THE RASMUS Announce Eurovision Competition Entry & New Single ‘Jezebel’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
(Photo Credit: Venla Shalin)

Multi-platinum selling Finnish rockers THE RASMUS have revealed that they have entered Finland’s annual Eurovision selection contest, UMK, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (The New Music Competition). The band have also announced the release of their Eurovision entry bid and new single ‘Jezebel’ which will be available on 17th January 2022 via Playground Music. Pre-save it here.

‘Jezebel’ was co-written and produced by Desmond Child, who collaborated with The Rasmus on their seventh studio album ‘Black Roses’. Child is responsible for formulating some of rock’s biggest hits, with co-writer and production credits on iconic songs by KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper, to name a few.

Singer Lauri Ylönen comments: “It was awesome to work with Desmond again. He really knows how to put a hit song together. Jezebel is about a girl who takes what she wants, without asking. A free spirit.”

Speaking about the collaboration, Desmond Child says: “Lauri gives me a call and says ‘Hey, I need to write the biggest, greatest song in the entire world, ever. Will you do it [with me]?’ and I said ‘Yeah but I am in Folegandros (Greece)’ and he says, ‘I’ll be right there’.
Jezebel is an homage, a tribute, to the strong women of today, who own their bodies, who are in charge of their sensuality, their sexuality, and who are determined to be an equal.”

The UMK winner and Finland’s next Eurovision Song Contest participant will be chosen at the UMK22 event in Turku Logomo on February 26, 2022. The final will be shown live on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle’s radio channels from 9 pm to 11 pm EET. The winner will be chosen by TV viewers and the International UMK Jury. Those outside of Finland can watch the show at https://areena.yle.fi/tv

There is more big news to share from The Rasmus, as they have announced that founding guitarist Pauli Rantasalmi has left the band. Pauli comments:

“I have decided to make my departure from the band and seek for new adventures and challenges in life.
I want to thank everybody that has made this journey possible,
especially all you amazing Fans, for the best moments and memories, I Love You.
I`m eternally thankful to my band brothers for everything and wish the best from the bottom of my heart. Lauri, Aki & Eero, I Love You.

Music lives forever!

“This is not the end, it’s just time to turn the page”

The remaining band members emphasise that it is an amicable split. “We have always been like a family, more like brothers than a band. We are still very good friends, and we wish Pauli all the best,” says Lauri.

The torch is passed to Finnish guitarist and singer, Emilia ‘Emppu’ Suhonen. Speaking of her invitation to join the band, Emppu says: “I got a very surprising call in the fall and answered YES. Although I was a bit nervous to go to the rehearsal room with the guys for the first time for a test drive, I still had a strong feeling that this would be a good thing. That feeling turned out to be right and playing together felt totally natural right from the first riff. I am The Rasmus’ new guitarist, and it’s pretty insane to be on this ride!”

Emppu began playing the guitar when she was 5 years old and at 13, she made her album debut with the band Tiktak, who went on to become one of Finland’s biggest rock bands in the early 2000s. Since then, she has played in several bands including Dame, Alavala and Mira Luoti, amongst other projects. 

“At the moment I’m getting ready for the UMK and the upcoming gigs with this awesome band I’m now in, The Rasmus”, says Emppu. “Being part of this group is a dream come true on so many levels.”

Whist fans eagerly await the release of ‘Jezebel’, they can revisit the previously released singles from the band’s upcoming as-yet-untitled album:
“Venomous Moon” (feat. Apocalyptica): https://youtu.be/71fGZWoncZQ
“Bones”: https://youtu.be/dMfRJofGyIs

Armed with a new arsenal of songs and a revitalised lineup, The Rasmus will embark on a World Tour in the fall of 2022.

October 2022
10    Germany    Hamburg / Markthalle
11    Germany    Berlin / Metropol
12    Poland    Warsaw / Proxima
13    Poland    Krakow / Kwadrat
14    Germany    Leipzig / Taubchental
15    Czech Rep.    Prague / Forum Karlin
17    Hungary    Budapest / BNMC
18    Austria    Vienna / Ottakringer Brauerei
19    Germany    Munich / Neue Theaterfabrik
21    Italy    Milan / Fabrique
22    Switzerland    Bern / Bierhubeli
23    France    Paris / La Maroquinerie
24    Luxembourg    Esch-Sur-Alzette / Rockhal
25    Germany    Wiesbaden / Schlachthof (Halfhouse)
27    Germany    Cologne / LMH
28    Holland    Haarlem / Patronaat
30    England    Nottingham / Rock City
31    England    Manchester / O2 Ritz

November 2022
01    Scotland    Glasgow / Garage
02    England    Bristol / O2 Academy
03    England    London / O2 Forum Kentish Town
05    Ukraine    Kiev / Mc Hall
06    Ukraine    Lviv / Malevich Club
07    Ukraine    Odessa / Musical Comedy Theatre
08    Ukraine    Dnipro / Shynnic House Of Culture
09    Ukraine    Kharekiv    
11    Russia    Moscow / Stadium
12    Russia    St Petersburg / A2

TOXPACK Releases New Streetcore Banger ‘Totgeglaubt, doch neugeboren’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
[Photo Credit: Christian Thiele]

With ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT set for release on January 28 via Napalm Records, Berlin’s finest Streetcore powerhouse TOXPACK releases the third single “Totgelaubt, doch neugeboren”, confidently moving forward and firing up the moshpit once more! The legendary five-piece from Germany’s capital are charged up and ready to deliver the streetcore sound that fans have been loving for over 20 years!
 
TOXPACK on “Totgelaubt, doch neugeboren”:
“Many have had to struggle hard, some have lost everything in the last two years. Be it due to the current situation, the flood disaster in Germany or other precipitation that hit mercilessly out of nowhere. As so often, friends were on the verge of giving up, burying their dreams and goals.
This song is for you. It should give you courage and strength to get through it all. ‘Time is your enemy, it always has been – But you stay strong, show it the middle finger!'”

ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT is a flare of expulsion – anger, hate and despair, raw and unfiltered. It’s the tone TOXPACK has been setting for 20 years. They can’t do and they don’t want anything else: from the streets for the street.
 
ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT is also a gift to all old and new fans. TOXPACK is 20 years of streetcore, force, intensity and unconditional honesty, felt by many. The connection between band and fans is unique – and ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT is the energy boost for everything that is yet to come.
 
Guitarist and lyricist Tommi Tox about the new album:
“All the energy, perseverance, what we have experienced and the constant will to always give everything, simply everything that has accumulated over the past 20 years, inevitably comes together on this album and that has to be sent to this world. We probably couldn’t have given ourselves a better birthday present.”

Save Your Copy of ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT NOW

Varying in select territories, ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT will be released digitally and via CD, as a bundle with T-shirt as well as a 2-CD bundle with flag and exclusive demos, in black as well as limited yellow-black vinyl (100 pieces worldwide) and as an impressive Earbook with 60 pages + hand-numbered autograph card. ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT belongs in every collection of punk rock, hard rock and metal fans, and friends of German-language rock!

ZWANZIG. TAUSEND VOLT tracklist:
1. Gekommen um zu bleiben
2. ZWANZIG.TAUSEND VOLT
3. Wecke den Kampfgeist
4. Ozean voll Scheiße
5. Bastarde für alle Zeit
6. Totgeglaubt, doch neugeboren
7. Kopf durch die Wand
8. Zusammen einsam
9. Letzte Warnung
10. Noch einmal so wie früher
11. Schweinehund
12. Wehe, wenn wir losgelassen
13. Nur für Dich
14. Wir kommen wieder irgendwann
15. Himmelwärts

TEN Present Brand New Lyric Video for ‘Hurricane’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . 1 Comment

UK hard rock stalwarts TEN used the downtime during the worldwide pandemic to work on not one, but two new albums. The first album to be released, “Here Be Monsters”, will land on February 18, 2022. Their new single and lyric video for the track “Hurricane” is out today. Listen to our both singles so far – “Fearless” and “Hurricane” and pre-order/save “Here Be Monsters” on CD/LP/Digital HERE: https://orcd.co/herebemonsters

You can watch the lyric video for “Hurricane” HERE:

Following the success of the recent string of albums, from “Albion” to “Illuminati”, Hughes is joined once again by guitarists Dann Rosingana, Steve Grocott and John Halliwell along with bass player Steve McKenna, and keyboard maestro Darrel Treece-Birch. Drums on the album have been handled by Markus Kullman (Sinner, Glenn Hughes, Voodoo Circle). TEN continue to raise the musical bar higher for themselves, a goal they push on every release. Stunning guitar work, rich keyboards, excellent bass and drum interplay along with Hughes’ rich vocals are the order of the day here. “Here Be Monsters” was produced by Gary Hughes and mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward. TEN’s longstanding professional association with Dennis has been ongoing since he mixed their 2011 album, “Stormwarning” and has always guaranteed albums with stunning sound and production.

Fans should note that there are no ties between this and the next album, ie. “Here Be Monsters” is not a “Part One” or anything of this nature. The band has simply crafted two high quality releases and decided to put them out separately, in a fashion not too dissimilar to what happened to the amazing first two records which were recorded one after the other in a very short period of time.

British hard rockers TEN have an outstanding history of releases in their storied and revered catalog. Starting out as a sort of solo project built around singer and songwriter Gary Hughes, TEN found their audience playing a hard rock sound influenced by such giants as UFO, Thin Lizzy, Magnum, Giant, and Whitesnake in a time when playing this particular sound was considered ommericial suicide. The band’s early records such as “The Name Of The Rose”, “The Robe”, “Spellbound“, and “Babylon” established the band as mainstays in the melodic hard rock genre, which has continued throughout their now 26 year career over the course of 14 studio albums.

Tracklist:

  1. Fearless
  2. Chapter And Psalm
  3. Hurricane
  4. Strangers On A Distant Shore
  5. The Dream That Fell To Earth
  6. The Miracle Of Life
  7. Immaculate Friends
  8. Anything You Want
  9. Follow Me Into The Fire
  10. The Longest Time

LINE-UP:
Gary Hughes – Vocals
Dann Rosingana – Guitars
Steve Grocott – Guitars
Darrel Treece-Birch – Keyboards
Steve McKenna – Bass

Special Guest: Markus Kullman – Drums

SYLVAINE Premieres New Song ‘Mono No Aware’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
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Norwegian multi-instrumentalist SYLVAINE will be releasing her fourth studio album, ‘Nova,’ on March 4, 2021! The singer/songwriter has teamed up with Metal Injection to premiere her devastating new single, “Mono No Aware.” The song can be found along with a visualizer at THIS LOCATION.

SYLVAINE comments on the track: “The moment when you appreciate the beauty of our human existence and what lies within it being completely transient, yet feeling overcome by sadness for the exact same reason, that is ‘Mono No Aware.’ Every Sylvaine record holds one song title that can’t be directly translated into English, and this time I felt the melancholy and depth of the Japanese saying ‘mono no aware’ fit perfectly with the emotions that went into creating this record. Existing somewhere between nostalgia, a yearning for things lost and past times and a respect for the ephemeral nature of things, ‘Mono No Aware’ basically deals with how hard it is to accept that the only constant in our existence is change. Being one of the heaviest tracks I wrote to date, ‘Mono No Aware’ is filled with intensity in every way, pushing the borders of light and dark even further. This song also holds some of my favorite lyrics of the album; ‘You need to fade away, so I can truly see you. Show me the meaning of being alive – Fading, I see you now.'”

The song and album are available for pre-saving on all other digital platforms HERE while the record is available for pre-orders HERE.

Track-list
1. Nova (04:36)
2. Mono No Aware (09:42) [LISTEN]
3. Nowhere, Still Somewhere (04:34) [WATCH]
4. Fortapt (11:55)
5. I Close My Eyes So I Can See (05:16)
6. Everything Must Come To An End (07:47)
Bonus track
7. Dissolution (05:58)
Total: 49:51

JETHRO TULL Launch Video for Title Track of New Album ‘The Zealot Gene’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
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British Progressive Rock Luminaries JETHRO TULL recently announced details for the group’s first studio album of new material in over 18 years! ‘The Zealot Gene’ will see a January 28th, 2022 release on Inside Out Music. Today they are pleased to reveal the video for the albums third single & title track, once again directed by Iranian film-maker Sam Chegini who previously created a clip for ‘Sad City Sisters’.

Watch the video now here:

Ian Anderson comments of the track: “The title track offers many allusions to the radical, politically-charged world of populism in leadership. As a song lyric, it sums up, for me, the divisive nature of societal relationships and the extreme views which fuel the fires of hate and prejudice, more so today perhaps, than at any time in history. Perhaps you think you know who I might have been thinking about here but, in reality, there are probably right now at least five prominent, dictatorial national figures who could fit the bill.”

Watch the previously released videos below:
‘Sad City Sisters’: https://youtu.be/lsQJl8tXO1Y
‘Shoshana Sleeping’: https://youtu.be/uPTeqsBd1Ik

“Ripe with fresh inspiration and resonant of past glories, it belongs high in the Tull canon.” – Prog Magazine 
“The music is light, bright, tight and recognisably Tull” – Classic Rock Magazine

A record that began to take shape as early as 2017, ‘The Zealot Gene’, in many ways, seeks to defy convention during a time when the business of being a touring and recording artist has never faced more uncertainties. Tull bandleader Ian Anderson holds no reservations about the role for which the mythos and themes of Biblical storytelling played in the lyrical content of the new album, saying:

“While I have a spot of genuine fondness for the pomp and fairytale story-telling of the Holy Book, I still feel the need to question and draw sometimes unholy parallels from the text. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly rear their heads throughout, but are punctuated with elements of love, respect, and tenderness.”

Looking back on the earth-shaking disruption of the Coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately ended the band’s touring plans and hopes of a 2020 release for ‘The Zealot Gene’, Anderson shares, “It was so sudden. Amidst the concerns and warnings of the scientific community and a few more enlightened politicians, we all retreated in disbelief to our homes to wait out the storm.”

Watch the second part of several new interviews with Ian Anderson on the making of the album here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OHwUEgs0wM

Pre-order now here: https://jethrotullband.lnk.to/TheZealotGene

‘The Zealot Gene’ Tracklisting:
1. Mrs. Tibbets (5:54)
2. Jacob’s Tales (2:13)
3. Mine Is The Mountain (5:40)
4. The Zealot Gene (3:54)
5. Shoshana Sleeping (3:41)
6. Sad City Sisters (3:40)
7. Barren Beth, Wild Desert John (3:37)
8. The Betrayal Of Joshua Kynde (4:06)
9. Where Did Saturday Go? (3:53)
10. Three Loves, Three (3:30)
11. In Brief Visitation (3:00)
12. The Fisherman Of Ephesus (3:41)

With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, Jethro Tull are one of the most successful rock bands of all-time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Ian Anderson, Tull still continue to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages. 

The band currently consists of:
Ian Anderson – Flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
Joe Parrish-James – Guitar
Florian Opahle – Guitar (album only)
Scott Hammond – Drums.
John O’Hara – Piano, keyboards and accordion
David Goodier – Bass guitar

EPICA Celebrate 20th Anniversary with Re-Release of First Three Albums + Launch Epica Universe And Anniversary Show

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2022
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For their 20th band anniversary in 2022, Symphonic metal titans EPICA have prepared a massive celebration from January to December, with plenty of surprises, new projects and of course some new music too that will all be revealed throughout the year.

After recently relaunching their first three albums, the now classic, “The Phantom Agony”, “Consign To Oblivion” and “The Score 2.0” via Nuclear Blast, with an extensive physical re-release on CD, vinyl, as well as strictly limited earbooks and boxsets later this year. EPICA have started the year with launching nothing less than, well, their own universe: “We truly feel like there’s a universe within the band, a world of our own, and we want to invite our lifeblood to be citizens—Epicans, if you will”, the band explains. “Think of it as a sequel to past Epica fan clubs like “The Fantom Agony” and “The French Crusade” but updated for the modern era; it’s more fan community than club. Epica Universe will give Epicans insight into our lives, both personal and professional, through exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, podcasts, polls, vlogs, live hangouts and much more. There’s even a (super limited) tier that includes one-on-one video calls with a band member each month!”

Join the Epica Universe here: www.epicauniverse.com.

Or get a first glimpse of what’s to expect via this trailer presented by the whole band:

And what would a 20th anniversary be without a proper celebration live and in full colour? The massive anniversary show is taking place at the same venue as EPICA played their first show back in the day, supporting Anathema: the 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Tickets are moving fast, so get yours here