Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, ex-Spock’s Beard), Neal Morse (Transatlantic, NMB, ex-Spock’s Beard), and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena) are pleased to announce the formation of their new trio D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings. The group has signed to InsideOutMusic for the release of their debut album ‘Troika’ in early 2022.
Recorded during lockdown, the process began with Neal Morse writing some acoustic songs that he thought would be enhanced by strong vocal harmonies. He already knew how well his voice blended with former Spock’s Beard bandmate and Big Big Train drummer/ vocalist, Nick D’Virgilio who came on board and, considering a third man, the Americans sought out Haken’s Ross Jennings from the UK to complete the trio. All three found they had songs that would benefit from the three part harmonic blend, and so they pooled their resources, inputting creatively into each others compositions.
As anticipation grows for the release of their 15th studio album, GRAMMY-nominated and millions-selling progressive music titans DREAM THEATER are releasing the music video for the single “Invisible Monster.” The song comes from their upcoming InsideOutMusic / Sony Music album A View From The Top Of The World scheduled for release worldwide on October 22nd. The new track clocks in at 6:27 and showcases the musicianship and creativity that has garnered the band fans around the globe. The video for the song was directed by William “Wombat” Felch (Mudvayne, HellYeah, Crobot, Static-X, Nefariant) and follows the story of an artist’s internal struggles as the band is showcased performing the track. The piece of art created by Felch in the video now lives inside DTHQ.
“It was written after we’d written a bunch of material. A lot of the music was super energetic and upbeat tempo-wise. Mike suggested we do something a little different though. So, we started working on a more mid-tempo song. The hook, riff, and melody changed so naturally. I equate it to ‘Pull Me Under’ back in the day where we’d just start playing, something would come out, and we’d be like, ‘Whoa, that’s cool’. There’s a serendipitous moment where it happens. Lyrically, it’s about how anxiety plagues people. It’s like there’s an invisible monster beating you. You don’t see it, but it’s haunting you all of the time,” explains John Petrucci.
A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and available for pre-order HERE
You can also watch the first installment of a new 3-part interview recorded at DTHQ, as Dream Theater discuss the making of the new album ‘A View From The Top The World’. Pt.2 coming this week.
Two years after the release of their explosive album No One is Illegal, Austrian Turbopolka outfit RUSSKAJA is back with the brand new single and music video “Russki Style”!
“Russki Style” is RUSSKAJA in their purest form – catchy, heavy riffs driven by a brim-full of energy form the foundation of the fiery Polka/Ska banger with their prominent distinctive Russian signature, delivered at a blood pumping tempo that’ll drive you crazy! With well over 20 million streams on Spotify alone and relentless touring while still rocking stages on TV as the house band on the prestigious “Willkommen Österreich” – RUSSKAJA’s Turbo Ska Punk is unstoppable!
Guitarist/Producer/Songwriter Engel Mayr says: “I can’t wait for our fans to enjoy “Russki Style” as the first single of our upcoming album! To me it’s the pure RUSSKAJA Energia combining fat riffs and Russian Ska with balkan brass and violin thunder, topped by some lovely vocal hooklines. Check out the video for maximum party feeling. This one will kick your ass!”
Check out the music video for “Russki Style” HERE!
As the seven-headed band took over stages all around the world, RUSSKAJA mastered the exhausting way to the top and became an indispensable trademark for diversity! RUSSKAJA’s upbeat, powerful and amusing songs swing between countries, languages and cultures. Staying true to their cosmopolitan Austro-Soviet roots, the Austrian Ska-Legends deliver their so called “Turbopolka” – high speed, groovy Polka Ska meshed with distorted guitars and raspy Russian-German-English blended vocals that leave even the most sluggish crowds dancing along to their rhythm!
After flooring fans new and old with the release of “Hidden Window”, the legends of progressive death metal BE’LAKOR are back with their staggering second single “Foothold”, taken from their long-awaited new album Coherence, out October 29th via Napalm Records!
The deep, powerful vocals of George Kosmas unite with a keen sense for captivating, atmospheric and multi-faced compositions. “Foothold” appears as another gem of Progressive Death Metal, proving BE’LAKOR’s great ambitions to push their boundaries further once more.
The eight tracks on Coherence display BE’LAKOR’s impressive spectrum of musical abilities, ranging from the 12-minute-long journey of “Much More Was Lost” to the atmospheric, fully instrumental “Sweep of Days”. BE’LAKOR are not afraid to focus on extensive, cohesive songwriting, and Coherence is full of details that reveal more and more with every listen of the album. Thanks to the marvelous, larger-than-life mix by none other than Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Leprous, At The Gates among others), BE’LAKOR are as bold and majestic as ever on Coherence!
Steve Merry (piano/synths) from BE’LAKOR about Coherence: “We’re excited to share this album after five years of quite intense work on it. It’s pushed us in many ways. Coherence has two of our longest ever songs; it has some really substantial instrumental tracks; it’s heavy and progressive in places, but still full of the melody that drives our work. The album’s lyrics also explore quite different ideas to those of our earlier albums. We look forward to working with Napalm Records on this release and sharing this music with our fans!”
Coherence will be available on black 2LP gatefold with etching, as well as limited 2LP gatefolds in gold, silver and white. The exclusive Die Hard Edition of the album will feature a metal plate with the lyrics and a slipmat, and a deluxe wooden box (jewel case) limited edition will include a collector’s coin, wall flag, wrist band and pick set. A must-have for BE’LAKOR fans!
JAY JAY FRENCH, founder, guitarist and manager of the world-famous heavy metal institution Twisted Sister, has delivered a “Bizoir” – part memoir (and essential reading for any metal fan) and part business primer – in Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ‘N’ Roll, an unexpected, whirlwind, hilarious, transformative story of French’s adventure-filled life.
Co-written with Steve Farber, bestselling author and one of the world’s top leadership and management experts, Twisted Business follows French’s life from growing up as John Segall on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the ‘60s – using and selling drugs in Central Park West – to quitting cold-turkey after a near-fatal overdose, to creating and cultivating Twisted Sister, turning it into one of the most successful brands in the world.
I brought my life story into this mix as both entertainment and cautionary tale,” French says. “Along with my co-author Steve Farber, we seamlessly weave the story of Twisted Sister’s remarkable 50-year history (with many legendary never before told stories) into business lessons that are applicable to every profession and even to life in general. For the first time, the story of the rise, fall and triumphant return of Twisted Sister is spelled out in amazing and often surprising detail.”
French offers honest, funny, heartfelt, entertaining in-the-rock-band-trenches stories, as well as unique, hard-earned tips and advice to anyone hoping to create their own brand, re-invent themselves, grow a business or simply love what they do.
“It’s a blueprint on how to survive and succeed against some of the toughest odds in the business,” he says. “The T. W. I. S. T. E. D. method of reinvention (as outlined in the book) will help you turn roadblocks into pathways, chaos into stability and ultimately help you realize a greater quality of life both personally and professionally.”
Jay Jay French and Steve Farber
French started the internationally renowned Twisted Sister nearly 50 years ago and has amassed 37 gold and platinum albums as a musician, manager, producer and executive producer while having performed over 9,000 shows in 40 countries and selling 20 million records around the world. A charter member of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and the costar of the critically acclaimed documentary We Are Twisted F*cking Sister, he is considered a leading expert on vintage guitars and high-end music equipment.
Though legions of fans know French as the yellow and black-clad guitarist for Twisted Sister, he also shines as a business leader who developed Twisted Sister into a global brand with multiple revenue streams and built it into one of the most licensed heavy metal bands in history. Host of the popular podcast The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music, French is also a columnist as well as a Keynote Motivational Speaker delivering presentations to global Fortune 500 companies as well as to nonprofits.
Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ‘N’ Roll by Jay Jay French and Steve Farber is available now via RosettaBooks.
Jay Jay French will sign copies of Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ‘N’ Roll this Saturday, October 2 at Barnes & Noble in Paramus, NJ.
After hitting the UK rock chart at number 6 with their recent EP Intra, powerhouse UK hard rock trio SKAM keep the pedal down by releasing two singles from their impending second EP Venous – ‘Circle’ and ‘Fade Out’. With the EP landing on October 1st via X-Ray Records, SKAM have offered up ‘Deadliest Sin’, another superb track, in anticipation of the release.
On ‘Deadliest Sin’, SKAM take a break from power rock and produce a track that is a sensitive song about pride. The lyrics focus on an argument between lovers who are both too proud to admit they are in the wrong. ‘’We put a lot of time into this one to get the feeling right. The track itself builds into an emotive feel-good song. The lads have worked hard to combine big hooks and delicious harmonies to draw you in. Sit back, relax, and immerse yourself.’’ – SKAM
After the success of SKAM’s last release Intra, which stormed up the UK rock chart to #6, SKAM are back in the saddle with their second EP release this year. Venous is a 6 track EP that follows on where Intra left off. The vision was to release 2 separate EPs rather than a full studio album. This approach means the band were able to spread out their releases over a year rather that in one hit. Venous is the second part of a 2 EP collection and completes this vision that the band had.
Steve from SKAM had this to say: “We are totally excited for people to get their ears around Venous. Knowing we had a second release penned for this year, we decided to hold back some killer tracks. Lyrically, the songs follow the same theme of human conditions and experiences. We have really tried to push the envelope of the SKAM sound on this one and there is something there for fans both old and new. You will hear hard hitting bangers typical of the sound SKAM are famous for, but also some curve balls in the form of a power ballad and a 90s style grunge track!“
The record closes with ‘The Cure’, which is a dedication to Steve and Neal’s mum, who sadly passed away from cancer last October. Neal writes, “We, like many, suffered at the hands of this terrible illness, but we found solace in knowing we are not on our own. With millions of people across the globe going through a similar tough time, we wanted to write a song of hope and sympathy for anyone affected by cancer. Turn it up loud and think of those you love.”
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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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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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 