ZILLION

Zillion is a newcomer band in hard rock music, with some heavyweights of the German and international music scene. Guitar player and singer of the band is Sandro Giampietro. Sandro is best known as guitar player for the band SUPARED featuring former Helloween lead singer Michael Kiske. Bass player is Jens Becker a well known face in the German heavy metal and hard rock scene. You might know him as the bass player in Grave Digger, and he has also worked in the past with Running Wild and Kingdom Come's Lenny Wolf.. On drums, Mike Terrana is the guarantee of a thunderous and technical drumming! Known drummer for Rage & Masterplan, Mike is one of the most respected drummers in the hard rock world boasting collaborations with Artension, Axel Rudi Pell, Yngwie Malmsteen and countless others. Zillion is the result of a strong collaboration between such talented musicians. With a pretty original sound which melts influences from classic and melodic hard rock and classic heavy metal music.

ZILLION (2004) FRONTIERS

Despite having an impressive all-star line-up, and being on a fairly known label, I am willing to bet that for 90% of you, this is your fist meeting with Zillion. And that is your loss! Looking at the members you might think that this is a band playing classic German Heavy Metal. But if you look at the record company's name, you might change your initial though. Yeas, they are signed to Frontiers, and yes, this is melodic hard rock/metal. And what a fine piece of work this debut album is! This is classy songwriting, combined with sharp musicianship, and stellar performances. One song after the other hits you with their melodic being, and sooths your senses. From the catchy opener in "You And Me" to the hard rocking ending in "Say Goodbye", 'Zillion' is one of the better albums, and definitely the best debut, in this genre in a long time. The music is varied, from up-tempo to ballads, and all is done with finesse. Mike is a monster drummer, and it is cool to hear him play something "softer2 then the usual double bass pounding. Jens is grooving on the bass, all the while Sandro is impressing me with his guitar-skills, without having to flash and overplay. Zillion is all about the strong songs, and that is how it should be. I also find it cool that they have created something that doesn't necessarily sound like any other band. These guys have something of their own. So let's hope for more from them in the future.

Killer tracks: You And Me, This Day Is Gone, Dirty Little Secrets, Wonder Why, Take It Away

Related artists:

Rage, Metalium, Running Wild, Yngwie Malmsteen, Grave Digger, Axel Rudi Pell, Masterplan, Roland Grapow, X-Wild