REDEMPTION – I Am The Storm (March 17, 2023)

REDEMPTION - I Am The Storm (March 17, 2023)
REDEMPTION – I Am The Storm

Check out all our Upcoming Release announcements

New release from: REDEMPTION – I Am The Storm (March 17, 2023)

There are few progressive metal bands who command as much admiration from fans and critics alike as Redemption. Their unique blend of impressive heaviness (not exactly a daily occurrence in this genre), irresistible melodies and great emotional urgency is a global success. The group consists of five highly talented and extremely individual artists who together are renowned for their extraordinary performances.

Helmed

For more than twenty years, Redemption have been helmed by their guitarist/ founder Nicolas van Dyk, who contributes the compositions as well as the inspiration for the songs. Vocalist Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), keyboardist Vikram Shankar, bassist Sean Andrews and drummer Chris Quirarte play equally important roles and, together with van Dyk, form a tight unit that impresses with its great musical skill and artistic ambition. Their new studio album is called I Am The Storm and lives up to its programmatic name, sounding haunting, exciting, overwhelming and dramatic all at once.

Like Redemption’s previous seven studio offerings, I Am The Storm has turned into a perceptible but never radical evolution of the archetypical Redemption sound. The current material also features a high recognition value while at the same time carefully exploring new territories. “I’ve always liked bands whose albums blend together stylistically, be it Iron Maiden’s The Number Of The Beast and Peace Of Mind, Mob Rules and Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath, or Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman, van Dyk explains, adding: “We’re not musicians who have to constantly reinvent themselves. The consistent evolution of our sound happens in small steps which are easy to manage for our fans.”

Energy

Nicolas is referring to songs such as the high-energy title track “I Am The Storm”, an aggressive and ostentatiously powerful opener with a thrash flair that’s typical of Redemption. He also mentions the multi-layered “The Emotional Depiction Of Light”, a pretty atypical song for this band that’s available in two different versions. “The track was originally written by our keyboardist Vikram Shankar, then began to take a slightly different direction when I came in with my guitar work. But I wanted Vik to be able to present his song the way he’d had it in mind originally. Hence the additional remix version.”

“Action At A Distance” also deserves a mention, proving once again that van Dyk & Co. are outstanding prog metal artists. “You just can’t limit us to any one genre”, explains the band’s mastermind. “Just like Evergrey, our songs are at the same time hard and melodic, combining thrash and power metal with melodic metal and progressive influences.” So it comes as no surprise that the media continue to heap praise on this group and refer to the musicians as “one of the best progressive metal acts of the last decade” (DPRP), attest them to a “magical aura and incredible songwriting expertise” (Blabbermouth) and describe their music as “powerful, catchy, captivating, technical, and all this together” (Lords Of Metal). All these qualities come together on I Am The Storm, supported by the lyrics’ familiar depth. Van Dyk adds: “Our songs have a generally positive attitude yet deal with all aspects of human existence, including pain and suffering, fear and worry, hope and disappointment.”

Storm

I Am The Storm was produced by Nick van Dyk and sound engineer/guitarist Simone Mularoni (DGM), who – alongside Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth) and Henrik Danhage (Evergrey) – also features as a guest musician. In addition, the new album contains two cover songs that seem a little unusual for this genre: “Turn It On Again” by Genesis and “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel. This is also consistent with Redemption, whose musical complexity is difficult to beat. In other words, I Am The Storm is the new tip of a gigantic iceberg!

Listen to “Seven Minutes From Sunset”, now streaming below.

I Am The Storm Track Listing:

01. I Am The Storm
02. Seven Minutes From Sunset
03. Remember The Dawn
04. The Emotional Depiction Of Light
05. Resilience
06. Action At A Distance
07. Turn It On Again
08. All This Time (And Not Enough)
09. The Emotional Depiction Of Light (Remix)
10. Red Rain

Vinyl Bonus Tracks:
The Pearl Clutchers (feat. Chris Poland)
The Far Side Of The Clouds (feat. Henrik Danhage)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE / FACEBOOK

Check out all our Upcoming Release announcements here.

Listen to the new music on CGCM Radio and join our socials:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *