Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the signing of Big City, a melodic metal band from Norway, to a multi-album deal. Fans of bands such as Firewind, Queensryche, Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall, Europe, Fair Warning, and the like should look forward to being introduced to this exciting band.

The band's new album, Testify X, will be released on July 16. Fans can get their first taste of the new record via the single and video for the track "Testify", which can be found below. Pre-order/save Testify X here.

Of first single "Testify", guitarist Daniel Olaisen says it "is about confessing to things to get weight off of your conscience in order to have a better life...or keep them a secret and live a lie. This is the very first song I/we wrote for the album and it has it all. Melodic and acoustic intro, a real catchy hook line on the guitar, great vocal lines and a modulation at the end!"  

"We have pretty different influences in the band. From jazz/fusion to extreme metal. The foundation however is our passion for melodic and nostalgic 80's metal/hard rock!" adds Olaisen.  

Big City was originally put together by guitarist and songwriter Daniel Olaisen. His plan was to use a vast amount of song ideas and 80's metal influenced guitar riffs that he had stockpiled over the years for a batch of songs with the right players. Frank Ørland, who also played with Daniel in Scariot (prog/thrash/heavy band featuring Communic and Spiral Architect members), was an obvious choice to bring to Big City as the second guitarist. Frank Nordeng Røe (Withem, Maraton, session drummer for Circus Maximus and Leprous) was brought in on drums after being discovered by Daniel via some internet research. The band was then completed with Jan Le Brandt on vocals and Geir Inge Olsen, who was brought in as a session bass player.

The band's debut album, Wintersleep, was initially released in 2014 and later on re-released by the Greek label Rock of Angels in 2018 as part of a deluxe edition of their second album, Big City Life. Big City played their very first live shows the same month of the international release, including Norway Rock Festival and Rock the Boat with Miguel Pereira (Withem) joining the band as their new permanent bass player.

In 2019, the band started working on a new album and brought in a new singer, Jørgen Bergersen from Rock The Night (Europe cover band) and the new demos caught the interest of Frontiers who moved swiftly to sign the band.

"The new album will introduce our new singer. He's done an incredible job and there's more punch and heaviness in his voice. The songs are still varied, from super chill ballad to heavy and light-progressive tunes. Melodies are still in focus and there's plenty of that, as expected. It's simply the best Big City album so far!" says Daniel Olaisen.

Tracklisting:

"The Rush"
"Dark Rider"
"Testify"
"I Will Fall"
"Running Away"
"Conception"
"Winds Of The Road"
"Heart's Like A Lion"
"Graveyard Love"
"How Dark Does It Get"

"Testify" video:

Lineup:

Daniel Olaisen - Rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars
Frank Ørland - Lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Frank Nordeng Røe - Drums and percussion
Jørgen Bergersen- Vocals
Miguel Pereira - Bass guitar