Bosnian guitarist Emir Hot makes a serious statement of intent with his debut release ‘Sevdah Metal’. The album represents something fresh for the metal realm with its blend of melodic, progressive and neo-classical metal styling mixed with traditional Eastern Balkan music with strong influence taken from the ‘Sevdah’ style of Bosnian music (a Bosnian style of blues) to create the unique Emir Hot sound.
Adding more fire to Emir’s impressive song writing and guitar work is the soaring voice of ex Royal Hunt / Artension vocalist John West and drum legend Mike Terrana (Masterplan, ex Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Artension) whose precise and powerful play add even more energy to the 10 tracks on offer. On their input Emir comments, “John and Mike made it sound live and real. Although the arrangements and the songs are all my ideas, the way they performed on this record definitely put it on a much higher level than I had in mind when I was writing itâ€.
‘Sevdah Metal’ is an album born out of great adversity and is heavily influenced by this. From Emir’s troubles in his beloved former homeland Bosnia (Emir now resides in the UK) to the state of the world today, all have made a mark on the lyrics and music. Yet within the ten tracks there is a light of hope, of perseverance prevailing perhaps best exemplified on the track ‘Stand And Fight’, a emotionally rich metal ballad with impassioned vocals and guitar solo which has earned great praise from those that have already heard it, making it a natural contender for radio single.
Text taken from http://www.lionmusic.com/cd/sevdahmetal.html
