BRUNO A :: all music & words of vertigo; guitars, keys, loops & programming, mind-jerking
NIKO MANKINEN :: lead vocals, words
ALEXANDRE RIBEIRO :: fretless bass
DANIEL CARDOSO :: drums, vocals, piano (session)
feat.:
STEIN ROGER SORDAL (Green Carnation) :: guest vocals
SOPHIE (Understream) :: guest vocals
RUI VIEGAS (A Story of Dust, Arcane Wisdom) :: guest vocals, flute on "Vertigo Steps"
ANDRÉ L VASCONCELOS (ex-Hordes of Yore, Arcane Wisdom) :: guest vocals on "Vertigo Steps"
Influences
Desolation & a dollar. Insanity & corn flake disposals. Orgasms & anti-climaxes. The Handicap Groove Orchestra playing Melancholy Metal for loose-trailers and persistent toe-gazers. Sheer unhealthiness: we are a million pieces.
Sounds Like
"Discovery of the month! What a peerless debut! A disarming occlusion of a musical year" Lords of Metal
"a pretty ambitious debut that achieves all it sets out to, and then some. Everything is touched upon here, with the band retaining a unique identity... " Avantgarde Metal
"Dark yet not quite sinister, Vertigo Steps are on the verge of brilliance" The Metal Forge
"lovely album of Dark Progressive Metal which could be associated to the last Katatonia releases for example... a great start definitely!" Metal Storm
"With an excellent sounding CD, both song and sound, it is hard to believe that this band is not an actual signed recording act. Vertigo Steps are THAT good and they won't be unsigned for long." Sea of Tranquillity
"Writing all the music and handling the guitars and keyboard, Bruno’s talent is impressive... the songwriting here is very solid and the vocal performance of N. Mankinen very cool" Metal Rules
"after few listenings it went to my brain as a uraniumhead bullet leaving just steming braincells. VS isn't the kind of music you can categorize easily with a word or two. I liked it, a lot" Imperiumi
"Instead we are left with what should be a glimpse into a realm where the music has "feeling", instead of being soullessly blurted out at you through your speakers" Chronicles of Chaos
"V. S. also has offered a many non-metal traces on its s/t album, but the complete final picture will absolutely satisfy potential listeners population" Rock Serbia
"uma boa surpresa, não só pela forma súbita como se manifestou, mas principalmente pela qualidade final resultante dessa aparição. Uma excelente estreia" A Trompa
"Peso, balanço e muita melodia marcam a música do projecto. Um grande disco a surgir no panorama Underground nacional. Um nome a ter em conta no futuro" Fénix
"um trabalho multi-facetado, pintado nas mais diversas texturas e negras ambiências e de grande qualidade artística" The Bronze Age
"a ricerca di atmosfere in grado di trasmettere un messaggio emozionale forte e distinto fa da sfondo alla felice alternanza tra metal freddo e malinconico, post rock gloom e retaggi progressive" Dagheisha
Welcome aboard the Vertigo Steps universe... the ultimate experiment by Bruno A.
On the demanding heels of the Arcane Wisdom years and his other projects, the maverick set to engage on a special and untimely aural endeavor, assembling together by far his most diverse, intensely challenging and downright drenching efforts.
Forged in September 2007 e.v., VS saw dim light predominantly as a studio project, Bruno A. handling composition and lyrics, but for the ambitious debut venture 7 eminent and also not leather-clad guests left their scar of vertigo, carefully handpicked for their various areas of expertise and unique attitude towards the music. Making this a trans-European affair, with inspiring musicians from Finland, Norway and naturally, Portugal. Currently core main members are the duo of Bruno/ Niko, with Alexandre Ribeiro and Daniel Cardoso joining in studio fe rhythmic section. Plus guests.
VS I... self-titled
The 10 songs/ themes salvaging the self-titled debut full-length were lubricated for some months and finally put to tape @ UltraSoundStudios (Braga) in March-April 2008, with Daniel Cardoso as mandatory choice for the helm. Soundscope idea? An ever emotional melting pot of ideas gathered in the last years (including "I of the Storm", a track from the AW ghost sessions as well as state of the art compositions such as "The Swarming Process" or "The Gruesome Smile"). "Vertigo Steps" also features an orchestral-laden overture and an instrumental interlude, seamlessly shifting moods between full-on Melancholy Metal catharsis, demented groove assaults and textured, orchestrated ambiance. Epic dementia anyone?
Oh, its also vaguely, unassumingly conceptual and with a certain soundtrack feel. Fundamentally soulful musique in an environment of cascading blueprinted, homogenized muzak. Words dealing with pain, dreams, reality, projections, ill-hidden secrets, mind-disease, decadence & departure. Songs which underline raw emotion over technique. Artwork to suit them. The founder has been said to dismiss sky and skin as limit. Media praise can be read within. A special video was shot for single "Fire Eaters", earning great praise
VS II... the melancholy hour
Since the dawn of '09, new all-too-addictive compositions started to take place for the future sophomore release: take heed for the process is in swarming motion. And we are the worms. Pre-production is advanced, with 12 tracks aligned, one of them a full-blown instrumental and another a cover (of which a rough mix was already posted online!) Some titles: "Inhale", "Vacant Stare", "The Spider & The Weaving", "Redemption River, Dividing Ocean". Recording scheduled to April/ May 2010,@ UltraSoundStudios - Moita with Daniel Cardoso (again producer & drummer). The sound is rockier, progressive and more solid than ever: expect quite a few surprises... Now that you're aboard, do leave your intentionally offensive praise & step into the Vertigo avalanche.
Old junk and playmobiles: vertigosteps@gmail.com . (Mental note for the less wise: shameless/ huge self-promotion "comments" will be deleted)
"... there is always something lurking in the corners of your mind, in the steepness of your kind, the girl with the stabwounds behind..." ( in The Gruesome Smile)
Olá ainda lembras dos SKEWER? Imagino que não. Voltamos aqui para convidar-te a ouvir o novo CD. Teu apoio é importante, abrace a causa :P
SE gostares do trabalho avisa aos amigos, se não gostar avisa a mesma, pode ser que eles gostem :) he he!! :)
Cumprimentos dos SKEWER
SKEWER -Next Shows:
WURLITZER BALLROOM - MADRID 29.11.2009 SALA MONASTERIO - BARCELONA 01.12.2009 GARCIA LORCA - BRUXELLES / BELGIUM 04TH DECEMBER 2009 B52 CLUB - ANTWERP / BELGIUM 05TH DECEMBER 2009 CARLO LEVI CLUB - LIEGE / BELGIUM 06TH DECEMBER 2009
in 2012 our world will change positively for the human mankind!
drink clear water. breath deep and slowly. go outside and enjoy the nature. don't trust your ego - trust your fellings. follow your dreams. beware of illusions. if you do this i promise you: your life will change the best way!
kind regards! wolfgang
DREAMSCAPE (progressive metal from germany) new cd february 2010!