4Bitten
No More Sins [album]
“Bitten
by the rock bug at an early age,
the four highly-accomplished artistes
who make up 4Bitten belt out a signature
sound that is totally infectious, and
delivered with in-your-face enthusiasm
for the band’s debut album No More
Sins...”
WITH MORE THAN A HINT AT THE WORD 'FORBIDDEN', 4Bitten rebels
against being typecast and has put together an album that is sufficiently different
to keep you interested.
No More Sins has a good range of tracks to be proud of, with ten brilliantly
crafted, big-grooved melodic bluesy rock compositions courtesy of this incredible
tight four-piece — from the great opening track Lightnin' Crashing,
that is wickedly addictive, through to the delightful Up To You. Especially
notable are the deliciously rock/folk track Rock 'n' Roll Dream, which
has an electrifying intro and creative lyrics; Waiting So Long with its
arresting change of tempo mix; the lovely treatment of Believe; the beautiful
In The Shadows; and Push It To The Limit. And why not?!
Delving deeper into rock tradition with the surging notes of Follow,
4Bitten benefits from vocalist/keyboard player Fofi's striking voice that is
so well suited to the band's chosen genre — and used to good effect
on the title track No More Sins. I also detected a hint of the glorious
Suzi Quatro, who has been an influence on many a rock band.
Now signed to Rocksector Records in the UK, 4Bitten has a line-up of vocalist/keyboard
player Fofi, guitarist George, bassist Akis and drummer Angelo. The band is
based in Athens, Greece, but flew in to play their debut UK live gigs in March
before supporting the Dan Reed Network in April and May.
Born and raised in a small town in the Mid-West US State of Iowa, Fofi grew
up with the rock, blues and southern influences which are reflected in her powerful,
soaring vocal style. A musical child, she started piano lessons at 5, was playing
the trombone in the school band by the age of 9, began acoustic guitar lessons
at 13 and by 16 had started playing harmonica.
When Fofi's Greek-born parents decided to return to their native country eight
years ago, Fofi was 20. Having enjoyed her small Iowa town environment up to
high school age, Fofi found herself approaching the end of her teens and keen
to get out of there, broaden her horizons and explore her Greek heritage. After
moving lock, stock and barrel back across the Atlantic she began studying for
a classical piano diploma in Athens.
Fofi was spotted by guitarist George while she was singing in a blues band,
covering songs by artistes such as Aretha Franklin and Etta James, and he realised
that she had just the voice he had always imagined for his 'dream' rock band.
Having recruited bassist Akis and drummer Angelo, the band needed a name and
the four began to throw ideas around. Eventually George said: "There's four
of us and we've all been 'bitten' by the 'rock bug', so why don't we call ourselves
4Bitten?" And the dream became a reality.
Playing "just about anything that inspires us", 4Bitten was initially performing
purely as a covers band and would play anything from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis
Joplin and Jimi Hendrix to Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Thunder and ZZ Top. But
the four found time to write their own music in rehearsal and tested select
new songs out occasionally to rapturous applause.
In August 2008 4Bitten flew to New York to the Sterling Sound Studios where
the band laid down No More Sins — an incredibly well produced,
irresistible introduction to this hugely talented, versatile and strangely named
new hard rock outfit. 4Bitten's No More Sins is an uplifting and vibrant
offering of a very eclectic style with lovely vocals and harmonies. May 4Bitten
commit many more sins to music — if this is sinful, bring on the
Sin!
• The brand new, fiery American/Greek female-fronted
bluesy hard-rock band 4Bitten's superb No More Sins debut album was released
on 20 April (2009) on Rocksector Records, through Code 7/Plastic Head.
No More Sins Tracklisting
1 Lightnin' Crashing | 2 Believe | 3 Follow | 4 Tell
Me | 5 Rock 'n' Roll Dream | 6 Waiting So Long | 7 Push
It To The Limit | 8 In The Shadows | 9 No More Sins | 10 Up
To You.
"4Bitten's No More Sins is an uplifting and vibrant offering of a very
eclectic style with lovely vocals and harmonies… If this is sinful, bring on
the Sin!" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
Check out myspace.com/4bitten.
