Check out this video: ASRAI - Sour Ground

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Sour Ground (live)


Hands So Cold (live 1)


Hands So Cold (live 2)


Tower (live 1)


Tower (live 2)


SQY - Get it done (appearance by Asrai)

1st Touch In the dark
2nd Shodows
3rd Restless

Thank you to all that voted, Touch in the dark will be going onto the player shortly, if it isn't already there by the time you read this.

Ok, I've decided to move most of the blogs content to the forum rather than have about a dozen blogs when you can only see five.

In Front Of Me Video

Pale Light Video

Latest Tour/Gig News

Lyrics For songs on Touch In The Dark

Discography

Asrai Banners



New Album Info, Late Spring


New Asrai Album

Sorry, I know I'm late putting this up.

Day 1 - 11th January

-High in the Sky -

Our trip starts with going to Brussels Airport, and when almost the rest of Holland were still asleep (lucky bastards) we were packing our bags and got into our cars and drove off. Belguim, here we come!

A slight panic when we arrived. It seems that they were not prepared to check in a band. So there was a bit of a chaos. We tried to travel light packed but still at the airport we had to pay a lot for the extra inches for the keyboard- and bass suitcase (yes size does matter). But there was a nice surprise waiting for them when the second band arrived: Callenish Circle. We met each other right before we entered the plane and ready to fly straight ahead to our mutual adventure.

Flight 125 from Brussels to Atlanta. We left at 10.35 and arrived at 14.35. It looks like a short flight, but there is a time difference between Atlanta and Brussels for just 7 hours.

Killing our time with talking, snoring, watching movies, reading moviereview from Advocate from the Devil, eating and of course filling those endless visa papers.

In Atlanta it seems that they had handled our luggage with care It cost us 240 euro; and you get something for it, a totally smashed up bass suitcase and even the keyboard case will never be the same again. Of course they couldn't help us out in Atlanta we had to be with their colleagues in Mexico City. In the end there is not much differences in the world.

Our flight was leaving at 19.35 so we had to overcome some hours and met loads of soldiers up for their own tour. And even some of them knew our music so rocking in Iraq and for us rocking in Mexico.

It was time to leave for another four hours flight. When we all arrived at Mexico City, we where a bit tired and looking forward to catch some sleep in a hotel. Everyone was waiting impatiently for the coach to arrive. In the meantime Martin and Karin were looking for the Delta desk to arrange the smashed up suit case and what a big surprised ....The desk was closed!

We met Jesus, not much of a surprise when he turned out to be an advocate. He needed our visa's and later on he wasn't the only one,........ but that's another story..

He made us overjoyed by telling us that we would drive straight to the hotel. We were all so relieved. ... Actually he wasn't lying, but the hotel was just an louzy 11 hours away, in Monterrey....... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We had a little sleep as far as possible in a coach, and the view of the Mexican countryside was great. It was awesome to see the mountains. When we flew over we where trying to figure out how high they would be Well they're high.

There were several guard posts and they had a short check in the coach, but the last one wanted our visas, well Jesus had them and he had left us alone. And we were so near Monterrey we almost started singing, "we zijn er bijna".. ((specially for Martin) we are there almost) Not!

To read the rest of the tour's review click the link Asrai.net mexico Tour

Metal-Observer Review

From Transmission we usually do not get many releases, but for that mostly with quite some quality to it. From Holland we usually get a lot of Gothic, be it Rock or Metal. And on ASRAI's debut "Touch In The Dark" these two elements come together, so this should normally result in a really good Gothic album, shouldn't it?

ASRAI already were founded in 1988, so are roaming the scene for quite some time now, but still, 16 years later, they come around the corner with their second CD only, so they take their time. The band consists of three ladies (vocals, keyboards and drums) and two gentlemen (guitar and bass), so not the very usual line-up and the musical description is neither: "Heavy Rock with influences from Wave and Gothic Metal".

A band that I feel reminded of more than once while listening to "Touch In The Dark" is LACUNA COIL, most probably because of the voice of Margriet Mol, which is not that much different than the one of Cristina Scabbia. The whole thing has been recorded under the direction of Roman Schoensee, so a clear and powerful sound is a given, while the cover also fits the style very well.

With ???In Front Of Me" they start out very melodic and intensive, with nicely present guitars and heavy drums, which form a nice contrast with the atmospheric keyboards and dark melodies, plus the good voice of Margriet, a good start I would say. And on the following "Pale Light" the quintet continues this moody mix, especially the powerful and partly very rhythmic drums stand out. Overall the songs are pretty compact and leave all big pomp out, with the exception of "Tower", which takes a while before it gets going, but then turns into a great Gothic Metal ballad.

So basically both theses are true, for one the quality of Transmission, fort he other Holland and mostly Gothic Rock/Metal. Surely ASRAI are not a revelation in originality, but very well done indeed, you can hear the yearlong experience and who likes Gothic Rock/Metal should check out ASRAI's latest.
(Online June 17, 2004)
www.metal-observer.com

Rockreport Review

Asrai is the outlet of the Dutch Mol twin sisters, whose musical career started back in 1985 when they founded the all-girl band Twins No Twins. Big success stayed out for all those years. Already in 1987, the band name was changed to Asrai to better reflect the musical style and many members came and went during the years that followed. A debut album wasn't released until 1997, when the band independently delivered "As Voices Speak", which was later picked up and re-released by the German Poison Ivy Records. More line-up changes prevented Asrai from breaking through, but a couple of years back they laid down a new demo called "Touch In The Dark", which would earn them a deal with Transmission Records and could be the album to get the ball of success rolling.Although they're on the same label as After Forever and Epica, Asrai lean more towards the sound of those other Dutch female fronted bands The Gathering and Within Temptation, while Margriet Mol's voice sounds somewhere in between the soprano vocals that are much heard in this genre and normal female singing, in some cases even reminding me of German metal chick Doro. Highlights of the album are the strong single "Pale Light", "Whisper", the vulnerable title track, the quite heavy "Dream" and album closer "Shadows". The sound production is courtesy of Roman Schoensee and mixing was done by Sascha Paeth (Kamelot, Rhapsody a.o.) is perfect and the cover artwork is up to Transmission Records standards. A little more variation would've earned this album a couple more points, but all in all "Touch In The Dark" should not be missed by any gothic rock and metal fan. Welcome, Asrai! (SL)www.rockreport.be/

Metal Storm  (Reviewed by Demonic_Tutor)

Do you remember the times when Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and After Forever were recording their best albums? It was sadly a few years ago. And even if After Forever is still on the top despite turning off some of their fans with their recent "Invisible Circles", the other two have faded dramatically. As a result, some new talents are brought into the Symphonic Gothic arena and among them, Transmission Records picked countrymen Asrai. Founded in 1988 by musicians coming from diverse background such as punk and new-wave, the band earned an excellent reputation through hard-working touring and thorough promotion.This album is apparently their second release but I have to admit that their first one has eluded me. "Touch In The Dark" is a lecture of the good old recipe that made the aforementioned bands so popular: powerful yet moving female vocals sung on midpaced tempos where keyboards not only provide atmospheric elements in profusion but also share the leading melodies with the guitars. Let's go at once to the point by saying that "Touch In The Dark" isn't going to rewrite the book. You've heard this type of music before unless you're 12.Pondering that, the overall package isn't bad at all. Margriet Mol's voice is excellent, she clearly outshines the rest of the band, but once again, it might be due to the average recording. The songs are honest but the result is so easily to compare to Within Temptation that they'll need to put more efforts into composition next time around. However, "Touch In The Dark" features some above the average moments. While the major part of the album sounds pretty mainstream to gothic standards, three songs grasped my attention. Firstly, 'Pale Light' as the catchiest somewhat oriental influenced slow paced yet heavy anthem type of thing. Then, 'Child' as the only track that displays a darker atmosphere, almost malignant and it's in itself probably the best composition on the album. Finally, the closing track 'Shadows' as a strong song on a vocal point of view with Margriet Mol's best performance.

Aardschok

Nr 6 juni 2004

Vanuit het vleermuizen-clubcircuit van Nederland is het Rotterdamse Asrai opgestegen. De band bestaat al sinds 1988 en wordt vertegenwoordigd door drie vrouwen en twee heren/ Het debuut " As voices Speak uit 1997 is volledig aan mij voorbij gegaan en " Touch in the |Dark" is dus mijn eerste kennismaking met Asrai's duistere romantiek. Zangeres Margriet Mol lokt me als argeloze luisteraar met liefelijke en emotionele melodieën in haar web om vervolgens geraffineerd toe te slaan. Eenmaal in de val gelokt wordt het gevoel van melancholie en passie steeds sterker. Een nevel van aanstekelijke refreinen omklemt me, waarna ik volledig word opgeslokt door deze donkere gotiek. De sfeer wordt steeds intenser en smaakvolle samples en keyboard flarden dwarrelen om me heen. Dan worden sobere gitaarrifs op de juiste momenten ingezet en ik hou me angstvallig vast aan de onderliggende slepende ritmes . De duisternis is beklemmend, maar dan voel ik plotseling die ene aanraking; het repeatknopje van mijn CD-speler.
Liselotte Hegt

Pale Light
Nr 7 juli 2004
Pale light is de eerste single van de CD Touch in the Dark" en daarmee heeft Asrai een prima keuze gemaakt. Het is ook geen wonder dat dit aanstekelijke nummer het goed doet op the Box. Een mooie aanvulling op je collectie is de semi-akoestische versie van "Shadows" en de niet eerder uitgebrachte track Recall, met een meer georkestreerde en dromerige folkloresfeer. Deze single eindigt met het zeer geëmotioneerde titelnummer " Touch in the Dark". Ik hoop van harte dat Asrai hiermee de erkenning krijgt die ze verdient.
Liselotte Hegt
www.aardschok.com

Lords of Metal

Je moet tegenwoordig van goeden huize komen om nog indruk te maken in de overvolle gothic scène. Je weet wel, zangeres, gothic muziek, een hardere basis van gitaren en zweverige keyboards: we zijn ermee overstelpt de laatste jaren. Toch verdient Asrai een eerlijke kans want ze zijn al veel langer bezig dan al de bands wiens succes intussen megavormen aangenomen heeft. Asrai bestaat al sinds 1988 en al de leden hebben hun wortels in de punk en new wave periode. Dit werpt weer eens een ander licht op de zaak en maakt dat de muzikale omlijsting net even anders is.En dan blijkt dat Asrai sterke songs schrijft die weldra open bloeien en de stem van Margriet Mol nooit gaat vervelen. 'In Front Of Me' heeft de typische gothic opbouw, maar kent naar het einde toe verrassend hardere stukken die de felheid van de punk periode verraden. De nummers hebben meestal wel een onderhuidse spanning waardoor 'Whisper' weldra tot mijn favorieten gaat behoren. 'Restless' is een modern, up-tempo nummer waarmee ze gerust een gooi naar de hitparade kunnen wagen. Gelukkig zitten er ook nog eigenzinnige randjes aan Asrai.De titelsong vangt aan met akoestische gitaar, terwijl een gesproken fragment een mistige atmosfeer creëert. Er zit echter ook heel wat elektronica verwerkt in 'Touch In The Dark'. In het trage 'Tower' bijvoorbeeld dat een intro heeft dat me erg doet denken aan 'On The Run' van Pink Floyd. Als compensatie is 'Dream' een stevig rockend nummer met een heel vloeiende melodielijn. De viool mocht best wat ruimer aan bod komen.Qua teksten en artwork brengt Asrai niets nieuws, maar het oogt wel goed en verzorgd. Veel gotische beelden tegen een purperen achtergrond en menige engel spreidt de vleugels om vanuit zijn verheven positie het lijden van een enkeling te verzachten. De ietwat droevige en dromerige teksten passen perfect bij de algehele sfeer van het album, zodat Asrai het verdient om eindelijk eens wereldwijd door te breken met dit tweede album.
Score 85/100
Vera
www.lordsofmetal.nl

Transmission