Our May 2012 Band of the Month Is…

Meden Agan

Many of you know that this month’s poll was our first “Second Chance” Band of the Month Poll, where we gave six previous second-place finishers another chance at winning Band of the Month. We thought that all bets would be off with this poll. That wasn’t the case. Greek symphonic metallers Meden Agan rose above the rest of the competition, though not before a brief tussle with Opus Doria. So we congratulate to Meden Agan with the honor of being our May 2012 Band of the Month!

Click here for Meden Agan’s Band of the Month Page.

Here is how the final tally shaped up:

1. Meden Agan– 724 votes (48.72%)
2. Opus Doria– 427 votes (28.73%)
3. Pythia – 215  votes (14.47%)
4. Die So Fluid – 65 votes (4.37%)
5. Kells – 43 votes (2.89%)
6. Sacramento – 12 votes (0.81%)

And now, here are your five choices for the June 2012 Band of the Month Poll:

• 69 Chambers, an alternative metal trio from Zurich, Switzerland. 69 Chambers released their second album Torque in Europe through Massacre Records last week, and will have a (free admission!) record release gig on May 1st at Mascotte in their hometown.
• End of September, a melodic metal band from Växjö, Sweden. End of Septemeber’s self-titled debut album will be released on May 11th in Europe and on May 22nd in North America via Ulterium Records.
• Lyriel, a melodic / folk metal band from Gummersbach and Köln, Germany. Lyriel’s recently released fourth album, Leverage, shows the band deviating from their whimsical folk metal origins and opting for a more powerful, straightforward heavy metal sound with violin arrangements.
• Unleash The Archers,a power metal band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Unleash The Archers are wrapping up a tour of Western Canada in support of their second album, Demons of the Astrowaste, and will release a music video sometime in May. (Do you notice how similar their name is to ours? *wink*)
• Winter In Eden, a symphonic rock band from Durham, United Kingdom. Winter In Eden will play a few shows in their native UK this month to celebrate the release of their second album, Echoes of Betrayal.

Visit our WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right-hand sidebar. Vote once a day, every day through Thursday, May 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.

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

Check It Out: Ultimate Fate

Gothenburg, Sweden is home to a multitude of metal bands – including female-fronted ones.  We’ve already featured two here at Unleash the Furies: Amaranthe, and One Without. Both of these bands offer more extreme, grunt-heavy music.  However, you’ll get something a little different from Ultimate Fate. Their music is equally as dynamic and powerful, but also lush and romantic.

Ultimate Fate formed in 2008 when former Violator bandmates Ola Olsson and Jacob Hede reunited with the goal of creating a more melodic style of metal. (Violator is a thrash metal band.) They also wanted a female vocalist for this project. It wasn’t long before they met Jennie Nord – and the sound of Ultimate Fate began to take shape. That sound is not exactly classically influenced symphonic metal, but more of a melodic heavy metal with a symphonic backdrop.  In other words, Ultimate Fate seems to concentrate on getting the metal down first before adding the synth-strings.  So, you’ll hear robust guitars and smooth rhythms, with the symphonics coming in at the right moments and only as necessary. Also, Jennie has a cool voice compared to most female symphonic metal singers. It’s a mid-range (contralto or alto, maybe?) voice that can be soft and tender, then reach the same wild heights that remind me of Kate Bush.

In April of this year, Ultimate Fate released a three-song EP called Beyond the Horizon. Each song has its own character, yet showcases that distinct Ultimate Fate sound. I was (and still am) particularly impressed by the chemistry I can hear and feel in the music. All of the instruments and elements seem to come together so naturally. I love it when a band can achieve this. It makes the music all the more exciting! If you’d like to know more about my thoughts on Beyond the Horizon, click here to read my review of the EP at Sonic Cathedral.

Below you’ll find a video that features Ultimate Fate’s song “Retribution,” the second track on Beyond the Horizon. If you go to Ultimate Fate’s ReverbNation page, however, you can listen to all three songs. I highly recommend “Beyond Fear” as your first listen. Ominous riffs, doomsday lyrics, two sets of male background vocals/growls, and Jennie’s sorceress-like commands… It’s like an apocalyptic movie scene unfolding over 5 minutes.  And you won’t help but headbang along with it!

Currently, Ultimate Fate is working on songs for their first full-length album. Some live dates may be coming soon, too. So keep your eyes and ears open for this band!

Ultimate Fate are:

• Jennie Nord: Vocals
• Jacob Hede: Guitar
• Niklas Fahlén: Bass
• Ola Olsson: Drums
• Andreas Bergqvist: Keyboards

Check out Ultimate Fate now at their official website, Myspace, Facebook, and ReverbNation (link provided above).

~ 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

May BotM Poll Closes – and June Poll Begins!

And our Band of the Month for May 2011 is…  One Without!

 

Thanks to their enthusiastic fans, the Swedish gothic metal band took an early lead in our first Band of the Month Poll and never looked back. So, One Without is Unleash the Furies’ first Band of the Month!

To promote One Without for the month of May, and to promote future Bands of the Month here at Unleash the Furies, we have launched a Band of the Month logo widget on the right-hand sidebar of our WordPress site. Click on that logo – it takes you to a special page with links and information on One Without so you can learn more about the band. You can also find this special page by visiting the Band of the Month section of our site. Or, just click here.

The poll itself was a HUGE success! Over 450 votes were cast! Thanks very much to everyone who took part! Here are the final results:

1. One Without: 224 votes (48.7%)
2. Noctura: 134 votes (29.13%)
3. Echoterra: 84 votes (18.26%)
4. Triosphere: 10 votes (2.17%)
5. Straight Line Stitch: 8 votes (1.74%)

And now, here are the choices for the June 2010 Band of the Month Poll!

• Amaranthe, a modern melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Amaranthe is currently touring Europe with Kamelot to promote their self-titled debut album, which was released last month via Spinefarm Records.
• Regardless of Me, a hardcore progressive metal band based out of Milan, Italy. Regardless of Me will play shows in the UK and Bosnia in May and June. Their second album is due out via Unexploded Records early this summer.
• ReVamp, a Dutch symphonic metal band led by former After Forever vocalist Floor Jansen. ReVamp is one of the headliners at this year’s Femme Metal Festival, which takes place on May 29^th and 30^th in London, United Kingdom. In June, the band will tour South America for the first time.
• Solsikk, a groove metal band from the United Kingdom. Solsikk will release its self-titied debut album tomorrow via Femme Metal Records.
• Whyzdom, a French symphonic metal band. Whyzdom was recently voted Best French Band at the Metal Sympho Awards for the second year in a row. The band is currently recording its second album, tentatively titled Blind?, and it will be the first to feature new lead singer Clemetine Delauney.

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

~ Sara

Vote in Our First “Band of the Month” Poll!

Great news: Today we launch our very first Band of the Month Poll!

Every month, readers can vote for one of five up-and-coming female-fronted bands selected by the UtF staff. The band with the most votes at the end of the month will, of course, be our Band of the Month and have their own special feature on our site. (We’re still working on those details right now.)

Here are our nominees for the UtF Band of the Month for May 2010:

• Echoterra, a symphonic metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota (U.S.), fronted by former Aesma Daeva / Visions of Atlantis singer Melissa Ferlaak. Echoterra recently announced their second album, Land of the Midnight Sun, will be released this summer.
• Noctura, a rock duo from Indianapolis, Indiana (U.S.). Noctura’s debut album, Surrender the Sun, will be released later this year – and the band’s debut show on June 25th has already sold out!
• One Without, a gothic metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. One Without is working on its second album and recently released their cover of Kent’s “Om Du Var Här” on iTunes.
• Straight Line Stitch, a metalcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee (U.S.). Straight Line Stitch just released its new album, Fight of Our Lives, and will tour the U.S. this spring with In This Moment and recent UtF-featured band System Divide.
• Triosphere, a heavy progressive metal band from Trondheim, Norway. Triosphere’s second album, The Road Less Traveled, was released last year, and the band is touring Europe with Sonata Arctica this month and with Crimson Glory in May.

To cast your vote, visit any page on the UtF WordPress site and scroll down to find the poll on the right side (between the Recent Posts and Facebook / Twitter link widgets). Voting closes on Saturday, April 30^th, and you can vote once a day!

Which band(s) 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: Avariel

How cool is it when you find a female-fronted band in your local area that makes good music?! I had no clue there was such a band in the Boston area – until last year. I met Avariel’s bassist Ryan Kelly during an Epica show last year, and he gave me a copy of Avariel’s latest demo. It didn’t take me long after that to call myself a fan.

Avariel is known as Boston’s “symphonic metal experience.” That’s exactly what this band is. Its five members combine influences from American and European metal styles to create a bold, dynamic style that’s reminiscent of Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Epica. Avariel singer Shannon Kelly (who is Ryan’s older sister) isn’t classically trained, but she has a powerful voice that soars above the sweeping arrangements and hammering metal.

In May 2010, Avariel released its debut album, The Dawn. This 9-track release offers lots of variety for a symphonic metal album, from straightforward, catchy tracks to longer, more epic numbers. The music also features progressive and death metal influences, which add some interesting twists to some songs.  My personal favorites are the brutal “Victim,” the rally call “Bleed,” the cinematic ballad “Dark Harbor,” and the 12-minute closer “Phoenix.”

Avariel is:

• Shannon Kelly – Vocals
• Michael Rose– Lead Guitars, Keyboards/Piano
• Scott McDonald – Rhythm Guitars, Growls
• Ryan Kelly – Bass
• Jay Narbonne – Drums

Check Avariel out at Facebook, Myspace, or ReverbNation.  And say we recommended them to you!

You can also buy The Dawn on iTunes or Amazon.

~ Sara