Symphonic Black Metal Lords WELICORUSS Drummer Ilya Tabachnik has posted on his Youtube Channel a cool drum cover for GENESIS‘ “Land Of Confusion”, watch it here:
Just recently Ilya released his drum cover for SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s “Toxicity”, in case you missed it, watch it here: https://youtu.be/nN54eW3g9_I
In November 2020, WELICORUSS will head on their 15th anniversary mini-tour, with special guests Purnama, Porta Inferi and Kazgaroth.
The band stated: “Welicoruss will play 15th Anniversary Shows! 🎸🎸 Friends, this autumn, despite of coronavirus situation complicating concert activities throughout Europe and the World nevertheless, truly important outstanding events for all of us will happen – Welicoruss will have 15th Anniversry Tour in Czech Republic! Undoubtedly, this is a huge age, time during which band has gone through a lot, but nevertheless survived in endless battles for existence and brought 4 albums and more than 800 concerts in Europe and Russia! We are more alive than ever and ready to prove it in special live shows in 3 Czech cities – Prague, Brno and Ostrava! We`re inviting you to join those undoubtedly important events, also for the reason that our friends from Purnama, Porta Inferi, Kazgaroth and some others will come to support us and introduce their last releases! We will be gratefull for your supporting and sharing of this post everywhere!”
WELICORUSS released their latest album “Siberian Heathen Horde” on March 27th, via El Puerto Records worldwide. Get your copy of “Siberian Heathen Horde” here – https://bit.ly/2UvYVlS
“Siberian Heathen Horde” tracklisting:
Spellcaster
Siberian Heathen Horde
Path Of Seductions
Frostbounded
Metaphysical (feat. Rob Carson from Xaon band) 6 Tree Of Nations
Symphonic Black Metal From The Coldest Depths of Siberia is what WELICORUSS (formed in 2005) have brought with them to us here in Europe. WELICORUSS appeared in Europe 4 years ago and they have already played all the biggest festival across the whole Europe and playing over 320 concerts. You will be absolutely stunned by their stage performance and imagery as they take you away on a journey far away to Depths of Icy Cold Siberia and back.
July 2020 sees the publication of A Genesis In My Bed – the long overdue autobiography from guitar great and former member of Genesis, Steve Hackett. As with his music, Steve has written a highly detailed, entertaining and embracing tome that charts his life in full, but with a firm emphasis on his years with Genesis that saw the band’s meteoric rise to become one of the most successful British bands of all time.
Book Cover Photo by Tina Korhonen – Genesis Photos by Armando Gallo
Steve talks candidly about his early life, his time with Genesis, and in particular his personal relationships with the other four band members, with great insight into the daily goings on of this major rock band.
Naturally, A Genesis In My Bed also regales stories of Steve’s career since leaving Genesis and the many different journeys that it has taken him on. With his flair for the creative, and a great deal of levity, A Genesis In My Bed is also a riveting read. Indispensable for Genesis fans but also essential for general music lovers and avid readers of autobiographies full of heartfelt and emotive tales.
Steve says, “It’s often revealing. There’s lace, loves and butterflies, and I explore personal feelings. I’ve answered many questions fans asked over the years too, such as why I left Genesis. It’s taken fifteen years to bring this book to fruition, writing between tours, recording and legal challenges, but that’s given me time to really develop it.”
Here are some quotes from Steve taken from the book:
On joining Genesis…
He lifted his head and looked at me with a steely gaze… “You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?”
Once again I was up against that invisible wall, aware I could either choose to sit there and give in or climb over it. But once over the wall, you can never go back. I knew there and then I was about to take a leap of faith into that new world and that my life was about to change for good. I was to board a spaceship to a new planet with a bunch of aliens. I emptied my glass, put it down and walked out through the door into the sunshine, clutching that ticket to Mars.
On creating The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway…
We were writing and recording at high intensity. The Lamb is a dense album with tons of detail. Everyone brimming over with ideas, the record was as packed with themes as Times Square is filled with people on a busy night, vocals suddenly abrasive like the horn of a New York fire truck. Forget sweet dreams… the drama unfolds day and night. The Lamb felt like a titanic adventure we were trying to survive… We struck icebergs, but bravely lurched on into shark infested, uncharted waters.
On leaving Genesis…
Had I done the right thing? It was a big risk and a huge step into the unknown. I was leaving a world class band that was by now filling arenas internationally. I had to trust in the power of my instinct and inspiration…
Anecdote about a border customs experience…
On one occasion, after customs found some residual illegal substance left by a previous band in the car we’d hired, we were taken off into separate rooms. The customs guys were confrontational and aggressive, challenging me with large dogs as I stood there without my clothes on. Then suddenly an alarm startled these jumpy characters who swiftly pulled out their guns and spun around wildly, nostrils flaring…
A Genesis gig caught up in a revolution…
The government was about to be overthrown the following day and it was like a tinderbox explosion! There was a riot outside the venue with guns and fire crackers going off and upturned army jeeps in the street. I heard there were fatalities. The gig was oversold. Pyramids of people clambering over each other were dangerously close to the balconies.
And of his current output, Steve says: “Musically, I’m proud of the most recent album ‘At The Edge Of Light’, with creative involvement from Roger and Jo, plus the most amazing musicianship from band members, orchestral players, singers and instrumentalists from the far pavilions and beyond…”
The launch of A Genesis In My Bed comes as Steve is locked down at home, as we all are, having had to abandon his US tour at short notice. “I’d never had to stop a tour halfway before… At least the gigs were postponed, so we will return!
“Being on the last flight from Philly to London brought to mind my song, ‘Last train to Istanbul’. We were lucky to get back home… With our ‘Seconds Out’ tour plans, we still have something to look forward to beyond these dark times. We have every intention of playing as soon as venues are open again.”
The irrepressible former Genesis guitarist STEVE HACKETT announces his 2020 North America Tour. Setting off February 26th, 2020, Steve and his band will perform 17 shows in the U.S and Canada.
For the first time ever, Steve will perform the seminal Genesis album Selling England By The Pound in its entirety. Released in 1973, the album went to No. 3 in the UK charts and has been described as ‘the definitive Genesis album.’ It includes fan favorites such as Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Firth of Fifth, Cinema Show and, of course, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe). Other favorite classic Genesis tracks will also feature in the show.
2019 marked the 40th anniversary of one of Steve’s most popular solo albums Spectral Mornings, and Steve will rightly celebrate this milestone by performing masterpieces from the album.
Steve explains, “I’m thrilled to be performing the whole of my favourite Genesis album, SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND, which caught the attention of John Lennon in 1973. I felt that I was now playing guitar in the world’s best band, and everything was opening up for us… Also I look forward to playing all the favorite songs from SPECTRAL MORNINGS, marking its anniversary, plus new album tasters, as well as additional Genesis gems in a terrific grand slam!”
Canada and U.S Tour dates are as follows:
2/26/2020 Jubilee Auditorium Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2/27/2020 Winspear Centre Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
3/1/2020 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
3/4/20 The Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI
3/6/20 Warner Theatre Washington, DC
3/7/20 Bergen Performing Arts Center Englewood, NJ
3/11/20 The Academy of Music Northampton, MA
3/12/20 Miller Symphony Hall Allentown, PA
3/13&14/20 Scottish Rite Auditorium Collingswood, NJ
3/15/20 Whitaker Center Harrisburg, PA
3/17/20 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC
3/19/20 The Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
3/20/20 Ponte Vedra Concert Hall Ponte Vedra, FL
3/21/20 The Plaza Live Orlando, FL
3/22/20 Capitol Theatre Clearwater, FL
3/24/20 Parker Playhouse Ft Lauderdale, FL
Joining Steve on the tour are his regular musicians Roger King (keyboards), Jonas Reingold (bass), Rob Townsend (saxes/flutes) with Nad Sylvan on vocals. Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, King Crimson, Iron Maiden) will be on drums & percussion – he was voted by Modern Drummer and Rhythm Magazine readers as one of the top progressive and forward thinking drummers in the world…
Canadian heavy music artist Devin Townsend recently announced the release of his forthcoming new album ‘EMPATH’ for the 29th March 2019, and today sees the launch of the first single from the album.
Watch the epic new video for ‘Genesis’ here:
Devin comments:
Hey all 🙂
It’s with great pride (and a healthy dose of trepidation) that I can finally present to you a song from the EMPATH record. In each album cycle there is the dilemma over which track we ‘lead’ with, not only to get people excited, but also to give an accurate overview of the project.
As the musical nature of EMPATH shifts from track to track, (from musical theater, death metal, prog free jazz and more commercial things) it was a hard decision. Some people wanted the relatively straightforward song ‘Spirits Will Collide’ while others wanted a more cinematic banging track like ‘Evermore’. We ultimately chose to go with the opening track ‘Genesis’ as it not only features around 5 different stylistic shifts (some quite jarring, to be fair 🙂 but also includes all three drummers, the choir, the orchestra, and basically the kitchen sink as well.
This song is ultimately about facing fear, as well as analysing one’s relationship with one’s past in order to progress. The record has an overarching theme of what I like to view as ‘hope’ in chaotic times. I have been working on this record for more than a year, and it represents a kind of shift for me in my personal and professional world that I am quite proud of. It’s the first time in quite a few years I have made an album like this, and I think if nothing else, ‘Genesis’ represents the chaotic nature of the project (and the world at large currently) in the most accurate way I can do at this stage of life.
I’d like to thank the entire team of wonderful musicians and artists who helped me actualize this material, as well as Inside Out records and Northern Music for their help and support.
Mid-life-crisis-core!
Devin 🙂
He also recently announced dates for the ‘EMPATH Europe – Volume 1’tour. The full list of dates are as follows:
15th November – Salle Pleyel, Paris, France
16th November – Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
17th November – 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
18th November – Grunspan, Hamburg, Germany
20th November – Logomo, Turku, Finland
21st November – Cirkus, Helsinki, Finland
23rd November – Münchenbryggeriet, Stockholm, Sweden
24th November – Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
25th November – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
27th November – Astra, Berlin, Germany
28th November – Roxy, Prague, Czech Republic
29th November – A2, Wroclaw, Poland
30th November – Barba Negra, Budapest, Hungary
2nd December – Simm City, Vienna, Austria
3rd December – X Tra, Zurich, Switzerland
6th December – Academy, Dublin, Ireland
7th December – Limelight, Belfast, UK
9th December – SWG3 Galvanisers, Glasgow, UK
10th December – Albert Hall, Manchester, UK
12th December – Roundhouse, London, UK
13th December – Rock City, Nottingham, UK
In the lead up to the album’s release, Devin will walk fans through how EMPATH came together with a series of documentary episodes recorded as phone conversations during the course of the albums recording. Watch the first episode of that series here: https://youtu.be/y4sJ8odko2Y
Two days prior to the release of EMPATH, on 27th March, a special cinema screening of the documentary will take place in London at the Everyman Screen on the Green. Devin will be in attendance to give a live commentary to the film, and to answer fans questions afterwards. Tickets are available here: https://www.everymancinema.com/screen-on-the-green/film-info/devin-townsend-empath-documentary
Over the past few years, the success that Devin has slowly worked for has fortunately come with the power to control his own creative destiny. The recent successes with the DVD from a sold-out Royal Albert hall, or his 2012 ‘Retinal Circus’, or last year’s ‘Ocean Machine’ live DVD with the Orchestra and Choir of State Opera Plovdiv has put him in a position where with the new album EMPATH, he will once and for all define himself as a musical force outside of any particular genre classification.
On this album Devin has decided to see what would happen if all the styles that make up his current interests were finally represented in one place. To finally shake the fear of expectation, and just do what it is he was meant to do creatively, EMPATH, true to the name, is about allowing the audience a feeling for a variety of musical emotions. The musical dynamics represented on this single album are broad, challenging, and immense. To approach this sort of work with a long history of what makes heavy music ‘heavy’, allows this to be done with a type of power rarely heard.
Joining Devin on this album is Frank Zappa alumni Mike Keneally as music director, as well as Morgan Ågren (Mats And Morgan, Frank Zappa, Fredrik Thordendal), Anup Sastry (Monuments, Periphery), Samus Paulicelli (Decrepit Birth, Abigail Williams), Nathan Navarro, Elliot Desagnes, Steve Vai, Chad Kroeger,Anneke Van Giersbergen, Ché Aimee Dorval, Ryan Dhale and the Elektra Women’s Choir.
A bold statement with massive production values and dynamic, uncompromised musicality. This is a statement about not only pursuing creative freedom in a conservative scene, but also trying to show that heavy music is truly a valid musical tool.
‘EMPATH’ will be released on Limited 2 CD Digipak in O-Card (including an entire disc of bonus material), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180G 2LP Vinyl + CD + LP-booklet & as digital album. Pre-order now here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/Empath
The full track-listing is as follows:
1. Castaway
2. Genesis
3. Spirits Will Collide
4. Evermore
5. Sprite
6. Hear Me
7. Why
8. Borderlands
9. Requiem
10. Singularity Part 1 – Adrift
11. Singularity Part 2 – I Am I
12. Singularity Part 3 – There Be Monsters
13. Singularity Part 4 – Curious Gods
14. Singularity Part 5 – Silicon Scientists
15. Singularity Part 6 – Here Comes The Sun
Last year Devin announced a special ‘An Evening With’ tour that would see him performing acoustically, as well as taking part in a fan Q&A at each show.
The full list of dates are as follows, many of which are already sold out:
7th March – The Piano Man Jazz Club, New Delhi, India SOLD OUT
8th March – Levi’s Lounge, Mumbai, India SOLD OUT
22nd March – Prognosis Festival, Eindhoven, Netherlands – Guitar Clinic
23rd March – Prognosis Festival, Eindhoven, Netherlands – Production Clinic & performance
29th March – Savoy Theater, Helsinki, Finland SOLD OUT
30th March – Savoy Theater, Helsinki, Finland SOLD OUT
31st March – Sodra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden SOLD OUT
1st April – Edderkoppen, Oslo, Norway SOLD OUT
2nd April – Bremen Theater, Copenhagen, Denmark SOLD OUT
4th April – PassionKirchhe, Berlin, Germany
5th April – Stodola, Warsaw, Poland
6th April – La Fabrica, Prague, Czech Republic SOLD OUT
7th April – Freiheiz, Munich, Germany SOLD OUT
9th April – Kulturkirche, Cologne, Germany SOLD OUT
10th April – Grunspan, Hamburg, Germany SOLD OUT
11th April – Bravo Kerk, Haarlem, Netherlands SOLD OUT
13th April – Reading 3, Tel Aviv, Israel
24th April – Bush Hall, London, UK SOLD OUT
25th April – Bush Hall, London, UK SOLD OUT
26th April – St George’s, Bristol, UK SOLD OUT
27th April – City Varieties, Leeds, UK SOLD OUT
29th April – Jam House, Edinburgh, UK SOLD OUT
30th April – Glee Club, Birmingham, UK SOLD OUT
Guitar virtuoso and rock legend, Steve Hackett (formerly of Genesis), is set to release his latest album ‘The Night Siren’ on March 24th, 2017 through InsideOut Music (Sony). As implied in the title, ‘The Night Siren’ is a wake-up call… the warning of a siren sounding in this era of strife and division.
Just recently Steve Hackett revealed the first track from the album, titled ‘In The Skeleton Gallery’, which you can hear below:
Steve had this to say about the song: “I’m excited by the imminent release of my new album, The Night Siren, which includes this track, “In The Skeleton Gallery”. You know that ancient childhood night terror which creeps up on you in a dark moment when you’re least expecting it… This track moves from a dream-like groove with a Middle Eastern tinged accompaniment through to a sinister march and on to an out-there nightmare ride, before the child’s box of tricks reclaims it and the lid is finally closed…”
‘The Night Siren’ showcases Steve’s incredible guitar playing as strongly as ever, along with musicians from several different countries who Steve invited to join him in celebrating multicultural diversity and unity. This includes singers from Israel and Palestine, who both actively campaign to bring Jewish and Arabic people together. There are also instrumentals from the USA and Iraq and a multiplicity of sounds, including the exotic strains of Indian sitar and Middle Eastern tar and oud, the ethnic beauty of the Peruvian charango and the haunting Celtic Uilleann pipes.
Steve is widely travelled, making friends everywhere he goes and has always embraced multicultural diversity. In these times of unrest, he has been inspired to express his belief that the world needs more empathy and unity. His wish to involve a range of musical sounds, instruments, musicians and singers from different parts of the world is both a development of his eclectic approach to music and shows how people can be brought together, even from war torn regions.
Talking about his latest work, Steve says, “This latest waxing represents a bird’s eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit, featuring musicians, singers and instruments from all over the world. From territorial frontiers to walled-up gateways, boundaries often hold back the tide. But while the night siren wails, music breaches all defences. To quote Plato, ‘When the music changes, the walls of the city shake’.”
The musical journey takes us from ‘Behind the Smoke’, focusing on the plight of refugees throughout the ages, to the penultimate track ‘West to East’ which reflects on the damage of war and the hope for a better world. From personal to universal, the themes celebrate the life force, breaking free from chains of repression.
‘The Night Siren’ will be available as a special edition CD/Blu-Ray Mediabook featuring 5.1 surround sound & “making of” documentary, Standard jewelcase CD, Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD & digital download.
Behind The Smoke
Martian Sea
Fifty Miles from the North Pole
El Niño
Other Side of the Wall
Anything But Love
Inca Terra
In Another Life
In The Skeleton Gallery
West to East
The Gift
In addition to singers Kobi and Mira (Israeli and Palestinian), also featured on the album are Nick D’Virgilio (drums) from the USA, Malik Mansurov (Tar) from Azerbaijan & Gulli Breim (drums & percussion) from Iceland, along with regular Hackett collaborators: Roger King, Nad Sylvan, Gary O’Toole, Rob Townsend and Amanda Lehmann. Additional musicians who add to the rich flavour of the album are Christine Townsend (violin & viola), Dick Driver (double bass) and Troy Donockley (Celtic Uilleann).
Steve Hackett is returning with an exciting new show Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett for both UK/European & US tour dates. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the classic Genesis album ‘Wind and Wuthering’, Steve and his band will be performing several tracks from the album as well as fan favourites such as ‘The Musical Box’ and other Genesis numbers never performed before by Steve’s band including ‘Inside & Out’ and ‘Anyway’ as well as material from ‘The Night Siren’.
Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett 2017 Canada and U.S tour dates:
Tuesday, February 14th City Winery Nashville, TN
Wednesday, February 15th City Winery Nashville, TN
Friday, February 17th Victoria Theater Newark, NJ
Saturday, February 18th State Theatre Ithaca, NY
Wednesday,February 22nd Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, CT
Thursday, February, 23rd NYCB Westbury, NY
Friday, February 24th Santander PAC Reading, PA,
Saturday, February 25th Playstation Theater New York, NY
Sunday, February 26th Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
Tuesday, February 28th 20 Monroe Live Grand Rapids, MI
Wednesday, March 1st Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
Thursday, March 2nd The Oakville Centre Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Friday, March 3rd Kleinhans Music Hall Buffalo, NY
When Experimental Post Metallers KRAKOW walked into the Solslottet and Duper Studio with producer Iver Sandøy to record what would become “amaran”, their 3rd full-length album, they had a total of ten tracks in mind – seven of which made it onto the finished album. The remaining three tracks proved to be perfect examples of the more aggressive and direct side of the band, but did not really fit in with the overall atmosphere of the album, so they were put to one side, ready to be used when the time was right, whilst everyone sat back and watched the plaudits come rolling in when “amaran” hit the streets in February of 2015 on Dark Essence Records.
And the time is now right to let the fans hear those three, never-before heard, tracks . Dark Essence will release them, together with the track “genesis” from “amaran” on the 7th August as a 7″ EP, which will be strictly limited to 300 copies, as well as in digital format. The EP, which is titled “genesis” will hit the streets just in time for the band’s appearance at Oslo’s Øya Festival on Saturday 15 August, and is now available to pre-order from http://karismarecords.bigcartel.com/artist/krakow
Artwork for the “Genesis” is by Thomas Hooper. Track listing as follows:
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 