Sunday, August 19, 2007

George Bellas returns with Palace Terrace





Lion Music are proud to announce the signing of Palace Terrace, a progressive neo classical rock band with a theatrical and modern edge that is intellectually stimulating, thought provoking and emotionally moving. Their music combines superb musicianship, beautifully crafted melodies, unique harmonic progressions, compelling stories, counterpoint, large orchestrations, wide dynamics, odd meters, stunning vocal arrangements and elaborate forms.



Palace Terrace was formed when composer/guitarist George Bellas contacted Tenor Vocalist Jonathan R Marshall and invited him to fill the main vocalist spot in the band. The two discussed how they would like to see the band debut as well as evolve into the future. Sharing very similar visions the two began writing their first album "Flying Through Infinity". The search for an extraordinary percussionist was much of a concern for George and was a long but fruitful ambition when he finally discovered the prolific talents of Percussionist Sasha Horn.



George Bellas is one of the world’s leading technically advanced players with a CV that has seem him work with Ring Of Fire, John West, Vitalij Kuprij, Mogg/Way and many more as well as 3 critically acclaimed solos albums to date. George contributes all the compositions, orchestration, guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, vocals and studio production. He has been playing guitar since the age of 7.

Palace Terrace will publicly debut with their album titled "Flying Through Infinity" during the fourth quarter of 2007 (actual date tbc) through Lion Music. More information on the album to follow soon.

Web Links
http://www.palaceterrace.com/



Saturday, August 11, 2007

"Treasure Land - The Search Has Begun" review




Treasure Land look set to become one of the most exciting neo-classical outfits of 2007 if the 4 tracks currently available on their official website are anything to go by. Entitled “The Search Has Begun”, the 4 tracks see guitarist Jonas Hörnqvist deliver tracks with the same kind of quality as heard on Malmsteen’s “Trilogy” albeit updated for the 21st century. Rest assured guitar heads will get a major kick out of this but luckily the song writing is equally up to scratch. Rick Altzi handles vocals here but the band have recently announced that he has left the band and a replacement is being sought. If the band can get in a high profile name (and the material gives no reason as to why they couldn’t) this could be the shot in the arm the neo-classical genre needs to get it back into the public eye.

Kicking off with the high intensity of “The Cities Are Burning” home to a scolding riff and rampant double bass drum work with an equally strong production the track is infectious and will be a winner in the live environment. The solo is equally stunning with Hörnqvist playing with equal parts speed yet with a keen ear for melody. An arpeggio sequence kicks it off before the fretboard explodes into frenzy – glorious stuff before some trade offs between guitar and keys see Hörnqvist go up another gear before another sweep picked arpeggio section brings us back into the chorus to round out the track. “Let The Curtain Fall” falls into a impressive mid tempo tune with another great riff which breaks down for the verse before picking up again for the chorus, here there is a hint of modern day power metal ala Silent Force or Iron Mask (no bad thing) and its another triumph with another scorching solo from Hörnqvist. “The Price” sees the tempo pick up again for a rocker giving of the same sort of feel as Malmsteen’s ‘Liar’ yet with nothing here remotely smelling of plagiarism. An intricate classical melody sequence again kicks off the solo section before Hörnqvist impresses once again when he cuts loose. The eastern meets Spanish latino tinted acoustic instrumental of “Only For You” adds another spin to the proceedings with some beautiful melodies over film score like orchestral arrangements.

Overall “The Search Has Begun” demonstrates a very high level of songwriting, performance and craft and I cannot wait to hear more. Check out the clips now at http://www.treasureland.nu/

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