Metal Bulletin Zine: out May 29: STARGAZERY

Saturday, May 23, 2020

out May 29: STARGAZERY

Listen to two the new songs from the upcoming May 29th album by STARGAZERY (Finland). The first track is the official music video for "Sinners in Shadows" and the second one is a lyric video for the title track of the album Constellation. STARGAZERY is classic-rock-inspired progressive heavy metal that takes Deep Purple and Rainbow through the prism of late 80s Yngwie Malmsteem's interpretation of the style, then puts its contemporary, Finnish progressive stamp with good singing and catchy songs. The official information names Rainbow and late 80s Black Sabbath as influences, but the band features Pete Ahonen on guitars and Pete has been making quality albums for decades with Stargazery, Burning Point, Ghost Machinery and other bands and projects. Expect good guitar playing and good singing in the classic-style ways.

Below the two new songs you will find a couple of older songs, for reference.

n 2011 STARGAZERY released its first album "Eye On The Sky", which was highly praised by the media. The follow-up album "Stars Aligned" from 2015 was rated no less badly. Now in 2020 the third work “Constellation” by the Finns around mastermind Pete Ahonen (BURNING POINT, GHOST MACHINERY) is on the tableau. Stylistically, of course, nothing has changed here. It rules bombastic, keyboard-driven Melodic Metal, which was strongly influenced by RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH (Tony Martin era). The sharp, crystal-clear production really brings out the extraordinary vocals of Jari Tiura (ex-MSG, Ex-SNAKEGOD). The complete work is a found treasure with a lot hit potential for all friends of the style.

Biography: Stargazery was born late in the year 2005. The force that led to form this band was one single song which Pete wrote. He felt it wasn't suitable for either one of his bands, Burning Point or Ghost Machinery. The song was later named "How Many Miles".

It was clear from the start that the band needed a strong, melodic voice as well as a charismatic frontman. No question about it, Jari Tiura (ex-MSG, Snakegod) was the perfect choice. Bassist Jukka Jokikokko was an easy pick as he was already Pete's bandmate in Burning Point. The drummer at the time was Jarkko Huhtela, Pete's friend and a member from their band way back when... The wizard with the keyboards, Marco Sneck, was found from the ranks of Poisonblack and ex- Kalmah.

Early 2007 Stargazery made its first single "Dying / Rescue" which raised a lot of eyebrows and gained media attention with its melodic metal attack. The band did some selected live performances and decided it was time to start recording their debyt album. They entered the HelGate Studios (Oulu, Finland) to start the studio work. Unfortunately, the activities with MSG and Burning Point delayed the recording process. The drummer also decided to step aside from the band. However, Stargazery was determined to finish the making of their debut album.

The bands line-up was completed again as Jussi Ontero (Burning Point, Ghost Machinery) sat behind the drums. Between 2009 and late 2010 the recording and the mixing of the album were done. After short negotiations Stargazery inked a world wide deal with Germany's Pure Steel Records.

The debyt album, Eye On The Sky, saw the light of day in April 2011. It was released in Japan as well as in the rest of the world. It was highly praised in medias all over the globe. Ready, willing and able to rock the stages, Stargazery again suffered some misfortune from various reasons and ended up playing only a few shows in their home country.

Jussi, Jukka and Pete had commitments towards their other band, Burning Point, and they needed to finish their new album. Shortly after that Pete started to write new material for the 2nd Stargazery release.

Songs were ready at the end of the year 2012 and the recordings started. Sometimes things just take their time and that was the case here too. The last recordings were made in the spring/early summer of 2014.

Once again the album's beautiful artwork was done by Felipe Machado Franco. The powerful and dynamic mastering was done in the Chartmaker Studios by Minerva Pappi.

Definitive treat for the fans of Whitesnake, Dio, early Gary Moore etc. "Stars Aligned" is a real Hard Rock gem full of catchy sing-a-long tunes packed with a killer production!

Keep Your Eye On The Sky!

STARGAZERY - Sinners In Shadows - official Video (PURE LEGEND RECORDS)