“Special”, the new video from German/British melodic hard rockers PINK CREAM 69, can be seen below. The song comes off the band’s latest album, “Ceremonial”, which entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 83. The CD was released on January 25 in Europe and January 22 in North America via Frontiers Records. The cover artwork was created by Kai Brockschmidt (PRETTY MAIDS, ROYAL HUNT) and can be seen below.
Six years after the critically praised “In10sity” CD, PINK CREAM 69 delivers another slice of great arena hard rock. Hot on heels after a successful German tour with HELLOWEEN and STRATOVARIUS, “Ceremonial” is PINK CREAM 69‘s second studio effort for Frontiers and the first with their new drummer, Chris Schmidt. Recorded partially at Hofa Studios and mixed at Dennis Ward‘s private studio — The TrakShak — the effort is possibly the freshest and most diverse PINK CREAM 69 album to date.
“The songs had to be 100% ready and we took all the necessary time,” states bass player and producer Dennis Ward. “This gaves us the possibility to experiment and to achieve the best possible result.” And indeed, the explosive, energetic opening track “Land Of Confusion”, the contemporary rocking “Wasted Years”, the biographic “I Came To Rock” the heavily ’90s-influenced “Find Your Soul” and the soulful “Passage” are all new, bright and shining diamonds in a discography full of highlights and hits.
“We deliberately called the album “Ceremonial” because we feel it’s kind of a celebration of music styles we all grew up with, regardless of what PINK CREAM 69 has done in the past”, continues Ward.
“There were various projects that I was involved in over the last couple of years”, adds singer David Readman. “But the work on ‘Ceremonial’ felt like coming home. A real relief.”
“Ceremonial” track listing:
01. Land Of Confusion
02. Wasted Years
03. Special
04. Find Your Soul
05. The Tide
06. Big Machine
07. Let The Thunder Roll
08. Right From Wrong
09. Passage Of Time
10. I Came To Rock
11. King For One Day
12. Superman
Check out audio samples in the YouTube clip below.
PINK CREAM 69 is:
David Readman – Vocals Alfred Koffler – Guitar Uwe Reitenauer – Guitar Dennis Ward – Bass Chris Schmidt – Drums
Frontiers Records will release WHITESNAKE‘s “Made In Britain/The World Record” in Europe on July 5 and in North America on July 9. The album will be released in Japan on June 19 via Ward Records.
A trailer for “Made In Britain/The World Record” can be seen below.
During 2011, the mighty WHITESNAKE embarked on one of their most successful world tours in recent times, performing 96 shows in more than 35 countries, starting in North America in May until the second U.K. run in December. The request for another live album came from WHITESNAKE‘s incredibly loyal fans — never ones for being notoriously shy about insisting what they want from their favorite musical reptiles. Before heading out on the “Forevermore World Tour 2011″, the decision was made to record every performance on the tour.
After spending the early part of 2012 editing and mixing the WHITESNAKE “Made In Japan” DVD, the production team consisting of The Brutal Brothers (WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale and Doug Aldrich and Mikey Mac), had the task of listening to over 90 shows and 130 hours of WHITESNAKE performances. Inspired by the performances from the nine sold-out U.K. shows and a further 87 performances from around the world, the live albums “Made In Britain” and the accompanying “The World Record” were born. The recent “Forevermore” songs shine as brightly as classic WHITESNAKE songs such as “Is This Love”, “Still Of The Night” and “Here I Go Again”, all performed with feverish energy, encouraged by remarkably enthusiastic audiences from Newcastle to Sao Paulo.
Asked about the decision to release two separate live albums — “Made In Japan” and “Made In Britain” — several months apart, WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale told Sweden’s Metalshrine: “We didn’t plan the Japanese project. You know, the Japanese tour was booked and we were invited to headline at Loud Park and I hadn’t headlined a Japanese music festival since 1984, so that was a very exciting premise for me. They made a very generous offer and then asked if they could film three songs for a TV special. We said OK and my co-producers, Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre, and I, mixed the three songs and obviously watching the video and going crazy. It looked fantastic and we had them send over the rest of the footage and thought, ‘This could be a fabulous follow-up to ‘Still Of The Night’.’ And where we are now, featuring new songs for the first time. The record company we work with, Frontiers, they were absolutely positive in their response, so we added that to the mix.
“What we’re doing with the ‘Made In Britain’ CD, is giving it a different sonic identity. The CD from ‘Made In Japan’ is a soundtrack and the bonus stuff features behind-the-scenes, soundcheck stuff we recorded in different Japanese venues. Having fun with some our songs, like trying an unplugged version of ‘Good To Be Bad’ and ‘Tell Me How’ from the ‘Forevermore’ album. Stuff that people normally don’t get to hear. For the second CD, it’s ‘WHITESNAKE the world record.’ We’re taking songs from all over different cities, like Oslo and there might be a Sweden Rock. I’m not sure if we legally can do that. Stuff from Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio. It’s two entirely different projects, and for the end of the year, we’re hoping to achieve a limited-edition box set for Christmas, called ‘Forevermore – The Complete Collection’, which will have everything ‘Forevermore’-related plus outtakes, alternate mixes, acoustic versions of songs, behind-the-scenes footage. Really cool stuff.
“Made In Britain/The World Record” track listing:
Disc 1 – “Made In Britain”
01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
03. Love Ain’t No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Forevermore
07. Love Will Set You Free
08. My Evil Ways
09. Fare Thee Well
10. Heart Of The City
11. Fool For Your Loving
12. Here I Go Again
13. Still Of The Night
Disc 2 – “The World Record”
01. Bad Boys
02. Slide It In
03. Lay Down Your Love
04. Pistols At Dawn
05. Snake Dance
06. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
07. Fare Thee Well
08. One Of These Days
09. The Badger
10. The Deeper The Love
11. Soldier Of Fortune
12. Burn / Stormbringer
13. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More (Acoustic) *
Christian hard rockers STRYPER have set “No More Hell To Pay” as the title of their new studio album, due this fall via Frontiers Records.
Regarding the musical direction of STRYPER‘s new material, the band’s guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet told Screamer Magazine: “The song ‘God’, which is on ‘The Covering’; if you took that song along with ‘Bleeding From Inside Out’ and ‘Blackened’ [from 'Second Coming'], and you put it on the same album, that’s a pretty good indication of where we are going and where we are at right now. But at the same time this album is all its own.”
He added: “Every song has a hooky guitar riff. Everything is in minor keys, so it’s a little darker sounding and a little tougher. It’s definitely our heaviest record and I think people will be pleasantly surprised.
“The people who do like the poppier side of STRYPER, like ‘Calling On You’ and ‘Holding On’, this record isn’t going to really give them that. There are a lot of vocal hooks and melodies going on, but it’s a little darker, and a little edgier. To reference, there is less songs like ‘Calling On You’ and more songs like ‘To Hell With The Devil’. It’s more in that vein than the poppier vein.”
As previously reported, STRYPER is recording a cover version of “Jesus Is Just Alright”, a gospel song written by Arthur Reid Reynolds, for its next studio CD. Sweet said, “It rivals our cover of EARTH, WIND & FIRE‘s ‘Shining Star’ — riffs!”
“Jesus Is Just Alright” was first recorded by Reynolds‘ own group, THE ART REYNOLDS SINGERS, on their 1966 album, “Tellin’ It Like It Is”. It was later covered by THE BYRDS and THE DOOBIE BROTHERS.
Michael Sweet previously stated that the new STRYPER CD would contain “the best [songs] of our career [with] no pop or fluff musically or lyrically.” He added: “I’m counting the days for its arrival and when it does arrive, it will be like a train speeding down the tracks — fast, heavy, unstoppable and loud! I get excited for every record, but I’ve never quite been this excited before. This record will be one for the books, and in my humble opinion, our best yet bar none. No pride here, just confidence that it’s going to be great — really, really great.”
In a 2012 interview with Guitar World, Michael Sweet stated about STRYPER‘s plans for the next album: “We’re going into this new record with the mentality and thinking of making it like a ‘To Hell With The Devil 2′. That’s not to say it will actually sound like that album, but we really want it to be as great as ‘To Hell With The Devil’, which was our biggest album. We want people to put on this record and go; ‘Whoa! Wow! This is as good as or better than ‘To Hell With The Devil’!’ We want the new album to be a powerhouse and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
Frontiers Records in January announced the signing of STRYPER to a multi-album deal. The first CD to be made available the agreement was a collection of re-recorded versions of the band’s classic songs, released in North America on March 26. Entitled “Second Coming” and produced by Michael Sweet, the album contains a total of 16 cuts — two from “The Yellow And Black Attack”, six from “Soldiers Under Command”, six from “To Hell With The Devil”, as well as two new tracks, “Bleeding From Inside Out” and “Blackened”.
WHITESNAKE‘s live concert, “Made In Japan”, was released on April 23 on deluxe 2CD/DVD edition, Blu-ray and DVD via Frontiers Records. The effort entered the German Media Control chart at No. 26, the Austrian album chart at No. 54 and the Music DVD chart at No. 10.
WHITESNAKE co-headlined the Loud Park festival on October 15, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan during their “Forevermore World Tour”. The performance was initially recorded for Japanese TV and future Loud Park promotions, but after three songs were broadcast on a Loud Park highlights program in Japan, WHITESNAKE received unprecedented requests for this performance to be made available for general release.
Having spent most of 2012 editing and mixing the Japanese concert in stunning HD as a multi-format DVD-CD in 5.1 and stereo, just prior to commencing the “Year Of The Snake” 2013 world tour, this exceptional performance is a welcome addition to the history of WHITESNAKE live releases. Now fans can relive the irresistible magic of WHITESNAKE in concert any time their heart and loins may desire!
CD track listing:
CD 1
01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
03. Love Ain’t No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Forevermore
07. Six String Showdown
08. Love Will Set You Free
09. Drum Solo
10. Fool For Your Loving
11. Here I Go Again
12. Still Of The Night
Bonus CD 2 – Soundcheck
01. Love Will Set You Free
02. Steal Your Heart Away
03. Fare Thee Well (Acoustic Version)
04. One Of These Days (Acoustic Version)
05. Lay Down Your Love
06. Evil Ways
07. Good To Be Bad (Acoustic Version)
08. Tell Me How (Acoustic Version)
DVD and Blu-ray track listing:
01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
03. Love Ain’t No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Forevermore
07. Six String Showdown
08. Love Will Set You Free
09. Drum Solo
10. Fool For Your Loving
11. Here I Go Again
12. Still Of The Night
13. Forevermore (fan video)
14. Steal Your Heart Away (fan video)
The musicians:
David Coverdale (vocals) Doug Aldrich (guitar) Reb Beach (guitar) Michael Devin (bass) Briian Tichy (drums)
German metallers PRIMAL FEAR are putting the finishing touches on the material for their next studio album, to be recorded during the summer for an early 2014 release via Frontiers Records. The band states: “After collecting more than 30 song ideas, we will finally strip the list down to 12 tracks and we’re going now into the details. [We are] totally thrilled about the riffs and melodies, plus [we are in the process of] planning the recordings.”
Frontiers and PRIMAL FEAR in January announced that they have renewed their partnership for another multi-album deal, which will include two more studio releases and one live CD and DVD.
PRIMAL FEAR‘s latest album, “Unbreakable”, sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 44 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
Released on January 24, 2012 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records, “Unbreakable” was tracked in part at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany with producer/bassist Mat Sinner and engineer Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN).
BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, the renaissance-inspired rock band formed by Ritchie Blackmore and his wife Candice Night, will release a new album, “Dancer And The Moon”, on June 11 in North America on Frontiers Records. “Dancer And The Moon” will be released in two editions — as a CD and a digipak deluxe edition with a bonus DVD that includes music videos of “Dancer And The Moon” and of “The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over The Sea)”, plus an extensive interview with Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night.
Anticipated by the digital release of the first single “The Moon is Shining (Somewhere Over the Sea)” on May 6, “Dancer And The Moon” is the band’s eighth original studio album, with each disc topping the European and American Billboard‘s New Age charts.
Each album that BLACKMORE’S NIGHT has released has been awarded Best Vocal Album or Album of the year for their respective charts on NPR and college radio. BLACKMORE’S NIGHT performed on PBS, had specials on CNN and the History Channel. The group has songs on the soundtrack of Germany’s “The Magical Story Of The Rings: Die Nibelunger The Ring Of The Nibelungs” and the theme song “All For One” for Japan’s popular TV show “Third Watch”. Their song “Olde Mill Inn” is featured in Jim Carrey‘s movie “Yes Man”.
Night and Blackmore began working together first in Ritchie‘s previous group RAINBOW, when Candice co-wrote a number of songs, most notably “Ariel” and “Black Masquerade” for RAINBOW‘s 1996 album, “Stranger In Us All”. The following year, the two formed BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, and after seven studio albums, two live DVD/CDs and one holiday release, the group’s latest album, “Dancer And The Moon” follows the band’s eclectic/jam/folk rock/new age/neo-Celtic/neo-Medieval/progressive rock/chamber pop/world beat styling. Take your pick from the songwriting team of Candice and Ritchie: the acoustic “Somewhere Over the Sea (The Moon Is Shining)”, the rocking track “The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over The Sea)”, which you can dance to, along with the title track “Dancer and the Moon”, the nature-inspired “The Last Leaf” and the Russian-influenced “Troika”.
BLACKMORE’S NIGHT own their versions of classic rock chestnuts: RANDY NEWMAN‘s “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”, URIAH HEEP‘s “Lady In Black”, and “The Temple Of The King” that Ritchie and the late Ronnie James Dio collaborated on originally for their band RAINBOW.
“Dancer And The Moon” is made complete with its inspiring instrumentals, including the waltzy “Galliard” and the DEEP PURPLE-esque “Carry On… Jon” that Ritchie wrote as a heartfelt tribute to his former bandmate, the late Jon Lord.
“Dancer And The Moon” is a distinctive album, that is both melodic, rhythmic, and full of classic influences led by the dynamic and signature alto vocals of Candice Night and the phenomenal fret work of Ritchie Blackmore.
“Dancer And The Moon” continues to establish the band that has been growing its following steadily in the jam, pagan/wiccan scene, new age, folk and progressive worlds, as well as the classic rock community.
“So much has happened since our 2008 marriage (and the 2010′s release of the duo’s ‘Autumn Sky’ album),” says Candice, as she and Ritchie have been musical and emotional partners since 1989. In 2010 daughter Autumn Esmeralda was born, and then in 2012, their son, Rory.
Candice says: “We find that the ‘Dancer And The Moon’ is visually and emotionally representative of how we feel about our music. We have always had a very strong pull to the mystery of the Moon. Her magic, her power, her legend… She affects us so deeply that we have named many CDs after her and she is almost always represented in our songs. The dancer gives herself completely, unabashedly and whole heartedly moved by the intensity of the music she feels within her soul.”
“Dancer And The Moon” track listing:
01. I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
02. Troika
03. The Last Leaf
04. Lady In Black
05. Minstrels In The Hall
06. The Temple Of The King
07. Dancer And The Moon
08. Galliard
09. The Ashgrove
10. Somewhere Over The Sea (The Moon Is Shining)
11. The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over The Sea)
12. The Spinner’s Tale
13. Carry On… Jon
Former SKID ROW vocalist Sebastian Bach‘s brand new CD/DVD package, “ABachalypse Now”, was released in North America on March 26 via Frontiers Records. The “ABachalypse Now” Ultimate CD/DVD Edition includes never-before-seen footage from last year’s Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Dessel, Belgium, the full never-before-seen Hellfest set from France and the fully-remixed and remastered Nokia show from Los Angeles (originally broadcast on AXS TV), as well as bonus music videos. The DVD contains a running time of nearly 160 minutes. “ABachalypse Now” is available in two configurations: the Ultimate CD/DVD Edition (2 CDs + DVD) and a standalone DVD.
In a new post on his Facebook page, Bach writes: “I want to eliminate some confusion right now about what you are getting. I made the stupid mistake of reading some comments online, and I would like to address some confusing comments that I have read.
“‘ABachalypse Now’ contains three separate concerts. Originally, ‘ABachalypse Now’ was going to be a DVD-only release. Then the record company came to me with the idea of accompanying the DVD with two CDs of the audio, for the collectors. After thinking about it, I agreed to put out the audio onto CDs, along with the DVD. However, this changed the whole nature of the project.
“If this was to be a DVD-only release, the audio would not have been such a major concern. But releasing CDs of the audio made the audio portion of the concert a big concern to me. Since I was now going to release the concerts on CD, I had to pay full attention to every detail of the audio recording of both concerts. Two of the concerts, Hellfest in France and Nokia in Los Angeles, were digitally recorded on 48 tracks. This allowed us to go into the studio and fix anything we wanted to musically.
“My favorite live albums of all time are JUDAS PRIEST ‘Unleashed In The East’ and ‘Kiss Alive’. It is very well-known and common knowledge that both of these records are made to listen to for all time. Which means every note is perfect, and every detail was paid attention to.
“I did not invent the music industry. There are no live albums in existence, at all, that are 100% live on stage. If there are, chances are that they are not very good. But… and this is a big BUT… the third concert of the DVD, Graspop [Metal Meeting] in Belgium, was recorded on only TWO tracks. This meant that we were NOT allowed, AT ALL, to fix ANYTHING, in the studio, on the Graspop show.
“If you want to see a fully live performance, with no repairs made at all in the studio, whatsoever, you can watch the Graspop show. The Graspop show is 100% live. Zero overdubs. Zero repairs. That is why it is not part of the CD bonus.
“My favorite song of the whole DVD to watch is probably ‘Dirty Power’ from the Graspop show. The Hellfest and Nokia shows are indeed made to sound perfect on CD. But we did not have that luxury with the Graspop show. So the answer is, yes, I most certainly made sure that each and every note on the CDs are perfect.
“When a comment is made online that my voice sounds ‘too perfect,’ I do not take that as an insult.
“I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble, but the original version of ’18 And Life’ was not recorded while I was running across from left to right on a stage the size of a football field. It is a delicate ballad, sung by me, when I was 20 years old. I will be 45 next month. The fact that I can still sing ’18 And Life’ in the same key that it was recorded in when I was a teenager, and I can still hit the same screams at the age of 44 that I recorded when I was 20, is something that I feel very blessed to be able to do.
“When I am making a CD, I definitely want every note to sound perfect. This does not make me a bad person. This is merely the example set by ‘Kiss Alive’, ‘Unleashed In The East’, and every other great live album that I own.
“If you want to watch a 100% live performance, please enjoy the Graspop show on ‘ABachalypse Now’. If you want to listen to a CD, please enjoy Hellfest, and Nokia, which are made to sound as good as I could make them sound.
“And for those of you thinking that it was all re-recorded in the studio, the answer is, no, it was not. Pretty much every high scream of the Hellfest show and the Nokia show is on the CD live, as it was recorded, in concert. The stuff I fixed up was mostly me running around during a verse or chorus or something. The fact that I was able to go in the studio and sing standing still made a big difference when I was listening back to the final product.
“So if you want to watch the full live show, with no studio repairs, then you can watch the Graspop show. I am not hiding anything. I have made a live CD in the tradition of the live CDs that I personally enjoy to this day.
“Thank you for watching and listening. I really hope you dig it.”
“ABachalypse Now” track listing:
DVD:
* Live at Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 16, 2012
* Live at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California on August 2, 2012
* Live at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium on June 24, 2012
* Bonus music videos: “Kicking & Screaming”, “TunnelVision”, “I’m Alive”
CD1 – Live At Hellfest in Clisson, France, 2012
CD2 – Live at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California 2012
Setlists:
Live at Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 16, 2012
01. Slave To The Grind
02. Kicking & Screaming
03. Here I Am
04. Big Guns
05. Piece Of Me
06. 18 & Life
07. American Metalhead
08. Monkey Business
09. I Remember You
10. Youth Gone Wild
Live at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California on August 2, 2012
01. Big Guns
02. (Love Is) A Bitchslap
03. Piece Of Me
04. 18 & Life
05. American Metalhead
06. Monkey Business
07. I Remember You
08. TunnelVision
09. Youth Gone Wild
Live at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium on June 24, 2012
01. Kicking & Screaming
02. Dirty Power
03. Here I Am
04. Big Guns
05. 18 & Life
06. American Metalhead
07. Monkey Business
08. I Remember You
09. TunnelVision
The “18 & Life” performance clip from “ABachalypse Now” can be seen below.
Frontiers Records will release WHITESNAKE‘s live concert, “Made In Japan”, on deluxe 2CD/DVD edition, Blu-ray and DVD in North America on Tuesday, April 23.
An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the set is available below.
Multi-platinum rock band WHITESNAKE co-headlined the Loud Park festival on October 15, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan during their “Forevermore World Tour”. The performance was initially recorded for Japanese TV and future Loud Park promotions, but after three songs were broadcast on a Loud Park highlights program in Japan, WHITESNAKE received unprecedented requests for this performance to be made available for general release.
Having spent most of 2012 editing and mixing the Japanese concert in stunning HD as a multi-format DVD-CD in 5.1 and stereo, just prior to commencing the “Year Of The Snake” 2013 world tour, this exceptional performance is a welcome addition to the history of WHITESNAKE live releases. Now fans can relive the irresistible magic of WHITESNAKE in concert any time their heart and loins may desire!
The “Forevermore” songs alone are worth the price of admission, not forgetting the classic WHITESNAKE songs, “Is This Love”, “Still Of The Night” and “Here I Go Again”, all peformed at the height of their musical powers. It’s all here. This is what WHITESNAKE fans, new and old, have been clamouring for. Highlights include blistering guitar work from the band’s six string guitar slingers, Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, who both celebrate their 10th anniversary with the band this year.
WHITESNAKE also features the earth-shaking rhythm section, The Wrecking Crew featuring Michael Devin (bass) and Brian Tichy (drums), who anchor the deep and dirty foundation of WHITESNAKE. The band is accompanied by the swirling sonic tapestries of special guest keyboardist Brian Ruedy, and of course, the chest beating, seductive vocals of front man and founder, David Coverdale.
After hearing the sound check recordings from the different Japanese venues, the band decided to include them in the package as special bonus content. They agreed that everything would be related to their 2011 Japanese tour. So, when you think about it, it is appropriate they’ve called the project “Made In Japan”.
CD track listing:
CD 1
01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
03. Love Ain’t No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Forevermore
07. Six String Showdown
08. Love Will Set You Free
09. Drum Solo
10. Fool For Your Loving
11. Here I Go Again
12. Still Of The Night
Bonus CD 2 – Soundcheck
01. Love Will Set You Free
02. Steal Your Heart Away
03. Fare Thee Well (Acoustic Version)
04. One Of These Days (Acoustic Version)
05. Lay Down Your Love
06. Evil Ways
07. Good To Be Bad (Acoustic Version)
08. Tell Me How (Acoustic Version)
DVD and Blu-ray track listing:
01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
03. Love Ain’t No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Forevermore
07. Six String Showdown
08. Love Will Set You Free
09. Drum Solo
10. Fool For Your Loving
11. Here I Go Again
12. Still Of The Night
13. Forevermore (fan video)
14. Steal Your Heart Away (fan video)
The musicians:
David Coverdale (vocals) Doug Aldrich (guitar) Reb Beach (guitar) Michael Devin (bass) Briian Tichy (drums)
TIMO TOLKKI’S AVALON, the new metal-opera project from ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki, will release its debut album, “The Land Of New Hope”, on May 17 in Europe and May 21 in North America via Frontiers Records. Guests on the CD include Michael Kiske (UNISONIC, ex-HELLOWEEN), Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION), Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE, KAMELOT), Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB), Rob Rock (DRIVER, IMPELLITTERI, M.A.R.S.), Tony Kakko (SONATA ARCTICA), Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS), Derek Sherinian (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, DREAM THEATER) and Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY OF FIRE).
The year is A.D. 2055 and planet Earth has almost been destroyed by a series of earthquakes, tsunamis and natural catastrophes. A small group of survivors leave on a quest to find a sacred place called The New Land Of Hope.
A few teasers for “The Land Of New Hope” can be seen below.
“Bleed & Scream”, the new video from Swedish hard rockers ECLIPSE, can be seen below. The song is the title track of the band’s fourth album, which will be released on August 28 via Frontiers Records.
“Bleed & Scream” comes four years after ECLIPSE‘s acclaimed album “Are You Ready To Rock”, which gained the band a solid reputation and a steady following, thanks also to their live appearances which culminated with dates as the opening act for DEEP PURPLE and a Firefest show in 2009.
ECLIPSE singer Erik Martensson has been busy producing and writing a number of successful songs and records for such artists as W.E.T., Toby Hitchcock, GIANT and Jimi Jamison. Erik and ECLIPSE guitaristMagnus Henriksson also wrote the track “Brothers In Arms” (originally an ECLIPSE cut), which was voted the No. 1 song of the year in MelodicRock.com awards for 2009.
In 2011 ECLIPSE regrouped to write what has now become “Bleed & Scream”. The bar was set high and the initial goal was to top “Are You Ready To Rock”. “We knew we had to do everything better on this album. If we couldn’t have achieved that we never would have released it! But boy did it turn out well! When it was taking shape we realized this was to be a monster of an album,” says Henriksson.
“With ECLIPSE we never think of what other people want or expect from us,” adds Martensson. “We write for ourselves and make the music we love to listen to. If I’d think of a perfect album this is how it will sound! And once the album was written the recording process went pretty smooth as we knew exactly what goal we aimed for. I’d say it’s our own pimped version of the classic hard rock we grew up listening to.”
“Every song has qualities as a single,” concludes Magnus. “Erik‘s vocals are way better than ever. The guitar sound is just awesome! The whole production is just in your face. It has something for everyone in it! We worked so hard at making this record that it drove us nearly nuts and made us wanna scream, but now it’s your turn to bleed and scream.”
“Bleed & Scream” track listing:
01. Wake Me Up
02. Bleed & Scream
03. Ain’t Dead Yet
04. Battlegrounds
05. A Bitter Taste
06. Falling Down
07. S.O.S.
08. Take Back The Fear
09. The Unspoken Heroes
10. About To Break
11. After The End Of The World
The first single, “Bleed & Scream”, will be exclusively distributed in Sweden through Sweden Rock Magazine in the issue that will hit the streets on July 17. This special release will include two exclusive bonus tracks (unavailable elsewhere): “Come Hell Or High Water” and “Into The Fire”.
ECLIPSE is:
Erik Martenssom – Vocals, Guitar, Bass Magnus Henriksson – Lead Guitar Robban Bäck – Drums Johan Berlin – Synthesizers
