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Blog Categories Review OCTOBER THORNS 'Circle Game' - Reviewed By Metal Underdogs!

OCTOBER THORNS 'Circle Game' - Reviewed By Metal Underdogs! Sunday November 14 2021, 1:59 PM

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OCTOBER THORNS 'Circle Game' - Reviewed By Metal Underdogs ! Check it out here at this link: https://metalunderdogs.blogspot.com/2021/11/single-review-october-thorns-circle.html

Some bands remain a legend. Also their lifespan may have been short they are often going round in the heads and hearts of music fans for a long time. It must have been like this with the band October Thorns, a progressive rock band that formed in 1999. They only released one six track demo but that particular one had great reviews in international megazines like Aardshock and Germany‘s Heavy Oder Was? The cover of the first single already gives a thought that something unusual hides here. The line-up had members with them that should put a mark in other bands at a later time frame. Vocalist Paul LaPlaca went on to play with Chris Caffery (Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Ted Poley (Danger Danger), Carnivore AD and currently plays with Drift Into Black, while bassist David Z went on to make a name for himself with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joan Jett, Jeff Scott Soto, and his own band, ZO2. On July 14, 2017, David Z was tragically killed in a vehicle crash while on tour with Adrenaline Mob. These days a re-worked (remixed and remastered) version of the demo along with bonus material is on it's way to be released in 2022. We at the Heavy Metal Underdogs blog were fortune enough to have a listen to the first single "Circle Game" and were impressed by the blow-away feeling it shares. The first single "Circle Game" starts dreamlike with some guitar notes flying around with percussion adding to the atmosphere. Only seconds later the music explodes into a bright stream of pushing frequency. Gentle guitars touch the listeners ears with straight vocals writing the story. It's fine to hear the sound doesn't get overloaded also the solo section expands the volume of the highlighted music instruments. The vocals are partly multi-layered. I think this wasn't a standard in 1999 so it's a surprise to hear. The layering is set at proper moments so it adds to climatic moments of the sound and doesn't get on the nerves of the listener. The powerful end marks a sign in the mind to keep a eye on this release in the future. - Metal Underdogs

Release Date: Oct. 29th 2021

FFO: Dream Theater, Rush, Pain Of Salvation

OCTOBER THORNS TO RELEASE ORIGINAL DEMOS AND BONUS TRACKS REMIXED BY ICEFISH’S ALEX ARGENTO

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/octoberthorns/circle-game-2

Brooklyn’s L’Amour Nightclub was the self-proclaimed “ Rock Capital Of The World ”. From 1999-2001, one NYC band made this place their home, opening for Symphony X, Nevermore , and In Flames , and just being a weekly fixture there - that band was October Thorns .

Part of the Catalyst Promotions family of bands, October Thorns shared the stage with Tommy Vext (Bad Wolves, Divine Heresy, Snot) , Ray Mazola (Full Blown Chaos, Brick By Brick) , Frank Godla (Meek Is Murder, founder of Metal Injection) , and many more extremely talented musicians.

Frontman Paul LaPlaca has also played with Chris Caffery (Savatage/ TSO), Ted Poley (Danger Danger), Carnivore AD , and currently plays with Drift Into Black . Thorns also featured a young David Z on bass who was discovered by Chris Caffery at the Savatage Convention in 1999 and was quickly asked to join the newly formed Trans-Siberian Orchestra . He also went on to play with Joan Jett, Jeff Scott Soto , and his own band, ZO2 . They toured with KISS/ Poison in 2004 and had their own television show, Z-Rock on IFC . Dave tragically lost his life in a vehicle crash while on tour with Adrenaline Mob in 2017.

October Thorns was only active for a short while but in that time they released a popular 6 song demo CD, played the Milwaukee Metalfest, Powermad , and the Big Bang festival . Several years ago, the band was contacted by Divebomb Records to remix the old material along with several unreleased bonus tracks. After years of trying to self-produce this project, the band finally decided to use the talents of Icefish keyboardist and producer, Alex Argento .

LaPlaca explains, “The CD was mixed by drummer Jofu and original bassist Rob Carpenter . Both of them are outstanding engineers. I attempted to remix these tracks but couldn’t improve on them so I reached out to Alex from Icefish . I was thoroughly impressed with his mixing and production, particularly the mastering. He was the perfect choice to bring these old songs up to date.”
The first single, “ Circle Game ” will be released digitally this fall and the full CD will be out on Divebomb Records in the winter of 2022.

This remix/ remaster is a parting gift to the original fans of the band and a tribute to David Z , a remarkable talent that was taken far too soon.