After Biff Byford (Saxon), Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Unisonic), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, ex-Vengeance), Bruce Kulick (Grand Funk Railroad, ex-KISS, ex-Meat Loaf) and the German Filmorchestra Babelsberg another participent can now be announced: It’s Pretty Maids vocalist Ronnie Atkins who will sing a role on the new AVANTASIA Metal Opera “The Mystery Of Time” (out in March 2013).
Tobias comments: “I have been a huge Pretty Maids fan since I was a teenager. I already asked Ronnie to be on the Metal Opera in 1999, but he was busy back then. Last year I saw Pretty Maids live, and they were a steam train on stage, unbelievable. After the show we met and Ronnie was a great guy. Finally after 13 years, I am really proud to have him on the new Avantasia album. And his kick-ass performance leaves no doubt: It was a great decision to ask him!”
Watch the new clip with sound snippets at: http://www.tobiassammet.com
Source: Bravewords.com Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, SAXON‘s wonderfully unfiltered and intimate account of their ascent to the upper echelons of heavy metal, has entered the DVD charts in Germany at #20 and the DVD/Blu-ray charts in Sweden at #11.
Rivetingly honest, and including the frank memories of every musician who has played in the band, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie pieces together the earliest incarnations of SAXON from frontman Biff Byford‘s teenage years in the coalmines of ‘Yorkshire’ and ‘SON OF A BITCH‘ (the first incarnation of SAXON) all the way through to top 10 hits and world tours. Nothing is forsaken and nothing skipped.
Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie will entertain, engage and charm fans and non-fans alike. That’s a truth as honest as the film itself…
With a storming new stomp in their boots and a renewed, lithe swagger to their legendary sound, SAXON will release their new album, Sacrifice, on February 22nd in Europe, February 25th in the UK, and February 26th in North America, through UDR.
Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, SAXON have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album, A Call To Arms.
“Less tricks, more power!”, roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford. “My brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration.”
The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn’s and Doug Scarratt’s guitar work the best it’s ever been, while Biff’s vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in SAXON’s history, with the likes of ‘Warriors Of The Road’, ‘Wheels Of Terror’ and ‘Stand Up And Fight’ evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic Saxon sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, ‘Sacrifice’.
“It’s certainly been done from a more early ‘80s thrashier perspective,” explains Biff, “and it’s not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they’ve got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective.”
Besides the new material, SAXON will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of ‘Crusader’ and an acoustic version of ‘Frozen Rainbow’.
“From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place,” concludes Biff, “And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic SAXON-songwriting, has in my opinion made SAXON fresher than ever.”
Sacrifice tracklisting:
‘Procession’
‘Sacrifice’
‘Made In Belfast’
‘Warriors Of The Road’
‘Guardians Of The Tomb’
‘Stand Up And Fight’
‘Walking The Steel’
‘Night Of The Wolf’
‘Wheels Of Terror’
‘Standing In A Queue’
March
24 – Mexico City, Mexico – Plaza Condesa
26 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – A Seringueira
28 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – El Teatro Flores
April
18 – Leamington Spa, UK – Assembly
19 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
20 – Newcastle, UK – Academy
21 – Glasgow, UK – ABC
23 – Manchester, UK – Ritz
24 – Leeds, UK – Academy
26 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfrun Hall
27 – London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
28 – Bristol, UK – Academy
Our Global Metal Peace Ambassador Biff Byford stopped by the office earlier today to celebrate the news that Heavy Metal was officially recognised as a UK religion following 2011′s census campaign!
Check out his video message below!
See the full results over at the Guardian website, and high five to everyone who got involved!
Nuclear Blast announces the breathtaking news for all AVANTASIANS: The new album will be called “THE MYSTERY OF TIME“, and is set for release in March.
Immediately after the release of this new Metal Opera, based on a story written by Tobias Sammet, the band will embark on a full-fledged indoor-tour, during which the band and special guests will bring the epic undertaking to the stage. Due to embracing all of the different eras and history of AVANTASIA these shows will have an extended playing time, and the whole evening will be dedicated to Avantasia with no support acts. Guests and album details will be announced soon!
Musicians who have been confirmed as guests on the CD so far are URIAH HEEP drummer Russell Gilbrook, producer and guitarist Sascha Paeth, former KISS & MEAT LOAF guitarist Bruce Kulick, and of course Tobias on bass and vocals. Now we can announce the name of the next guest star: New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legend Biff Byford from SAXON will sing one role on this forth-coming epic.
Source: Bravewords.com
SAXON frontman Biff Byford is scheduled to appear at a special talk / book launch for Beyond Time And Place – The Art Of Paul Raymond Gregory, tonight (Thursday, November 1st) at 7 PM in London, England.
According to a press release: At this special discussion and book launch, we will be bringing together journalist Greg Mofitt,Biff Byford of legendary metal band SAXON, fellow fantasy artist Mark Wilkinson, art collector Peter Nahum, and ex chair of the Tolkien society Alex Lewis to discuss Paul’s fantastic body of work. As a self-taught artist the book takes a journey through the three key aspects of his career. The first explores the sweeping landscapes of Paul’s imagined Tolkien world. The next documents Paul’s total absorption in the heavy metal world. As a life-long rock fan, Paul’s move into album artwork had been just a matter of time. His style lends itself perfectly to the genre and he brings to it the same restless imagination which shines throughout his other work. Raymond Gregory,
Never tired of the road, SAXONrecently announced the UK leg of their Sacrifice World Tour, in support of the upcoming album of the same name. The band will play nine dates in April 2013 and they can’t wait to share their new material on stage.
Throughout the years, SAXON have been touring relentlessly and earning an excellent reputation for the quality and energy of their performances. This is documented in their Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, which is released on December 7th. As UK fans await Sacrifice with the same anticipation reserved for Saxon’s previous work, they know the spring shows will be – as always – a treat not to be missed.
Biff Byford says: “People have been asking me if this is going to be our last album and tour – we don’t know yet we’ll see how it goes.”
Tour dates:
April
18 – Leamington Spa, UK – Assembly
19 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
20 – Newcastle, UK – Academy
21 – Glasgow, UK – ABC
23 – Manchester, UK – Ritz
24 – Leeds, UK – Academy
26 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfrun Hall
27 – London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
28 – Bristol, UK – Academy
Tickets for all venues are priced at £18.50 except for London, where they are £20.00 (all subject to booking fee). Tickets available at Kililive.com Tel: 0844 871 8803 and usual outlets. Doors for all venues open at 7 PM.
The silver eagle has finally landed for audiences worldwide! After enjoying a limited “Fan Club Only” UK release, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, SAXON‘s wonderfully unfiltered and intimate account of their ascent to the upper echalons of heavy metal, will finally enjoy an international release this December.
The double-disc set features the soon-to-be-celebrated story of SAXON, while the second disc is packed with bonus features including a full-length performance (on St. George’s Day) from April 23rd, 2008. Rivetingly honest, and including the frank memories of every musician who has played in the band, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie pieces together the earliest incarnations of SAXON, from frontman Biff Byford’s teenage years in the coalmines of Yorkshire and SON OF A BITCH (the first incarnation of Saxon) all the way through to top 10 hits and world tours.
“Our music was more sort of machinery banging together, wheels turning, machines making noise,” says Biff of those early, industrial days, “It’s what Heavy Metal is all about. Heavy Metal is all about hard, big sounds bashing your skull in. I used to work in factories where big machinery made lot of noise and I used to sing along to the noises they made.”
It is a documentary which looks for all the world as though it’s a superbly crafted script, as much a tale of pure, honest, working class triumph as just another Rock n’ Roll story. Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie shows every facet of SAXON on their journey without once diluting the true characters who make up the band.
“We basically played every dump and shithole that there is in England over a period, probably just short of eight years,” laughs Biff. “You know classic cliché of transit van, up and down and we used to play more or less every night. One gig might be a good paying gig and the other one might be no money or ten quid but it was an obsession, you had to play every day.”
These wonderfully naïve young men sought nothing more than a great gig, a good time and maybe a nice girl, before suddenly finding themselves on tour in the US, exposed to the sorts of things which (quite frankly) Barnsley simply didn’t offer in 1980. And from that point, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, takes the viewer on a journey on a Rock n’ Roller of a journey encompassing it all from triumphs to tears to tea-bags and beyond.
Nothing is forsaken and nothing skipped. Despite the fact that to this day there remain problems between the Byford/Quinn and Oliver/Dawson parties, everyone tells the full unedited Saxon story with heartfelt honesty and integrity.
“We do have a great legacy,” says Byford, “whether you joined the band in 1994 or (as) an original member. There’s a legacy there and I’ve tried hard to not let people demean it and to spoil it and you have to look after that thing that is Saxon.”
Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie will entertain, engage and charm fans and non-fans alike. That’s a truth as honest as the film itself…
Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie will be available on DVD Digipack (2 Discs) and Blu-ray. Further details to follow.
Chief Shock Video
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
Ads
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
Raymond Gregory,
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 