Mikaela Attard, or simply Mikaela, is what can be called a complete artist, or close to it, when exploring fields such as photography, fashion and music.
“With pure brutality rising in its wake, beautiful whispers and vocal harmonies in the background effortlessly merge into confident vicious screams that are enough to knock anyone off the edge of your seat, as you definitely won’t see them coming. Instrumentally, it’s an onslaught of relentless energy that resides within the drum work that keeps in strides with the rapacious guitar riffs that cease to die down from start to finish. If this is what this solo artist has to come for us for the rest of the album, schedule your blood donations right now because this album is going to be something ferocious.”
“…just released the first single of her solo project, taken from her up-coming album called ‘Nocturne in Red’ and the result is a kick-ass bloody videoclip. The recordings included the German drummer Marco Minnemann, known for his appearances with the 90s successful German rock band H-Blockx, Steven Wilson or Joe Satriani studio / live bands and the gifted guitar player Kyle Farrugia, while mixing and mastering were done by the renowned Danish producer Tue Madsen, who produced several famous albums of artists such as Meshuggah, Dark Tranquility or Suicide Silence.”
Malta’s metal goddess Mikaela Attard unveils her debut solo album “Nocturne In Red”. For the most part written at night, the pivotal concept of the album speaks about different states of the mind and our perception. The album is a mixture of nu-metalcore, deathcore, progressive and even black and death metal. Mikaela also spices up the carefully-crafted collection of ten tracks with her native language, Maltese. You can stream the album featuring singles “Bring Me Blood” and “Chaotic Mind” below.
Mikaela is heard in different styles of growling and screaming throughout the song, as well as a bridge including of clean vocals as she showcases her many talents.
” Covered in blood and with a determination to dominate the world, one of Malta’s most talented metal singers has released her first single from her debut album, Nocturne In Red. Bring Me Blood is the first glimpse of what is shaping up to be a gigantic debut release from Mikaela as she begins her venture into a solo career. The hard-hitting metal vocalist has elevated the metal scene to a whole new level with a production quality like never before, both sonically and visually, with a music video directed by none other than the renowned and highly-popular director Steven Levi Vella. With the artistic mind of Mikaela and the direction of Levi Vella, Bring Me Blood encapsulates everything you’d expect and want in a metal music video; headbanging, chaos, blood and torture, in a beautifully dark but enticing visual performance. The end product is a polished, well-crafted debut album that will send ripples into the music scene not just in Malta, but worldwide.”
MIKAELA is bursting into the scene in a class all her own with her debut album Nocturne In Red
Nocturne In Red is blooming with charisma and originality from the drop. With instrumentalist Marco Minnemann on drums, Kyle Farrugia on guitar and bass, MIKAELA writing and producing, and Tue Madsen mixing and mastering her debut album, what has transpired is something brimming with fearless confidence and a work of art that is progressively beautiful.
Moments like raging single, “Bring Me Blood” immediately show us from the beginning where this record is going to go, with MIKAELA’s guttural and assailing vocal talents that pepper the entire track to the infectious technical drives from the guitar and drums that really offsets the vocals nicely, “Bring Me Blood” is a terrific start to the record and brings the momentum where it needs to be for the rest of Nocturne In Red.
Other frenetic and urgent junctures such as “Disenthralled” show off MIKAELA’S multi-layered vocal control is pulled off in the best of ways. With a killer instrumental solo that is sure to please any heavy metal fans audio senses, this is sure to make anyone take a second look at this artist’s newest release just from the instrumentals alone. “Disenthralled” is oozing with abstruse guitar lines and percussive genius. Something for the technical musicians to appreciate, but melodic enough for regular music fans to enjoy.
“Nightmare” had to be the golden egg of the album for many reasons. Not just because MIKAELA can be looked at as a prodigious solo metal vocalist impressively by the third track, but because of how she seamlessly can craft lyrically some of the most hauntingly beautiful yet destructive pieces of music in the current heavy scene. The respect she has curated by the time you reach this track is spell-binding, from her vocals to the instrumental prowess associated with it. The song is just gorgeous from start to finish, and many will agree by the time they listen to this track.
Lastly, is the esoteric and stunning number “Abyss.” A slower and denuded track compared to the others on the record, it’s a welcomed edition nonetheless. Again MIKAELA’s hidden vocal talents come crawling through, almost enveloping the entire track as the haunting melodic instrumentals almost go in the pocket to showcase her Lady Gaga’esque vocals. It almost feels like you are swathed in an obscure canorous dream you don’t want to let go of, and in this way, it’s performed well. It atmospherically stays with you long after it’s finished.
There are many songs on Nocturne in Red that show that this debut album is an absolute masterpiece. From beginning to end, the soundscapes of the album are crisp, clean, and take you to places musically and lyrically in ways that only MIKAELA can. The way she has handled such gravid and forthright material yet has managed to make it digestibly heavy, ariose, and addicting to listen to is something to applaud. If MIKAELA continues to make such incredible records such as this, she is bound to be a household name within the heavy scene within the next few years.
Solo artist MIKAELA has made her debut in the metal world with her first single “Bring Me Blood” which is full of energy, bone smashing riffs, and some insane vocals. MIKAELA is a newly found solo artist who is finding her ground very quickly. Bring Me Blood was the first song to be released that is taken from her upcoming record “Nocturne In Red” which doesn’t have a set release date yet. MIKAELA can be compared to artist like Arch Enemy, Spirit Box, and Carnifex. The debut song was released with a accompanying music video that brought Bring Me Blood to life, in it’s fullest and bloodiest form. No doubt at this rate MIKAELA will be turning heads in the music world.”
The talented artist Mikaela Attard , a graduate of the Berklee College of Music , an outstanding participant in the Rockestra Concert organized by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and winner among others of the Best Female Artist award granted by the music industry of her country, has finally released advance material of her new solo path …… the Maltese collaborated on the legendary solo album Marco Minneman (Necrophagist, The Aristocrats) , who in return recorded the drums for his next album with guitarist Kyle Farrugia and other artists invited to reveal. “Bring me blood” is a piece with a clear metalcore / deathcore profile(which at times reminds me of In This Moment ) in which the singer shows a great display of power and versatility, with the use of a throaty that humbles more than one, talent resulting from years of technique and training in lyrical singing.
“An explosive rain falls on our heads and echoes in our ears, loud enough to make them bleed! It ‘s Mikaela ‘s “Nocturne In Red” !
The Maltese singer has released a crazy album! He manages to give a unique boost to the songs that follow one another incessant and pounding, for a pyrotechnic tracklist!
Red is the color of passion, of blood and in fact this album is passionate and sanguine, the Intro opens the hellish doors of “Bring Me Blood” , the single we talked about on our Facebook page (we recommend you follow it so as not to get lost videos and singles!), a detonating start to the sound of distorted riffs and growls to shake the walls of the house, all seasoned with melodic parts and a short guitar solo, which contribute to an excellent musical construction. The turn of “Chaotic Mind” arrives on tiptoe and then makes a clean sweep with disarming power; Mikaela’s voice ranges very well between melodic and a cross between scream and growl giving uniqueness to this piece of true Metal. “Disanthralled”it’s spectacular, syncopated rhythms, crazy riffs and a commanding voice do everything to make you scapocate in a musical madhouse that leaves you stunned. “Nightmare” concludes the first half of the album with great impact. We are facing a great Metal album, perhaps the best of its kind of this last period, to make the most successful stars on the international scene pale.
It starts with “Death Dance” and starts where we left the album, with the same energy and appeal. Great voice work “Abyss” where Mikaela , momentarily setting aside the guttural vocal role for us to enjoy with the melody. A fantastic surprise that leaves you speechless. “Enthalpy Rage” starts off like a bomb, taking up the energetic vein that leaves no breath, as well as “Ophidian’s Whisper” , in which you feel immersed in a horror film with no escape, a claustrophobic atmosphere. It all ends with “Room Hell”, which opens with a melodic line that touches not indifferent emotional chords to expand like wildfire, in a chaotic whirlwind with no escape, a descent into hell with no return.’
“Entering the subject of an album that brings great enthusiasm embodied in ten tracks that promise to be impressive, we have to begin the song, »Into A New Hell», a horror film tune with the voice in a calm and calm tone warns us of what comes over with the beating of a heart between serene choirs;
“Bring Me Blood” ,, the first single from the album is powerful in all its musical display, the guitar riffs in a distortion in the style of Death Metal spruced up with Nu Metal, with some chords that are mixed between serene moments of keyboards with Ms Attard displaying all his vocal versatility which is what enriches all the cuts, without forgetting the rest of the instruments that skillfully maneuver;
“Chaotic Mind”, all the meat on the grill, without leaving anything we have a cut that extends in the power with a lyrical babble that instills dread together with the shock of the percussions that Mr. Minnemann unravels , together with some sounds of sharp pulsations well interwoven with the intense sonority of an imposing chord;
“Disenthralled”, with the defined style of the album, continues the syncopated and rhythmic chords linked in the unlikely combination of the singer who is a marvel at the height of other extreme metal females;
«Nightmare», the stopping intervals of the rhythms is something that MIKAELA , in its entirety, does in a good way, slows down a bit and the crowding of strident sounds, to give them in this cut of an artistic form of a supremacy very advantageous, reaching the middle of the album is acceptable so far and more than because of the multiplicity of melodies that is presenting;
“Death Dance”, Ms. Attard makes it clear that she is an expert in vocal tones, she combines them competently and with a technique that only leaves me wondering about seeing her in a live performance and I think she will not disappoint me, pay attention to the accompaniment of the instruments that sound superb, while the siren of Malta enchants us with her song;
«Abyss», instrumental in its entirety, the drums and keyboards are the ones that dominate this track, along with a guitar solo by Mr. Farrugia that gives a touch of delicacy and divinity, like a tornado that envelops and leaves you dizzy but taste;
“Enthalpy Rage”, we resume the energy with the low notes of the bass to reach the final part of “Nocturne In Red” , the parsimonious rhythm gives way to the bellows of our redhead frontman who then calms down but only in an apparent way to stop again shake us mercilessly, an excellent example of Mr. Minnemann’s mastery of the patches in a progressive tinted finish; “Ophidian’s Whisper”, with the imitation of the previous riffs, we have for what precedes the final cuts giving everything making MIKAELA gain an opportunity to be accepted by the followers of Extreme Metal
«Room Hell», the final cut is one of tranquility and placidity, a keyboard and the voice of the diva, to unleash a final, fast, powerful and fulminating cut, a debut with quite firmness and solidity in all aspects.
It is indisputable the comparisons that can be made with other international divas such as Maria Brink from IN THIS MOMENT or Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey from BUTCHER BABIES , due to their image and sounds, but let’s accept that you can challenge and measure yourself in a good way, MIKAELA is a rival henchman to the female Extreme Metal scene, backed by her academically and stage-acquired baggage.
Hence these statements by the frontwoman serve as a conclusion to “Nocturne In Red” :
“When people try to change us for who we are, and we overcome it with inner strength, we become stronger than ever. There has been blood that was wanted on us but we won and won. Purpose becomes not only stronger but more focused in every endeavor I make. Dark times surround us, but by staying real, we are our own free will.
From Malta we also have good proposals in Metal, like other places on the planet.”
