SARACEN

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MOON CHAMBER – Feat. Members Of SARACEN, CRYSTAL VIPER & PAGAN ALTAR Announce Debut Single & Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on April 8, 2019
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
MOON-CHAMBER

Photo by Owe Lingvall

Marta Gabriel, the frontwoman of heavy metal stalwarts CRYSTAL VIPER – and respected session musician, with a vocal range of more than four octaves – is considered to be one of the finest singers of her generation. Rob Bendelow is the founder and original guitarist of the legendary British rock band SARACEN – as the composer of albums such as “Vox In Excelso”, “Redemption”, and most notably “Heroes Saints And Fools”, Rob is a truly respected contributor to the history of classic rock. So what might the result be if those two were to join forces, and combine their obvious passion for music? The answer is MOON CHAMBER. The quintet’s debut opus, entitled “Lore Of The Land”, will be released in October 2019 on the No Remorse Records.

In addition to Marta and Rob, three other musicians complete the MOON CHAMBER ranks. Keyboard duties are handled by Paul Bradder of SARACEN, and the driving percussion comes courtesy of PAGAN ALTAR’s Andy Green. In addition to vocals, Marta recorded all the bass guitar parts for the album, but Richard Bendelow (Rob’s son) is now responsible for the bass element going forward. The album comprises ten new tracks, deeply rooted in the classic rock of the ’70s and ’80s, whilst drawing inspiration from the wealth of English folklore, history and legend.

MOON-CHAMBER-cover

The band’s first single entitled “Ravenmaster” will have its premiere on April 26. It will be released as a limited edition promo CD, and made available to visiting fans of the Keep It True festival in Germany. This CD single will include two songs: “Ravenmaster”, plus MOON CHAMBER’s rendition of the SARACEN anthem “Crusader”. Cover artwork has been hand-crafted by Italian artist Roberto Toderico, known for his work with artistes such as TYGERS OF PAN TANG, QUARTZ or HEXX.

More information: http://www.facebook.com/moonchamberofficial

 

CRYSTAL VIPER: Ross The Boss, Mantas And Steve Bettney as Special Guests on New Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on October 7, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

crystalviper-2016-promo1

CRYSTAL VIPER are back! The Polish Heavy Metallers are returning after a 4 year absence, which was caused by the health issues relating to the band’s front woman and founder, Marta Gabriel. The comeback album entitled “Queen Of The Witches”, is probably a perfect Heavy Metal release, as except being a concept effort about the witches and true evil, includes all the elements that fans of the genre are looking for. Great melodies, impressive vocal lines, classic sounding riffs and harmonies, catchy refrains and pounding drums. Headbanging hymns, speed metal monsters, and power ballads. All of this with a powerful and very classic sound production by Bart Gabriel (CIRITH UNGOL, SACRED STEEL, MYTHRA), that refers to the iconic and best Heavy Metal albums ever made, and coupled with an amazing cover artwork painted by Andreas Marschall (RUNNING WILD, BLIND GUARDIAN, KREATOR).

As it’s already a tradition that CRYSTAL VIPER pays a tribute to the classic ’80s Metal acts of which legacy they proudly continue, it couldn’t be different this time, and the band invited several special guests to take part in the recordings. The MANOWAR co-founder and guitar hero Ross The Boss, and no less legendary Jeff Dunn (aka Mantas) of VENOM / VENOM INC., will appear with guitar solos in two of the songs. Except that, in one of the songs we will hear a duet of Marta Gabriel and Steve Bettney, vocalist of the NWoBHM cult heroes SARACEN.

“Queen Of The Witches” will hit the streets on February 17, 2017, and will be available as CD, limited edition LP and digital download. The limited edition gatefold LP (500 copies only) can already be pre-ordered on this location: http://bit.ly/CRYSTALVIPER_Queen_PREORDER

More information at http://www.crystalviper.com

CrystalViper-cover

Rich Davenport’s Rock Show: Interviews With PETE WAY (UFO, WAYSTED) JOHN PARR, MIKE CLINK, JIMMY BARNES And SARACEN

Posted by metalshockfinland on November 13, 2014
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Rich Davenport’s Rock Show this week features in-depth interviews with Pete Way (UFO/Waysted), John Parr, producer Mike Clink (Guns & Roses, Metallica), Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel) and Saracen, and is available for streaming below:

Rich Davenport's Rock Show – Pete Way, Mike Clink, John Parr, Jimmy Barnes & Saracen Interviews by Rich Davenport on Mixcloud

The first hour of the show features an exclusive interview with UFO/Waysted legend Pete Way (picture below), back in action after winning his recent battle against prostate cancer. We catch up with Pete as he resumes work on his forthcoming solo album “Walking on the Edge”, to find out how things are progressing. Assisting Pete with the recording is acclaimed producer Mike Clink, who gives an insight into Pete’s album, and also talks about working with UFO on their classic “Strangers in the Night” album, and also looks back on producing Guns & Roses’ debut album, “Appetite for Destruction”, choosing a track from each of these seminal releases. As an added bonus, Pete’s album is being recorded in John Parr’s studio, Somewhere In Yorkshire, so John also gives his thoughts on “Walking on the Edge” and also looks at his recent touring and recording work, and his plans for the future.

PeteWay

In part 2, Scots-Australian vocal giant Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel) celebrates 30 years as a solo artist with songs from his new collaborative album “Hindsight”, which features powerful renditions of his hits, on which Jimmy is accompanied by an all star cast of musical friends (including Little Steven Van Zandt, Joe Bonamassa, and Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain) and members of the Barnes clan. Jimmy gives the low down on the recording of “Hindsight”, and outlines his touring plans.

And finally, guitarist and songwriter Rob Bendelow of Saracen talks the writing and recording of new album “Redemption”, which sees the band delivering a fine brace of epic Hard Rock songs in their trademark powerful style, as you’ll hear on Rob’s choice of tracks from the record.

You can also listen on Sunday 9th November 15:00-17:00 GMT and Tuesday 11th November 10:00-12.00 GMT, Thursday 13th November 07:00-09:00 on http://www.totalrock.com, and on hot new Texas rock and metal station KXZR Radio at http://www.kxzr.fm

Rich’s Rapidfire Recommendations: SARACEN “Redemption” (2014)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on October 22, 2014
Posted in: Int. News, Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Rich’s Rapidfire Recommendations – bite-sized metal morsels to let you know about albums that have grabbed Rich Davenport by the ears, that I hope you’ll enjoy too! ROCK ON!

Saracen-coverArtist: SARACEN
Album: “Redemption”
Released: 19 September, 2014
Label: Escape Music

Tracklist:
Rocamadour
Reacher
Give Me A Sign
Geraldine
Swords Of Damascus
Road To Yesterday
Crusader
Catch The Wave
More Than Missing You
Redemption (on the 6th day)
You & I
Let Me See Your Hands
Ready to Fly

SARACEN – “Redemption” The New Wave of British Heavy Metal’s explosive impact gave a platform to as wide a variety of bands as had the Punk revolution a few short years before, and Saracen were definitely an outfit with their own strong musical identity, which propelled them as far as a record deal with Polygram, and into the UK Top 50 with debut release “Heroes, Saints and Fools”. Since reforming in 2003 with the “Red Sky” album, they’ve released two concept records, including their previous release, “Marilyn”, in 2011, after which vocalist Steve Bettney and keyboard player Paul Bradder challenged guitarist and songwriter Rob Bendelow to write a set of “signature” Saracen tracks. Rob agreed to take on the challenge, on the condition that he felt sufficiently inspired to do so. Well, judging by the sound of “Redemption”, Rob has had a series of ongoing visits from the same inspiration that fuelled the band’s past classics, as this is quintessential Saracen through and through.

Often referred to as having an epic or symphonic element to their sound, this 13 song set shows Saracen’s unique musical character to the strongest possible effect – they have a knack of merging those epic influences with a powerful, riff-driven delivery, and this allows them to pull off the grander aspects of their material without losing heaviness or energy, and Tommy Hansen’s skilful production captures this dynamic well. Lyrics covering an engaging range of subjects, from the Knights Templar to literary and cinematic favourite Jack Reacher (with the track “Reacher” having been given the approval of its subject’s creator, Lee Child!)are matched by the quality of the music throughout, which is delivered passionately by a band still at the top of its game. The inclusion of two re-recorded classics from debut album “Heroes, Saints and Fools”, could have backfired if the new songs hadn’t been up to par, but they blend in among equally strong new numbers. If you’re already a fan, I’d say you’re in for a treat, and if you’re new to the band, and enjoy the likes of Dio, Magnum, or Rainbow, this album is definitely worthy of investigation.