British metal legends RAVEN have a brand new album out – All Hell’s Breaking Loose. If you like your rock fast and furious, check this out. There’s 3 singles/videos released so far (see below), as well as favorite cuts like “Turn Of The Screw”, “Desperate Measures”, and “Invasion”. Ten tracks that don’t let up from beginning to end. The band has also released a new single/video for the album’s title track (today). Great production, love the sound of this album. Dig the album art courtesy of Andrej Bartulović at All Things Rotten! *For more info check out the press info, videos, and links below…
photo_ Jay Shredder
Prepare yourself for a metal rampage the likes of which you haven’t enjoyed in many a year as New Wave of British Heavy Metal stalwarts RAVEN deliver the electric mayhem of All Hell’s Breaking Loose, their 15th studio album, released June 30th on Silver Lining Music.
The Newcastle pioneers, formed by the Gallagher brothers (bassist/vocalist John and guitarist Mark) and rounded out by drummer extraordinaire Mike Heller have emerged from Heller’s own Heaven And Heller Studios in Los Angeles with 10 crisp, visceral metal classics, each fused with riffs, twists, turns, chaos and more hooks than all the Hellraiser movies combined (think hyperbole, ‘turn-it-UP’ and find out for yourself)!
Among the stand-outs are lead single “Go For The Gold”, with the redline pushed hard by a cavalcade of riffs and furious, percussive madness, yet behind it all a melodic journey that makes it multi-dimensional skull-crushing.
“‘Go For The Gold’” is our first single as it really represents the new album mission statement… 100% full on RAVEN lunacy!!!!”, enthuses John Gallagher. “If you’ve got an initial great riff, you just build from it,… you try not to milk it to death. You want a good structure. You want a good verse with hooks, a good pre-chorus with hooks, a great chorus, and then you want little left turns here and there to spice it up. Otherwise it can sound boring. And if you have too many left turns then it turns into jazz fusion, so it’s a funny line you gotta dance on to have structure but also the chaos part as well.”
Title track “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” twists and turns with accents and flavours buried inside the chaos. “Lyrically the song is about the constrictions of being locked down during the pandemic and the desire and need to ‘break free’ from it all or risking going insane…” explains co-founding member and guitarist Mark Gallagher. “It’s about taking control of your freedom!” Mark exclaims. Meanwhile “Surf The Tsunami” sees Heller gatecrash your eardrums with a furious flurry of his own, before some supreme twister riffs bring on the full metal chaos; “Turn Of The Screw” bounces on the upbeats before smashing you with a thunderous chorus; “The Far Side” has as classic a metal riff as you’ll hear in 2023; “Desperate Measures” is pure ’81-saturated tales of hardship and despair, if you ever wondered what RAVEN at the Marquee were like on a sweaty metal night in ’83; “Edge of A Nightmare” is your portal to paradise, thundering as hard as the opener “Medieval”.
What RAVEN have delivered with All Hell’s Breaking Loose is permission for everyone to remember exactly what it’s like to lose yourself in the healing aural waters of supreme heavy metal music, resplendent in sweat-soaked denim and leather.
“You got three guys with very strong, passionate, opinions,” offers Mark, “and when those are brought together, it’s a case of ‘iron sharpens iron.’”
“We’re very hard on ourselves,” adds John, “it had to be ‘all killer, no filler’. Absolutely every single part of every song had to make sense, had to mean something, and had to be there for a purpose.”
And All Hell’s Breaking Loose makes it clear that RAVEN aren’t messing around in that regard.
ROZARIO is the new Norwegian band, fronted by singer David Rosario. The Norwegian Melodic Heavy Metal band will release their debut album on Pride & Joy Music – To The Gods We Swear on October 22nd, with 3 singles to come before then (the first one is out now!). Produced by Trond Holter (Wig Wam, Dream Police, Holter, Jorn), the album will be released on CD, LP and digitally.
Check out the band’s debut single/video to the song “To The Gods We Swear”. A memorable opening riff, a massive guitar sound, with great lead and big backing vocals. Love the production of this. An excellent song, and a huge sound. Looking forward to the rest of the album!
“This is our first single out and with this song, we salute Norse mythology…maybe not in it’s correct form, but we wish to highlight the greatness and courage that the Vikings stood for. In other words, this is a tribute to the history of Norway and the Norwegian people. Enjoy this salute to the greatest of them all ; Odin and Thor and their conquest for victory.”
Rozario might just be one of the most exiting new bands on the exploding new Norwegian metal scene, and the debut album can be expected later this year. This album is definitely a monster you want to be attacked by. The upcoming album consists of 11 songs that will dig into your soul…and stay there. – *Pre-order the album Here
About the band:David Rosario was looking for someone to record some of his songs with. David had been impressed with guitarist Stein Hjertholm and drummer Per-Helge Bruvoll after seeing several gigs with their band, so he reached out to them. The three of them recorded a 3 song demo, and during this process, the chemistry between them was eminent and the idea of Rozario was born. This was just prior to the pandemic and naturally all activity became very restricted. They used their time wisely and focused on song-writing and finding the direction of the band, with songwriting contributions from all three. Rozario then teamed up with producer Trond Holter (Wig Wam, Holter, Jorn etc.) and started to record what would become “To The Gods We Swear” in his studio in Halden, Norway. During the recordings of this release, the lineup of the band was finalized when young guitar virtuoso Johan Jamtfall & bassist Anders Halsan Engum joined them.
Legendary German prog band ELOY has a new album out – Echoes From The Past. The band, from Hanover, formed in 1969 and is lead by founder/guitarist/vocalist/songwriter & producer Frank Bornemann. Also on board is bass player Klaus-Peter Matziol, who joined Eloy in the mid-’70s, drummer Stephan Emig (who played on the previous album), as well a number of backing singers, and keyboard players – most notably Steve Mann (MSG, Sweet), who’s been on a number of Eloy albums since the mid ’90s. Echoes From The Past is Eloy’s 20th studio album and is a follow up to the band’s previous 2 releases – The Vision, The Sword, and The Pyre (Parts 1 & 2), which are based on the same story (see below).
The new album’s stunning artwork was once again created by Michael Narten, who has done many covers for Eloy, as well as Scorpions and Trumvirat, Eloy has also released a single/video for the song “Fate” (check it out below). Echoes From The Past comes in multiple formats and multiple colored vinyl issues.
Eloy’s debut album was released in 1971, produced by the legendary Conny Plank. Eloy (the album), was a harder guitar driven album, more in tune with the likes of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and Lucifer’s Friend. But the band would turn towards a much more progressive sound and approach, ala Pink Floyd, releasing such classic albums as Dawn (1976), Ocean (1977), and Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes (1979). The latter could be easily mistaken for a lost Pink Floyd album upon first hearing. During this era Eloy also featured former Scorpions’ drummer Jurgen Rosenthal, and keyboard player Detlev Schmidtchen (who would go on to release a pile of solo albums in the 2000s). Eloy’s ’70s output is some of the most essential progressive rock out there, though harder to come by over here as very few of these albums got issued in North America.
From press release: “The album is the conclusion of a three-part album production on the theme of “Joan of Arc”, and a very spectacular video is also presented for the title “FATE”, which illustrates the whole story of the French heroine from the Middle Ages, who was crowned a saint, in an astonishing 3 minutes with rhythmic force and a rolling beat, as well as a tremendous choral refrain. After the first two albums entitled “The Vision, The Sword & The Pyre (Part 1 & 2)” already brought great success, as well as reaching high chart quotations, “Echoes from the Past” could even surpass this, because on this album the band sounds even more the way their worldwide fan community likes them most. The typical Eloy spirit of sensitive, atmospheric sound waves alternating with powerful, pulsating rhythms rules this album, literally jumping at the listener with every note.“
For his latest project, Israeli guitarist/songwriter/producer Avi Rosenfeld teams up with singer Andre Tulipano from Brazilian band STEEL WARRIOR. Battle Of Rock is a good rock album, with a number of stand out cuts, heavy on guitar, and fine vocals – with Tulipano being from that Rainbow/Purple influenced school (ala Dio, Doogie White, and a bit closer to Ronnie Romero, IMO).
“Raven” leads of this 10 track album. It has a soft yet atmospheric intro before the band kicks in along with a big scream. This is the best track here, has a NWOBHM feel, and Andre Tulipano’s strong vocals suit this perfectly, making a pretty powerful sound. Other standouts include the rocker “Send Down The Angels”, with a bit of an ’80s Deep Purple feel, and cool Hammond solo courtesy of Colombian player Victor Hugo Santafe Ossa, as well as the faster paced “It’s Hot”, featuring British Hammond player Nick Foley. “Burn The Light” is highlighted by Finnish guitarist Timo Tolkki (ex Stratovarious). There’s a lot of players here, pretty amazing how Rosenfeld pulls together so many different musicians from various parts of the world. Battle Of Rock is well worth checking out, and can be purchased digitally or in a very limited vinyl edition Here.
Iconic Canadian Rockers The Kings Celebrate 43rd Anniversary With New Single “Always Off The Deep End” – Listen Here! Single Off Of Band’s Upcoming Album “The Longest Story Ever Told” out September 8th via Dizzy Records
The Kings Announce Summer Shows with Kim Mitchell, April Wine, Tom Cochrane & more – Tickets Here!
Mixed and mastered by Harry Hess (Harem Scarem, Billy Talent, Blue Rodeo), “Always Off The Deep End” was written about a longtime friend who never does anything halfway, a trait that The Kings have inherited through the decades. The track stays true to the band’s signature classic rock roots but with an exciting breath of fresh air. It’s a slice of rock n roll summer, fitted for the beach and the dock, with its hooky guitars, soaring vocals and infectious beat. The single’s musicianship offers a glimpse of the spectacular record to come and proves that The Kings are here to stay.
The Longest Story Ever Told is The Kings’ 7th studio album following the release of 2003’s Because of You. A musical triumph, the new 10-track album features a lineup of iconic music industry veterans handling the mixing console, including Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple), Terry Brown (RUSH, Blue Rodeo, Gowan), Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine), Michael Vail Blum (Madonna, Prince), Chris Snow (Barenaked Ladies, Big Wreck, Arkells), Jim Hardy (Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee) and Harry Hess. On the album, the band comments, “Once we decided to make a new album, we went all in to produce what we feel is, from beginning to end, our best one yet.”
The Kings were formed in Vancouver, British Columbia and Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Original members were David Diamond on lead vocals, and bass guitar, Sonny Keyes on vocals, and keyboards, Max Styles behind the drums, and Mister Zero on guitar. In 1980 after signing with Elektra Records, The Kings released the Bob Ezrin produced album The Kings Are Here, and the single ‘This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ To Glide’. Even at over five minutes in length, the segue caught on all over the USA and Canada with huge airplay in every major market and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for six months. It was named one of the Top 100 U.S. Radio Programmers Picks of the Decade by Album Network Magazine and The Kings were named most promising group by Cashbox Magazine. They also had an amazing appearance on Dick Clark’s ‘American Bandstand’ which helped propel the band to more success. The album, The Kings Are Here is certified platinum and the single “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide” is certified gold.
For many rock fans familiar with Canadian band APRIL WINE, the band made it big internationally between the late ’70s and early ’80s, with such albums as Harder…Faster, Nature Of The Beast, and Powerplay. But prior to the addition of 3rd guitarist Brian Greenway, and the band’s US breakthrough hit “Roller” from First Glance, the band had already released 6 studio albums and 2 live albums. The band’s US and UK releases of some of these albums were through smaller labels like Big Tree , then London Records. The band, originally from Nova Scotia included Myles Goodwyn, Ritchie Henman, (brother)David Henman, and (cousin) Jim Henman, and got started in 1969, after the Henmans had a band named ‘Prism’, and later regrouped and added Goodwyn to form a new band. Upon misinterpreting a polite rejection letter to their demo submitted to Aquarius Records, the band packed up and relocated to Montreal on April 1st, 1970, and eventually wound up being one of the first band’s signed to the newly independent label. Although they would have a hit single on their debut album, it was 2 covers they recorded for their 2nd album that gave the band a bigger breakthrough in Canada and a foot in the US – with Hot Chocolate’s “You Could Have Been A Lady” and Elton John’s “Bad Side of The Moon”; both were big hits in Canada. These songs saw the band on TV, and are still featured on Canadian classic rock radio, and are performed by the band live. My list below features the band’s own songs from the band’s ’70s period prior to changing to the ‘classic’ 5-man line-up . I am pretty sure albums like Stand Back and Electric Jewels rank highly among April Wine fans. *Feel free to add in your own comments and choices in the comments.
Fast Train
April Wine’s first album, self-titled, was released in the fall of 1971. It was a Canadian-only release (or so I thought), until I saw a release in Brazil (on Discogs) in ’72, and a mention in Billboard of the single getting an Australian issue (on Festival Records) . Anyway, April Wine was far from the sound that they’d later become a huge success for, and with all band-members contributing to the songwriting and vocals. “Fast Train”, penned solely by Myles Goodwyn is the obvious standout track, and closest thing to what the band’s more commercial pop-rock sound would evolve into. The single charted in Canada, in the summer of ’71, at #38 (RPM charts). A follow up single “Listen Mister” (also penned by Goodwyn) was issued as a follow up single, but didn’t chart or have the lasting impact that “Fast Train” did.
Page Five
Although the band’s first album has become largely overlooked, save for “Fast Train”, by older fans, and those curious about the feet on the cover, it does feature some other interesting songs, and songs that were of the time, sound-wise, mixing acoustic and heavier guitars, backing vocals, kinda psychedelic in places, and some fine guitar solos. Bandmembers had a vast range of influences, notably Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa. In some ways the mix of all those things mentioned and unclear direction of all this kinda reminds me of those first 2 Alice Cooper albums (particularly Easy Action). But tracks like “Wench” and “Time” (which I almost picked here) feature some heavy guitar solos). “Page Five”, one of 2 tracks written by guitarist David Henman is pretty cool mid range rock track for the time, with plenty of changes, drum fills from brother Ritchie, and a big guitar solo. It’s also the longest track on the album. Following this album Jim Henman left the band to return home, not being keen on what the rock n roll lifestyle might bring. He did contribute 3 songs to the debut, notably “Time” and the acoustic ballad “Song For Mary”. In later years Jim Henman has been doing acoustic shows with Myles Goodwyn on occasion.
Drop Your Guns
Th band followed up with On Record, which saw the debut of Jim Clench on bass (ex Allison Gross). On Record also featured a number of good bandmember penned songs, such as Jim Clench’s ballad “Didn’t You”, Myles Goodwyn’s “Refuge”, and “Drop Your Guns” – the 3rd single (in Canada) written by David Henman, but sang Myles Goodwyn. A good rocker, and an early April Wine classic, “Drop Your Guns” would hit #34 in Canada, but wouldn’t be released (as a single) anywhere else. Driven by one of the band’s more memorable riffs. “Drop Your Guns” came out in a picture-sleeve, originally, as well the album would be released as the band’s ‘debut’ in the US with a different cover (featuring the bandmember photos from the inner gatefold)
Work All Day
Also from On Record. Written and sang by Myles Goodwyn. The album’s heaviest track; one of the band’s underrated gems from this period, and cool opening riffs. Interesting thing about this album is all those strings that linked the songs together would make tracks, aside from the singles, too difficult for album formatted radio stations to play cuts like this. “Work All Day” would make for an interesting live cut for the current touring band.
Electric Jewels
April Wine’s third album would take longer, and include 2 versions of the band, as the band essentially broke up while making this one. The title track was written by Goodwyn and Clench (as most of this album is credited to) about frustrations with the record companies and the business at the time “electric jewels in the hands of fools” – with the jewels being the artists and the fools being record company execs. It featured a number of changes, along with keyboards and acoustic guitars, a pretty progressive number for the band at the time, and one of my favorite ‘Wine songs. It is during a change in the song, to the 2nd movement that band changes from the Henmans to new members Gary Moffett (guitar) and Jerry Mercer (drums, ex Mashmakhan, Roy Buchanan). Also released as a single, edited down severely. David & Ritchie Henman would be listed among the ‘additional personnel’ in the credits, which also include Pierre Senecal on organ, also from Mashmakhan. The album was fully recorded with the Henmans, but once David and Ritchie were no longer in the band the 2 songs that David Henman had contributed to the album were removed and replaced. David & Ritchie went on to record under the band name SILVER (https://www.discogs.com/release/6358635-Silver-Serpent-In-The-Street)
Cat’s Claw
Electric Jewels included 9 tracks, side 2 containing 5, and well, I prefer this side, just a great run of songs. “Cat’s Claw”, sang by Jim Clench is a favorite here, a good mix of acoustic and heavy lead guitar. As much as I like the song and Clench’s vocals here it is the heavy guitar solo and extended guitar outro that really make this one stand out.
Come On Along
As Electric Jewels and Stand Back would be in my top 3 or 4 AW albums, it is a challenge to pick just a few from each. After the Henman’s split and before Moffett and Mercer joined Goodwyn and Clench, the latter went to England for a short time to try and do some writing there. Goodwyn & Clench would share lead vocals on a few songs. “Come On Along”, which opens side 2 is a great example of how well this shared vocals worked. Good tune, excellent production. There are a number of good songs on this album that I am sure others will feel should be included here, notably Robert Wright’s “Weeping Widow” (sang by Jim Clench), and “Lady Run, Lady Hide”, written about the environment (Mother Nature) – both singles. Following Electric Jewels the band released their first ‘Live’ album, with the set including a few songs that were originally only released as A & B-side singles – notably a cover of David Elliot’s “I’m On Fire For You Baby” , which was a minor hit. Both the single and the Live album were produced by The Rascals Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish.
Oohwatanite
One of the band’s trademark songs. Penned and sang by Jim Clench from the Stand Back album, which would be produced by the band. Unlike Electric Jewels – Stand Back saw Myles Goodwyn and Jim Clench credited on their own to the songs, and featured a much more polished sound and direction. “Oohwatanite” was 1 of 2 solely credited to Clench (and sang by), and his greatest contribution to the band. “Oowatanite” has always remained a highpoint of the band’s live set, set off by the train-crossing bell and light. Clench’s replacement (Steve Lang) would later sing the song (as credited) for Live At The El Mocambo, and Goodwyn would sing it for years after that.
Victim Of Your Love
Stand Back featured 11 tracks, and seems to have been penned with singles in mind, because almost every track sounds like they would’ve made for fine single releases. So, picking just a few from this album was pretty difficult. “Victim Of Your Love” is one of a few outstanding guitar driven rockers, memorable riff, the solo, the harmonies and lead vocal all make for a great production. I wondered if the song’s title was originally incorrect, as the line being sung is “victim for your love”, but I see it was listed as “Victim For Your Love” on the Greatest Hits Love 2003 release. Also, the only song that’s over 4 minutes long on this album.
Highway Hard Run
Another Myles Goodwyn track from Stand Back. interesting story in the tune (I often wonder who might be the band in the song’s tale?). Also, the B-side to “Oowatanite”. Perhaps my favorite (non-A side single) album rocker from this era, love the performances and changes in this one.
Gimme Love
In 1975Jim Clench left the band and would go on to record 2 albums with BTO, as well as 451 (Degrees), and rejoined April Wine in the early ’90s. Clench was replaced by Steve Lang (ex Devotion, Mashmakhan). The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy was another solid album, tho’ not quite as loaded with potential hit singles as Stand Back. It was produced by Myles Goodwyn and would feature a few guests, as well as co-writes. “Gimme Love” was a strong opening track, a good upbeat rock tune, with a few nice changes, co-written with Havoness Hagopian (of Moonquake). Another from the band’s vast catalogue that might be cool to hear in the live show again. Strangely this was also released as a B-side to a non-LP A single. The album featured the Mad Hatter on the cover, one of the band’s most memorable album covers from Aquarius in-house artist Bob Lemm.
So Bad
Also from The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy. Probably the heaviest track the band did during this period, with the legendary Frank Marino guesting on guitar. The Canadian and American versions of this album would differ in track selections, with the US having an extra track, and including a couple more ballads – songs that would appear on the band’s next release. ” When April Wine was hitting it big, their manager – Terry Flood, came and asked me how to penetrate the American border and make it big. Terry and other Canadian bands came to me because I was huge in the States. In fact, to this day, aside from Montreal, I have still not played very many gigs in my own country. I told them – don’t ask me! I just stumbled into this …!” (Frank M. – https://rickkeenemusicscene.com/2012/09/03/frank-marino-anti-establishment-101/ ) Other favorites on this album include “Rock n Roll Woman” (which I almost picked here), and “Wings Of Love”.
Holly Would
OK, so now I am at #13. And honestly I am not a big fan of Forever For Now, not for lack of good songs, just not much in the way of rockers here. But, I believe this album did start out as a Myles Goodwyn solo album, with the band brought in to complete it and use the band name (record company decision?). There;s a lot of (good) ballads here, and a few different things, but the title track is a good upbeat rock track, and this one would be my favorite here, “Holly Would” – a neat wording. Asides from Canada, Forever For Now only got released in Greece. Following this album April Wine would famously open for The Rolling Stones (ie The Cockroaches) and release Live At The El Mocambo from it, which (again) featured a number of non-LP songs, notably 2 tracks from Bob Segarini (The Wackers).
Spirit Adrift will release their career-defining LP Ghost At The Gallows on August 18th. The album’s fiery third single “Barn Burner” has premiered with a companion music video. Inspired by Michael Flanagan’s Midnight Mass, the “Barn Burner” video illustrates the song’s themes— anger, identity politics, and blind persecution— coupled with an explosive live performance from Spirit Adrift. Though intense and bombastic, the underlying message is “a plea for unity, empathy, and love,” says bandleader Nate Garrett.
With Ghost At The Gallows, Nate Garrett has delivered Spirit Adrift’s most fully realized work to date; a record that confidently stands at the crossroads of heavy metal at its most epic and elemental and hard rock at it’s most honest and heartfelt.
The road lead to the album was nothing short of massive undertaking. Garrett has been weaving the sonic tapestry of Spirit Adrift since 2015, marking his own personal growth from doom metal and his much-documented sobriety to today’s sonic triumph with Ghost At The Gallows. The album intricately pulls together every element of Garrett’s riff-mongering musical mastery to arrive at a conclusion and start a new chapter for Spirit Adrift.
From the start, it didn’t take long for Spirit Adrift to strike a very loud, resounding chord with worshippers of the riff. By the time they released 2017’s Curse of Conception and 2019’s Divided by Darkness (both on 20 Buck Spin) what began as Garrett’s solo project had taken on a life of its own, placing high on year-end polls and filling clubs as Nate and an ad-hoc amalgamation of friends and bandmates brought his songs to volume-dealing life. The influence of “Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer and also growing up in the South, really loving old sincere country music, bluegrass and stuff like that” is the sonic soul of Spirit Adrift according to Nate.
2020 saw the release of Spirit Adrift’s Century Media debut, Enlightened In Eternity (a split release with 20-Buck Spin in North America); Garrett set to work forging a more permanent line-up for the spirited, energized release. Spirit Adrift began to hit the road as a band with a solidified and freshly empowered line-up – bassist Sonny DeCarlo, drummer Mike Arellano and ex-Carcass guitarist Tom Draper.
With Sanford Parker at Chicago’s Electrical Audio and Jeff Henson at Texas’s Red Nova Ranch engineering and co-producing alongside Garrett, and legendary Zeuss (Queensryche, Hatebreed) handling mixing and mastering duties, Ghost At The Gallows takes chances few of Spirit Adrift’s riff-obsessed brethren could possibly approach.
Ghost At The Gallows, track listing: Give Her To The River Barn Burner Hanged Man’s Revenge These Two Hands Death Won’t Stop Me I Shall Return Siren Of The South Ghost At The Gallows
GODS OF SOMETIMES consists of Brad Davis (bassist of FU MANCHU) and Andrew Giacumakis (guitarist/vocalist of MOAB). Together the duo have created an incredible new, self-titled debut record that features guest appearances by the likes of J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Steven Drozd (The Flaming Lips) and Joel Robinow (Once and Future Band) among others that will be released on July 21st with Falling Dome Records. Check out the band’s first 2 singles below.
A new Alice Cooper album, featuring his ‘road’ band will be released later this summer (August 25). Amazon.com has posted info on a limited box set of the album (2LP, blu-ray, merch), as well as 2LP and CD digipak versions.
The road will make you or break you. To survive it, you need to be as tough as asphalt and move fast enough to make the competition eat dust. Throughout 2022, Alice collaborated closely with the members of his touring band as well as long-time producer Bob Ezrin, putting together what would become his brand-new studio album “Road.” You can feel the energy and lightness that the band brings with every riff and hear the story behind what inspired them. Bringing everything full circle, it channels the spirit of old school Alice with instantly recognizable grit and plenty of gusto. It’s everything you’d hope for from him and more. And this time his trusted longtime bandmates— Ryan Roxie [guitar], Chuck Garric [bass], Tommy Henrikson [guitar], Glen Sobel [drums], and Nita Strauss [guitar]—are riding shotgun. Kane Roberts (a touring and recording collaborator with Alice’s in years past who briefly rejoined Cooper on the road in 2022) makes a special guest appearance, contributing the raucous and rip-roaring “Dead Don’t Dance.” Other special contributors to the album include Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, who co-wrote, and plays and sings backing vocals on “White Line Frankenstein,” and Buckcherry’s Keith Nelson and MC5’s Wayne Kramer, who also co-wrote new songs with Alice.
Track-listing:
1. I’m Alice 2. Welcome To The Show 3. All Over The World 4. Dead Don’t Dance 5. Go Away 6. White Line Frankenstein 7. Big Boots 8. Rules Of The Road 9. The Big Goodbye 10. Road Rats Forever 11. Baby Please Don’t Go 12. 100 More Miles *13. Magic Bus
Arjen Lucassen’s Sonic Revolution have a fantastic new album out titled Golden Age Of Music is now out. The album pays homage to and celebrates the great ’70s rock era with plenty of references to bands and albums from the period. The album’s cover is colorful and eye catching, with references to a number of classic albums as well. Awesome packaging, designed by Arjen, himself. So here’s a new installment of The Story Behind The Album Cover where Arjen discusses the new album’s artwork, as well as picks his own favorite classic covers.
You are credited with design, logo, and layout for the Supersonic Revolution cover/package. So, I presume you had a vision and oversaw the whole design and cover being put together!?
Oh yes, always. I’m a total control freak! There are obviously some images included/influenced from some other classic album covers (the moons, the pyramid, the rainbow, etc…)..
Without giving it ALL away – how many are there and what inspired that idea and how it connects to the album’s theme/concept?
I explain it all in the unboxing video here:
Hope that helps!
Can you tell me how important to you has your album covers/artwork been to you and how you see it as part of the whole record buying package?
Incredibly important! As a kid I bought so many albums just because of the artwork. Or the opposite… I didn’t buy them when the artwork didn’t pull me in. I bought all the Hipgnosis and Roger Dean stuff, unheard.
Can you give me some insight to those that helped create the artwork via drawings, photos, layout?
I basically come up with all the basic ideas. I draw them all out on a piece of paper, very basic and sketchy. And then they perfect it. But it’s a long process, I’m such a perfectionist! I’ve driven many art workers crazy. Really.
Can you give me a list of Your favorite album covers (5-10 perhaps), growing up, that had an influence/impact on you later on (Not the music, but just those favorite covers that really impressed)?
Sure! Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy, Yes – Tales of Topographic Oceans, Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies, T Rex – Electric Warrior, Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick, Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon, UFO – Phenomenon, Nice – Elegy, Uriah Heep – Magician’s Birthday, Pink Floyd – Animals, Led Zeppelin – Presence. Not sure if that was 10, haha!
Do you keep (and still collect) a big record collection?
No. I was really stupid. I had thousands of vinyl albums and I gave them all away. I hated the scratches on vinyl so much! I kept a lot of the sleeves though, and they are hanging all through my house, (see attachment).
Outsider Rock 