According to the info sheet we got along with the promo copy of this Askerhus (Oslo area) based Norwegian Heavy Metal band, all members in Requinox (being singer/ guitarist Kenneth “KingRock” Fjeldstad, lead guitarist Terje “SpeedKing” Teigen, second guitarist Eirik “Avalanche” Gue, bassist Ola “Bassanova” Oeverli, and drummer Kim “RogneRock” Rognerud) have had previous band experiences before this band's 2010 foundation, experiences which even took 'em to the more important venues in Oslo. However, the only one I found extra info on, was the drummer, whom possibly still plays in Power Metal act Throne Of Thor (there's an uncertainty about the band's current status; the only product they ever produced was a 2001 demo entitled The Thruth Revealed).
In order to help the band promote itself, the singer founded an organisation called Rockealliansen, today including several bands which cooperate and share experiences. Its manager books many venues throughout the year. Apparently, two venues have been fixed, where Requinox plays as the headliner artist. The band itself made a three-year plan, to see how far they could take the band in that time. First year, the plan was to write as many songs as possible to make a lengthy live set, and then tour several cities. Second year: promote the band, continue touring, and make an album. Third year: work with professional PR, do even more touring, and try to get festival gigs. Well, in 2011 the band was indeed ready to go out touring, and they took Norway by storm, playing some of the venues twice and even thrice, due to popular demand by the concert promoters. They went to Vienna, and played that city twice. At Ameistahl (Vienna) they headlined a festival for upcoming bands, and they took a trip to Stockholm in Sweden for several gigs there. The year 2012 was started with a 3-gig Latvian tour, which saw themselves booked on the spot for 3 more gigs later in the year (October), including a headline gig at Liepaja's Fontaine Palace. However, before they went back to Latvia, the band had already finished recordings at Oslo's Niss Studios, and as a first result they self-released the 3-track EP The Fall Of An Empire in March 2012. Besides spending more time in the studio (and also recording an acoustic version of one of their songs at Oslo's Skuret venue), the band was active with Rockealliansen, getting the bands in their organisation more public exposure by getting 'em gigs. The full-length (which takes back the title track off the EP) had a sold-out premiere in Oslo on December 21st of last, with several guest artists appearing on stage. According to the info available, booking for 2013 is well in progress, several Norwegian venues have already been confirmed. Plan for 2013 is to reach even more people and promoters, get even more connections to play gigs, hopefully in several European countries outside Scandinavia.
Will they make it on such an international status though, that is the question!? Because, you know, making a local/ national reputation for yourself as a good live band with a steady organisation backing you (hum...I just found a list of the band's live accomplishments so far, and it turns out their total amount of gigs in 2011 was actually a measly 13 – they indeed played one club thrice, and one other twice...both in the Oslo area!) is one thing...making it onto the international scene is something else! Let's look at the pros and cons. On the positive side, the band mixes its influences from Iron Maiden, Metallica and Black Sabbath into a Heavy Metal with somewhat Progressive leanings, and manages to write songs with varying pace, bringing that variety occasionally within one song. On the negative side...first of all, while the lead singer IS passable, he's in fact quite limited in range...and not sùch a good singer after all! To make things a little more interesting in the vocal department, some songs luckily find the lead singer backed by one of the other guys on a couple of occasions, by a children's choir in the song “End Of The World”, and during the end sequences of “Shadowland” there's a female vocal passage performed by Kaja Alfsen Fullman (who's regrettably completely drowned out when Fjeldstad kicks in again. Also, it wouldn't hurt if the band had worked around its lead/ solo parts a little more, especially in the studio! The way things are right now, the music is indeed passable, but nothing extra-ordinary! End of the line, what we have here is a bunch of wannebees, who will continue to do well on a local level, and who may well, thanks to Rockealliansen, you know, get connections to go play short tours abroad. But, do I personally see a chance for this band to grow out to an internationally famed act, touring through several continents on one and the same album? Would you?
Get yourself an answer by listening to the material available at (www.) requinox.net (video of “The Fall Of The Empire” in news section, additional video of “Dance Of The Dragon” in “media” section, additional audio for the track “”Keep on Rocking” - off the EP), (www.) myspace.com/requinox (a total of 7 songs ff the album, plus 2 more), or (www) facebook,com/Requinox (samples of all songs, off both the EP and album).