SALAMIN was formed in 2004, Salamin is a band composed of U.P. and DLSU students: Paolo Valenciano on vocals, Sho Hikino on lead guitar, Mikael Bersales on bass, Miguel Dualan on rhythm guitar and Eo Marcos on drums. Majority of them met during their first jamming session, which took place in August of 2004, and decided to call themselves Bastogne, after a French town during World War II, but soon decided the name lacked character hence the name Salamin. Strangely enough this originated from a building in Makati. The band received its first offer from a major record label in August of 2005, but felt they were not ready at the time for such a big step.
After a few line-up changes, Salamin’s sound progressed, evolving to one that would be classified as “heavy alternative.” Back then Salamin was a two-vocalist band whose sound was an amalgam of Jr Enrile’s grunge-laced singing with Paolo’s melodic vocals and elements of progressive rock from guitarists Bersales and Bogs Paterno. Soon after, Enrile left to pursue other ventures, leaving Valenciano as the band’s sole vocalist. In December of 2005—in what is deemed as one of their best gigs—the band was performing at Cafe Saguijo, which eventually lead to a second offer from Star Records in January of 2006. This time, the band did not pass up the opportunity. This coincided with Eo Marcos’ inclusion as drummer and the introduction of a new rhythm guitarist, Justin Alfafara.
In August of 2006, Salamin released their first album under Nugen records, which was a co-production effort by Reg Rubio, vocalist of seminal Pinoy metal act Greyhoundz, and AWIT and NU Rock Awards nominee, producer, and Monkeyspank guitarist Patrick Tirano. Salamin followed this up with music videos of their two singles “Umaga” and “Pulso.” The band was to go through a final line-up change in 2007. Enter Japan-born Sho Hikino as Salamin’s lead guitarist and the return of Dualan from his one-year hiatus. Once again, Salamin’s sound changed, turning to heavier riffs with more of a post-hardcore feel. With their new sound made tight by constant rehearsal and an influx of fresh ideas, opportunities began pouring in. The band opened for big bands like Bamboo and foreign act Switchfoot. Most memorable was their opening performance for a Gary Valenciano concert. They were also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2007 NU Rock Awards.
