The never ending search to find quality bands (that have enough info on our site to reference) has me scouring the cities on our site from all over the world. Whenever I hear music from other countries, I guess I expect to hear something in their native tongue, and I'm always surprised when I hear lyrics in English with little or no accent!

This week while searching through our local scene, I found a band from Norway that has undergone the trial of fire over the last nine years. Several different projects later, four of the original five members have mended differences, re-forged the band under the name of Emerald, and have released another CD.

Singer Rick Holman's lyrical and songwriting style reminds me of Klaus Meine (from German metal band The Scorpions) although his vocals aren't quite as shrill and are much easier to understand.

Their latest CD (Stargazers), combines dark melodies, deep lyrics, crunching rhythm guitars and melodic leads to make a quality metal/hard rock album that captures your imagination and keeps your interest from beginning to end.

For more information on this band, CLICK HERE