There are few progressive metal bands who command as much admiration from fans and critics alike as Redemption. Their unique blend
of an impressive heaviness (not exactly a daily occurrence in this genre), irresistible melodies and great emotional urgency is a
global success. The group consists of five highly talented and extremely individual artists who together are renowned for their
extraordinary performances. For more than twenty years, Redemption have been helmed by their guitarist/ founder Nicolas van Dyk,
who contributes the compositions as well as the inspiration for the songs. Vocalist Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), keyboardist Vikram
Shankar, bassist Sean Andrews and drummer Chris Quirarte play equally important roles and, together with van Dyk, form a tight
unit which impresses with its great musical skill and artistic ambition. Their new studio album is called "I Am The Storm" and
lives up to its programmatic name, sounding haunting, exciting, overwhelming and dramatic all at once.

Like Redemption’s previous seven studio offerings, ‘I Am The Storm’ has turned into a perceptible but never radical evolution of
the archetypical Redemption sound. The current material also features a high recognition value while at the same time carefully
exploring new territories. “I’ve always liked bands whose albums blend together stylistically, be it Iron Maiden’s "The Number Of
The Beast" and "Peace Of Mind", "Mob Rules" and "Heaven And Hell" by Black Sabbath, or Ozzy Osbourne’s "Blizzard Of Ozz" and
"Diary Of A Madman"”, van Dyk explains, adding: “We’re not musicians who have to constantly reinvent themselves. The consistent
evolution of our sound happens in small steps which are easy to manage for our fans.”

Nicolas is referring to songs such as the high-energy title track "I Am The Storm", an aggressive and ostentatiously powerful
opener with a thrash flair that’s typical of Redemption. He also mentions the multi-layered "The Emotional Depiction Of Light", a
pretty atypical song for this band that’s available in two different versions. “The track was originally written by our
keyboardist Vikram Shankar, then began to take a slightly different direction when I came in with my guitar work. But I wanted Vik
to be able to present his song the way he’d had it in mind originally. Hence the additional remix version.” "Action At A Distance"
also deserves a mention, proving once again that van Dyk & Co. are outstanding prog metal artists. “You just can’t limit us to any
one genre”, explains the band’s mastermind. “Just like Evergrey, our songs are at the same time hard and melodic, combining thrash
and power metal with melodic metal and progressive influences.” So it comes as no surprise that the media continue to heap praise
on this group and refer to the musicians as “one of the best progressive metal acts of the last decade” (DPRP), attest them a
“magical aura and incredible songwriting expertise” (Blabbermouth) and describe their music as “powerful, catchy, captivating,
technical, and all this together” (Lords Of Metal). All these qualities come together on "I Am The Storm", supported by the
lyrics’ familiar depth. Van Dyk adds: “Our songs have a generally positive attitude yet deal with all aspects of human existence,
including pain and suffering, fear and worry, hope and disappointment.”

"I Am The Storm" was produced by Nick van Dyk and sound engineer/guitarist Simone Mularoni (DGM), who – alongside Chris Poland
(ex-Megadeth) and Henrik Danhage (Evergrey) – also features as a guest musician. In addition, the new album contains two cover
songs which seem a little unusual for this genre: "Turn It On Again" by Genesis and "Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel. Which is also
consistent with Redemption, whose musical complexity is difficult to beat. In other words, "I Am The Storm" is the new tip of a
gigantic iceberg!