Концерт : Magic Circle Festival ( Loreley (Германия) ) : DARKSIDE.ru

“Dramatic, emotional and epic!” HolyHell’s eponymous, full-length Magic Circle Music debut evokes such a visceral response that Andreas Schöwe in Germany’s Rock It! magazine calls it “dark, mystic, melodic rock with classical appeal of the utmost grace! Dio flirts with Nightwish.” With an endorsement like that, something truly wicked this way comes… The thirteen song concept album taps into the dichotomy of its namesake, as HolyHell explore, both lyrically and musically, the eternal struggle between darkness and light, life and death, evil and divine. And songs like “Angel Of Darkness,” “Holy Water” and “Prophecy” exude a confidence and coherence that belies their brief existence. Formed in 2005 by singer Maria Breon, HolyHell is a remarkable combination of individual talent and wisely endured ripening. The band has already toured Europe several times playing to enormous festival crowds, cultivating a unique blend of symphonic power metal, neoclassical shred and Evanescence-like Goth that comes to fruition on HolyHell. Maria Breon's powerful voice and emotional depth may be the trademarks of the band’s sound, but the classically trained singer (who studied voice at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music) is aided by inimitable industry vets Joe Stump (guitar) and Rhino (drums). Brandishing the nickname “Shred Lord” in guitar cliques around the globe, Stump is a reputable player in his own right and has several solo releases under his belt. Rhino is a former member of Manowar… ‘nuff said. Bassist Jay Rigney and keyboardist Francisco Palomo (who has several degrees in music and theater) complete this virtuosic line-up. In 2007 HolyHell released the Apocalypse EP, which landed on German charts after selling over six thousand copies in a matter of weeks by virtue of the band's live performances alone. Set for a US street date of June 8th, HolyHell was produced by Manowar bassist and Magic Circle mastermind Joey DeMaio and the album bears the crystal-clear, massive sound for which he’s known. Mixing and mastering took place at Galaxy Studios in Belgium, one of Europe's most renowned studios, with award-winning mixing engineer Ronald Prent and two time Grammy Award winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper. As Horst Vonberg at Lords of Metal e-zine says, “Everything about this album is just right!” (April 2010)