Envision (Italy)

In the late '90s, a lot of bands around Europe took inspiration from bands like Arkangel and Morning Again, some good some bad. Here's a pretty good one which doesn't get mentioned all that much, Envision from Parma, Italy. The band started out in 1998 and after a 4-song demo they recorded the 'The Season Of Indifference' MCD, which was released on Next Sentence Recordings in 1999. Next Sentence btw was a label run by one of the guys in Negate, a Belgian metalcore band from the French part of Belgium. This MCD rules from start to finish. While Envision didn't break any new grounds on this MCD, it's well-executed and is just plain damn solid metalcore. The band was (partially, I think) veggie/vegan sXe and supported all kinds of socio-political, enviromental and animal rights groups, something which also reflected itself in the lyrics.

After the release the singer left and Nicola, one of the guitarists took over vocal duties while still playing guitar. In 2002 their full-length album 'Ecoillogical Babel' was released on NoBrain Records out of Italy. It had a slightly different sound, leaning more towards modern metal with some nu-metal influences. It's not something I'm into all that much, but it's again well-executed and the band knows how to write songs and play them. The nu-metal influences kills it for me tho, I definitely prefer the MCD. But in this style it's a solid release.

Afterwards the band went thru some line-up changes and recorded a demo for a follow-up release, but the release never happened and the band ended sometime in late 2004/early 2005. After the band folded, singer/guitarist Nicola 'Busso' Bussoni joined Hidea, an Italian hard rock band. No idea what the other band members did after Envision folded.

Envision - The Season Of Indifference MCD
Envision - Ecoillogical Babel CD