BRIAN SETZER is celebrating his first solo album in 7 years, ‘Gotta Have The Rumble’, by sharing the third single + video ‘Rockabilly Banjo‘.
The song Rockabilly Banjo, written by the iconic guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and 3-time Grammy award-winner with Stephen “Dibbs” Preston (The Rockats), is a spirited countrified rockabilly song that shines a light on SETZER’s banjo playing, with Paul Franklin on pedal steel guitar. Watch the fun video, with vintage ‘50s black and white footage here. The album is now available physically (CD) and digitally via Surfdog Records, with the vinyl album due this fall (release date TBA). Listen to the full album here.
“Me and Dibbs were hanging around, and it was one of the few times ever that someone gives me a song that’s just the music and not the lyrics,” says SETZER. “And Dibbs said, ‘hey you play banjo, I love the way you play it.’ You know, banjo makes everybody smile and everybody’s after me to play more banjo. And Dibbs said, ‘hey, I got a song, what do you think of this?’ and I thought ‘Wow! Let’s clean it up.’ So that’s the last track. The legendary Paul Franklin is on steel. It was just a fun and good way out of the mess called 2020!”
“Rockabilly Banjo” follows the album’s first two singles/videos: “Checkered Flag,” co-written with SETZER’s bandmate in The Stray Cats, Slim Jim Phantom, and “Smash Up On Highway One” a collaboration with SETZER’s frequent writing partner Mike Himelstein.
Produced by Julian Raymond (Glen Campbell and Cheap Trick), GOTTA HAVE THE RUMBLE contains 11 all-original songs, all written or co-written by SETZER, and was recorded in Minneapolis (Setzer’s adopted hometown) and Nashville. GOTTA HAVE THE RUMBLE is a red-hot album from start to finish–American music amped up to 10–with songs that are full of dynamism and bravado. Highlights include “Checkered Flag,” “Smash Up On Highway One,” “Drip Drop,” “The Cat with 9 Wives,” “One Bad Habit” and “Rockabilly Banjo.”
Helsinki, Finland’s THY ROW, which is helmed by Metal De Facto and Everfrost vocalist Mikael Salo will be releasing the debut album “Unchained” on September 24th, 2021 via Rockshots Records.
Today, the band shares their new music video for their third single “The Downfall, Part 3: Fragments Of Memory”, a song inspired by vocalist Mikael Salo’s grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Fragments of Memory was born in a songwriting camp in Thailand with our guitar players Ville and Jussi and our producer Sami. This song was first given a working title “Tiger”, inspired by the Tiger Temple. Jussi started to play this oriental theme where Ville made the haunting chords for the background. Ville had this riff for chorus where it all started to build up. Even Though we had great parts in the song but the parts refused to work together. Everything was just too progressive. When Mikael added vocal melodies the song’s idea started to lighten up and now it is one of our favourite songs on the album.”
“Being the third and final song of our trilogy “The Downfall”, it deals with a very heavy and personal topic: losing the grip on our reality through Alzheimer’s disease. Mikael wanted to explore the topic as a kind of therapy having experienced the disease in his family, trying to imagine how it must be to go through something like that through our protagonist’s eyes. The character has arrived at the final stop of the downfall. His persona and memories all start to fade away, the scariness of how that must feel is taking over as the numbed trip towards the end begins. We hold many things for granted in life, and just being healthy in both body and mind is something to truly be grateful for.” Salo adds.
Founded in 2017, the band made their first entry on the Finnish scene with their 2019 independently released self-titled EP. The record’s lead single “The Round” reached over 110K streams on Spotify and added to the EP’s overall praise that gave the group the opportunity to tour Japan in 2019 with Beast In Black and Swallow The Sun.
Ready to follow up the success of that EP, Thy Row’s first full-length offers up a fresh mix of the finest heavy metal with modern hard rock that every metalhead can bang their heads to. With ten tracks plus a bonus cover of X Japan’s “Blue Blood” for its Japanese release, there are lots of great melodies spiced up with shakin’ riffs that are sure to encourage fans to turn up their stereo knobs all the way to eleven and enjoy.
“Our fans have waited for this album since we released our EP. We showed everyone that we are a force to be reckoned with and this record is going to prove that to everyone.” comments bassist Juho Jokimies.
THY ROW‘s “Unchained” is due out Sept 24th via Rockshots Records and Rubicon Music in Japan and available for pre-order at the following link – http://bit.ly/UnchainedCD
“Unchained” features guest artists Ben Varon (Oceanhoarse, ex-Amoral), Ilja Jalkanen (Raskasta Joulua, Kiuas), and Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun, Smackbound). The full length is mixed by Jussi Kraft (Starkraft Studio) and partly by Nino Laurenne (Sonic Pump Studios). Mastering was handled by Grammy-nominated Svante Forsbäck of Chartmakers Mastering (Rammstein, Volbeat).
The story behind the record is the telling of Thy Row becoming a band and the tale of their collective brotherhood as they grow and learn from one another. Many of the tracks deal with personal matters from each member.
“Creating this album was a long and a hard process, but it was also a road we wanted to walk to be able to present this music to the people. With a guitar case in hand, not knowing each other originally, we became friends and we made this album with pure innocent passion and love for the music. Every song, every story is connected to our lives and our friendship, and we hold this piece very close to our hearts! Each one of us gave our best and more, developing as musicians and people in the process. None of us wanted to compromise in any area, and that made the creation process extremely long and difficult. However, we feel that our debut album is a victory of not giving up, supporting your team members when the going gets tough, and crossing the finishing line with pride and determination. The story, the sound and the process are the epitome of our lives, thoughts and experiences from those times we were making this album, and we hope that people will enjoy this ride we have to offer!”
Track Listing: 1. Road Goes On 2. The Round (ft. Teemu Mäntysaari) 3. Unchained 4. Horizons 5. Hidebound (ft. Ben Varon & Ilja Jalkanen) 6. Just Fine 7. Down On My Knees (ft. Ben Varon) 8. The Downfall, Part 1: Killing All Inside 9. The Downfall, Part 2: Beyond Reason 10. The Downfall, Part 3: Fragments Of Memory 11. Blue Blood (X Japan Cover) *Japanese Bonus Track
Album Credits (music, cover/art, production) All songs arranged by Thy Row Producer on tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11: Ville Vase Producer on tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 9: Sami Inkiläinen Vocal producer: Jussi Kraft Guitar solo producer: Ben Varon Recording engineers: Jussi Kraft, Ville Vase, Sami Inkiläinen, Mikael Salo, Jarno Hänninen Bass and drums recorded at D-Studio Mixing: Jussi Kraft, Nino Laurenne Mastering: Svante Forsbäck (Chartmakers Mastering) Synth arrangement/programming: Ville Vase, Jussi Kraft, Sauli Aalto Additional guitars: Ben Varon, Jussi Kraft, Teemu Mäntysaari Additional vocals: Ilja Jalkanen, Nino Laurenne Bass on tracks 2, 5, 6: Lauri Hämäläinen Cover artwork illustration: Tony Kaikkonen Cover artwork graphic design: Ville Vase Booklet layout: Jarmo Paabo, Juho Jokimies Band photos: Sanna Kaesmae
A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH,the doom metal band led by founding Type O Negative and Life of Agony member Sal Abruscato, have released their new single ‘Reflections Of The Dead’ along with a music video. It’s the third single taken from their upcoming album ‘Infernum In Terra’, out September 24th, 2021 via Long Branch Records / SPV.
The music video has been directed by Joel Nilsson and assistant director Tony Julien Jelencovich. Says band mastermind Sal Abruscato about the new single:“For me one of the best doom songs I have simply ever written, nothing extravagant just heavy, moody and dark. About a person with deep depression that has the ability to see the dead where ever they look, the gift tortures them but so enamored by it that they want to crossover and join that dimension. Leave behind this cruel raging world!”
Watch the new A Pale Horse Named Death video here:
‘Infernum In Terra’ is the fourth studioalbum by A Pale Horse Named Death and was mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Meat Loaf, Yes, Sepultura, Halford etc.) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering (California,USA) while the artwork was done by Kelvin Doran of Serpent Tusk Studios (Dublin, Ireland).
“The album to me represents a new beginning, turning a new leaf shall we say with the same vibe from past albums but with a fresh open minded approach,”Abruscato explained earlier. “There is no real concrete specific concept, it touches on some personal topics in my life long, my interest in the dark arts, that to have light you must have darkness to balance everything. With daylight comes nightfall, with heaven there is hell and at this moment the world seems to be in a very dark place hence the title of the album ‘Infernum In Terra’. This is a very dark album, but what else is new I always write dark music to sooth a dark soul!”
Sal Abruscato was born in Brooklyn, NY, and started playing drums at the age of 10. He is the co-founder of Type O Negative with Peter Steele and performed on Slow, Deep & Hard, Origin Of The Feces, Bloody Kisses and various best of and soundtracks. Sal was the drummer for Life Of Agony and performed on River Runs Red, Ugly, River Runs Again, Broken Valley and A Place Where There’s No More Pain. Additional projects include Supermassiv & My Mortality. He is now the singer, songwriter and guitarist for A Pale Horse Named Death.
Tracklist ‘Infernum In Terra’:
Infernum
Believe In Something (You Are Lost)
Cast Out From The Sky
Shards Of Glass
Lucifer’s Sun
It Is Done
Two Headed Snake (Propofol Dreams)
Slave To The Master
Devil’s Deed
Reflections Of The Dead
Souls In The Abyss
‘Infernum In Terra’ will be out on September 24, 2021 through Long Brand Records, the album pre-sale is available at THIS LOCATION!
Melbourne progressive instrumental trio THE OMNIFIC – featuring the unique line-up of two bass players and a drummer – have streamed their new single ‘Ne Plus Ultra’, from their forthcoming debut record Escapades.
The Australian trio’s first LP Escapades will be released 8th October, via Wild Thing Records.
The Omnific state: “With solos & slap, popping & tap, ‘Ne Plus Ultra’ truly is the ne plus ultra of what The Omnific has defined bass to be. A uniquely collaborative piece between the 3 members, the strengths of each player are on full display. Cascading from chaotic thump riffs to elegant leads, intricate drum fills to technical solos, the chemistry between each member is ever present.”
Escapades is the band’s most adventurous work to date, an instrumental mosaic that dances between the edges of progressive rock, djent, funk, nintendocore, and synth-driven electronic soundscapes, an aural experience akin to a journey to an alternate world through a dimension-hopping Tesla.
The album features a guest bassist performance from Clay Gober of Polyphia on the track ‘Antecedent’, with the record being brought to life by mixing engineer Adam Bentley (Felix Martin, Arch Echo), and mastering from Ermin Hamidovic (Periphery, Devin Townsend Band, Plini).
After releasing three stunning EPs the band have attracted interest and fans from all corners of the globe clocking in over 5 million Spotify streams and 2 million views on their Youtube channel. The Omnific’s accessible style is for all music lovers; from those seeking to be challenged to those who wish to be blanketed by atmosphere, creating an identifiable sound and diverse international fan base. With swirling textures, syncopation, euphoric highs and melancholic lows; The Omnific are truly captivating.
The band have established working relationships with reputable companies Darkglass Electronics, Neural DSP and Dingwall Guitars, seeing them represent the brands with performances at the Melbourne Guitar Show, bringing attention amongst the ‘Gear-Nerd’ community. Coupled with their online play-through, gear demo and music videos, the band’s reach is beyond what many would expect from this impressive Melbourne trio so early in their career.
They are also no stranger to the live circuit with a stack of domestic and international touring under their belt, having toured with Between the Buried and Me (Australian Tour) Cog (Sold Out Australian Tour), Intervals & Sithu Aye (European Tour), several of their own headline Australian tours as well as supporting Ne Obliviscaris, Galactic Empire, Circles and others.
DRAGONFORCE have launched a new video for “Troopers of the Stars” – a song from 2019’s Extreme Power Metal! Inspired by the movie Starship Troopers, “Troopers of the Stars” was filmed before the pandemic with a large-scale production, directed by Roboshobo, in Los Angeles, CA. Watch this epic clip now, below.
DragonForce comments: “The long-awaited ‘Troopers of the Stars’ video is finally here. Be sure to watch it again and again to see if you can spot all the easter eggs in there!”
Fans can purchase exclusive, limited “Troopers of the Stars”-merchandise now at: dragonforce.com
DragonForce has also announced a European trek today, which will see the band join the mighty Powerwolf and Warkings on the road next year (see below for all dates!). “We are extremely excited to be going on tour with Powerwolf and Warkings!” adds DragonForce. “They are awesome bands, this is going to be one EPIC power metal tour!”
To get your DragonForce fix before then, join guitarist Herman Li for songwriting, live reactions, guitar playthroughs, video gaming, guitar reviews, special guest events and more on Tuesdays through Fridays at 9PM PT / 12AM ET / 5AM UK on Twitch: twitch.tv/hermanli
Today, eclectic Norwegian hard rock band WHITE VOID, centered around Lars Nedland (Borknagar, Solefald), is releasing a remix for another song from its much lauded debut album, Anti, which was released on March 12, 2021.
This time, WHITE VOID has teamed up with Greek avant-garde black metal band HAIL SPIRIT NOIR to bring you a synthwave remix of the single “There is No Freedom But The End.”
Take a seat in the DeLorean and journey through retro-futuristic polygon canyons & a nameless dystopian city dimly lit up in purple by the last dying rays of a menacing neon sun: WHITE VOID – “There Is No Freedom But The End – HAIL SPIRIT NOIR Remix”.
Lars Nedland comments: “Some bands are just different, and Hail Spirit Noir are true pioneers, bound by nothing and no one in their approach to music. There’s a divine touch to everything they do, and the way they have transformed “There is No Freedom but the End” into an eighties synthwave hit has ripped White Void’s musical universe a whole new dimension. This is a song worthy of pink pastels, ozone killing hairspray and pixelated graphics. It makes me want to hijack the nearest Delorean and just drive, drive, drive!”
WHITE VOID are no strangers to electronic music or new wave. In case you missed Lars talking about some of his favourite records in his vinyl collection, check out the videos below:
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
Click image to watch the video
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