.. It is during the 80's, when Glam Rock and Heavy Metal on one hand developed to extreme opposites and on the other hand some very prolific and successful bands are able to unite both styles and create legendary records with an unleashed variety of range and musical colours.
Anyway, this are the years when two musicians, playing in some local rock bands, decide to unite in order to found a new rock group, featuring that powerful and many-sided music.
Rob Irbiz (vocals, guitar) and Andy De Santis (vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar) start their adventure project and from the beginning it's clear that a new Heavy-Rock sound bound to traditional European rock would have been born soon.
From the more speedier and heavy recordings made with various drummers (1987 "German Metal Lighters"/LP-compilation, 1988 "The Felines Await You"/LP, 1989 "Heart & Heavy"/CD-compilation, all records distributed in Germany and Italy), the band develop into high power melodic rock thanks to the new and ambitious drummer, Ice-hockey forward Chris Platzer.
After some "live-time" the recording-studio is again waiting for them and the result is a very convincing, "handwritten" signature of the group: "Living In Europe", an EP-CD recorded in 1995 and published in Germany and Italy.
As it happens so many times, lack of distribution and changes within small record-companies put the brakes to the growing bands and the EP is limited to an underground-spreading.
However, the band stands up and fights again! New releases in 1996 ("TN-Rock"/CD-compilation) and the video to the most successful song "Don't Cry" (distributed all over Italy, "Tendence Video Compilation") gives the band new motivation and power.
After a few compilations (1997 "Rock Alternative Collection", 1998 "Impulse 1998"), distributed in Germany and Austria, the three musicians decide to record a new full-length CD.
Entitled "Feline Melinda", released in 2004, the album features a simply, elegant cover with the silver emblem of the band on a black background.
The album represents the creativity of the band throughout all the years. Recording and mastering finished in 2003 between south Lake of Garda, Italy, and the very north of Germany, it contains 13 tracks (7 new songs, 5 re-mastered songs and 1 cover-song).
The album is the first step into the future of the group, because after many years of fertile and creative cooperation Andy De Santis in September of the same year leaves the band.
Within short time the band finds the ideal successor: Gschnell (formerly Nüchterne Trinker, Dream Divers, Dust In Project), the new guy on the bass guitar, turns out to be a stroke of luck.
Complete again, and without missing their melodic ballads, the band dedicates more attention to powerful rock songs in the repertoire.
Written by Rob Irbiz and with the arrangements of Chris Platzer, the band creates a new repertoire.
2005 the band plays some concerts.
In answer to the audience and the media, in autumn the band plans the publication of a new CD.
Besides concerts, the recordings for the new album are the main point of 2006.
The tracks have been recorded during several weeks and lots of studio sessions.
The new project includes everything the heart of a metal fan desire: mid-tempo and speed songs, two metal ballads, an acoustic mainstream-ballad and an instrumental introduction. The mix and mastering will be realized within the first months of 2007; the publication of the new opera is planned within the second half-year!
Source : http://www.myspace.com/felinemelinda
