The Big Deal - First Bite

[Stefan]

 

Press release:

The band first came together when guitarist, composer, and producer Srdjan Brankovic and his wife Nevena Brankovic, who is an academic pianist and singer, met singer Ana Nikolic. Ana had spent the past few years fronting local bands, but after meeting Srdjan and Nevena, they started collaborating in the studio together. While working on some new ideas, Srdjan thought how interesting it would be to include Ana’s vocals in addition to Nevena’s in their recordings. After a couple of recordings were finished, they were overjoyed with the results and thus some of their first demos were born. These were the forerunners of the music that was presented to Frontiers and gained them a deal. The lineup for the band was then completed with the addition of drummer Marko Milojevic.

Both Srdjan and Marko are members of the most successful Serbian progressive metal band, AlogiA. Throughout his career, Srdjan has played on many festivals and tours, recorded and collaborated on countless studio and live albums, and opened for some well-known bands such as Whitesnake, Ian Paice, Apocalyptica, Savatage, and more. He was also a member of Michael Matijevic’s live band in Bulgaria. On his “Expedition Delta” and “Alogia” albums, he collaborated with names such as Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, Mark Boals, Erik Norlander, Gary Wehrkamp, Fabio Lione, and Hansi Kursch, among others.

Brankovic states, ”I am happy to say that we signed a contract with the premier rock and metal label Frontiers and I am very excited that my priority in the forthcoming years will be cooperation with them. I seem to have found my music a home in the best place in the music universe, since I believe that Frontiers is a label with the best ideas and fantastic projects and releases, which have made the rock scene look far more beautiful and powerful. We start the collaboration with a newly formed band, created in a combination of ideas with Frontiers. At the suggestion of the Director of “Frontiers”, we agreed that the name of the band will be “The Big Deal” and It will be a “must-have” for fans of melodic rock/metal. Next to me on guitar, a very exciting line-up will feature piano-virtuoso-lady who sings at the same time, Nevena, who I would characterize as an original appearance on the rock scene. Beside Nevena, another rock lady is involved, as a singer. Her name is Ana and she is a r’n’r lover, with a very authentic and beautiful voice. Marko, a friend from my parent-band, will be in charge of the drums, and a well known Frontiers associated rock star will be in charge of the bass lines (stay tuned on that). We are already greatly in the process of recording demos for the album. Needless to say we’re absolutely thrilled about this. Cheers and stay tuned for more info!”

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Stefan

[KarpetRydOFunk]

As nice as that photo is, I was hoping for some samples. 

[Stefan]

Good cover of Europe's 'Rock The Night'.

 

 

[lettard]

Hubba and indeed Hubba  

[Stefan]

New cover of 'Amaranth' (Nightwish).

 

 

[Stefan]

New video for 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' (ABBA cover).

From Frontiers:

Please meet The Big Deal, a promising new melodic hard rock band from Serbia. The band is working on their debut album for Frontiers Records now, but in the meantime, enjoy their cover of ABBA's 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)'. 

"Our debut album will see the light of the day during the first half of 2022 and we can’t wait to share our original music with you! In the meantime, we will continue to share with you some more videos from our studio covering songs/artists we love. Thanks for the inspiration to Abba, but also to Yngwie Malmsteen and Mark Boals. We wish you all very Happy Holidays!" - The Big Deal, December 2021

The Big Deal is :

- Nevena Brankovic - vocals and keys (https://www.facebook.com/nevena.TheBi...)

- Ana Nikolic - vocals (https://www.facebook.com/ana.nikolic....)

- Srdjan Brankovic - guitars (https://www.facebook.com/sergio.brank...)

- Marko Milojevic - drums

- Alessandro Del Vecchio - bass (https://www.facebook.com/aledelvecchio)

 

 

[Stefan]

New song 'Never Say Never'.

From Frontiers:

Frontiers Music Srl is thrilled to present the debut single of original material from Serbian hard rockers The Big Deal! 'Never Say Never' is now available on all music streaming platforms. The Big Deal, featuring two outstanding vocalists, Ana Nikolic and Nevena Brankovic (who is also a highly skilled keyboard/piano player), offers up a catchy, driving sound that will appeal to both melodic rock and hard rock fans.

'Never Say Never' serves as an appetizer for the band's upcoming debut album, composed by the team of guitarist Srdjan and keyboardist Nevena, which will be released this spring. Stay tuned for more news on that soon!

The Big Deal first came together when guitarist, composer, and producer Srdjan and keyboardist Nevena, who is an academic pianist and singer, started working with singer Ana Nikolic. Ana had spent the past few years fronting local bands, but after meeting Srdjan and Nevena, they started collaborating in the studio together on some songs. While working on some new ideas, Srdjan thought it would be interesting to include Ana's vocals in addition to Nevena's in the recordings they were working on. After a couple of songs were finished, they were overjoyed with the results and thus some of The Big Deal's first demos were born. These would eventually morph into the music that was presented to Frontiers and ultimately got them signed. To round out the lineup, the band brought in drummer Marko Milojevic and later, Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints) on bass (who was instrumental in introducing the band to the label).

Both Srdjan and Marko are members of the most successful Serbian progressive metal band, Alogia. Throughout his career, Srdjan has played on many festivals and tours, recorded and collaborated on countless studio and live albums, and opened for some well-known bands such as Whitesnake, Ian Paice, Apocalyptica, Savatage, and more. He was also a member of Michael Matijevic's live band in Bulgaria. On his “Expedition Delta” and “Alogia” albums, he collaborated with names such as Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Mark Boals, Erik Norlander, Gary Wehrkamp, Fabio Lione, and Hansi Kursch, among others.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Stefan

[Geoff]

Not madly into the music, but the brunette is a dish. Yum.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Sorry, they just don't seem like that big of a deal. 

[Stefan]

 

New video for 'Sensational'.

From Frontiers:

Frontiers Music Srl is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of the debut album from an extremely talented melodic hard rock band from Serbia, The Big Deal. Their debut album, “First Bite” will be released on May 13, 2022. "First Bite" is an absolute tour de force showcasing the outstanding talents of the individual members over the course of 11 tracks of infectious, hooky, memorable songs. 

The Big Deal, featuring two outstanding vocalists, Ana Nikolic and Nevena Brankovic (who is also a highly skilled keyboard/piano player), offers up a catchy, driving sound that will appeal to a wide swath of rock and metal fans from lovers of melodic rock and hard rock to symphonic and power metal fans. Guitarist Srdjan Brankovic, the band's producer and main songwriter, may be recognized by some fans from his work with progressive metallers Alogia, of whom drummer Marko Milojevic is also a member.  

The Big Deal first came together when guitarist, composer, and producer Srdjan and keyboardist Nevena, who is an academic pianist and singer, started working with singer Ana Nikolic. Ana had spent the past few years fronting local bands, but after meeting Srdjan and Nevena, they started collaborating in the studio together on some songs. While working on some new ideas, Srdjan thought it would be interesting to include Ana's vocals in addition to Nevena's in the recordings they were working on. After a couple of songs were finished, they were overjoyed with the results and thus some of The Big Deal's first demos were born. These would eventually morph into the music that was presented to Frontiers and ultimately got them signed. To round out the lineup, the band brought in drummer Marko Milojevic and later, Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints) on bass (who was instrumental in introducing the band to the label).

Both Srdjan and Marko are members of the most successful Serbian progressive metal band, Alogia. Throughout his career, Srdjan has played on many festivals and tours, recorded and collaborated on countless studio and live albums, and opened for some well-known bands such as Whitesnake, Ian Paice, Apocalyptica, Savatage, and more. He was also a member of Michael Matijevic's live band in Bulgaria. On his “Expedition Delta” and “Alogia” albums, he collaborated with names such as Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Mark Boals, Erik Norlander, Gary Wehrkamp, Fabio Lione, and Hansi Kursch, among others.

To introduce themselves to the world, over the course of 2021, the band released covers of songs by Europe, Nightwish, and ABBA as a precursor to debuting their original music. 

 

“First Bite” Tracklisting:

1.  Never Say Never

2.  I Need You Here Tonight

3.  Sensational

4.  Top Heaven

5.  Wake The Fire

6.  In The Dead Of The Night

7.  Rebel Lady

8.  Power On

9.  Bad Times, Good Times

10. Fallen

11. Lady Of The Night

 

LINE-UP:

Nevena Brankovic – vocals and keyboards

Ana Nikolic – vocals

Srdjan Brankovic – guitars

Marko Milojevic – drums

Alessandro Del Vecchio - bass

 

facebook

 

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Stefan

[Captain Howdy]

I was watching this new video on YouTube earlier and all I was thinking was "What the hell are they singing?"

While there were moments of clarity, so much of the lyrics struggle to come through due to the accent.

A strong accent is not generally a band killer for me (hell I love Silked & Staineds debut) but on this it's just way too much.

I would say I would prefer it if they sang in their native tongue as I have no issues with listening to bands not singing in English, but I just don't think the songs are that great anyway, and would go as far as to say they are fairly generic.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Hey, at least we can say ADV didn't ruin this band. 

[tobi is an animal]

The Big Dump

[Tabe]

The songs are just kinda average.  Not bad, not great.  

[Mr.AOR]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:50 PM, KarpetRydOFunk said:

Hey, at least we can say ADV didn't ruin this band. 

They've done that all by themselves.

[Stefan]

New video for 'Top Heaven'.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Stefan

[tobi is an animal]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:18 AM, Stefan said:

New song 'Never Say Never'.

From Frontiers:

Frontiers Music Srl is thrilled to present the debut single of original material from Serbian hard rockers The Big Deal! 'Never Say Never' is now available on all music streaming platforms. The Big Deal, featuring two outstanding vocalists, Ana Nikolic and Nevena Brankovic (who is also a highly skilled keyboard/piano player), offers up a catchy, driving sound that will appeal to both melodic rock and hard rock fans.

'Never Say Never' serves as an appetizer for the band's upcoming debut album, composed by the team of guitarist Srdjan and keyboardist Nevena, which will be released this spring. Stay tuned for more news on that soon!

The Big Deal first came together when guitarist, composer, and producer Srdjan and keyboardist Nevena, who is an academic pianist and singer, started working with singer Ana Nikolic. Ana had spent the past few years fronting local bands, but after meeting Srdjan and Nevena, they started collaborating in the studio together on some songs. While working on some new ideas, Srdjan thought it would be interesting to include Ana's vocals in addition to Nevena's in the recordings they were working on. After a couple of songs were finished, they were overjoyed with the results and thus some of The Big Deal's first demos were born. These would eventually morph into the music that was presented to Frontiers and ultimately got them signed. To round out the lineup, the band brought in drummer Marko Milojevic and later, Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints) on bass (who was instrumental in introducing the band to the label).

Both Srdjan and Marko are members of the most successful Serbian progressive metal band, Alogia. Throughout his career, Srdjan has played on many festivals and tours, recorded and collaborated on countless studio and live albums, and opened for some well-known bands such as Whitesnake, Ian Paice, Apocalyptica, Savatage, and more. He was also a member of Michael Matijevic's live band in Bulgaria. On his “Expedition Delta” and “Alogia” albums, he collaborated with names such as Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Mark Boals, Erik Norlander, Gary Wehrkamp, Fabio Lione, and Hansi Kursch, among others.

 

 

yea, I can definitely believe this is an adv recommendation; it sounds just like the schlock he comes up with on the reg.

[Stefan]

New video for 'Bad Times Good Times'.

 

 

[Jez]

There are actually 4 or 5 decent tunes on here, in between all the usual Frontiers fluff. Some nice vocals and keyboard touches as well. Certainly no top 10 album here, but not bad either

[Stefan]

New video for 'Intuition' (TNT cover).

 

 

[melodicrock]

That's horrible.

[Geoff]

Wow, I didn't think it would actually be possible to ruin a song that good.

 

[CMGiordano]

5 hours ago, Geoff said:

Wow, I didn't think it would actually be possible to ruin a song that good.

 

Thank god I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[martinsane]

On 5/14/2022 at 7:21 AM, Jez said:

There are actually 4 or 5 decent tunes on here, in between all the usual Frontiers fluff. Some nice vocals and keyboard touches as well. Certainly no top 10 album here, but not bad either

I was thinking this exact thing as I was sampling the videos Stefan posted (thanks @Stefanfor your posts btw), is it me or is Frontiers just a dozen musicians that throw out a cd's worth of music under made up band names every other week (weak).

[CMGiordano]

18 hours ago, martinsane said:

or is Frontiers just a dozen musicians that throw out a cd's worth of music under made up band names every other week (weak).

It sure seems that way sometimes.