Brooklyn, New York City, 1996. Grunge, Rap and Hip Hop dominate the American Charts and in those times, ex-Gothic Knights singer George Tsalikis decided for himself to get Heavy Metal back to the position it once had had in the Eighties: at the top. With the help of his friend Denis Gulbey (Sentinel Steel), Zandelle was born, the melodic brilliance of bands like Dokken, Warrior or Grim Reaper as well as the epic touch of Warlord being its godfathers. After some line-up changes, George finally found exactly the right comrades in arms to realize his musical visions: the hard, versatile guitars of Anthony Maglio and T.W. Durfy and the dynamic drumming of Bob Delmini completed the band. The permanently vacant bass job was at first filled by ex-guitar player Joe Hartoularos as an interim solution - later, he became the regular bass man. Already in that same year the New Yorkers were able to collect some good reviews with their debut MCD, distributed worldwide via Sentinel Steel.
The worldwide media response to the first full-length album which followed quickly after that debut was overwhelming. "Shadows Of Reality" proved to be a punch in the face of retort bands like Marilyn Manson, Papa Roach or Linkin Park. In the following years Zandelle, with its timeless, traditional Metal, achieved the status as the leading underground band of the Big Apple. Shows with Savatage, Fates Warning, U.D.O., Saxon, Helstar and Pain Of Salvation, and a performance at the reknown Milwaukee Metalfest made the fan community grow bigger and bigger and also aroused nationwide interest in the band. In 2002 Zandelle was heading for the rest of the world - with "Twilight Of Humanity" and a long term record deal with Limb Music Products in the suitcase. And indeed, with hymns like 'Warlords Of Steel', 'A Heros Quest' or the epic, twelve minutes long title track, the guys succeeded in enthusing the hearts of the Metal fans all over the world and also a great part of the international Metal media.
However, on the way to their breakthrough, Zandelle had to overcome some obstacles& In the middle of the preparations for their crucial third album, Bob Delmini, the drummer, left for personal reasons and was substituted by Joe "Jofu" Cardillo, a longtime friend of the band. When he hurt his hand very seriously, the New Yorkers didn't search for a new drummer, but waited patiently until he was healthy again. In the meantime, the tension between guitar player T.W. Durfy and the rest of the band grew more and more, so a split was unavoidable. Consequently, Anthony Maglio was forced to record all guitar parts on his own. For a short time, the band added Paul La Place, the ex-vocalist of October Thorns, a gifted guitar player and keyboardist, to the line-up, but unfortunately, that didn't last long: Paul longed too much to be a front man - and so, the band was without a second guitar player again.
But - he who thinks Zandelle were discouraged by that, is on the wrong track. "Vengeance Rising", the album at hand forged from blood, sweat and tears, is not only the best and most mature work of the band, but you can already call it one of the Melodic Metal highlights of the year. Epic pieces as the Beowulf trilogy 'Awakening'/'Vengeance Rising'/'Ancient Tale Of Valor' or the over nine minutes long 'Necromancer' alternate with hymns as 'Blood Red Shores' or 'Dragon's Hoard'. Fans of Blind Guardian, Jag Panzer, Warlord, Iron Maiden or Hammerfall may experience exactly those special moments they have been missing in the last releases of their faves when listening to "Vengeance Rising". With its composition skills and class, Zandelle successfully brigdes the gap between epic US Metal and European Melodic Metal. A must for every fan of sophisticated Metal!
Source: http://www.limb-music.de/
