Bands once known as HATERNAL and MOURNING STAR fused in order to breed MY DARK SIDE, by then playing covers of bands such as MOONSPELL, EDGE OF SANITY or ANATHEMA. But the time soon came to write their own material, as well as choose a new moniker – that is where LIFEND came into existence.
By 2001 they had released the Entwined Emotions demo, and 2002 brought Shattering Realities to the spotlight. As the songs became faster, so did the band needed to renew the line-up, adding acoustic guitars, keys, synthesizers and three different vocal registers.
In order to come up with a suitable sound, LIFEND decided to hire Alexander Krull (Mastersound Studios and ATROCITY) to do the job – on the whole, it is quite satisfactory, although there is a somewhat ‘artificial’ sound to the drums every now and then.
Innescars was put forth by Alberto (rhythm and acoustic guitars/ screaming and clean vocals), Matteo (acoustic drums/ programming/ synths), Roberto (bass/ gutturals) and Sara (vocals). Yes, that is correct. Yet another band with leading female vocals. The formula should please fans of LIFEND’s country mates LACUNA COIL, as well as those of WITHIN TEMPTATION and THEATER OF TRAGEDY. Although this is not at all my cup of tea, some of the melody lines are interesting enough.
Some of the Death Metal influences too. The album has a number of intense moments. While not being particularly striking, the female vocals are not cheesy and there is always the contrast with the double-natured male vocals (clean vs. guttural). Also, the band incorporated elements like the saxophone into the music. So, you may just as well happen to see them live in one of the Fall concerts, supporting the release of Innerscars. Also planned is a video clip to the single Blood-Red Pain.
Official Site Lifend | Myspace The Entropy Theory