| CD REVIEW Symphony Cult |
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Band : Symphony Cult This very young British band was formed only in April 2008! The very driven and ambitious lead singer Charlotte Lubbock...who has apparently an impressive background in Classical singing...had moved from Colchester (85 kms from London in Northeasterly direction) to attend a course at the prestigious Brit School at Croydon (15 kms South from central London), with high hopes of starting up a band. So she went in search of the necessary musicians to fullfill her versatile needs, and only two weeks into the course she found lead guitarist/ shared lead singer John Lovell, whom had also not only had a classical training, but also already had some experience in performing, sessioning, and teaching. The duo then put up an ad in search for the other musicians, and the first to respond was second guitarist/ backing singer Barney Cushman. Next in came drummer Jack Slade (son of former AC/DC, ex-Jimmy Page, ex-Dave Gilmour drummer Chris Slade) and bassist Chris Smith (who'd been working together on various projects in the Kent county for the last couple of years). After a discussion and a quick jam, it was decided right there and then that this would be Symphony Cult. In this constellation the band recorded the three songs presented on this album. Typified with a well-composed modern melodic Metal with Groove and Thrash elements and a touch of Progressive, and dual lead singing (one the clean but warm female high pitch of Charlotte...which is as far removed from any thing Classical as could be...the other the clean but somewhat more aggressive male voice of Jack) occasionally backed with the even more aggressive voice of the bassist (and it's a good thing that those additions exist, or things might be just a tad too polished for me to enjoy). Check it out for yourself by surfing to myspace.com/symphonycult, where the two first songs off the EP ("Nightmare" and "Guilty", both ranging under 4 minutes, while the better worked-out "Speak"...which didn't get posted...lasts an entertaining 6 minutes) are posted. Since the recording of the EP the band has replaced Smith with one Carl Dawkins (a professional bassist from Slough – some 30 kms West of central London – who gives bass lessons and also plays with Reading based Metal band SinTuition), and they have been touring across the UK with Breed 77, This Is Menace and Car Crash Television...all the while writing the material for their upcoming album, for which studio time in Hanover, Germany (originally planned for January next year), has been booked during May. Wonder what the full-length will be like... 88/100 Tony. |