Heather Mere
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"CD Review of "Shattered I""

Local spotlight: CD Review
By Aaron Besecker
Thursday, November 18, 2004

Heather Mere

“Shattered I”

Heather Mere found the perfect way to channel her inner pain — make a record that expresses every ounce of turmoil, every drop of discontent she feels.

Mere, a Niagara Falls rocker, filled her seven-song EP “Shattered I” with pounding rhythm guitars and her own gripping and powerful vocals — tools to tell her tattered tale.

Mere and her band sound like a mouthful of Evanescence, with some Linkin Park tossed in for good measure.

Her beautiful vocals may take center stage, but her band’s music deserves its own recognition. Eric Szymanski’s lead guitar work, especially on the first track, “Take,” makes these songs distinctive from the old bucket of songs by guitar-chugging rockers. Szymanski doesn’t overload on speed for his solos, instead he packs a little more melody than listeners of this genre may be used to hearing. He’s got the ruggedness of a Tom Morello.

“Shattered I” establishes Mere as a multi-talented artist. All you have to do is listen is her play piano on “Burning Hollow,” — a song that breaks the band’s tendencies and sounds a lot more like Tori Amos than the Chester Bennington-led Linkin Park.

One of the most musically interesting parts of the EP are the chord changes on “Close My Mind.” They are straight out of “BadMotorFinger”-era Soundgarden. If anyone was ever looking for a song that sounds like a death march, this is it.

Mere’s agony overflows through her lyrics throughout the EP. “Why did God forsake me?” Mere sings in “Burning Hollow.” “It’s not enough to want this pain ... I want too much to feel this way” she sings in “Forsaken.”

The EP’s only misstep might be the second version of “Take.” The addition of the backing vocals don’t really add anything to the mix.

Mere’s Web site has lots of audio available to download, so log on and drench yourself in Mere’s sorrows. It sounds like she needs some of the weight taken off her shoulders.

“Shattered I” can be purchased at Home of the Hits, 1105 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, and New World Record, 765 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.

Two stars out of four.

Contact Aaron Besecker at beseckera@gnnewspaper.com.
- Niagara Gazette - Night & Day


Discography

Shattered I
A 7-song EP. Released June 2004.
Self-produced. Songs co-published by Heather Mere and Journey of Life Productions.
Visit http://www.myspace.com/heathermere or
http://www.myspace.com/journeyoflifeproductions to hear streaming audio of songs from "Shattered I"

Shattered II
A 13-song LP. Copyright 2006-2007 from Heather Mere and Journey of Life Productions.
Visit http://www.myspace.com/heathermere for updates.

Photos

Bio

Heather Mere has shared the stage with major label acts including Shenoah, Klear, STEMM, and Robby and Johnny of the Goo Goo Dolls. In 2006, she's promoting her new album in Guitar One magazine and in Lollapalooza's 2006 festival magazine.

Heather Mere is paving new ground for female-fronted rock. Her album, "Shattered I," released in June 2004, gave us "Take" a song that rocketed to #3 on Soundclick.com's alternative metal chart just days after its debut on the chart at #66. The songs "Take" and "Break Me" from the album have maintained the #1 and #2 chart positions, respectively, for most downloaded songs EVERY WEEK since June 2004 on Buffalo's premier music community website, WNYMusic.com. "Take" was added to the soundtrack of 2nd Annual X-Treme Fest in Panama City, Florida...an event that is broadcast nationally by Comcast Southeast Sports Network and XSTV-Fox Sports. The song was also picked up, for a season, as the theme song for television's OSW champion wrestler, Tommy Mandrake. As 2004 came to a close, Heather Mere earned a nomination from Buffalo's WBNY-FM 91.3 for "Best Solo Artist" and a "Best EP" nomination for "Shattered I."

Heather and her band have been diligently working in studio this year on the long-awaited, full-length album, “Shattered II: A Time For Redemption,” which will be released in 2007.