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CD/DVD Releases: Strange Land Acheive ''Catharsis''

Posted on Saturday, November 28 @ 21:00:00 UTC by nightowl

"Strange Land are a three piece who certainly like to make a lot of noise with their cerebral progressive rock/metal ... well, I said noise? Yes, but I meant it in a good way, as the Wisconsin-based band pays a lot of attention also to melody, not only to the complexity of guitar riffs." - Igor Italiani, progressiveworld.net*

As with many original bands the sound of Strange Land is difficult to describe. In the most generic sense the band falls into the progressive rock/metal category, along with such bands as Fates Warning, Queensryche, Savatage, Rush, Zero Hour, Pain of Salvation, and Galactic Cowboys. Strange Land, however, prefers not to wear its influences on its sleeve. Rather, the members blend all of their past musical experiences and outside musical influences into one unique musical vision. Each member of Strange Land takes an equal part in the writing and arranging of its music.



Strange Land was established in November of 1998 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin joining together former members of Labyrinth (USA) and Fishboy. The members of Strange Land are Chad Novell on bass, keyboards and vocals, Sean Gill on guitar, and Brad Klotz on drums.

Within the first six months of its existence, Strange Land had written and arranged eleven original songs, four of which appeared on the Foundation demo, whose title track reached #12 on MP3.com's progressive metal chart. Gabor Kleinbloesem of Strutter Magazine said of Foundation: "Some more of these catchy and progressive tunes and this Strange Land may be counted as one of the latest sensations from the USA." The band has self-released its first full-length album, Anomaly, with 12 tracks and almost 70 minutes of material.

The album was recorded with drummer Brad Klotz, who left to pursue other career interests in the fall of 2001. In 2002 the band put the final touches on a 4 song demo of brand new material (with drummer Pete Schwarzenbacher) which was well received by fans at the 2002 Prog Power USA festival. The band finished its second full length album entitled Blaming Season in late 2004. The CD was recorded with drummer Esteban Gonzalez, who left after the recording was finished to pursue other career interests.

In 2003 the band landed a distribution deal with Nightmare Records for worldwide sales. The CD Blaming Season was well received by fans and critics alike since its release in early 2005. Esteban was replaced by returning member Brad Klotz in 2005. With the original trio back together there was a new sense of direction and work progressed on new music.

The latest CD Catharsis was released in the summer of 2009. This is an indie release but has already been selling well through word of mouth and to the Strange Land faithful. Besides the United States, Strange Land CDs have also been purchased by fans in Canada, England, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Brazil and other countries around the world. Strange Land has opened for national acts like King's X, Gary Hoey, former Marillion front man Fish, Three, shredder Joe Stump, fusion supergroup McGill/Manring/Stevens and Inside Out Prog-Metal band Event.

The band has also played many Wisconsin P.R.O.G. (Progressive Rock and Other Groups) shows organized by Dimension X founder and bass player Dave Burkowitz. The band was a finalist in the 2005 Emergenza festival, among the top 14 acts out of a field of 200+ bands drawn from Milwaukee to perform in that year's international competition. In the past two years the band has also played the M.A.R.S. Festival at the Miramar Theater (visit www.myspace.com/marsfestival2007 for more), Shank Hall, the Rave Bar, Vnuk's Lounge, and The Mainstage. Strange Land plays regularly in the upper midwest and continues to expand its territory, including recently Detroit and Chicago.

Tracklisting for Catharsis:

1- Prodigo Cras
2- The Men Who Spent Tomorrow
3- Asinine (Nothing Better)
4- Soul Made Still
5- One Drop Of Water
6- Ebb
7- Catharsis I (Overture)
8- Catharsis II (100 Years Of Solitude)
9- Catharsis III (Evolve)
10- Catharsis IV (Doubt)
11- Catharsis V (The Malcontent)
12- Catharsis VI (Doubt) [Reprise]
13- Catharsis VII (Brainchild)

[*Ooer; a press release that starts with a quote from us! You can read all of Igor's review of Anomaly here (and Marcelo's review here) - pleased ed.]

[Source: TSM Productions]

Posted in Album Release News