Agharti may be a relatively young band, but their music already shows great promise. The Croatian band’s upcoming debut album, Change, introduces listeners to a melodic alternative style that’s accessible, dynamic, and thematically balanced between personal experiences and social observations. Other defining elements include a wide array of keyboard / synthesizer sounds (including violin-like complements that could pass for the real instrument) and dual vocals (male and female) on some songs that’s reminiscent of Lacuna Coil. This is one of the few instances where, in my opinion, an up-and-coming band’s first release deserves the hype invented by its record label. So I’ve decided to call Change “one of the best ‘femme metal’ surprises of 2013.”

Click here to read my review of Agharti’s Change.

Here’s a video montage of Agharti promo photos set to “Lost,” one of the songs from Change. “Lost” is an adrenaline-filled track with hurtling rhythms, bobbing keys, and “tag-team” style vocals during the chorus that make it one of the album’s highlights.

Coming Soon: Soul-Lit’s Summer issue, which includes one of my newest poems, should be published online any day now. I’ll share the link as soon as it’s available. As for my projects, I’m continuing to work on my fantasy novel (and recently passed 13,000 words!), and I already have my next review ready for Sonic Cathedral. Speaking of Sonic Cathedral, next month marks my fifth anniversary as a staff writer there! I’m planning to celebrate with retrospects here and at my Facebook page. So stay tuned!