_{“Like a Phoenix” is the debut album from Epic and it was released on 22nd April via Escape Music. It doesn’t take a lot of listening to the album to realise what an awesome voice lead singer Tanya Rizkala has. There is an unmistakable 80’s classic rock vibe to the album and the quality of her vocals is a big reason for that, and also for the strength of the album itself. I played the track “All I Need” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 1st April and the title track is included on the Show broadcast on 29th April.}

_{Whilst Tanya Rizhala is undoubtedly a huge talent, the success of the album doesn’t come down to her alone. There are some great riffs from guitarist Mario Agostine, who also produced the album. Those two are very ably supported by Souheil “Sous” Moukaddem on drums and Mike Ganime on bass. The band members come from Canada, the USA and Lebanon.}

_{The band has been around for a few years and the album includes the singles “Angels” released in 2012 and “All I Need” released in 2013.}

_{There really aren’t any weak tracks, but if pushed to pick favourites from the 10 on the album I’d go with “All I Need”, “Love Will Find A Way”, “Sleepless Angels”, “I Need You” and “Like a Phoenix”.}

_{The album was mixed by the widely acclaimed producer / keyboard player Alessandro Del Vecchio who has played or worked on many albums over the past few years and has a close association with Frontiers Music.}

_{Check out http://www.epicband.net/ for more info.}

_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}

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