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Abba Metal Tribute Band, Abbatoir, On The Rise

London based hard rockers, 'Abbatoir' are getting more notice, having attracted the attention of a major record label, and plan to enter the studio to record an album soon. What makes this band "special" is that all of their songs are cover versions of classic Abba music.

It all began when Londoner, Lance Barrington went to the local pub with a friend and they began to discuss music. When Abba came on the jukebox, they joked, "Imagine a heavy metal version of Abba!"

Barrington quickly set about recruiting three other band members, then faced the challenge of finding a vocalist with a set of lungs to match the Abba girls. After auditioning hundreds, they eventually stumbled over 24 year old florist, Laura.

Laura comments, "I run an international florist supplying flowers for a mix of clients including Liam Neeson, Kiera Knightley and even George Bush. But when I auditioned for Abbatoir, I knew it was something special. It's not everyday I can express my love for Abba and heavy metal at the same time!"

Abbatoir have been such a hit, they are now being booked to play throughout the UK. They have even set their sights on an ultimate goal; Getting their music heard by Abba themselves.

"I'm really excited about the recent developments in our career." Laura continued. "I would love for Benny and Bjorn to hear our music. Who knows? Maybe we are the band to coax Abba into a revival. We could certainly liven up their back catalogue!"

With hard 'monster' rock band, Lordi recently winning this year's Eurovision Song Contest, the band feel heavy metal music is ready to be accepted into the mainstream.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when Lordi won Eurovision." Laura states. "With this kind of crossover into the mainstream, it seems like the perfect time to expose the World to our music. Of course, Abba came to fame when they won the contest in 1974 performing 'Waterloo'."

It's estimated Abba have sold more than 300 million records, with 25 individual singles on the UK top 40. Their greatest hits package recently spent 500 weeks on the UK albums chart.

Abbatoir will be in the recording studio shortly and hope to have a CD out by the end of this year. You can listen to Abbatoir's music at their MySpace page.