To-Mera was formed by Julie Kiss and Lee Barrett (ex:Extreme
Noise Terror / Disgust / Mussolini Headkick) following her
acrimonious departure from the Hungarian progressive metal
band Without Face (ex: Earache / Elitist recording artists).
She felt that she still had a lot more to offer musically
and set about finding like-minded musicians in order to
persue that goal. Fellow Hungarian Akos Pirisi, a huge fan
of Meshuggah and a master of polyrhythmics, was brought in
on drums.
Later Tom MacLean was found after he, a big Without Face
fan, recognized Julie and introduced himself at a Dillinger
Escape Plan concert. Tom graduated from the Trinity College
of Music in London, where he studied Jazz guitar. Although a
huge metalhead, His broad musical tastes are evident in his
playing, and he constantly pushes himself to attain new
levels of skill.
When all was finally in place, the band recorded their debut
demo in July 2005 at The Peel rehearsal rooms
(Kingston-Upon-Thames) on a laptop, and it was mixed in
France by up-and-coming producer Brett Caldas-Lima (Kalisia
/ Malmonde / Fairlight). After the demo was recorded, the
band finally found a fulltime keyboard player in the shape
of Hugo Sheppard. Hugo is also a graduate of the Trinity
College of Music where he studied classical piano. He has
already contributed to the band's newer material, and his
avant-garde, free-flowing style has added yet another
dimension to To-Mera's sound.
The songs are worked almost literally around Julie's lyrics,
adding flesh to the emotive, dark and esoteric bones. The
mesmeric descriptive themes allow the listener a very
personal look into a deeply multifarious mindset. The music
as a result is a complex, heavy and at times heartfelt
hybrid of powerful progressive metal, beguiling acoustic
passages, enchanting keyboard soundscapes and unmistakable
female vocals. The demo was sent to many webzines and
magazines, where universal acclaim was given. The band
received "Demo of The Month" at Organ Magazine, Zero
Tolerance magazine and Imperiumi.net (Finland). These, and
many other, great reviews led to a number of interested
record labels getting in touch. It soon became clear that
Candlelight Records (Emperor, Opeth, 1349, Zyklon, Enslaved,
etc) was the best choice for the band and a multi-album,
worldwide deal was signed at the beginning of January 2006.
The demo is still available for download at
http://www.myspace.com/tomeraband. To-Mera will record their
as-yet untitled debut album in May 2006, again with producer
Brett Caldas-Lima.
Recording is expected to take place in Veszprem (Hungary)
and London (England) for a release later in 2006. It
promises to be an ambitious, epic, progressive and generally
HUGE slab of forward-thinking metal.
Songs
1. The Lie
2. Mirage
3. The Glory of a New Day
4. Inside the Hourglass
5. A Sorrow to Kill
6. Asylum
7. Fallen From Grace
8. Temptation
