Aesma Daeva's Current Lineup:
John Prassas: Composer/Guitarist
Melissa Ferlaak: Vocalist
Earl Root: Guitar
Craig Ohren: Drums
Prologue
I first discovered Aesma Daeva while surfing for a metal band to listen to, way back in late 1999. I stumbled onto
the old Aesma Daeva website, non-functional images and all, and downloaded some mp3 song fragments. At first I thought,
"holy shit, what the hell is this?" but for some reason, I couldn't stop listening to the one minute fragment of "O'death"
and the slightly longer "Stay" (which has remained my favorite fast Aesma Daeva track). After a while, during my stay in
Germany I found my craving for more Aesma Daeva wasn't being sated by the few mp3s I could find, so after finally finding
a place to buy their CDs, I picked up a copy of "The Eros of Frigid Beauty" and "Here Lies One, Whose Name is Written In
Water." Since the day I first received a copy of early cuts of the Eros songs from Aesma Daeva's frontman, John Prassas, I've
not been able to stop listening to the mastery contained within (now three) small, plastic discs. Most of this stuff is a
widened rewrite of what can be found on the official Aesma Daeva page, with some extra details thrown in. Now, sit back, and
learn a little something of Aesma Daeva's history, with less personal stories from me!
I. Discontent breeds innovation
John Prassas listened to the music of the mid-90s with growing distast, guitars and drums represented a boring repetition
that quickly shifted his focus to more "unconventional" forms of music. Representing this, bands such as Skinny Puppy and
their unique use of electronics in music shifted the focus of John's music to the abstract. In effect, John generated a band
focused mainly on synthesis, and in 1996, Aesma Daeva was formed.
Soon the band evolved as John Prassas met Nick Copernicus, both sharing a certain fondness for electronic music.
Like many new minds and their creative ideas, experimentation with synthesizers, tape machines, effects racks, pushed the
musical envelope, leading to the offer from N. Copernicus to produce and record two songs with John Prassas. Their first
collaborative track "Darkness" was the first track of the COP International compilation CD "Diva X Machina 2." Along with
a second new track "Stay," Aesma Daeva caught the eye of Accession records of Germany, who published their first full length
album "Here Lies One Whose Name Is Written In Water" featuring Rebecca Cords as vocalist.
II. The Second Era
In October 1999 the second era of Aesma Daeva was dawning. John started writing new faster, longer pieces for a second
Aesma Daeva album, the soon to be titled "The Eros of Frigid Beauty." Combining a much wider field of instrumentation, including
but not limited to; guitars, synthesizers, operatic vocals, violin, trumpet, flute, french horn, piano, and crystal glasses,
this second CD perpetuated the tradition of musical evolution, staying consistent with John's wishes to produce something unique
and substantial.
After the release of Aesma Daeva's second album "The Eros of Frigid Beauty" in 2001, demand for live music soon
drove John Prassas to find musicians capable of portraying the complex music best on a stage. In January of 2002, John Prassas
asked Earl Root to play guitar at his side, Craig Ohren to offer drum assistence (while also tweaking some older songs' drum
pieces), and Melissa Ferlaak to continue singing. The band started off playing a small venue, June 2002 saw them debuting at
a small St. Paul club, but things quickly increased Aesma Daeva's prestige as they played Metalfest in Milwaukee. Such popular
metal magazines such as Unrestrained!, Terrorizer, and Metal Maniacs deemed Aesma Daeva "One of the Highlights of Metalfest
2002." Later, in August of 2002, Aesma Daeva journeyed to Mexico for Festival Obscuro IV (presented by Dilemma Entertainment)
to play along such acts as Tristania, Maldorar, and HIM.
III. Continuation
The third full length album by Aesma Daeva "The New Athens Ethos" is nearing completion at the competent hands of John
Prassas as he finishes mixing and producing the CD. This album is claimed "a constitution to what Aesma Daeva, and it's
followers are."
Epilogue
Aesma Daeva has proved to be a significant metal band of the late nineties and early 21st century, with plans to further
increase the advertising of their band, Aesma Daeva shows no signs of leaving the musical stage anytime soon, and this is
one person who hopes they have a very long, and lucrative career.
discography
