Winter's Verge

When they talk about exotic bands, most central Europeans in the know primarily mean combos from South America, Asia or the Middle East. It is often hard to see that anything exotic can actually be just next door. Until now, Cyprus was never marked on the world map of Heavy Metal. This will drastically change in 2008 because the Cypriot band WINTER'S VERGE and their debut album, 'Eternal Damnation' is sure to catapult Cyprus into the daily life of the Hard Stuff. 'Eternal Damnation' combines epic Metal with high quality progressive elements and passionate, positive Metal Power and tops it all with touching melody lines. The songs are exciting and manifoldly constructed and the band was careful to mix intelligent songwriting with the wildness of the Old School. Determination is another of the young band's strengths who, despite their exotic status, are in no way dependent on crumbs thrown their way by the international press. WINTER'S VERGE know their own strength and quality. 'Eternal Damnation' has enough going for it to heave WINTER'S VERGE straight into the Premiere League of European Metal Bands. All this didn't come about overnight. September 2003 saw WINTER'S VERGE founded by George Charalambous (vocals) and Stefanos Psillides (keyboards). Only a short while later, they were joined by guitarist Pericles Mallopoulos. It didn't take long to decide on their musical direction or to begin looking for other like-minded musicians. On an island like Cyprus, however, it proved to be a bigger problem than it would be on the mainland. The next candidate they found was drummer Andreas Charalambous and shortly after this they wrote their first own songs. It soon became clear that they needed to find a bass player pdq, not only to rehearse the songs better but also so that the highly motivated band could play their first live shows. The search took over five months before the right bass player was found in Charis Ioannou. Yet it still took a further year before they judged their first songs to be mature enough to be played live. They quickly won such an excellent reputation on local stages that they decided to record their first demo. The four track CD sold very well and WINTER'S VERGE was also noticed beyond Cyprus's shores. But now the gods threw a rock in their path; Charis was called up for his military service. They quickly found a suitable replacement in Miguel Trapezaris, (LACRIMA, BLOODHARVEST, GODBLOOD) who brought a lot of experience with him which also benefited the band's entire songwriting. After a further six months they were ready to record their first demo. 'Another Life... Another End' was burned onto CD and was showered with positive reviews shortly after its release. In the meantime WINTER'S VERGE had refined their style and had reached an absolutely professional level. The band were faced with their next big step when another lineup problem reared its head. Guitarist Pericles Mallopoulos also received his call-up papers to the army. The search for a suitable replacement did not take long and Harris Pari, an ambitious guitarist who had gained enough experience during his stint with BAD INFLUENCE was the man of the moment. With more motivation than ever WINTER'S VERGE contacted Limb Music Products (L.M.P.) and the contact resulted in a record contract. Im September 2007 the band moved into the Prophecy and Music Factory Studios in Kempten in southern Germany, to record their debut album. Under the aegis of no lesser person than MYSTIC PROPHECY's singer, R.D. Liapakis the combo burned their style onto a terrific album. The songs from the previously unreleased demo album 'Another Life... Another End' were completely reworked and re-recorded, and two more songs were selected. 'Eternal Damnation', as the official debut album is titled, shines for its well balanced production, in which harmony and heaviness go hand in hand. The album was greeted with many strong reviews, especially for a debut. More shows followed, including Mystic Prophecy's first gig in Cyprus, which was of course supported by Winter's Verge. After this, longtime member Andreas felt that he couldn't dedicate himself 100% to the band anymore, and so decided to leave the band. Andreas however remains part of the Winter's Verge team as the band's webmaster. A search for a new drummer then commenced, which was over very quickly when the highly experienced Chris Ioannides (of Cyprus legends ARMAGEDDON REV 16:6) expressed interest in joining the band. One practise session later and it was clear Chris was the ideal man for the job. Winter's Verge are currently writing new material for the 2009 follow up to 'Eternal Damnation' and planning shows beyond Cyprus' shores.