Tarja

Following in the footsteps of the Gathering and Lacuna Coil (goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands with female vocalists), Nightwish were formed in Kitee, Finland, in 1997 by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. Initially attempting to create acoustic music, he recruited trained opera vocalist Tarja Turunen, but soon added full metal band instrumentation in the persons of guitarist Emppo Vuorinen, bassist Sami Vänskä, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen…

Artension was the brainchild of Shrapnel Records head Mike Varney. He received a demo from wunderkind keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij and progressive axeman Roger Staffelbach of a project they called "Atlantis Rising". Varney began to look for other musicians to round out the lineup. After a lot of consideration, Varney presented Vitalij and Roger with vocalist John West, Bassist Kevin Chown, and drummer Mike Terrana. The result was a band called Artension (named by the band for a combination of the words "art" and "tension") and a CD called "Into the Eye of the Storm".

Artension return with "Phoenix Rising", their follow-up to 1996's international success "Eye Of The Storm." Once again twenty-two year old Ukrainian keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij, Swiss guitarist Roger Staffelbach and world-class vocalist John West are the driving force, with drummer Mike Terrana and bassist Kevin Chown completing the band. This CD will push the boundaries while remaining true to Artension's progressive metal influences. As you might expect, brilliant neo-classical ensemble sections and furious solo trade-offs augment some dynamic progressive metal songwriting. 'Phoenix Rising' is the second album by progressive metal band Artension.