AFTER FOREVER Guitarist's HDK Project Inks Deal With SEASON OF MIST

HDK (formerly HATE DEATH KILL),the Dutch project led by AFTER FOREVER co-founder, main songwriter and guitarist Sander Gommans, has inked a deal with France's Season of Mist.

Commented Gommans: "I've been working very hard on my project HDK for several years, so it was very important for me to find a label that is specialised in the more extreme side of metal, but also experienced in the style of AFTER FOREVER. I already worked together with Season of Mist when they released the first AFTER FOREVER albums in France, so I know they will do a good job for HDK as well. My project is a mix of all kinds of metal styles, the label has to be able to give it its full attention in order to promote this the right way, and I feel confident Season of Mist is able to do that perfectly!"

HDK's debut album, "System Overload", is slated for an early 2009 release.

Gommans previously stated about the band's musical direction: "HDK is much more agressive and guitar-oriented than AFTER FOREVER, but in combination with the varied vocals we now have, I think we've created a unique style that might be very difficult to market, but shows a combination of all kind of metal styles. We've combined rap (yes, aggressive rap, I think it really works out awesome in combination with grunts and clean vocals),grunts/screams, whispers etc, male melodic voices and Amanda's [Somerville; the American singer-songwriter and vocal coach who is better known for her collaborations with various European metal bands, including EPICA, AFTER FOREVER and EDGUY — Ed.] vocals without making it too intense.

"I think people who love AFTER FOREVER might still find the project interesting, because obviously I've still put some of the AFTER FOREVER elements in it (I've written music for AFTER FOREVER since 1995 so it's impossible not to do so). Amanda's vocals are also perfect for this kind of music, especially while she's able to sing great melodies combined with lots of emotion. She can do practically every style, she can record and edit stuff and has great ideas for melodies and lyrics. What more could I wish for?"

HDK features contributions from the following musicians:

Amanda Somerville: Vocals
André Matos (ex-ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIRGO): Vocals
Ariën van Weesenbeek (GOD DETHRONED): Drums
Joost van den Broek (SUN CAGED, AFTER FOREVER): Keyboards
Jos Severens (SUSTAIN): Vocals
Patrick Savelkoul (CALLENISH CIRCLE): Vocals
Paul Niessen (I WITNESS): Vocals
Peter Vink: Bass
Sander Gommans: Guitar, Vocals

On the topic of the album's mixing sessions, which took place at Sander's Eternia Studios, he said, "Mixing the album wasn't easy, since the songs have all kinds of vocals and styles, but the main goal was the make an agressive project with more dynamics than the hardcore thrash/death/heavy metal bands. Don't get me wrong, I love the common extreme metal styles, but I thought it would be cool to give it a different approach. Due to the awesome singers and instrumentalists who have contributed, I can honestly say this has become the album I was hoping for with lots of brutal moments but still enough melody and emotion."

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/sandergommans.