Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the release of the new studio album, “Tectonic” from Amanda Somerville’s TRILLIUM on June 8th !
Best known for her collaborations with various high profile European metal bands like Avantasia, Epica, KAMELOT, After Forever, and her amazing musical partnership with Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske under the Kiske/Somerville banner, Amanda Somerville is easily one of the most sought after and gifted female vocalists of the current hard rock and metal scene. With a vocal range from tenor to soprano and a stylistically diverse singing ability, Amanda’s voice is well suited for multiple styles, but this new TRILLIUM album is firmly rooted in the metal genre, thanks also to the creative contribution from Amanda’s husband, former After Forever and HDK guitarist Sander Gommans.
“Where [Trillium debut album] “Alloy” was rather dark and moody and restless, Tectonic is on the whole more uplifting and full of strength and character, though it’s just as full of emotion,” explains Amanda. “My life was shaken up by figurative earthquakes through several elements shifting in recent years and that’s what this album represents. It’s a challenge to make an album that’s musically heavy without being dragged down by melancholy, but that’s what Sander and I set out to do from the beginning and it worked out beautifully!”
Amanda continues, “The core and essence of Tectonic is very personal and comes, basically, from the hearts and minds of a singer and a guitar player and I think that’s very apparent when you listen to the songs. Sander and I didn’t want to overthink things and over-complicate the songs. There’s definitely some bombast in there because we both have a love of keyboard arrangements, but they don’t rule the roost here. Also, the only guest performances are by good friends from my hometown in Flint, Michigan who also played live with me solo and with Trillium, and also some great mates and colleagues of Sander’s, so it’s really a “family” kind of album. We tried to keep things simple, and yet I think it’s anything but low-key!”
Today, the first song and video, “Time To Shine” from the album has been premiered – click on the image to enjoy!
“The focus for the video was something where I wanted to show the essence of the album’s hopeful and uplifting spirit. “Time To Shine” depicts that positivity while maintaining a serious, hard-edge vibe, so it’s a good combination of the elements that I love about Tectonic. Besides being autobiographical, I feel like this is a song that says, “OK, I’ve arrived and it’s where I want to be: here I am, now let’s keep it going,” says Amanda.
Fans of Trillium’s debut album, “ALLOY” as well as artists like The Dark Element, Tarja, Cellar Darling, Lacuna Coil, and the like will find much to enjoy in this beautiful new record!
1. Time To Shine
2. Stand Up
3. Full Speed Ahead
4. Hit Me
5. Fighting Fate
6. Nocturna
7. Fatal Mistake
8. Shards
9. Cliché Freak Show
10. Eternal Spring
Produced by Amanda Somerville & Sander Gommans
Amanda Somerville’s TRILLIUM are:
Amanda Somerville – vocals
Sander Gommans – guitars & bass
Erik Van Ittersum – keyboards
Andre Borgman – drums
Except on:
“Full Speed Ahead”: bass by Mark Burnash, 2nd guitar solo by Paul Owsinski
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Exit Eden are a recent development to the Rock/Metal world. The group consists of Amanda Somerville, who is a dominant presence on the scene, Anna Brunner, who formed her first rock band at a young age, Marina La Torraca, who has performed alongside the likes of AVANTASIA, and VISIONS OF ATLANTIS front woman Clémentine Delauney. With their impressive biographies and backgrounds in music, it’s no surprise this album delivers craft and beauty.
The album contains covers of a variety of hits from the likes of Rhianna, Depeche Mode, Adele, and Madonna to name a few of them. Each rendition of these superstar hits treat the listener to some spine chilling, hair raising beauty. The success of a great cover is that you make the song sound like your own and this is what’s delivered.
Examples of this are ‘Impossible’, ‘Heaven’, and ‘Paparazzi’.
The Shontelle anthem, ‘Impossible’, is a beautiful, uplifting song that has a lot of empowerment within the music and lyrics. The combined voices of this cover ensure the triumph and authority that the song brings isn’t forgotten. This is helped by the string arrangements and powerful backing music from the band. One can disagree, but this is easily one of the best covers of a song that one has heard for a long time.
As most people know, the ballad ‘Heaven’ is originally by Bryan Adams. It’s been covered by DJ Sammy (Club Mix and Candlelight), and now it’s been covered by Exit Eden. With this rendition, they capture the essence of the song and it sounds closer to the original. Given the genre, they still successfully give it their own twist.
‘Paparazzi’ is a smash hit from modern pop icon Lady Gaga, so you knew it was going to sound very different from the original. Exit Eden do a sterling job with this song. From the childlike music intro, to the natural sounds past the second chorus, this is a great cover of a pop classic. Let’s wait and see if this causes some debate between Metal heads and Lady Gaga fans about which version is better.
To say this debut is a launchpad into the vast universe of music, not just Metal and Rock, but for all music lovers, is an understatement. I highly recommended Rhapsodies In Black if you wish to hear international pop hits in a different way.
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