StrangeLand was formed in 2000 by 5 men from East Peoria/Pekin, Illinois who set out to play heavy metal with a positive message. The band has been gigging and practicing hard, and in 2005 they released their first demo.

STRANGELAND (2005) PMP (Demo)

StrangeLand is one of many bands I've discovered hanging out at the Christian Metal Realm discussion board. They have already been playing together since the year 2000, but this is the first recorded manifestation from the band. And the demo has turned out quite well. It has a very good production, especially for a demo. And when I put the CD in the player, it took me about 15 seconds to start headbanging along. When the dual guitars came plundering in, I was sold! This is heavy metal, nothing more, nothing less! Of the 3 songs presented, I absolutely love 2 of them. Both "The Enemy" and "Savior" are strong metal songs, with a good message to boot. The band reminds me of bands like Ratt, Mötley Crüe and also stuff like Bloodgood and Bride. The little snippet of "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" in the middle of "Savior" is very cool, adding a worship dimension I hope they can see fit to continue with on other songs. "Jesus Walk" on the other hand is the track I like the least here. I'm not sure why, it just doesn't sit well with this listener. I hope these guys will continue to write more material, so we can see a full-length album from them soon. I'm not sure why, but when I popped this demo in my Windows Media Player, it came up with a different track list and song titles for this release. I figure my demo is a new pressing or something.