It
has been 2 years since Evil Masquerade released their last album
Third Act. But now the long wait has soon come to an end and
the new album "Fade to Black" will hit the streets.
Since the debut album "Welcome to the Show" in 2004,
there has been a steady flow of releases from Evil Masquerade.
Their sophomore album "Theatrical Madness" soon followed
in 2005. And again, only a year later and with some lineup changes,
"Third Act" was released in Europe and South East
Asia in the year 2006 - and it was later released in the US
in 2007 with 2 bonus tracks from the previous albums. This was
the first album release in the US for Evil Masquerade and the
response was nothing but remarkable. Gunbarrel Offensive Design
reports that it didn't take more than 6 months, after the US
release, before the official Evil Masquerade website had more
hits from the US market alone compared to the rest of the world.
The expectations are very high for the release of the long awaited
4th studio album from Evil Masquerade. A release date is not
yet available since negotiations are now taking place with record
labels around the world, but it shouldn't be long before the
first dates are announced. Keep your good eye on The Demolitioner
for more information
as soon as it is available. |
Evil Masquerade is back with new fresh blood in the lineup.
Henrik Flyman (gtr) and Apollo Papathanasio (voc) are still
the center of attention, but the evil rhythm section is brand
new - even though they are old veterans on the metal scene.
Evil Masquerade anno 2008 - Half the lineup from previous release
Third Act has been replaced. It seems impossible for this orchestra
to keep a steady cast, but luckily this has not changed the
sound of the band as drastically as one could easily be misled
to believe. The songs are still written and produced by guitarist
Henrik Flyman. Apollo Papathanasio does the vocals - and if
the information found at the Evil Masquerade World Domination
Blog is correct, we can expect one of this Greek/Swedish gentleman's
best performances on disc so far. New in the band, but certainly
no newcomers on the metal scene, are bass player Johan Niemann
of Therion fame (today also filling in for Opeth's bass player
Martin Mendez on their European tour) and Daniel Flores on drums
(also in Mind's Eye). Daniel and Johan have been playing together
in different constellations for more than 15 years and this
should guarantee for one of the tightest rhythm sections out
there today. Together they have over 100 albums in their discography.
Daniel has released one album before together with Henrik Flyman
back in 2002 with the classic hardrock band ZooL. On the upcoming
album Fade to Black, they are back together and stronger than
ever. Evil Masquerade has a tradition of having guest keyboardists
on their albums and "Fade to Black" is no exception.
This time we get to hear no other than Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
legend Tony Carey. He performed on the album Rising which is
one of the most important releases in the history of hard rock
and heavy metal. After Rainbow "Rising" he left the
metal scene in favour for his solo career focusing on more pop/rock
oriented music. But now, 30 years later, he is back stronger
than ever and his contribution to "Fade to Black"
certainly brings some memories back from past days. |
Why
change a successful formula? The answer is easy; You don’t.
"Fade to Black" follows the fine tradition of "Theatrical
Madness" and "Third Act".
This is the third album to get its final shape in Jailhouse
Studios. Even though it is located in the Danish countryside,
this studio has an impressive list of clients and many metal
albums have been mixed here over the years. Just to mention
a few of the bands that have chosen Jailhouse Studios, these
would include Helloween, TNT, Jorn, Pretty Maids, Wuthering
Heights, Manticora, Beyond Twilight and of course Evil Masquerade.
Tommy Hansen, owner and sound wizard, was the man behind the
controls on "Theatrical Madness" and "Third Act".
So he was, of course, the obvious one to do the final mix that
will bring "Fade to Black" to life. Assisting Tommy
in the studio is producer and guitarist Henrik Flyman. |
