Although only having formed in the spring of this year, local band Altered Sky have hit the Scottish music scene like a hurricane with performances within the likes of Edinburgh’s Southern Bar, Glasgow’s Ivory Blacks and Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys.

Before setting the world on fire, I caught up with the band to discuss their past, present and ever exciting future.

Altered Sky originally came about after lead vocalist Ana Nowosielska and drummer Amy Blair were introduced via a mutual friend. Instantly hitting it off and realising their shared love of music, Amy invited Ana to join her then already established band.

Amy said, “Unfortunately that didn’t really work out. Both Ana and I were more serious and wanted the music to go in a different way from the rest of our bandmates.” Deciding then to form their own band to make the music they wanted, Ana got in touch with friend and Alloa lad Ross Archibald to sign up as the resident bass player. It was then through Ross that guitarists Neil Ramsay and Rich Passe were brought on board.

Although Ana shoulders the majority of the song-writing duties, taking inspiration from daily life events and through her love of epic gaming (Final Fantasy/Silent Hill series etc), Altered Sky musically clicked straight away and with a combined effort released their first demo EP (We Can’t Stand The Silence) by the summer.

With a raw passionate punk-rock sound and being female-led comparisons to Tennessee band Paramore will be forthcoming. While yes there are similarities, it would be like stating that Courtney Love and Melissa Auf Der Maur’s solo material should be categorised within the same box. Unlike Paramore also, Altered Sky do not have a big production house or Record Company behind them . . . at the moment.

Neil said, “We don’t have a manager as we have gelled as a band and there’s been no one who has been able to bring anything extra to the table. I’ve taken on the role of bookings and am happy to organise and arrange gigs.” With several live shows under their belt, Altered Sky have shaped their stage performances to be extremely energetic and entertaining (which includes Rich jumping off the equipment guitar in hand).

Ross said, “We’re hoping to get on the festival tour next year along with the release of our remastered single Apple Tree which will also have a video.” Although each in their early twenties, the youngsters are sensibly well-prepared to put in the hard work to achieve success. That, along with their banging solid sounds, will ensure Altered Sky take 2011 by storm.

For more information on Altered Sky check out their website at www.alteredsky.com To download their free demo EP, We Can’t Stand The Silence, go to http://alteredsky.bandcamp.com/album/we-cant-stand-the-silence-ep