Stream Of Passion - A War Of Our Own

TheLongshot

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The official video for the song "A War Of Our Own" from Dutch/Mexican symphonic/progressive metallers STREAM OF PASSION can be seen below. The track is the title cut of the band's new album, which will be released on April 18 via PIAS/Rough Trade. The CD is described in a press release as "the result of the struggle the band had to endure after they decided to part ways with their record label and continue on their own path."

In a recent interview with MetalTalk.net, STREAM OF PASSION singer Marcela Bovio stated about the band's split with Napalm and decision to release the new CD themselves: "It was around two years ago that we started the whole process for this album, and to be honest, by then we already felt that working with Napalm wasn't going all that well, for multiple reasons.
"When we started working on this new album, we went to them with demos of the first few songs and they didn't really seem to get what we were doing. We had an option in our deal, so it wasn't that we really had to make another album with them and their reaction triggered us to looking at what else we could do. We checked all our options, like looking for another label and so on, and we came up with the idea of crowdfunding. It seemed like a very big risk to take, but we thought if we do this, it will put us in a very different place. We hesitated for a while before making the decision but eventually decided to go for it… We did some research into how it worked and set up the campaign through a crowdfunding web site, and it went really well! We managed to raise a whole lot of money, much more than we ever expected to."

The red thread of the album is conflict in all its forms: personal battles, like disease and depression, corporate battles the band was confronted with themselves, but also the turmoil that destroys a land, mainly the drug wars of Mexico, the native country of Bovio. Musically the band has perfected their sound by ambitiously pushing their boundaries; "A War Of Our Own" is more progressive and melodic than ever, with symphonic elements and an emotional undertone, heavy with Latin-American influences.

Regarding the musical direction of "A War Of Our Own", Marcela told MetalTalk.net: "Our previous album, 'Darker Days', in a lot of ways was a little bit difficult to make what with the whole process of me moving from Mexico to Holland and finding my inspiration. In the end, it worked really well and it put us, or certainly me at least, a little bit back on track and I knew what I wanted to do next.

"A couple of years ago, when we started to write these new songs, I already had the idea, I wanted to make it a little more progressive. It was our goal from the beginning to be more ambitious with the songs, and I think we have really managed to do that. There are a lot more progressive influences in the album, but you can still hear that little Latin thing we do, and of course, a lot of symphonic elements still. That melancholic, dramatic feeling we've always had is still there too. I'm really happy, as I think we really managed to put down on those songs exactly what we were thinking of doing."

"A War Of Our Own" track listing:
01. Monster
02. A War Of Our Own
03. The Curse
04. Autophobia
05. Burning Star
06. For You
07. Exile
08. Delirio
09. Earthquake
10. Secrets
11. Don't Let Go
12. Out Of The Darkness
13. The Distance Between Us (digipack bonus track)




 
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Just out of curiosity for those more in the know.....on the quote:

"working with Napalm wasn't going all that well, for multiple reasons.
When we started working on this new album, we went to them with demos of the first few songs and they didn't really seem to get what we were doing."

Would Napalm records really say, "No, this doesn't sound ANYTHING like female fronted symphonic metal...your fans will hate it, we can't use this!" ????

Aren't they large enough to "get" just about any variation that a band like this could bring to the overall metal genre? "Oh no, you are sounding too much like <insert band here>, we can't have that!"

I've heard larger labels will dictate to bands they sign to "make hits (or singles)". Is that really a thing in this genre?

And I could see a smaller label be uncomfortable if a band strayed too far from their sound when the numbers get smaller and tighter, but I'm under the impression that Napalm is big enough, with a large enough stable of acts, that wouldn't be a factor.

Just wondering about the business side of these things.

Those two songs, however, are VERY good. I was impressed.
 
Just out of curiosity for those more in the know.....on the quote:

"working with Napalm wasn't going all that well, for multiple reasons.
When we started working on this new album, we went to them with demos of the first few songs and they didn't really seem to get what we were doing."

Would Napalm records really say, "No, this doesn't sound ANYTHING like female fronted symphonic metal...your fans will hate it, we can't use this!" ????

No, not necessarily. It could be as simple as, the guys at Napalm didn't like the direction the music was going into, didn't feel like it was a product up to their standards, or didn't feel they could easily market it and make it profitable.

Aren't they large enough to "get" just about any variation that a band like this could bring to the overall metal genre? "Oh no, you are sounding too much like <insert band here>, we can't have that!"

Yeah, they are. Again, refer to my 1st answer. Also keep in mind that if the last SoP album didn't sell well enough for the label, they will likely be more picky with the next release by the same band.

And I could see a smaller label be uncomfortable if a band strayed too far from their sound when the numbers get smaller and tighter, but I'm under the impression that Napalm is big enough, with a large enough stable of acts, that wouldn't be a factor.

Bottom line is that Napalm would be the company fronting the money, investing in the band's next release. Would you put thousands of dollars into something you're not comfortable with? Their size is irrelevant - it's money that they need to invest in something that they may not feel will generate ROI.

Those two songs, however, are VERY good. I was impressed.

Hell yeah! Ever checked their first two discs? :)
 
Bumping because I need to go back and catch up on this band as I only have the first album. Surprise surprise Uncle Miltie's in this thread twice. :D
 
I will need to go back and give them another shot. I thought their first album showed a lot of potential and Marcela has one of my favorite voices in the genre hands down. But honestly, I found their two post Arjen release completely unremarkable (which is hard to do given that voice). But I will give this newer album a listen to see if the songwriting improved.
 
To me, in order:

Embrace the Storm
The Flame Within/A War of Our Own
Darker Days

Here's a song off of each album:







 
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