The underground is full of talented bands, some of them having the chance to climb high into the mainstream, some of them unfortunately getting lost without earning the recognition they deserved. One of those bands fighting for their own place in the Metal scene is ESCALATION, a young and talented act I had the chance to get to know pretty early in its career, before they even release anything. Back then, I had high hopes about this duet and as it seems they didn't disappoint me at all!

This duet comes from Athens, Greece, and was formed actually back in 2005 when Takis Nikolakakis asked for Kimon's help for the recording and production of a demo. They found out that there was a good connection between them and the first ESCALATION song (Breaking) was recorded. The band worked hard on composing and recording songs and in 2009 the first ESCALATION demo reached the surface.

The band plays a mixture between Heavy and Progressive Metal with a great dose of melody. The first song I had the chance to hear a couple of years ago was Transparent Walls, the band's Metal ballad. The specific song for example has a Bruce Dickinson vibe in it, reminding me of his ballads (Change Of Heart etc). In general, ESCALATION draw influences from acts like QUEENSRYCHE, IRON MAIDEN, DREAM THEATER, SYMPHONY X, and create a rather interesting and well worked result that managed to amaze even me, a person that belongs to the more extreme side of music and is rarely excited about something Progressive and melodic.

A really positive weapon this band possesses is its singer Takis, who manages to get away from the Greek standards. He has a great voice (reminding me a bit of the German Heavy/Power scene) and most important of all, he has a great pronunciation, something that many singers in Greece unfortunately don't have.

This duet makes an excellent team. Takis and the incredible mind of Kimon, who has created 5 well worked and beautiful compositions makes us impatiently wait for the band's next move, which will hopefully be a full-length album. I wish all the best to them and hope this bitch called Metal scene will help them and not destroy them.