British hard rock supergroup SNAKECHARMER was formed in 2013 by former members of Whitesnake, Wishbone Ash, and Thunder.
The resulting line-up is a veritable who’s-who of classic hard rock: Vocalist Chris Ousey (Heartland), Guitarist Laurie Wisefield (Wishbone Ash), Drummer Harry James (Thunder), and Keyboardist Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne) Guitarist Micky Moody (Whitesnake).
Given the band’s pedigree, it was inevitable that the music would sound like good-time, classic melodic hard rock with a blues edge, their eponymous debut was released in 2013 by Frontiers. The response from fans and critics alike was rapturous, and the band toured to wide acclaim.
In 2015, Moody left the band, replaced by young Irish-born virtuoso Simon McBride. Snakecharmer’s follow up album, Second Skin, arrived in 2017.
This 4-CD box set collects the bands two studio albums as well as two live shows from Milton Keynes which show the band at work in a live environment, the booklet has notes by Classic Rocks Dave Ling talking to the band about their career as well as newly mastered studio albums done by Tony Dixon.
Featuring: Chris Ousey – Vocals Simon McBride – Guitar Laurie Wisefield – Guitar Adam Wakeman – Keyboards Neil Murray – Bass Harry James – Drums Micky Moody – Guitar
Track list:
DISC ONE: Snakecharmer My Angel Accident Prone To The Rescue Falling Leaves A Little Rock & Roll Turn Of the Screw Smoking Gun Stand Up Guilty As Charged Nothing To Lose Cover Me in You BONUS TRACKS White Boy Blues A Breath Away – Japan Only Bonus Track
DISC TWO: Second Skin Sounds Like a Plan That Kind of Love Are You Ready to Fly? Follow Me Under I’ll Take You as You Are Hell Of a Way to Live Fade Away Dress It Up Punching Above My Weight Forgive And Forget Where Do We Go from Here? BONUS TRACK On My Way – Japan Only Bonus Track
DISC THREE: Live at The Stables, Milton Keynes 26/01/2014 Guilty As Charged A Little Rock & Roll Ready An’ Willing Accident Prone Walking In the Shadow of The Blues Falling Leaves Moody’s Blues Slow An’ Easy My Angel [Band Introductions] Cover Me in You Nothing To Lose Here I Go Again Fool For Your Loving
DISC FOUR: Live at The Stables, Milton Keynes 17/01/2015 Intro. Guilty As Charged A Little Rock & Roll Ready An’ Willing Cover Me in You Accident Prone Falling Leaves Walking In the Shadow of The Blues My Angel Moody’s Blues Slow An’ Easy Nothing To Lose Here I Go Again Take Me with You Fool For Your Loving
Photo credits Morten pic: Angst Im Wald – Photo credits Linda pic: Linda Toni Grahn
MORTEMIA have premiered an official lyric / performance video for the latest song featuring Linda Toni Grahn (Anima Veil, ex Follow the Cipher), watch the video below.
Morten Veland (SIRENIA, MORTEMIA and founder of TRISTANIA) released the 11th MORTEMIA song from ‘The Pandemic Pandemonium Sessions’ today. The track features Linda Toni Grahn (Anima Veil, ex Follow the Cipher) on guest vocals and it is now available on all digital platforms. The track is entitled ‘Forever and Beyond’.
Morten Veland:
“I am proud and honoured to introduce Linda Toni Grahn from Anima Veil (ex-Follow the Cipher) as my special guest for ‘The Pandemic Pandemonium Sessions’. The 11th song is entitled ‘Forever and Beyond’, and will be available on all digital platforms on the 26th of August 2022. This song is a very powerful, groovy and quite uptempo track. Linda has a really cool signature voice with a great diversity that fits perfectly for this track. I feel truly privileged and thankful to have Linda on board this project, and I am really looking forward to sharing this song with you all. Forever and Beyond is an awesome addition to “The Pandemic Pandemonium Sessions.”
Linda Toni Grahn:
“It was a fantastic collaboration with Morten during this song.Super nice and friendly and easy to work with! From the beginning I felt that his way of creating music was in line with my own sense of what I want to sing.The melody and lyrics suited me very well.I really love this song, it’s both heavy and brutal but also soft and elegant. Wonderful work and I just want to say: THANK YOU MORTEN!”
After 11 years of silence Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, producer and artist Morten Veland is once more active with his solo project Mortemia, this time with a brand new concept. ‘The Pandemic Pandemonium Sessions’ is a series of singles released on a monthly basis, each song featuring a well known and highly profiled guest singer from the metal scene, so far the following singers has contributed:
Madeleine Liljestam (Eleine)
Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion, Ayreon, MaYaN, Dark Horse White Horse)
Alessia Scolletti (Temperance, ERA)
Liv Kristine (Liv Kristine, ex-Theatre of Tragedy, ex-Leaves Eyes)
Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum, The Dark Side of the Moon)
DEEP PURPLE is one of the most influential and inspiring bands of all time. Five decades in to their career, they are still achieving ‘Top 10’ albums upon release, and performing consistently successful tours worldwide. ‘The Soundboard Series’ provides previously rare concert performances from the archives, remixed and remastered, to the finest audio quality.
‘Live In Hong Kong 2001’ captures Deep Purple playing one of the city’s largest venues at their raw, purest, rock ‘n’ roll best.
‘Live In Tokyo 2001’ took place over two nights, and is regarded amongst the fans as a stand-out from their live repertoire. Unique in approach to ‘Live In Hong Kong’, the band collaborated with the Shin Nihon Philharmonic Orchestra, and the legendary Ronnie James Dio to deliver an astonishing performance. That it also contains Jon Lord’s peerless ‘Concerto’, is just the icing on the cake.
Once upon a time the loudest, nastiest, speed-freaked trio in the land – the mighty MOTÖRHEAD – decided that they needed an intro-film to come on stage to, so they could tour their brand-new album Iron Fist. Not for them some gentle promo video, for this was Motörhead in 1982 comprising the seminal three amigos line-up of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor.
What they produced has been buried in the mists of time, confined to dodgy bootleg VHS’s, but it’s a gory, brutal, hilariously OTT short movie directed by Nick Mead where knights are murdered and maidens are in distress. Shot in a Hertfordshire forest it features a medieval, battle-hardened band stomping around a darkened forest, fuelled by vodka and brandishing weapons, wearing horned helmets and looking fierce whilst punching the air with their Iron Fist!
Imagine a recklessly non-health-and-safety, amphetamine-nightmare, super low budget take on Monty Python and the Holy Grail and you’re halfway there.
And now, in honour of the 40th Anniversary of the album that inspired this piece of cinematic pastiche, the Iron Fist trailer has been re-discovered, digitised and officially released for the world’s viewing pleasure. Originally cut to Gustav Holst’s ominous ‘Mars, Bringer Of War’, it now features the previously unreleased instrumental demo ‘Ripsaw Teardown’ as its audio soundbed. It’s really quite something, and sets up the forthcoming release of the Iron Fist 40th Anniversary editions.
Whilst the album was rudely dismissed by critics on release, it now reveals itself as a vital snapshot of the band at a crucial period. It followed the consecutive triumphs of Ace Of Spades and No Sleep Til Hammersmith, when the three-piece found themselves caught in the tornado of success, but in true Motörhead style, they careered into their next phase at such velocity it transcended logic or reason to become this trio’s final kamikaze joyride.
Forty years later, Iron Fist sounds like prime Motörhead with the gloves and seat-belts off. For sheer velocity, it could be fastest, most out-of-control of all their releases. To celebrate the anniversary it is being presented in new deluxe editions. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a hammer fist blow, remaster of the original album, previously unreleased demo bonus tracks and a full concert, originally broadcast on Radio Clyde from 18th March 1982. Plus the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. There’s also a limited edition, blue and black swirl of the original standalone album.
See HERE for full details of the Iron Fist releases.
SPECIAL 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS OF IRON FIST TO BE RELEASED ON 23rd SEPTEMBER 2022
LP AND CD TRACKLISTING
Original Iron Fist album
Iron Fist Heart of Stone I’m the Doctor Go to Hell Loser Sex and Outrage America Shut It Down Speedfreak (Don’t Need) Religion Bang to Rights
Jackson’s Studio Demos October 1981 Remember Me, I’m Gone The Doctor Young & Crazy Loser Iron Fist Go To Hell
CD & Digital Bonus Tracks
Lemmy Goes to the Pub Some Old Song, I’m Gone (Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down (Alternate Version) Shut It Down Sponge Cake (Instrumental) Ripsaw Teardown (Instrumental) Peter Gunn (Instrumental Live at Glasgow Apollo 18/3/82
(Previously unreleased)
Iron First Heart of Stone Shoot You In The Back The Hammer Loser Jailbait America White Line (Don’t Need) Religion Go to Hell Capricorn (Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down (We Are The) Road Crew Ace of Spades Bite The Bullet The Chase Is Better Than the Catch Overkill Bomber Motörhead
Finnish Love Metal pioneer, VILLE VALO (VV), has released “Echolocate Your Love”, the second single to be taken from his forthcoming debut solo album, Neon Noir.
With plans for Neon Noir to be released in 2023, the elegiac goth-optimism of “Echolocate Your Love” gives a fuller picture of the wrought elegance to come.
“It’s a sonic step-by-step guide on how to survive, and perhaps even enjoy, the realm of VV with its abundance of things that go bump in the night,” says Valo. “It’s a teary mascara marathon between Robert Smith and Ozzy, with a dash of hope.”
Further details around VV’s debut studio album, Neon Noir, will be released in due course.
In the meantime, VV’s headline tour, – taking place next year across Europe, the UK and North America – has already sold-out across a number of cities. Get your tickets now to avoid disappointment.
EUROPE 13.01 – Tavastia, Helsinki (sold out) 14.01 – Tavastia, Helsinki (sold out) 15.01 – Tavastia, Helsinki (sold out) 14.01 – Stodola, Warsaw 15.02 – Studio, Krakow 16.02 – LMB, Prague (sold out) 17.02 – Huxley’s Berlin (sold out) 18.02 – Fabrik, Hamburg (sold out) 20.02 – Paradiso, Amsterdam 21.02 – Batschkapp, Frankfurt (sold out) 22.02 – Komplex, Zurich 24.02 – Razzmatazz, Barcelona 25.02 – La Riviera, Madrid 26.02 – Cineteatro Capitolio, Lisbon 27.02 – Hard Club, Porto 02.03 – Alcatraz, Milan 03.03 – Backstage Werk, Munich (sold out) 04.03 – Barba Negra, Budapest 05.03 – Arena, Vienna (sold out) 07.03 – Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette 08.03 – LMH, Cologne (sold out) 09.03 – Le Trabendo, Paris
UNITED KINGDOM 10.03 – O2 Academy, Bristol 11.03 – Rock City, Nottingham 13.03 – Garage, Glasgow (sold out) 14.03 – O2 Ritz, Manchester 15.03 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
NORTH AMERICA 31.03 – Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia 01.04 – Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia (sold out) 02.04 – Big Night Live, Boston 04.04 – Roxian Theater, Pittsburgh 05.04 – House of Blues, Cleveland 06.04 – St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit 08.04 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati 09.04 – House of Blues, Chicago (sold out) 10.04 – House of Blues, Chicago 11.04 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis 13.04 – The Summit Music Hall, Denver 14.04 – The Depot, Salt Lake City 16.04 – Ace of Spaces, Sacramento 17.04 – The Fillmore, San Francisco 18.04 – The Belasco, Los Angeles (sold out) 19.04 – The Belasco, Los Angeles 21.04 – House of Blues, Las Vegas 22.04 – House of Blues, San Diego 23.04 – The Van Buren, Phoenix 25.04 – House of Blues, Dallas 26.04 – Aztec Theatre, San Antonio 27.04 – House of Blues, Houston 28.04 – House of Blues, New Orleans 30.04 – House of Blues, Orlando 01.05 – Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale 03.05 – Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta 04.05 – Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville 05.05 – The Underground, Charlotte 07.05 – The Fillmore, Silver Spring 08.05 – Irving Plaza, New York 09.05 – Irving Plaza, New York
ABOUT VV/ VILLE VALO:
In the annals of 21st century alternative rock history there are few artists who cast a longer or more peculiar shadow than Finnish Love Metal pioneer Ville Valo. After all, his band HIM were easily among the most iconic and idiosyncratic groups of the millenium. Zealously revered, gleefully reviled but impossible to ignore, their music left an indelible mark on a worldwide legion of fans. The scarlet letters stood for His Infernal Majesty. Their founder stood for something delightedly out of step with the status quo.
“We only hoped to temporarily redirect hard rock’s blood flow from the nether regions towards the heart”, reminisces Ville Valo, the singer, songwriter and primus motor of HIM. Judging by the monolithic presence of the Heartagram in any account of music this side of the millennium it’s apparent that he succeeded.
Inspired by everyone from Poe to Bukowski and tinged by a penchant for perfumed Sabbathian gloom, Valo’s creative lovechild would produce eight era-defining studio releases and over ten million record sales, not forgetting a Grammy nomination, countless magazine covers, critical acclaim, and the veneration of a generation. Thus it came as no surprise that the news of a farewell tour in 2017 was greeted with shock and disbelief among devotees and endless speculation as to what or who was to take up the velvet mantle.
“As fun as the funeral rites for HIM were, it took me more than a few moons to lick my wounds in the shadow of the Heartagram and come up with an excuse to strum and hum again. Eventually I decided put a leash on my beloved black dog and we started howling together instead of barking at each other. That’s how Loveletting was born”.
“Loveletting”, the first single off VV’s debut album Neon Noir out in early 2023, suggests this new infernal mix of light and shade is nothing short of a landmark release from one of modern music’s most distinctive and intriguing voices. It belongs to the same forlorn world of woe and whimsy once conceived and governed by Valo in HIM, but with the nuanced notes of a fine aged Cabernet.
“Artistically speaking the main difference between HIM and VV is the extra line in the Heartagram, but what an exquisite line it is! It’s the Mamas and the Papas dressed up as Metallica on their way to a Halloween bash at the Studio 54, and now who wouldn’t want to witness that?”
Legendary guitarist STEVE HACKETT is pleased to release ‘Genesis Revisited Live: Seconds Out & More’, the visual document of his 2021 UK tour celebrating the classic Genesis live album. Available today as CD/Blu-ray, CD/DVD & Digital Audio (vinyl will be released 25th November), it sees Steve and his band perform ‘Seconds Out’ in full & in sequence, as well as a selection of solo material including tracks from his most recent studio album ‘Surrender of Silence’.
To celebrate, they are launching a clip of their performance of ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’.
In September and October 2022, Steve Hackett & band will present their ‘Foxtrot at Fifty’ 25-date tour in the UK. For the full list of dates and to buy tickets go to HackettSongs.com
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
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