Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

IVAN MIHALJEVIC & SIDE EFFECTS have issued as follows:

The panel of experts had no doubts about the group, that has been already the most appreciated on the Web: the quality of the musical offer -according to the chairperson Bob Benozzo – is indisputably, absolutely high.

“They are able to play. They’re standing up”. That’s how the multi-awarded producer Bob Benozzo – chairperson of the technical panel for the XIX edition of Ritmi Globali Europei- commented the decision to assign the victory to the Croatian band Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects The final decision could appear not so enthusiastic to who is not used to musical jargon, but the actual value of those words in music world, it’s widely different: “Standing up”, means “they fulfill all the requirements to make it successfully”.

PODIUM.  The panel, unanimously, decided that the quality of the rock trio coming from Zagreb, -already nominated as the best by the Web listeners- is unquestionable: the musical proposal it’s pretty well-constructed and shows a considerable personality, technical mastery and strong, brilliant expressivity.

Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects are very young (average age 26) and they’re playing a rock influenced by a number of styles ranging from metal to progressive. Musicians are very well educated, they have a solid background in terms of composition skills, and a very interesting artistic curriculum.

Technical panel, assigned the second place to RewOut,  six-piece from Caserta, characterized by a catchy, aggressive and strong voice of the female frontwoman, even similar to the unmistakable Skin, leader of the Skunk Anansie.
Third place -according to Benozzo and his colleagues-  The Atom Tanks, coming from Treviso and formed by seven elements that had performed  a cool and original ska.

PANEL.   Bob Benozzo  is a young producer, awarded with internationally recognized prizes, such as 3 Grammy Award, 9 Latin Grammy, plus a number of awards and tens of Gold and Platinum Records  (among the others, he produced: Cranberries, Ornella Vanoni, Pooh, Marco Carta, Chick Corea ). Next to him in the Ritmi Globali Europei panel, sits Mauro Lovisetto, videomaker and musician that performs video and graphics for Universal, BMG Music  and for artists such as Tiziano Ferro (Emi Music) and Giorgia (Sony Music). Andrea Valfrè, sound engineer at Magister Recording Area (where Eugenio Finardi, Laura Pasini, Umberto Tozzi,  le Orme and many others  recorded  their works ),
Paolo Stefan, musician with an extensive experience as soundtrack composer both for movies and TV shows. Mauro Negretto, musician and representative of Ritmi Globali Europei.

FINAL CONCERT. Rock fan (but not only) will be able to listen the first three on the podium on Friday 21st December at the Home Rock Bar in Treviso  (“Fonderia” area), during the Final Live event of the Prize.

IVAN MIHALJEVIC & SIDE EFFECTS: New Album “Counterclockwise”

After a great reception of their previous album Destination Unknown which got a lot of great reviews and made it into several top 10 albums of the year lists of 2011, the guys are back with new songs and refurbished sound. Counterclockwise is a concept album which comments on the current state of mind and consciousness of our society and the world.
It talks about many situations and feelings people might encounter through their lives.
It talks about despondency, about people who disappoint you in ways you’d never expect from them, about dealing with a death of a close friend, about greed and about people dealing with severe depression, but it also shows the light at the end of the tunnel.

The album sound focuses on the band as a trio and makes you feel like the band is playing in your living room in front of you.

As with the previous 2 albums, the engineering, apart from mastering, on Counterclockwise was handled by Ivan himself who has engineered albums and singles for many other bands too.
The mastering was done by a Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Brad Blackwood (Maroon 5, ZZ Top, Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence…).
The artwork was realized by the artist Robert Butković.
The guys decided to fight against the “loudness war, which has been destroying dynamics in rock and pop music for the past 2 decades, and go with a more natural sound.
So, crank up your speakers louder and enjoy!

The Band:
Ivan Mihaljevic  Vocals, Guitars
Alen Frljak: Drums, Backing Vocals,
Marko Karacic: Bass, Backing Vocals.

The Label:
Zetafactory http://www.zetafactory.com

WEBSITES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
Facebook: www.facebook.com/imandse
Official website: www.ivanmihaljevic.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ivanmihaljevic

STREET TEAM:
http://www.reverbnation.com/ivanmihaljevicstreetteam
http://www.myspace.com/ivanmihaljevicstreetteam
https://www.facebook.com/streetteamimandse
https://twitter.com/streetteamimse