Year : 2014
Style : Heavy Metal , Hard Rock
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video
Size : 166 mb
Bio:
"Existance was created at the tail end of 2008 by Julian Izard (lead vocals & guitars) and Tom Drouin (bass), who shared a common goal of keeping the musical spirit of the 1980s Heavy Metal alive.In 2010 Existance released the obligatory demo. Four tracks were recorded, which in turn enabled them to successfully start gigging around France. After a minor line-up change (a new drummer) in 2011, the band returned to the studio and produced their 2nd demo; this time eight tracks were recorded.The following year, thanks to the demos being well received by both local and international media, Existance managed to play a substantial amount of concerts across France ( at times touring with bands like Rhino Bucket, Furious Zoo, Vulcain, Blasphème, ADX, Killers, Eternal Flight), with occasional forays into Belgium and the Netherlands with cult heavy–metal bands Bitch (USA) and Ear Danger (Nld). They were also invited to perform at numerous festivals such as: the Paris Metal France Festival IV (PMFF IV), the Isaria Festival, Vouziers Festival (#21), twice at the Zicophonies Festival (#15 and #16), Long Live Metal Festival (edition #5), Rock ’N’ Metal Convention (#14).With an eye on touring in Germany next, the band sent out their 2nd demo to a number of record labels. They quickly received an offer from the German label High Roller Records, an imprint based in Zwickau, Germany. A deal was struck, and High Roller re-released the 2nd Existance demo in April 2012, both on compact disc and vinyl, distributed worldwide via Soulfood. 2012 also announced yet another line-up change with the arrival of Alex (drums) and Antoine (guitar), joining the original, founding members Julian (lead vocals / guitar) and Tom (bass).The next year was spent writing, rehearsing and fine-tuning and in September 2013 Existance re-entered the studio to record their debut full-length album entitled “Steel Alive.” Recorded and mixed at Boss Hog Studios in Ham en Artois, France, “Steel Alive” was mastered by none other than Maor Appelbaum in Los Angeles, who in the past has mastered masterpieces by (among others) Anvil, Dokken, Halford, Malmsteen, Sepultura – to name but a handful out of a list of hundreds. The result…one hell of an ass-kicking album that proves true metal is “Steel Alive” - Mausoleum Records.
Album:
Two years after their second release, an eight-song, self-titled demo recording, French band EXISTANCE return with “Steel Alive”, their first proper studio album. The band has been active since 2008, starting out covering classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal tunes before attracting record label attention with their second demo. The group signed to Mausoleum Records in January of 2014.“Steel Alive” is gritty, working man’s Metal in the vein of such late 70’s / early-80’s titans as JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON, Y&T, and ARMORED SAINT. Those names get your attention? While the material here may not reach the lofty heights of these bands’ most classic works, it does sound like a record of the caliber that one of these bands could have released in their prime years, which is definitely a compliment.EXISTANCE have the right ‘feel’ very well, for sure, and the band’s musicianship is great the whole way through. Guitarists Antoine Poiret and Julian Izard’s dual-guitar attack sounds full and crunchy throughout, and their riffs are consistently on-point. Their leads are strong as well, never really dazzling but definitely well played as well as being conscious of where in the song they are putting them. Izard’s vocals are fantastic, and the rhythm section pounds away with confidence.“Legends Never Die”, the opening track, kicks things off with a fast-picked riff that’s about as Metal as it gets, and really memorable, too. The song as a whole, as well as the entire album, has this great sense of urgency to it, and you can really feel it in this one riff in particular, with the drums pounding away in the background. “Black Viper” is a mid-tempo tune that chugs along with more hard-hitting riff and another impressive vocal performance from the talented Izard.Things kind of level off with “Dead or Alive”, which boasts one of the better solos on the album, but pick back up quickly with the one-two combo of “Slaughter” and “Burning Angel”. “Slaughter” is another adrenaline-driven, hard-hitting offering, while the catchy, more subdued “Burning Angel” wins with its melody and powerful riffing. The latter half of the album is strong track-to-track in many of the ways mentioned above, with standouts including “Get Away”, “Close to the End”, and “From Hell”.Top to bottom, EXISTANCE have put together a pretty good debut with “Steel Alive”. Their songwriting skills show considerable polish, the band plays really well, and they keep it heavy at all times. There is very little inessential material here at all. I would recommend this record to any fans of classic Heavy Metal, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Line Up:
Julian Izard - Vocals, Guitars (2008-present)
Thomas Drouin - Bass (2008-present)
Antoine Poiret - Guitars (2012-present)
Alex Revillon - Drums (2012-present)
Tracklist:
01. Legends Never Die
02. Black Viper
03. The Siren
04. Dead or Alive
05. Slaughter
06. Burning Angel
07. Steel Alive
08. Get Away
09. Prisoner
10. Close to the End
11. From Hell
+ Video "Slaughter" (Official Video)
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