In the world of Rock ‘n’ Roll, few names are as iconic as AC/DC. This year, the band celebrates its impressive 50th anniversary, a feat granted to only a few music groups.
Founded in 1973 in Sydney, Australia, by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC has shaped the genre over the last 50 years with their powerful mix of hard rock, blues, and an unmistakable sense for catchy melodies, immortalizing themselves with classics like “Highway to Hell”, “Thunderstruck”, and “TNT” in the musical history books.
What’s their secret?
The secret to their sustained success lies in the consistency of their music and their ability to unite generations of fans. AC/DC‘s music, characterized by Angus Young’s distinctive guitar play and Brian Johnson’s powerful vocals, has made the band a staple in rock music. Their timeless and unmistakable sound has allowed them to remain relevant for over five decades.
AC/DC’s Phoenix Moment: Rising from the Ashes with ‘Back in Black’
However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the hard rockers of AC/DC. The unexpected death of Bon Scott, their charismatic lead singer, in 1980 put the band in front of a heart-wrenching decision: the end of their musical journey together or a brave continuation. After a deeply moving conversation with Scott’s parents, who were convinced that Bon would have wanted it this way, AC/DC chose to move forward. Brian Johnson was recruited as the new voice behind the microphone, a step that not only secured the band’s survival but also led them to one of their greatest triumphs.
With Johnson’s energy-filled presence, they released “Back in Black”, a monumental album intended as a respectful tribute to Scott. This work not only marked the beginning of a new era for AC/DC but also established itself as one of the most significant albums in rock history. It symbolized the band’s unwavering resilience and their ability to turn tragedy into triumph. To this day, “Back in Black” fascinates fans worldwide and cements AC/DC’s status as icons of hard rock.
Time to Celebrate!
To properly celebrate their 50 years of existence, AC/DC released their albums on golden anniversary vinyl in addition to their upcoming POWER UP TOUR. From “Back in Black” to “Who Made Who”, everything is included to make the heart of hard rock and vinyl collectors beat faster.
SAHAJi have released new EP ‘Future In The Sky’, out now on Flip Flop Records.
SAHAJi are an epic Japanese rock’n’roll band poised to make a big mark in the British music industry. Expect big epic soaring choruses with melodies harking back to classic 90’s brit pop bangers with a modern twist. Influenced by Oasis, Tom Petty, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix amongst others, the Sahaji brothers have been honing their sound since their early songs were recognised at a YAMAHA Music audition in Japan. This led to various magazine covers and their songs being used in TV ads across Asia.
In 2022, after catching the ear of legendary Britpop producer Nick Brine, SAHAJi signed to Flip Flop Records and are set to release a series of EPs with a full album launch in August.
Future in The Sky is out now, available digitally and also as a limited four track physical CD release, the songs are already making waves on social media.
Duft have released a video for “Instant Gratification”, first single taken from the debut album “Altar Of Instant Gratification” to be released on May 17th by Scarlet Records.
The Icelandic underground heavy new sensation provides an unrelenting sonic assault that ensures headbanging from the first riff to the last; the titletrack of the album describes the aggressive alienation one feels when surrounded by people who are too busy in childish pursuits of instant gratifications and avoiding pain to embrace the fact that the world is a nasty hardcore place.
video by Óttar Ingi Þorbergsson
Recorded and engineered by Leifur Örn Kaldal and Þorsteinn Gunnar Friðriksson (Une Misère) at Veldið Studio; Drums recorded by Benjamin Bent Árnason (Une Misère); Darkly illustrated by David Demeret & Heresie Studio (Imperium Dekadenz); FFO: Code Orange, Jesus Piece, Zulu, End, Slipknot, God Forbid, Cancer Bats;
“Altar Of Instant Gratification” will be released in the following formats:
jewel case CD
vinyl LP
digital
“Altar Of Instant Gratification” showcases relentless musicianship amidst the calculated chaos of crushing metallic riffs, frantic tempos, punishing breakdowns and the lyrical rage of hardcore punk.
The main theme of the Reykjavik’s band is the ever present feeling that Planet Earth is falling to pieces: most people are too busy in childish pursuits of instant gratifications and avoiding pain to embrace the fact that the world has become a bleak hardcore place!
To strive in it, you must be willing to show courage, think critically for yourself and don’t buy into dogmatic truths – hold yourself accountable and stay true.
This ain’t no record for fainted hearts, indeed.
“Altar Of Instant Gratification” tracklist:
Intro
Caved In
Dragged Across Concrete
Instant Gratification
Waste From Birth
Scarfaced Blues
Doctrine
20th Century Doom
Anomic Suicide
Open Casket
Only Dead Fish Follow The Stream
Duft: Alexander – vocals Andrés – guitar Gummi – guitar Viktor – bass Mikael – drums
Released today, March 21, 2024 “Poltergeist” via Wanikiya Record/Promotion, the brand new self-titled album by the band precisely POLTERGEIST! A truly exciting, rocking, adrenaline-filled record and so much more….
Available on all the best digital platforms, on the label’s shop in Japan and on showcase on crash Sound Distribution!
Davide Marino “Black” Merlo – Rhythm and lead guitar Born in 1985, he approached classical guitar as a child and continues by militating in several bands in the area, including. Blackened, Walking clouds and Head rush. He prefers heavy metal and is inspired by some great virtuosos of the instrument, such as Steve Vai and Van Halen, as well as bands such as Toto and Dream theater.
Gianluca Masci – Drums Class of 1990, the year of the release of some historical and immortal metal music masterpieces, such as “Vulgar display of power,” by Pantera and “Rust in peace” by Megadeth, of which he is a enthusiast. He began to approach drumming at the age of 15, as a complete self-taught. After a few years of study he begins to playing in several bands in the area, whose repertoire consists by covers. After meeting Fabrizio Brioschi, the other guitarist of Poltergeist, he begins his adventure in the band.
Manuel “Pave” Spozio – Bass Born in 1980, a great lover of music, he began to approach the electric bass guitar at the age of 16. After various experiences in a number of local bands, he lands in Poltergeist, after meeting Fabrizio Brioschi, for the production of tracks unreleased. At the same time, he is also bassist in the cover band “Spoiled Children.”
Fabrizio Brioschi – Rhythm and lead guitar. Class of 1977, great fan of blues and music in general, from a young age became passionate about the guitar and played in a number of local bands, among which the “Head rush” stands out in importance. He then decided to start a band, Poltergest, with the support of bassist Manuel Spozio, with the intention of creating a band different from the usual cover bands and aiming to propose a series of unreleased tracks to be landed in an album, anticipated by the release of a 4-song demo, now close to release.
Angelo Stramaglia – Vocals Class of 1977, a great lover of music, singing and instruments music, began to approach opera singing at the age of six years old. He then landed on piano at the age of eight, which he studied at a music school for ten years. The electrocution for the guitar, first classical, and then electric, comes around age 15, with listening to a historic album, “The Number of the Beast” by the Iron Maiden. An inveterate melomaniac, he ranges across the most disparate, from metal to blues, country to folk, music Celtic to Italian singer-songwriter music and joins the military in the Poltergeist at the suggestion of bassist Manuel Spozio.
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently interviewed Buck Dharma singer/ guitarist of Blue Oyster Cult. In the chat Dharma talks about the bands new re-imaged album ‘Ghost stories’ as well as he looks back at, the film ‘Heavy metal’, producer Martin Birch, Metallica cover of Astronomy and more.
BOC new album ‘Ghost Stories will be released April 12, 2024 on Frontiers Music s.r.l. pre order here
When asked about re-imaging the legacy tracks for the new album Ghost Stories “Blue Oyster Cult historically didn’t record a lot of extra material that didn’t fit on a vinyl LP which you know had a runtime of about 40 minutes maximum. If CDs had been around at the time all these songs would have gone on the CD but they were fallow. Most of the source material were pre-production recordings done by our live sound mixer George Geranios. A lot of them are eight track analog, some were direct to stereo. But some of the source tapes had deteriorated as the tape formulations of that time were famous for and had to be resurrected or in some cases re-recorded. Frontiers music was clamoring for some more product; we just had the three night Sony Hall live performances of the first three records and bonus tracks with original drummer Albert Bouchard on the stage too. So they (Frontiers) wanted more stuff. So we got A.I. to de-mix a stereo recording and it (AI) lets you have more control over the individual elements; the drums, the bass and the vocals specifically guitars are a little harder to uh yeah extract. It gives you a little more individual control as if you were dealing with a multi-track sound.”
When asked if Ghost Stories will be the last album by Blue Oyster Cult “As far as promises, it’s the last one but you know in reality I don’t know perhaps there’ll be more stuff. If we stop recording we might get Restless.”
When asked how many tour dates they did last year “Last year we did about 30 and we’re going to do less this year. We may want a tour again but uh I’m thinking I’d like to just not tour for a while so we’ll see how that goes. As long as I can play and sing I’ll probably want to be out there somewhere. But as far as the the grind of of making a living at it, I don’t have to, So we’ll see what happens.”
When asked about the connection between B.O.C. and Heavy Metal “I think the term was coined right about the time that we got started. We admired Black Sabbath and I think when we were starting we were casting about for an image. We were the Soft White Underbelly (band) before Blue Oyster Cult and I always thought of the Underbelly as the last of the East Coast psychedelic bands. We were sort of a jam band more than a metal band. Certainly what metal has become is nothing like what B.O.C. is of course.”
When asked if his big hits he wrote and sang (Don’t fear the reaper, Godzilla, I’m burning for you) caused friction within BOC over the years “It’s just the way it worked once the Reaper was a hit the whole band wanted to write hits. I think that actually was not the best strategy for the band but you can’t blame everybody for wanting the Hits and The Record Company certainly wanted hits. So we became a lot more pop oriented I think in response to having a pop hit.”
When asked if the were any plans to re-release the Black and Blue Live concert (Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult 1980) “I don’t know who has the rights but we don’t. I had heard that Ozzy and his Camp didn’t want that out although Ozzy is not on that it’s Ronnie Dio but who’s ever suppressing that it is not us.”
When asked about working with producer Martin Birch on BOC’s Cultösaurus Erectus and Fire of Unknown Origin “I feel very affectionate toward Martin and I’m sad he’s gone. He taught me how to record at home. He was just a great guy. He engineered and produced and he didn’t have a heavy hand as a producer but if he thought something was important he would stand up for it. So I think the coherence of his records are basically his doing. “
When asked about Metallica covering BOC’s Astronomy “It gave us some credibility with the younger generation. We were very flattered when they did it. It’s nice to get some recognition like that. I love all the covers of our songs that people do and there are a lot of them out there.”
When asked if BOC will ever live down the cowbell? “No the cowbell is like a ball and chain around Blue Oyster Cult’s ankle (laughs).”
In a thrilling partnership with Frontiers Music, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT is set to captivate fans with a collection of reimagined and newly completed songs that span from 1978-2016. These musical treasures, long considered ‘lost gems’ by BLUE ÖYSTER CULT enthusiasts, were originally recorded between 1978 and 1983, except for one track from 2016, “If I Fell.” Also included is the only known studio recording of their concert classic “Kick Out the Jams” (MC5 cover). Some of the material is from sessions workshopping material for an album, some is from performance rehearsals. All were recorded once in the hopes that someday they’d see the light of day.
George Geranios, the band’s original audio engineer and an integral part of the band’s golden years, co-produced the original 1978-83 recordings along with BÖC. All w
ere originally recorded on reel-to-reel analog tape. They were later transferred to digital audio, which is when modern AI and magical musical talents met and the collection of vintage multi-track recordings was de-mixed, re-mixed, and produced by Steve Schenck and Richie Castellano to become ‘Ghost Stories.’
Ghost Stories Track List 1) Late Night Street Fight 2) Cherry 3) So Supernatural 4) We Gotta Get Out of This Place 5) Soul Jive 6) Gun 7) Shot in the Dark 8) The Only Thing 9) Kick Out the Jams 10) Money Machine 11) Don’t Come Running To Me 12) If I Fell
Band Members & Credits: Eric Bloom – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals Albert Bouchard – Drums, Vocals Joe Bouchard – Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals Allen Lanier – Guitar, Keyboards Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser – Guitar, Vocals
Rick Downey – Drums (on 3 and 11) Richie Castellano – Additional Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
“If I Fell” was Recorded on April 18, 2016, at Red Studios, Hollywood, CA Eric Bloom – Vocals Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser – Guitar, Vocals Richie Castellano – Guitar, Vocals Kasim Sulton – Vocals Jules Radino – Percussion
Original recordings Produced by George Geranios and BLUE ÖYSTER CULT except, “If I Fell” Produced by Steve Schenck and Richie Castellano De-mixed, Re-mixed and Produced by Steve Schenck & Richie Castellano Engineered by Richie Castellano
“Gun” and “Money Machine” overdubs recorded by Joe Bouchard Digital Transfers by George Geranios Mastered by Sam Stauff at Mercy College Studio, Dobbs Ferry, NY
“The second single to be released by Yokophono this year is the hectic sounding Trying, which is a mixture of Finnish melancholy and an exploding reggaeton based chorus. The single is a bit more serious in nature compared to their earlier release this year, but still carries the same hooky energy and catchiness that gets under the listener´s skin.”
okophono is a Finnish power duo formed in 2020. Their music consists of energetic dance-punk / indie rock -songs that will most definitely get the audience´s feet tapping and heads bopping. Their sound has been compared to the likes of Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys and even Queens Of The Stone Age. Consisting of just drums and guitar they also rely on their catchy melodies with English vocals.
Yokophono tries to capture the essence of playing live in their studio production: Since the band performs everything as a duo, both in studio and on stage, they want the audible experience to be as close to the real thing as possible. Both their EP:s (217, 2020 / Let´s have some continental breakfast, 2022) have gained airtime and some high praise on radio shows by YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company).
Yokophono released their latest two singles, “Red” and “Trying”, through Inverse Records in early 2024.
Line-up: Olli Merikallio – Vocals, guitar, bass Joni Heino – Drums
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
