TO-MERA (metal progressif)
To-Mera are a progressive metal band from South Oxfordshire in the UK. The band play a technical and challenging style of metal characterised by long songs, multiple time changes, and rich female vocals.
Current members
Julie Kiss - Vocals
Tom MacLean - Guitar
Lee Barrett - Bass
Paul Westwood - Drums
Hen - Keyboards
Former members
Hugo Sheppard - Keyboards
Akos Pirisi - Drums
Formation of band
To-Mera was formed by Julie Kiss and Lee Barrett (ex:Extreme Noise Terror / Disgust / Mussolini Headkick) following her departure from the Hungarian progressive metal band Without Face. At the start of 2004 they began searching for full-time members and Akos Pirisi, a huge fan of Meshuggah and a master of polyrhythmics, was brought in on drums. Later Tom MacLean was found after he, a big Without Face fan, recognised Julie and introduced himself at a Dillinger Escape Plan concert. After the band's demo was recorded, To-Mera finally found a full-time keyboard player in the shape of Hugo Sheppard.
[edit] Demo reaction and album recordings
The band recorded their debut demo in July 2005 at The Peel rehearsal rooms (Kingston upon Thames) on a laptop, and it was mixed in France by producer Brett Caldas-Lima (Kalisia / Malmonde / Fairlight).
The demo was sent to many webzines and magazines, where universal acclaim was given. The band received "Demo of The Month" at Organ Magazine, Zero Tolerance magazine and Imperiumi.net (Finland). These, and many other, great reviews led to a number of interested record labels getting in touch. It soon became clear that Candlelight Records (Emperor, Opeth, 1349, Zyklon, Enslaved, etc) was the best choice for the band and a multi-album, worldwide deal was signed on 7th January 2006.
To-Mera recorded their debut album Transcendental in May/June 2006, again with producer Brett Caldas-Lima. Drums, guitars and vocals were recorded in Veszprem (Hungary), while the bass and keyboards were recorded in London (England). The audio mixing and mastering took place at Tower Studio in Montpellier (France). The album was released in Europe on 11th September 2006 and 3rd October 2006 in the USA.
Change in band line-up
On 15th July 2006 the band announced the departure of drummer Akos Pirisi. This was due to the fact that Akos' commitments in his home country of Hungary made it very difficult for the band to rehearse and play as a live unit in the UK. As a replacement, the band brought in Paul Westwood from Foe, an experimental rock band based in London. Later in 2007, Keyboardist Hugo Sheppard left the band for personal reasons.
Reaction to Transcendental
Transcendental received very positive reviews after its release in Europe, with many webzines and magazines giving it high praise and marking it for its ingenuity and technical proficiency. The band also received KKKK in October 2006's Kerrang! magazine[1] as well as a full-page feature[2], which was a huge step for a new metal band. The Kerrang! feature gave the band greater notoriety and as a result they garnered a lot of interest from promoters wanting to book the band for live shows. In the end the band chose to sign with The Agency Group, who specialise in promoting gigs at a large number of international venues. The Agency Group has also expressed interest in getting To-Mera to play over in the USA.
Follow-up to Transcendental
To-Mera are currently working on a follow-up album to Transcendental. The new album will be named Delusions, was recorded in 2007, and is to be released on February 18, 2008 (as announced on their official website).
The band have so far introduced two new songs into their live sets. One of which, The Lie, can be heard on their myspace page.
Influences
To-Mera cite their other influences as Opeth, Evergrey, Symphony X, Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation. Julie Kiss' interest in Egyptology gave the band their name.
disco
(2006) Transcendental
(2008) Delusions
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