Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Crimson Chrysalis
Grammy Nominated Artist Crimson Chrysalis
Two years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, CRIMSON PASSION CRY, South African Symphonic rock band Crimson Chrysalis returns with ENRAPTURED. Featuring eleven original tracks and a CC-rendition of the 80’s Alice Cooper hit “Poison”, ENRAPTURED may very well be the defining moment in Crimson Chrysalis’musical career.
Being the first ever band to produce a Symphonic rock album in South Africa, Crimson Chrysalis managed to create sort of a hybrid between the dramaō¸°€tic, passionate songs from musical theatre shows like Les Miserables, and epic soundtrack music - executed by a premier league rock band. This is music without boundaries –strong enough to appeal to Symphonic metal fans, but accessible for classic rock listeners as well.
The same creators that were responsible for CRIMSON PASSION CRY created ENRAPTURED. Rene van den Berg still fronts the band and composes the music, while Esther Slabbert again wrote all the lyrics of the songs. The production is enormous, but brilliantly engineered to a rich, velvet tapestry of sound. Enlarging their live string ensemble, and adding live brass, the wall-of-sound music Crimson Chrysalis is known for, is even bigger this time around. “The epic delicacy that front woman Rene van den Berg has delivered, is musically so palatable that it leaves you with a desire to hear more”(Global Metal Apocalypse).
ENRAPTURED features two duets with International artists - one with Andrea Casanova of Spanish gothic metal band, Rainier (“Elegy”), and the other with Jessica Mercy of US Symphonic metal band, Anaria (“Burning Fire with Fire”). The musicianship in “Elegy”is outstanding, and the call-to-answer “duel”between cello and electric guitar in the instrumental serves as testimony to the high level of skill South African musicians possess. The heartbeat of Africa is stunningly embodied in “Burning Fire with Fire”by the use of five live African drummers, similar to the African footprint they left in “Blood Diamond”on their debut album, CRIMSON PASSION CRY. “The Raven”is another typical example of how Crimson Chrysalis enmeshed the dualism of Africa with symphonic rock. The song hopes to give you a small taste of the harshness and beauty of the reality of Africa.
As with CRIMSON PASION CRY, the whole album was recorded and mixed in South Africa. This time around, however, the album was mastered by Grammy winner Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound in New York.
Band line up:
Rene van den Berg (vocals), Elben Schutte (keyboards), Mauritz Lotz (guitar), Cobus Schutte (guitar), Denny Lalouette (bass), and Vinnie Henrico (drums)
Two years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, CRIMSON PASSION CRY, South African Symphonic rock band Crimson Chrysalis returns with ENRAPTURED. Featuring eleven original tracks and a CC-rendition of the 80’s Alice Cooper hit “Poison”, ENRAPTURED may very well be the defining moment in Crimson Chrysalis’musical career.
Being the first ever band to produce a Symphonic rock album in South Africa, Crimson Chrysalis managed to create sort of a hybrid between the dramaō¸°€tic, passionate songs from musical theatre shows like Les Miserables, and epic soundtrack music - executed by a premier league rock band. This is music without boundaries –strong enough to appeal to Symphonic metal fans, but accessible for classic rock listeners as well.
The same creators that were responsible for CRIMSON PASSION CRY created ENRAPTURED. Rene van den Berg still fronts the band and composes the music, while Esther Slabbert again wrote all the lyrics of the songs. The production is enormous, but brilliantly engineered to a rich, velvet tapestry of sound. Enlarging their live string ensemble, and adding live brass, the wall-of-sound music Crimson Chrysalis is known for, is even bigger this time around. “The epic delicacy that front woman Rene van den Berg has delivered, is musically so palatable that it leaves you with a desire to hear more”(Global Metal Apocalypse).
ENRAPTURED features two duets with International artists - one with Andrea Casanova of Spanish gothic metal band, Rainier (“Elegy”), and the other with Jessica Mercy of US Symphonic metal band, Anaria (“Burning Fire with Fire”). The musicianship in “Elegy”is outstanding, and the call-to-answer “duel”between cello and electric guitar in the instrumental serves as testimony to the high level of skill South African musicians possess. The heartbeat of Africa is stunningly embodied in “Burning Fire with Fire”by the use of five live African drummers, similar to the African footprint they left in “Blood Diamond”on their debut album, CRIMSON PASSION CRY. “The Raven”is another typical example of how Crimson Chrysalis enmeshed the dualism of Africa with symphonic rock. The song hopes to give you a small taste of the harshness and beauty of the reality of Africa.
As with CRIMSON PASION CRY, the whole album was recorded and mixed in South Africa. This time around, however, the album was mastered by Grammy winner Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound in New York.
Band line up:
Rene van den Berg (vocals), Elben Schutte (keyboards), Mauritz Lotz (guitar), Cobus Schutte (guitar), Denny Lalouette (bass), and Vinnie Henrico (drums)
Melanie Taylor
Melanie Taylor BIO:
"You know when a few people from different sources are telling you to check this girl out she must be blowin it up" — Ace Michaels, Music Box Blog Talk.
"Her performance was so impressive, the audience
cheered for an encore. Melanie cordially accepted the audiences request
and played the song, Unite." -LA “IN” PR
Melanie Taylor is not only a multi-award winning
pop/rock singer-songwriter, (2x winning AI Music Award and LA Music
Award nominee) whose first single Cease Fire placed top 40 in
the US Indie Radio Charts, and top 200 in the US Pop Radio Charts.
The
Southern California native is also a product of marathon watching
Michael Jackson videos from an early age, and growing up in musical
theater, giving the singer her powerful stage presence she has become
known for. Melanie says, "I always considered my audiences like my
brothers and sisters, since being an only child and moving a lot as a
kid, the stage was really my only consistent home."
Not much has changed as Melanie continues to expand her "extended family." The singer's first album All About Today
was co-written and produced with Grammy Award winning producer,
Christian Davis (Lil Wayne, Mark Walberg, El Debarge).
The first album's
primarily straight pop/dance style is now morphing slightly into her
sophomore album's "rock-based vibe, while still staying true to my
feel-good soulful roots as a vocalist" Melanie explains. She has
written most of her upcoming album with producer Troy “R8DIO” Johnson,
(Jesse McCartney, JLo, Chris Brown, Will Smith, Solange, 2Pac) and plans
to release later this year.
Melanie also has a much deeper side to her than
the care-free personality she conveys on and off stage. "With a cool
head, mature outlook on life and deep well of passionate energy, Melanie
has what it takes to balance her time between acting, singing and even
contributing her talents to charitable causes." — Heather Miller,
Lyrical Venus. The singer has been involved in organizations such as
the P.A.I.N Foundation, 18for18 Project Rescue, the Gracie Awards, and
various other programs designed to empower women.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)