugely popular TV mini-series.) Hence, Seven Kingdoms’ name and the lyrical content of band’s debut album, Brothers of the Night, were all inspired by the series. Fast forward to 2008: The band shifts its style from death metal to power metal – and opts for a versatile female vocalist in Sabrina Valentine.

Seven Kingdoms, released in July 2010 through Nightmare Records, is currently the band’s only release as a female-fronted band. The best way to describe the album is a heavy metal soundtrack to a fantasy film. Different songs on the album could represent battle cries, calls for vengeance, the epic climax, and even the mournful dirge. The most impressive part about Seven Kingdoms is Sabrina’s vocals. She has the range, emotion, and projection that could rival Floor Jansen and some of the other well-known big voices in “femme metal.” I could tell you so much more about this album – but then we’d be here a while! So if you’d like to know more about my thoughts on Seven Kingdoms, just click here to read my review of it at Sonic Cathedral.

Which songs by Seven Kingdoms would I recommend? Well, to start off, here’s “Somewhere Far Away,” the first song I had ever heard by Seven Kingdoms (thanks to Femme Metal’s Beauty & Brutality compilation album). It’s one of their shorter and more straightforward songs, and  a great example of their fierce sound.

My fellow Sonic Cathedral and UtF writer Robin is also a huge Seven Kingdoms fan. (She’s actually the one responsible for me discovering the band – so thanks, Robin!) If she was writing this article, I know she would urge you to check out their ballad “A Murder Never Dead.” I do, too. It’s such a beautiful, heart-aching piece, and one of my favorites on Seven Kingdoms.

And I have to share Seven Kingdoms’ namesake song with you. It’s the longest and craziest track the band has done to date – and that’s why I adore it. Here’s a video of the band performing “Seven Kingdoms” during their North American tour with Blind Guardian this past fall.

If you live in Florida or on the U.S. East Coast, chances are you might be able to check out a Seven Kingdoms gig this year. Click here for the band’s current list of upcoming dates. More shows may be announced in the near future, too!

Seven Kingdoms are:

• Sabrina Valentine – Vocals
• Camden Cruz – Guitars
• Kevin Byrd – Guitars
• Keith Byrd – Drums
• Aaron Sluss – Bass

Learn more about Seven Kingdoms by visiting their official website, Myspace, Facebook, LastFM, and ReverbNation pages. You can buy Seven Kingdoms at Nightmare Records’ webstore, Sonic Cathedral, iTunes, or Amazon.

~ Sara

June BotM Poll Ends; July Poll Begins!

Our Band of the Month for June 2011 is…

Regardless Of Me

Death metal fans came out swinging for this poll. Amaranthe took a whopping lead early on, but halfway through the month Regardless Of Me made a charge for the top. In the end, the Swedes couldn’t hold off the Italians. So, Regardless of Me is Unleash the Furies’ new Band of the Month!

Click here to visit of Band of the Month page on Regardless Of Me.

Thanks to fans and readers, our second Band of the Month Poll was an even bigger hit than our first! Over 550 votes were cast by the end of the month. Here are the final results:

1. Regardless Of Me: 271 votes (49.18%)
2. Amaranthe: 146 votes (26.5%)
3. Whyzdom: 54 votes (9.8%)
4. ReVamp: 53 votes (9.62%)
5. Solsikk: 27 votes (4.9%)

And now, here are our nominees for Band of the Month Poll for July 2011:

• Benedictum, a heavy metal band from San Diego, California. Benedictum recently released its third album, Dominion, on Frontiers Records and will make its second appearance at Metal Female Voices Festival later this year.
• Kells, a symphonic nu metal band based in Lyon, France.  Kells has toured extensively with Tarja Turunen in Europe this year. The band’s third album is due for release via Season of Mist later this summer.
• Skeptical Minds, an electro rock/metal band from Brussels, Belgium.  Last October, Skeptical Minds released its third album, Skepticalized, which is its first album with Polish-born singer Karolina vel Death.
• Stream of Passion, a symphonic progressive metal band based in The Netherlands and led by Mexican vocalist Marcela Bovio. Stream of Passion will release their third album, Darker Days, in late June via Napalm Records.
• Visions of Atlantis, a symphonic power metal band from Styria, Austria. Visions of Atlantis is currently touring to promote its fourth album, Delta, which is the band’s first album with Greek singer Maxi Nil (formerly of Elysion).

To cast your vote, visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Voting closes on Thursday, June 30^th, 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