Artist: ELDRITCH
Album: PORTRAIT OF THE ABYSS WITHIN (CD)

Year: 2004
Media type: CD

ELDRITCH are in the best form of their lives and this is underlined by their brand new album "Neighbourhell". Once again they present a mixture of aggressive and progressive parts, comprising genuine killer riffs and unforgettable melodies, allowing tracks such as 'Still Screaming', 'Bless Me Now' and 'Come To Life' to become compact, timeless masterpieces of metal. In addition, 'Save Me' is a genuine superhit and with FAITH NO MORE'S 'From Out Of Nowhere' they also have a fabulous, originally arranged cover song. Nobody will be able to turn their back on an album like "Neighbourhell" with its fabulously played, atmospheric Heavy Metal way beyond all clichees and trends. And the two additional bonus tracks plus the video clip to 'Save Me' make this limited edition digipak to a must-have dessert for the gourmets of heavy metal!

Italy, anno 1991: influenced by bands such as QUEENSRYCHE, ANNIHILATOR, CORONER and FATES WARNING, the ex-Zeus musicians Terence Holler (vocals), Eugene Simone (songwriting, guitar) and Adriano Dal Canto (drums) form the band ELDRITCH. Following very positive media echoes to their first demo tape, the lads, having been joined in the meantime by Martin Kyhn on bass and Oleg Smirnoff on keyboards, sign an agreement in 1993 with Limb Schnoor as Manager and music publisher. Their debut CD "Seeds of Rage", released in 1995 by INSIDE OUT MUSIC is promptly named Album Of The Month in the popular German "Heavy, Oder Was!?" magazine. That was of course an exceptional success for an Italian band in those days. This extremely successful debut was followed in 1997 by "Headquake" which, besides reaping excellent reviews internationally, was also the starting shot for a huge, world-wide community of fans. The supporting tour with ANGRA also ensured steadily increasing record sales. ELDRITCH ended this unusually successful season with a show in front of over 10,000 fans at the famous Gods Of Metal Festival in Milan.

With their next album "El Nino", released in November 1998, ELDRITCH showed themselves from a more versatile side and worked harder on harder, more thrashy passages, which clearly reflected their innate influences of METALLICA, CORONER and ANNIHILATOR. Showered by praise and excellent reviews, the band reached the highest point of their career at that time. This was followed by well-visited concert tours with THRESHOLD and PAIN OF SALVATION, after which ELDRITCH was viewed as a trendsetter in the international Prog Metal scene. With Sean Henderson on keyboards, the young, wild talent Dave Simeone on drums and a new deal with PICK UP/METAL BLADE RECORDS in their pockets, they released an even harder and more experimental album "Reverse", on which one recognised influences of more modern bands such as PANTERA and MACHINE HEAD. Critics were silenced by the album's excellent sales figures and a triumphant return to the legendary Gods Of Metal Festival, all of which showed the band's creativity due reward. After strengthening the line-up with the addition of rhythm guitarist Rob "Peck" Proietti, ELDRITCH produced three video clips, amongst others a cover version of THE KNACK's super hit "My Sharona" and were soon able to look back upon the most successful year of the band's first decade.

During the next three years ELDRITCH prepared themselves for the leap into the next league. It was again time for change. Keyboarder Sean Henderson and bass player Martin Kyhn left the band for personal reasons and the remaining members decided to bring a woman bass player into the band, in the form of Icycore's Lisa Oliviero and to do without keyboards for the moment. The Italians signed a new deal with LIMB MUSIC PRODUCTS and, in 2004, released "Portrait Of The Abyss Within", on which they succeeded in portraying all the various stages of the band's creativity and history, and one which was enthusiastically welcomed by fans and the press alike. Before setting off on an extended Italian tour, John Crystal replaced bass player Lisa Oliviero, because of conflicts in the calenders of ELDRITCH and her other band Icycore.

ELDRITCH are going to play their first US headlining show at the Chicago Powerfest on April 7, 2006!!! The first time of the band in America couldn't be better.

TRACKLIST:

1. Muddy Clepsydra
2. Forbidden
3. The World Apart
4. This Everlasting Mind Disease
5. Picture On The Wall
6. Dice Rolling
7. Drowning
8. Blindfolded Walkthrough
9. See You Down
10. Slow Motion "K" Us
11. Lonesome Existence
12. Shallow Waters
13. Quiet Hope
14. Lonesome Existence (Video)

LINE-UP:

John Crystal - bass
Dave Simeone - drums
Rob "Peck" Proietti - guitar
Eugene Simone - guitar
Terence Holler - vocals