Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the signing of an exciting
progressive metal band from Finland, SIMULACRUM!
The roots of the band go back to 1999 when Christian “Chrism” Pulkkinen
started writing his first batch of songs, which a few years later would end up
on the band’s debut album, "The Master and the Simulacrum” (2012). In 2015, the
band's sophomore album, "Sky Divided", a concept album revolving around a
classic 'War of the Worlds' type story with an alien race attacking planet earth
for its resources, was released. The album was a big evolutionary step for the
band, with some straightforward power and thrash metal tunes joining 10 minute
epics that payed homage to the prog giants of the '70s and '90s. The album was a
bit more polished compared to the debut, from how the songs were performed to
continuity throughout the album. As with the debut, Simulacrum received quite a
bit of praise in the metal media and showed that they were becoming a force to
reckon with.
After the release of 'Sky Divided', a lot happened to slow down the
creation of a new album. Simulacrum parted ways with drummer Henri Kallio and
enlisted Tatu Turunen as their new drummer. The band also started thinking
outside of the box and instead of having one frontman, they decided to make the
move to have two lead vocalists. After extensive auditions, Erik Kraemer was
chosen to join the band. He has a tone that varies enough from original frontman
Niklas Broman's style and also has the range required to sing the sometimes very
difficult vocal lines, which makes for a perfect combination between the
two.
The band's yet untitled third album is currently in the works and will be
released by Frontiers Music Srl.
"Frontiers has always been the top label for us to sign to and we are very
happy in this point of our career to have found such a great partner in crime,”
says Christian Pulkkinen. "With a large record company in our corner that
believes in what we do, we can continue to produce the high quality music we all
love: strong harmonies and melodies without letting the listener off too easy.
As a band, we strive to make music that compels the listener long after the
first spin of the album. The new album we are diligently working on, will be
hard hitting melodic progressive metal. It will pay homage to the great vintage
prog bands we all love, without forgetting to blend in the best elements the
modern bands are doing. You will find influences by such bands as Dream Theater,
Kansas, Symphony X, ELP, Periphery, and Haken, but our music has a very strong
self-identity and most of all sounds like Simulacrum. We can't wait to release
the new album and we are delighted to do it in collaboration with
Frontiers!”
For a taste of the band's sound, check out these YouTube clips:
"Embrace The Animal Within" (features old lineup): https://youtu.be/CadozVB2Gjc
"Sky Divided" (Live, 2017): https://youtu.be/3b2iFcubTCk
Follow Simulacrum:
BAND:
Christian "Chrism" Pulkkinen - Keyboards
Nicholas "Solomon" Pulkkinen - Guitar
Petri Mäkilä - Guitar
Niklas Broman - Vocals
Erik Kraemer - Vocals
Olli Hakala - Bass
Tatu Turunen - Drums