Alaya (USA): Prog Metal

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Couldn't find anything for these guys using the search facility, either here or on progfreak, so I reckon they need hearing out.

Alaya are three guys from Chicago, Illinois: Evan Graham Dunn on guitars & vocals, David Jacob Robison on drums and Michael Brandt Rinkenberger on bass. Their debut album 'Thrones' has been a long time coming, since they signed to Basick Records way back in December 2012, and released a single at around the same time called 'Inside'.

Anyway, the album is officially released today, and it's available to listen to and purchase via Basick's bandcamp: http://music.basickrecords.com/album/thrones

Alaya are on facebook, where they provide a little info to work into some kind of a bio: https://www.facebook.com/AlayaOfficial:

"ALAYA stand apart from many Progressive Metal artists today, fusing punishing technical rhythm with a genre defying melodic style. 

 For it's three founding members the decision was clear when committing to raw and innovative songwriting, ignoring the distraction of traditional debut release ethics.
 Two years of composing and self-recording culminated with thirteen songs carving their respective places into the full length track list of the band's first album, 'THRONES'. 

 The only demo made available was re-posted by acclaimed metal websites, receiving overwhelming positive feedback and attention from thousands of people overnight. 
 This secured some major endorsements and caught the all-seeing eye of progressive metal gurus BASICK RECORDS, who signed ALAYA in 2012. 

 With new objectives and the development of a key team, ALAYA will offer 'THRONES' to the masses the way they intended. No filler and no compromise, just the brutal melodic story of two years of hope and struggle, and a new sound in Metal."

Description
"Once in a blue moon a band comes along that defies description and hits the spot so hard that you're left breathless and bewildered. Alaya are all that and more. They're progressive, wildly inventive and authentically epic, but they also have an air of otherworldly magic about them. This is how you combine melody and complexity with results that put goosebumps on your goosebumps. This is how you push metal into the future. Alaya are bringing the next level of crushing, intricate and thrillingly soulful metal fusion. Transcendental, triumphant, utterly f......g mind-blowing. The game just changed forever." - Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock Magazine, Prog Magazine, Total Rock Radio.

Track Listing:
1. Inside (3:50)
2. White Noise (3:53)
3. Sleep (3:41)
4. Screaming Still (3:48)
5. Pool Gloria (3:44)
6. Haunted Pt. I (1:31)
7. Grace (3:06)
8. Day of the Dead (3:14)
9. Thrones (3:13)
10. Paths (3:13)
11. Entropy (3:27)
12. Haunted Pt. II (2:02)
13. Haunted Pt. III (6:26)
Total Time 45:08
Lots of positive reviews on 'The Net' - here's one from Sea of Tranquility: http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=15837

No Death Metal vocals at all, either - this album is clean all the way!

There are plenty of live vids of them on YouTube , but the quality of them isn't anything to write home about, so I'll leave it at the two official ones above. 

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yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 5814	Topic: Alaya (USA): Prog Metal Posted: March 17 2014 at 06:04
	Couldn't find anything for these guys using the search facility, either here or on progfreak, so I reckon they need hearing out. Alaya are three guys from Chicago, Illinois: Evan Graham Dunn on guitars & vocals, David Jacob Robison on drums and Michael Brandt Rinkenberger on bass. Their debut album 'Thrones' has been a long time coming, since they signed to Basick Records way back in December 2012, and released a single at around the same time called 'Inside'. Anyway, the album is officially released today, and it's available to listen to and purchase via Basick's bandcamp: http://music.basickrecords.com/album/thrones Alaya are on facebook, where they provide a little info to work into some kind of a bio: https://www.facebook.com/AlayaOfficial: "ALAYA stand apart from many Progressive Metal artists today, fusing punishing technical rhythm with a genre defying melodic style. For it's three founding members the decision was clear when committing to raw and innovative songwriting, ignoring the distraction of traditional debut release ethics. Two years of composing and self-recording culminated with thirteen songs carving their respective places into the full length track list of the band's first album, 'THRONES'. The only demo made available was re-posted by acclaimed metal websites, receiving overwhelming positive feedback and attention from thousands of people overnight. This secured some major endorsements and caught the all-seeing eye of progressive metal gurus BASICK RECORDS, who signed ALAYA in 2012. With new objectives and the development of a key team, ALAYA will offer 'THRONES' to the masses the way they intended. No filler and no compromise, just the brutal melodic story of two years of hope and struggle, and a new sound in Metal." Description "Once in a blue moon a band comes along that defies description and hits the spot so hard that you're left breathless and bewildered. Alaya are all that and more. They're progressive, wildly inventive and authentically epic, but they also have an air of otherworldly magic about them. This is how you combine melody and complexity with results that put goosebumps on your goosebumps. This is how you push metal into the future. Alaya are bringing the next level of crushing, intricate and thrillingly soulful metal fusion. Transcendental, triumphant, utterly f......g mind-blowing. The game just changed forever." - Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock Magazine, Prog Magazine, Total Rock Radio. Track Listing: 1. Inside (3:50) 2. White Noise (3:53) 3. Sleep (3:41) 4. Screaming Still (3:48) 5. Pool Gloria (3:44) 6. Haunted Pt. I (1:31) 7. Grace (3:06) 8. Day of the Dead (3:14) 9. Thrones (3:13) 10. Paths (3:13) 11. Entropy (3:27) 12. Haunted Pt. II (2:02) 13. Haunted Pt. III (6:26) Total Time 45:08 Lots of positive reviews on 'The Net' - here's one from Sea of Tranquility: http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=15837 No Death Metal vocals at all, either - this album is clean all the way! There are plenty of live vids of them on YouTube , but the quality of them isn't anything to write home about, so I'll leave it at the two official ones above.

aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Posted: March 17 2014 at 13:05
	On charts, but I would not hold my breath, thanks for the excellent structured suggestion

yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 5814	Posted: April 24 2014 at 23:01
	Yep - three straight 'no' votes: http://progfreak.com/Alaya-158701.html?path=pa/recent. Thank you, goodnight!