CONCEPTION -
Roy Khan - vocals
Tore Østby - guitars
Ingar Amlien - bass
Arve Heimdal - drums
Conception's decision to grace its surroundings with revamped activity is news that without a doubt will be cherished by fans worldwide.
And make no mistake about it - even though this act has been inactive since 1997, the band left an unforgettable momentum with their four albums, "The Last Sunset" (1991), "Parallel Minds" (1993), "In Your Multitude" (1995), "Flow" (1997) before the band's far too early demise.
One can headshakingly admit that CONCEPTION is the nation's best kept secret internationally, but there are legions of fans scattered over the globe that finally is having at least one of their dreams coming true.
With their mixture of strong melody lines, a groovy rhythm section, guitar work that still haunts living legends and first class vocals, CONCEPTION didn't follow a trail already carved; they developed an alternative route along the years, a route which today is strongly maintained by countless other bands. Progressive rock? Melodic power metal?
Nah, those descriptions are merely touching the surface of this band's multitude and strength.I can still remember the gritty September day in 1993, at Stuttgart's "Longhorn" venue. CONCEPTION was ready to tear the place apart together with their label mates GAMMA RAY and RAGE, and the guys were already leaving their imprint during the sound check. The band performed for their lives, and at one point I almost warned them to save some energy for the actual performance later on. CONCEPTION won quite a few friends that night, and during the dates of this tour, most of the journalists had a hard time figuring out how to categorize those damn Norwegians. A powerhouse drummer they never had heard of? A bass player with a Slayer t-shirt and a pentagram necklace? A guitar player that was capable of making all the Satrianis and Malmsteens put their equipment to rest in sheer frustration? A singer that was on a par with Dream Theater's new singer? Concep-who?
During the coming years, CONCEPTION played several tours in Europe and Japan, their videos did well at both MTV and VIVA, and they performed festivals with bands like FAITH NO MORE and SLASH'S SNAKEPIT. During this time, alternative rock was taking its toll on the mainstream society, and there was hardly and space left for melodic gems like CONCEPTION. A long deep sleep commenced in 1997, after a series of great shows through Norway.
Haakon Grav, SCREAM Magazine
