Hey gang, I just wanted to introduce you to a new band I'm a huge fan of. If you're into female-fronted symphonic metal, please give them a listen!
The band is called Echoterra and features features Suvi Virtanen on vocals (ex-Therion), Jonah W on keys (Pyramaze) and Yan Leviathan on guitars (Avian). I'm a big fan of pretty much everything that Yan and Jonah touch
Tunes at: http://www.myspace.com/echoterra
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Here's the review I just posted on Amazon:
ECHOTERRA - THE LAW OF ONE
I'm really, really pleased with this entrant in the symphonic metal field! Great vocals, excellent guitar work, and some extremely killer keyboard work mark this release. Jonah W is a true talent on keyboards.
I suggest heading over to http://www.myspace.com/echoterra and checking out Manifest Eternity. That 2 minute track will give you a great introduction to what this album has in store for you!
I find that I don't skip any tracks when listening to this one, but these are my standout tracks:
Manifest Eternity: Brilliant intro piece to a symphonic metal album. By the end of this piece, my mind is completely ready for some symphonic metal majesty!
The Wind Surrounds You: This song is gorgeous. Beautiful keyboards, beautiful vocals, beautiful emotions! Huge "repeat" factor on this one when I listen to it.
To Live Again: Shows off singer Suvi's voice very nicely!
Say, Try, Lie, Die: Best song on the album!!!! This one grabs me by the chest right away, then grabs me by the throat about 12 seconds in and never lets go! Bassist Brian gets to pull half of the vocal duties on this one and his voice is well suited to this material. This is one of those very rare songs where I knew upon the first listen that I would love it, and I do. In fact, I find that track 8-10 usually get short-shrift from me, because once I hit this song, it is extremely difficult for me NOT to hit the "repeat" button. This is one of my favorite songs of 2009 in the power/prog/symphonic metal genre.
Water Falls: I particularly like the guitars on this track. While I often gravitate to the keyboard-driven songs, especially when listening to symphonic metal, this is one where I prefer it guitar-driven. Also well-suited to Suvi's vocals.
Say, Try, Lie, Die (Orchestral Version): This version of my favorite track is done in orchestral style: all keyboards and no guitars, with Suvi handling all of the vocals. While I prefer the hard-hitting version, I can TOTALLY see a lot of people preferring this version. I just personally think that the lyrics lend themselves best to the heavy treatment [insert metal horns here], as beautiful as this one sounds.
Long live metal!
Seastorm
The band is called Echoterra and features features Suvi Virtanen on vocals (ex-Therion), Jonah W on keys (Pyramaze) and Yan Leviathan on guitars (Avian). I'm a big fan of pretty much everything that Yan and Jonah touch

Tunes at: http://www.myspace.com/echoterra
--------------------
Here's the review I just posted on Amazon:
ECHOTERRA - THE LAW OF ONE
I'm really, really pleased with this entrant in the symphonic metal field! Great vocals, excellent guitar work, and some extremely killer keyboard work mark this release. Jonah W is a true talent on keyboards.
I suggest heading over to http://www.myspace.com/echoterra and checking out Manifest Eternity. That 2 minute track will give you a great introduction to what this album has in store for you!
I find that I don't skip any tracks when listening to this one, but these are my standout tracks:
Manifest Eternity: Brilliant intro piece to a symphonic metal album. By the end of this piece, my mind is completely ready for some symphonic metal majesty!
The Wind Surrounds You: This song is gorgeous. Beautiful keyboards, beautiful vocals, beautiful emotions! Huge "repeat" factor on this one when I listen to it.
To Live Again: Shows off singer Suvi's voice very nicely!
Say, Try, Lie, Die: Best song on the album!!!! This one grabs me by the chest right away, then grabs me by the throat about 12 seconds in and never lets go! Bassist Brian gets to pull half of the vocal duties on this one and his voice is well suited to this material. This is one of those very rare songs where I knew upon the first listen that I would love it, and I do. In fact, I find that track 8-10 usually get short-shrift from me, because once I hit this song, it is extremely difficult for me NOT to hit the "repeat" button. This is one of my favorite songs of 2009 in the power/prog/symphonic metal genre.
Water Falls: I particularly like the guitars on this track. While I often gravitate to the keyboard-driven songs, especially when listening to symphonic metal, this is one where I prefer it guitar-driven. Also well-suited to Suvi's vocals.
Say, Try, Lie, Die (Orchestral Version): This version of my favorite track is done in orchestral style: all keyboards and no guitars, with Suvi handling all of the vocals. While I prefer the hard-hitting version, I can TOTALLY see a lot of people preferring this version. I just personally think that the lyrics lend themselves best to the heavy treatment [insert metal horns here], as beautiful as this one sounds.
Long live metal!
Seastorm