DIRTUNDERgOD "deus ex machina" 1994 Demo

DIRTUNDERgOD were all Ithaca College students, I do believe. I am pretty sure this was the only thing they recorded, and I think they broke up after graduating. The vocalist Tait Halverson may have been local as afterwards he recorded a solo demo that was much more mellow than this. However, this is a great sounding release (only needed some minor mastering) with some really catchy songs. Very much electronic Hard Rock, as was popular back when this came out, the best of the four would have to be Give and Stick Figure Man. All four are pretty cool, though.

Download: DIRTUNDERgOD "deus ex machina"

Groovy Seeds - 1993 Demo

I don't think Groovy Seeds lasted very long. I could be wrong about that, but it seems like they weren't together more than a few years at most. The vocalist, Ted Kelly, and drummer, Bob Gaylo, were both in Saint Chaos, whose demo is posted here back a couple months. The sound is similar, but with more of a Groove to it. Go figure. I don't know a lot about this band, really. They were based in Auburn, NY, and this is a pretty damned good demo. And their little mascot was neat looking, not that you can see it well in this scan, but it's one of those twirling seeds that spin down from a certain tree, giving the thumbs up...

Download: Groovy Seeds - 1993 Demo

Twilight Kingdom "The Guardian" - 1995 Demo

The first time I heard this, I was blown away. The fact that this was basically a new band, and this was their first recording... Wow. This holds it's ground with most progressive Metal bands. You can hear elements of Dream Theater throughout, a touch of Fates Warning here and there, but at no point do they sound like either band. Heavy and melodic at the same time, Twilight Kingdom may very well be the best Progressive Metal band from Central New York, ever. And you can download this remastered version of their 1995 Demo and hear that for yourself.

A powerful opening track, March of the Guardian, couple of long, powerful songs, Shadow Troops and Awakening, following, and an almost New Age flavored instrumental, Winter Dreams, ends off the first side. The second side begins with an awesome song, Forever Sacred, inspired by the movie Thunderheart, another New Age-ish piece, Living on Borrowed Time, and then the Epic Angel to No One. Finally, tagged onto the end is The Ticket. A silly little song.

I also included their post Guardian demo tracks, bands members switched around a bit, but Chris Bedell and Thomas Rice were always the foundation of the band. They later signed to a small prog label, Siegen Records, who managed to destroy their recordings and relase something with possibly the worst production ever. The songs were great, but it almost seemed like the label and studio were sabotaging them for some reason. The resulting CD is FAR inferior to these recordings. The post Guardian tracks include all the songs from their 1997 Demo, which include Bell, Adze, Angel to No One rerecorded, Saviour, and Escape. And finally, Chris and Thomas recorded a couple of songs under the name Ex Nihilo, first as Twilight Kingdom, and then as a side project. Two of those tracks are on here, Ex Nihilo and Bleeding Son's Admonition. Unlike Twilight Kingdom, these tracks are ambient and gothic.

Twilight Kingdom broke up after Adze. They never played a show live, Chris being the drummer and vocalist had trouble pulling both off live. The band minus Chris went on to form Full Circle, who released one CD, Matter of Time. In the vein of Twilight Kingdom, but not quite as dynamic. That also has broken up. Meanwhile, Chris and longtime friend Pat Ward formed Lotus Project, which was more of a brutal, yet still progressive, type of band. They did perform live, with Chris doing both the drums and vocals. Currently, they are on hiatus, and a studio band. I may be adding their demo to this eventually at Chris' request. Chris and Pat are currently in the band Castle Bravo, more Hard Rock / Alternative than anything they have done before, but still an exceptional band. AND, Chris, Thomas, and Steve from TK, are working on yet another project, this time with Pat from Lotus Project and Castle Bravo, and Shane, who drummed for Full Circle. This project is called Death of Centuries.

Bascially, what you have is an amazing amount of musical talent, and it all tracks back to The Guardian.

Download: Twilight Kingdom "The Guardian"