Another band that I wish was still around, Northstar. Despite plenty of comparisons and similarities I always saw them as one of the most original bands I've had the pleasure of listening to. The band formed in 1997, but unfortunately disbanded in 2005 after releasing a couple demos and two full lengths on Triple Crown Records.

Although they broke up they released a final EP called the Broken Parachute EP in 2008. The EP was comprised of a couple unreleased demos and some alternate versions of their other songs, and is the final effort we will see from them.

They had made a decent name for themselves, did some great tours, and got fantastic feedback from their albums, which makes the breakup even more unfortunate. The good news is that a few projects developed from the split.

The most notable of those is probably Cassino. Cassino is a mostly acoustic act containing former members of Northstar Nicolas and Tyler. Their debut album "Sounds of Salvation" was released independently in 2007.

For more information on Northstar you can check out their wiki, or their lastfm page, and for some music check out their myspace.