From Sweden, Lugnet release their 3rd album full of 70s hard-rock influences August 26. Cool guitar rock, heavily influenced by the likes of Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath, Lead off track “Still A Sinner” charges out , reminiscent of late ’70s Rainbow, dig the heavy guitar sound. “Pale Design” is another solid rocker here that sounds sounds like it could’ve been penned for Down To Earth.
Plenty of darker epic heavy rock here in track’s like “Another World”, which is a slower and darker tune that builds up in to a massive heavy mid-section before coming back down. Best pic here is the 8 minute+ epic “Black Sails”, with it’s Sabbathy groove, and I get a definite “Sign Of The Southern Cross” feel on this. A solid heavy album, which includes a couple of lighter passages in the acoustic break “Svary” and album’s closing organ instrumental “Tåsjö Kyrkmarsch”. Well worth checking out. Love the ’70s vibe and overall production.
“Tales From The Great Beyond” will be released on CD, LP and digitally on August 26th, 2022 via Pride & Joy Music.
Lugnet is: Johan Fahlberg – lead vocals, Lennart “Z” Zethzon – bass, Matti Norlin – guitars, Fredrik Jansson-Punkka – drums, Micke Linder – guitars.
There’s no escaping the motherlode – that eternal continuum of high drama and overheated ampstacks fit to raise the pulse and revivify the spirits. It’s merely an unmistakable band chemistry that transforms base hard rock into gemstones, and this process is an increasingly rare phenomenon in the here and now. Luckily for Stockholm’s alchemists LUGNET, they are one of the few. Here in these steamrollering grooves and strident anthems is just the kind of swagger and bravado on which rock built its foundations in the ‘70s, yet without any of the cliches or the bloated self-importance. The roots of LUGNET may be visible to see, and the primal stomp of early Deep Purple, the apocalyptic sermonising of Black Sabbath and the cinematic majesty of Rainbow can easily be detected in the almighty sturm-und-drang. Yet this sound is delivered with charisma and maverick energy that effortlessly summons fresh vibrant life to a classic form. The spark that lit LUGNET originates in 2009, when Fredrik Jansson-Punkka (also drummer of Angel Witch, and whose storied history includes stints in Witchcraft, Abramis Brama and Count Raven) met bassist Lennart ‘Z’ Zethzon at Sweden Rock Festival and the two first discussed getting together to jam. Three years later this finally came to fruition and guitarists Bonden Jansson and Mackan Holten joined the fray, alongside vocalist Roger Solander. An original plan to play ‘70s blues-rock with Swedish lyrics was ultimately warped and transformed into the monumental attack of 2016’s self-titled debut proper on Pride & Joy Music. The road to ‘Nightwalker’ saw changes afoot in the band, as Solander was replaced by the soulful pipes of Johan Fahlberg, who matches the swashbuckling charm of the Dio/Coverdale tradition with flourishes and personality all his own, whilst Bonden Jansson made way for wunderkind new guitarist Matti Norlin. This was a quantum leap on from the debut, replete with fiery interplay and incisive songwriting, from the slow Zeppelin-esque catharsis of ‘Death Laughs At You’ to the monstrous ‘Stargazer’-esque grandeur of the mellotron-assisted finale ‘Kill Us All’. The aftermath saw Lugnet traverse from strength to strength, a notable highlight being packing out their tent at Sweden Rock Festival in 2018 even whilst a certain Birmingham-birthed Prince Of Darkness himself occupied the main stage across the field. Michael Linder (formerly of Troubled Horse) soon replaced Mackan Holten, and this line-up has subsequently amassed enough material for two albums, with all members throwing their hat into the ring songwriting-wise. One of these ‘Tales From The Great Beyond’ has already been recorded at SolnaSound Recording with the dream-team of Simon Johansson (Wolf/ Soilwork) and Mike Wead (King Diamond/ Mercyful Fate) at the helm / mixed by Marcus Jidell (Avatarium/ Candlemass). Just like for the debut album, the front cover artwork was designed by Vance Kelly. Whatever the future holds for Lugnet, only a fool would bet on the result not being a spectacular explosion of righteousness. This machine is firing on all cylinders, and rockers of all persuasions would be well advised to get on board or get out of the way.
Tracklisting: Still A Sinner / In Harvest Time / Another World / Out Of My System / Svarv / Eaten Alive / Pale Design / I Can’t Wait / Black Sails / Tåsjö Kyrkmarsch
The new album from New York area band LIPS TURN BLUE features an eye catching cover created by artist Martin Kornick, aka Man In The Mountain. Martin has designed numerous album covers over the past 2 decades, notably for prog artists like Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Keith Emerson, and Kinetic Element. Admittedly, when I looked in to Martin’s work intending just to inquire about the LTB cover, I found a lot more of his work that I couldn’t avoid asking about! In this interview Martin details how he created the LTB cover, as well as a few others, such as those by John Wetton & District 97 and Keith Emerson, as well as his lengthy working relationship with Neal Morse. He also shares his background in the business and future plans. I’ve included images of some of Martin’s covers as well as pics of him with a few of those he’s worked for (all provided by Martin). *For more on his work as an artist, and various projects check out Martin’s site – http://www.maninthemountain.com (see more links below)
Can you give me a bit of background as to how you started in doing album covers (aside from your other works)?
I got my start doing album covers thanks to Neal Morse back when he was in Spock’s Beard – the ’90’s era progressive rock band that I was quite smitten with upon discovery. Floored really. I couldn’t believe the interweaving keyboards and lush prog arrangements I was hearing spinning “The Doorway” on my stereo. I quickly became obsessed with the band. I distinctly remember getting their newest album Day For Night and being entranced by the cover art by German artist Thomas Ewerhard, which had a strong Pink Floyd Hipgnosis vibe to it. As I examined it further it struck me that Thomas was using a lot of Photoshop techniques that I was already experimenting with in my personal art. I thought, “I can do that! How can I do something like that for Spock’s Beard? I must find a way!”
Shorty after I was thrilled to see Spock’s Beard were playing at Martyrs’, a Chicago area nightclub. It was such a magical night, as anyone who was anyone in the Chicago prog scene was there in attendance. I truly made several long-lasting friendships with people I met there that night. But what then happened is at the start of the show, Neal Morse ran out on stage with a video camera, then leaned over and gave me (randomly) the camera to continue filming the show. And honestly, I am the most insane prog fan/bootleg collector you could ever give a video camera too. Haha! After the show, I had to somehow get a copy of this concert video. So, I contacted Neal by email to ask for a copy, and we hit off a friendship talking about old Genesis and Gentle Giant Bootlegs. We even traded a few things. During our correspondence over the next few months, I mentioned to Neal that I was a graphic artist and hit him up if needed any art for a CD project. Nothing became of it until one more time I asked and by chance he was working on a fan club CD. He asked me to shoot him some ideas for it. And I ended up working for Neal for the next 20 years. How is that for fate? And of course, led to doing artwork for other bands as well.
Martin with Neal Morse
Growing up – what were some of your favorite bands, albums, and album cover artists? [Any artists influence your own work? ]
Looking back at my youth, I did have an affinity for bands that had cool artwork and graphics. I easily fell for KISS who were the most graphic art-oriented band ever, from the face paint, the photos, to the album art. KISS were super easy to the draw, and I even made my own KISS comic books. I had a sort of musical awakening when I went to see the movie The Song Remains The Same and watched Jimmy Page make all these otherworldly sounds with a cello bow, while he turned into a wizard and drew an electric rainbow across the sky. My tastes then shifted to Led Zeppelin and bands like RUSH and Styx who also explored more cinematic musical landscapes and science fiction. RUSH used all that dystopian Hugh Syme artwork like A Farewell To Kings, Permanent Waves – two of my all-time favs. Bands like Judas Priest started attracting me because they were operatic in style and had gothic album art like a Sad Wings of Destiny and Sin After Sin. Plus the logos… AC/CD, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Styx, Judas Priest, all of them… which sharpened my skills by duplicating the logos all over my high school desk. They didn’t understand, that WAS my schooling!
After graduating high school in 1981, instead of listening to the popular music of the times, the hair metal and MTV, I fell in love with older music from the ’60’s and all the ’70’s progressive rock music like YES, ELP, Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Rick Wakeman. And certainly, that artwork delved deeper artistically into fantasy, science fiction, and mind-altering photo manipulation from Hipgnosis. Off the top of my head, artwork for albums like Wish You Were Here, Yessongs, The Myth & Legends of King Arthur, ELP’s Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery… were among my favorites. It’s a world I’ve been in artistically ever since. Roger Dean made a huge impression on me, and I started covering my apartment walls with his work. All of this was my school, my formative training
Martin w/ the legendary Roger Dean
You’ve done a lot of covers for Neal Morse, as well as Transatlantic and Mike Portnoy. – can you tell me a bit about where ideas come from and how much collaboration [or input] there is from the musical artists when designing a cover?
Typically, there is little “idea” input from the musicians, but not in every case. I usually draw from the album title and maybe some lyrics. Sometimes I’m given the raw music to get a feel of what the music sounds like. I’ll listen to it over and over while creating images in my mind. No matter what I am fed at the start, my artwork is always developed organically in a stream of consciousness. I do not create my art in a formally trained manner, as I do not make sketches or roughs. I hit the digital canvas and go where it takes me. I keep fishing about until I see something good forming, and then tighten it up to a viable well developed idea that I can present to the client.
Collaborating with Neal Morse was fantastic, he has a certain aura about him, that’s hard to explain, it’s a unique energy. We had such a great symbiotic relationship in that we could read each well for any project that came before us. Neal allowed me tons of freedom, letting me develop ideas, but sometimes he suggested ideas too. With Neal becoming a Christian artist, I had to work within a more spiritual mindset, which could take me out of my comfort zone. God spinning the Earth on the cover of Momentum was an idea Neal suggested after he didn’t feel my attempts were hitting it. But how I created the cover from that suggestion, was all from my imagination. So, when talking about collaboration, to me it’s more about listening to the artists and their needs, rather than shooting ideas at each other or watching me every step of the way. It’s important to be responsive with artists and very reliable professionally. At the end of the day, you need to deliver on time, and not have a plethora of errors coming from the printing plant, that’s when you’ll get a call to do more.
Working for Mike Portnoy is always so fun. He’s hilarious and has an M family like I do (all names starting with an M), so we M’s get on great. Seeing my artwork end up on his drumhead is surreal to say the least. Mike is a terrific guy, who is inspiring to work with because he continues to be excited like a child when working on his music projects. He cares a lot about his fans.
w/ Mike Portnoy & Neal Morsew/ the late Keith Emerson
One cover of your’s I really like is the Keith Emerson Band album from 2008. Any recall on creating that and working with Keith?
Thank you, that’s nice to hear. Yeah, how much room do you have in this interview? Let’s just say Keith Emerson was extremely excited about this release. He saw it as a return to form after not having any significant output for years. His desire was to have the type of cover artwork he loved from the ’70’s. Detailed enough to keep you looking at a vinyl copy for years. That’s what attracted Keith to my work. I do recall having a bit of a false start on ideas for the album which Keith was initially planning on calling “Ganton 7” about a distant planet. He did however let me do my thing, with Keith explaining that “there was a cow’s arse on the cover of a Pink Floyd album, so anything is possible.” – That’s a direct quote. Marc Bonilla was also involved with the album art, and I had many long conversations with Marc on development.
Eventually, Keith liked a piece I had already completed that was displayed on MySpace (of all places) depicting a Mellotron rusting in the desert under a red sky. Keith suggested changing the Mellotron to a Hammond B3, feeling this image represented the state of his music career, but also somehow wanting to show it as a rebirth. Along with Marc, we batted around a few ideas until I came up with igniting the organ on fire. That was the moment – I had nailed it! If you look closely, the fire is restoring the organ to its former glory. Keith pointed out to me that the opening section of the track “Miles Away” is based on my cover art. He had the art hanging in the studio. If you look at the cover while playing that intro, the synergy is strikingly clear. Keith was an amazing person to work for, with an unarming humbleness that made you feel comfortable to even disagree with him. He also had no problems calling me on the phone to discuss the album, which is rare – most everyone sticks to email. Nothing can top getting an unlisted phone call, picking it up and hearing in a British accent, “Hello Martin, this is Keith!” I miss him so much.
As a fan of the late John Wetton, can you recall working with him in creating the cover for the live album with District 97? [They are from Chicago!?] Also, were you at that show and have any favorite albums with JW?
District 97 is a Chicago area prog band that caught my attention with their 2010 debut album “Hybrid Child.” They had a youthful energy and a remarkably proficient singer, Leslie Hunt, that set them apart from most other prog acts at the time. Being local to Chicago, I thought I would introduce myself to the band’s founder & drummer Jonathan Schang and offer my design services. Jonathan was quick to take me up on that and hired me to design show posters and on-line promotions. Soon afterwards, John Wetton also became a fan of District 97 and started to collaborate with the band. A tour was then planned to have D97 play the music of King Crimson with none other than John Wetton on vocals. Because I was their tour poster guy, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity make the graphics to accompany the tour, which later turned into a live CD package. I can’t say I worked directly with Wetton, but was Cc’ed among conversations regarding the artwork. I do recall Wetton being indecisive about what photo of him we could use, insisting the CD color be red, and that the title of the album be changed from “One More Red Nightmare” to “One More Red Night.” Which probably was a good call! I didn’t catch the Chicago show that was recorded, but I caught them earlier up in Milwaukee. The CD is fantastic, don’t you think? I might say it’s my favorite Wetton album! I do love the first Asia album, Crimson’s Red, and Night After Night with UK is on top of my list. “Rendezvous 6:02” is my favorite song featuring John Wetton.
Your latest cover is the Lips Turn Blue cover, and its real eye catching. How did you wind up with this project? Were you familiar with any of the band?
Thank you! I was asked to do the project by the band’s manager, Bruce Pilato. Bruce and I have known each other for many years working with The Carl Palmer Band. I’ve designed many of Carl’s t-shirts and DVD covers, as well the “ELP Lives On” logo that Carl uses on the huge stage backdrop. When Bruce asked me about working on LTB, I was familiar with Phil Naro and the band Talas. The other players had strong resumes as well, so it sounded like a hot project to take on.
w/ Carl Palmer
Where did the idea for the cover shot come from? Can you give us details on the photo and how you transformed it into the final piece of art [including the logo and the city scene in the girl’s glasses]?
I’m not sure who in the band came up with the idea, but Bruce described in detail what they were looking for. A beautiful female face, similar to those in the Robert Palmer video “Addicted to Love”, with a silver painted face and bright blue lips. That’s very descript. Selecting the particular model and just the right pose, with her hand on her chin, was entirely my call. People see a face, but it’s really about shapes working together in balance, and the selection and framing of those shapes is key to it’s strength. The city lights in the glasses were my way of adding some extra flash and depth to the image – putting the model in a place rather than just a flat image. The logo played off that, with neon lettering. With CD artwork now reduced to tiny icons on the internet, I needed to create a simple bold image to draw attention. The contrasting silver/blue color scheme worked well to that effect. Another interesting part of the development of the cover were instructions to put photos of all the band members at the bottom of the woman’s face. I did that, but then ending up having a disagreement over it. When I removed the band photos, Bruce argued that without them, people would think the woman is the recording artist on the CD. I reminded him that many male bands used a woman on the cover, like The Cars and Roxy Music. So, in that spirit, I guess I won out! I was also told Phil Naro approved the final artwork just before he passed, so that’s quite nice to think my artwork was among his last images on Earth.
Do you have any favorite tracks from the LTD album? and might we see you work on the next LTB cover?
All the tracks are consistently strong. “Pray For Tomorrow” is quite nice. And I love “Blood Moon”. Probably because it has a prog feel to it with prominent organ and synths, and I’m a synth player myself so I dig that. I’m certainly open to another LTB cover, but I think their current plans are for a tour.
Any upcoming album art you are working on [or will be] ?
I’m open for business. So, if Rick Wakeman or Peter Gabriel want to drop me a line, I’m ready and available! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me, Kevin. There are many modern-day cover artists like myself that don’t get enough recognition because everyone seems fixated on the classic artist. So, good on you and Outsider-Rock for spending the time with me.
Singer/Songwriter Robert Tepper to release new single, album on July 30th
On Saturday July 30th, Robert Tepper will be releasing a new album entitled Feels Like Monday. Tepper, 72, will be sharing this release via Facebook Live, a first for the rock musician. Kendee Hughes of Kendee Hughes Productions will be overseeing the event.
“Robert will simultaneously release the music video for the single “Feels Like Monday,” and the album of the same name.” Kendee said. “It’ll be a virtual viewing party for his fans. Robert will perform live, answer some fan questions, and tell folks about what he’s got coming up.”
Robert will be supporting his new album Feels Like Monday with singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Cameron and a small semi-acoustic ensemble. He is performing his hits along with new music in concerts and listening rooms across the US in 2022.
Robert Tepper is a singer/songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, CA. He is best known for the 1986 hit song “No Easy Way Out” as heard on the Rocky IV soundtrack, as well as the 1980 hit “Into the Night” that he penned with singer Benny Mardones. He also wrote and performed “Angel of the City” for Stallone‘s 1986 action film, Cobra, and wrote the Pat Benatar hit “Le Bel Age”, from 1986. His latest album is 2019’s Better Than The Rest.
The 2015 reunion concert of the original Alice Cooper band featuring Alice, Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce along with Ryan Roxie filling in for the late Glenn Buxton is coming in various formats and most notably the film of the whole event to DVD & Blue-ray! There will be vinyl variants, as well as awesome new packaging for fans and collectors.
Tracklisting:
“Caught In a Dream” “Be My Lover” “I’m Eighteen” “Is It My Body” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” “Under My Wheels” “School’s Out” “Elected” “Desperado” (Intro Bonus Track)
A Peter Goalby solo ‘Anthology’ will be released in September on Cherry Red Records. It pulls tracks from the 2 solo albums of long lost songs released in November of last year and May of this year. As well is adds 3 previously vinyl only released recordings Peter had done in the late ’80s and issued as singles under the names ‘Soho’ and ‘Perfect Stranger’.
“I Don’t Wanna Fight” & “It’s All Over Your Face (It’s All Over)” were produced by Mickie Most and released in released on RAK Records in 1988 under the Perfect Stranger name, while “Mona Lisa Smile” (also backed with “It’s All Over Your Face (It’s All Over)”) was also produced by Most, and released on RAK in ’88. The A-side was also co-written by Robin George, who is credited with arranging them on that single single release.
The past year of putting together his past solo recordings and seeing how great the response was to his CD releases was an eye opener for Peter Goalby, who had retired from the music business 30 years ago, and has been doing interviews and seeing positive reviews to Easy With The Heartaches & I Will Come Runnin’. Me hopes, but not very likely that someone, somewhere – will dig out more recordings from Peter’s past and get them properly released [ie Fable].
Tracklisting:
1 Hold The Dream 2 Waiting For An Angel To Call 3 Easy With The Heartaches 4 It Was There All The Time 5 They’ll Never Find Us (Running For Our Lives) 6 I Will Come Runnin’ 7 The Last Time 8 Dancing on Water 9 Mona Lisa Smile* 10 It’s All Over Your Face (It’s All Over)* 11 I Don’t Wanna Fight*
LA hard rockers Classless Act have released their debut album Welcome To The Show, featuring 12 tracks, and including a couple of big name guests. If you are missing the high energy ’80s hard rock/metal of bands like Motley Crue, Guns ‘n Roses, Faster Pussycat, Slaughter…. Lots of good riffs, hooks, big vocal choruses, and songs geared for a live show. Best picks include “This Is For You” (featuring Justin Hawkins of The Darkness), “Haunting Love”, “Time To Bleed”, and the album’s lone acoustic number “Circles”. The band is currently on The Stadium Tour (w/ Def Leppard, Poison… ) and I’m betting are bringing the most energy to the day. The band does have a solo show booked in Toronto on August 9 at the Horseshoe Tavern. https://www.horseshoetavern.com/event/classless-act
[From press release: ] Today Classless Act, one of the most buzzed-about up-and-coming rock bands, are releasing their much-anticipated debut album, Welcome To The Show via Better Noise Music. Having already earned more than one million streams, the new album gained early traction with three previously released singles, including the self-titled “Classless Act” that features a guest appearance by Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil, the catchy “This Is For You” with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and the bombastic “Time To Bleed.”
“Just like the song says, we gave you all our blood, our sweat, our tears, our hate, our sex, our deepest, darkest fears. This is for you!” said frontman Derek Day about the album.
Also premiering today is the new single and music video, “All That We Are,” the final installment in the four-part, interlocking video series that loosely follows the band as they set the soundtrack for the misadventures of Farley, an unlucky soul in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“All that we are – is it enough for us to survive?” asks Day. “This is a question, a concept we found ourselves asking after all we have been through over the past two years. Hell, the past seven or so years. We’ve been in a wee bit of a less-than-sunny time in our history. So what are we gonna do? Grow or go! Everyone needs to decide. We’ve got a show tonight, so I know what we’re doing!”
Classless Act is poised to find a whole new legion of fans, first with their single “Classless Act” appearing on the soundtrack for THE RETALIATORS film, out this fall, and as they continue in their opening spot on this summer’s 36-date North American Stadium Tour, performing alongside Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett. The tour kicked off June 16 in Atlanta and runs through September 9 in Las Vegas.
“They’re going to be right at home on this tour,” said Loudwire’s Toni Gonzalez. “They are straight up, fun rock ‘n’ roll, high energy, a little dirty and very reminiscent of when rock reigned supreme.”
Classless Act’s previous tour alongside Dorothy ushered in a slew of positive reviews, with Front Row Perspective writing, “Every now and again you run across a band which you can immediately categorize as ‘I saw them when’ for future conversations. Classless Act is one of those bands!” Or Official Indie who heralded, “Classless Act hit the stage at 100 miles per hour…Watching the high energy act on stage made me think of what it must have been like to have seen Guns N Roses when they first started.”
While the music tells it’s own story, so do the members of the band themselves, hailing from all over the globe, including Hawaii, Los Angeles, Argentina and Dallas. The band, featuring Derek Day (vocals), Dane Pieper (guitar), Griffin Tucker (guitar), Franco Gravante (bass), and Chuck McKissock (drums), first formed in 2018 when the five former strangers met via social media.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW TRACKLISTING: 1. Classless Act (feat. Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe) 2. This Is For You (feat. Justin Hawkins of The Darkness) 3. Time To Bleed 4. On My Phone 5. All That We Are 6. Made In Hell 7. Storm Before The Calm 8. Haunting Love 9. Walking Contradiction 10. Give It To Me 11. Circles 12. Thoughts From A Dying Man
Digital, CDs, cassettes and colored vinyl copies of the album can be ordered HERE.
ABOUT CLASSLESS ACT When they released their debut single “Give It To Me” in the summer of 2021, Classless Act were immediately praised for their ability to sound both fresh and timeless. Loudwire instantly added the song to their “Weekly Wire” Spotify playlist, identifying it as one of the top new releases of the summer. And other iconic outlets, like SPIN Magazine, were early to show support. It was a fitting public introduction to a band who embody what it means to be modern rock stars.
Formed in 2018 and consisting of five former strangers who met via social media, Classless Act — Derek Day/vocals, Dane Pieper/guitar, Griffin Tucker/guitar, Franco Gravante/bass, and Chuck McKissock/drums — quickly formed a brotherhood bonded through a series of double-taps, DM’s, and tagged comments. Their music echoes the hallmarks of previous generations – anthemic rhythms, shreddy guitars, and soaring vocals – but punches its way into the future with clever arrangements, sharp musicianship, and proficient songwriting; and, according to one writer, “…enough energy to power a city.” Already making noise in the industry, the band has worked with world-class producers like Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn and Joe Chiccarrelli, who have helped craft hits for the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes. The band recently landed a deal with Better Noise Music, Mediabase and Billboard’s #1 rock label for 2021, and their debut album, Welcome to the Show, will be released June 24, 2022. Having been invited to join the line-up on The Stadium Tour, this summer’s 36-date, co-headline trek with Motley Crue and Def Leppard, Classless Act is well on its way to achieving its collective goal – being a next-generation defining act.
Albert Bouchard’s Imaginos II : Bombs Over Germany, which came out last October is now available on vinyl. Check out the link below. Imaginos 2 features guest appearances from former Blue Oyster Cult bandmates Eric Bloom, Joe Bouchard, Buck Dharma, as well as Richie Castellano [of BOC], as well a number of guitar players. The album’s art was [again] created by Richard Zoll. Among the 14 tracks are classy re-workings of such BOC favorites as “OD’d On Life Itself”, “Cities On Flame (With Rock And Roll)”, “Dominance And Submission”, “The Red And The Black”, and “Shadow Of California” (feat Ross ‘The Boss’ Freidman on classical guitar).
Albert will be playing 3 shows with BOC in September, celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary, and performing the band’s first 3 albums in entirety (a separate one each night). He also has summer tour dates with Joe (The Bouchard Brothers in UK) and Blue Coupe (US & Canada)!
American Rocker is the 6th solo album from former Blue Oyster Cult member Joe Bouchard. Over the past 15 years Joe has been a prolific songwriter, delivering albums regularly, each with new themes and cool tracks, including those fine tunes that Blue Oyster Cult fans can imagine as gems that would’ve fit well on classic BOC albums. Songs here are written with Joe’s past in mind with Joe stating in the liner notes – “American Rocker is a musical reflection of my life as a rock star. I feel lucky to live a life in music, and to be fulfilling my wildest dreams.” The stand out single here is “In The Golden Age”, which tells of the great times being in a major band during rock’s golden era, while “Hey There Suzi Dear” is a fun upbeat track (and album closer) that revisits one of the characters from BOC’s classic “Astronomy”!
Over his solo career Joe has definitely created his own sound, and it’s those acoustic based dreamy and sometimes haunting melodies and tunes that stand out like the ballad “Deadly Kisses”, “The Devil’s In The Details”, “Off Season Hotel”, and the catchy pop track “Katherine” – all sound great for a summer’s day. Love the production and various instruments used throughout this album, while Mickey Curry plays drums throughout, there are some awesome productions, such as with “Off Season Hotel” which also features John Jorgenson on flamenco guitar, Albert Bouchard on bongos & rhythm guitar, and Joe adding various keyboards, guitars, bass…. Albert appears on a few tracks, also notably the rockin’ “Love Out Of Thin Air” – adding temple bells, triangle and rhythm guitar, Joan Levy Hepburn adding backing vocals here [as well as a few others], and Joe creatively adding organ, piano, cornet, and finger snaps, all making for a great mix of one of the album’s best here.
There is a lot to dig in to here, 11 tracks, lots of different instrumentation [Joe also using mandolin, slide guitar and trumpet on occasion], some great stories in the lyrics, and a great mix of sound and songs. I probably said this with Strange Legends, but THIS is the best thing Joe’s done since he started making solo albums. Cool packaging with various images from Joe’s past, including the cover.
TALAS are back with the release of their new album 1985, which will see a September 23, 2022 release via Metal Blade Records. Fans can preorder the album and check out the new single “Crystal Clear”.
Formed in the mid 70s and dissolved in 1985, TALAS may have never reached arena-headlining status but they were an integral part of the early 80s hard rock scene, and their long awaited return does not disappoint. “The time was right and we were all into it, no one needed any convincing, we were all instantly excited to do it,” explains bassist Billy Sheehan, who is rejoined by drummer Mark Miller and powerhouse vocalist Phil Naro, as well as new recruit Kire Najdovski on guitar. “It’s like we never stopped – everything fell together so easily. It was quite wonderful.” Now they return with 1985, 11 tracks of classic hard rock, picking up where they left off, and it is a release that will have old school fans salivating and new followers fired up with its big riffs, seductive choruses and killer soloing – basically everything that could be wanted from a TALAS record.
Najdovski may be relatively new to the band, but his playing is pure Talas. “He’s a great player with great ideas and a joy to work with. Phil had worked with him previously, so I trusted his judgement, and it worked out perfectly.” The band also welcomed former guitarist Mitch Perry to appear on the record, playing on the two songs that he wrote, “Crystal Clear” and “On The Take”, adding an extra dimension and bringing back more of that old school vibe.
Asked why people should be excited for this comeback, Sheehan answers enthusiastically. “Because so many of them were there, with us, and a million other great bands that made the 80s such a special musical experience. And also there are so many who might not have been there but have fallen in love with that spirit as well. We feel a very special bond with them all.”
With all but one song – “Black And Blue” – written in 1985, the album would have been their fourth full-length had they not split, and while they have worked hard to get the best out of them they have not tampered with the tracks or given them a modern twist, letting them live in the era in which they were created. “We wanted a snapshot of our musical life from 1985,” explains Sheehan. “It’s the same spirit, mostly the same people, and it’s bringing the 80s into 2022. The 80s were an amazing time for music and bands, and we were all excited to go back to that, and I would say the record is raw, real, honest, and exhilarating.”
The album was recorded in Miller’s living room, in the house he built, utilizing a mobile recording setup, and according to Sheehan the sessions were “an absolute joy.” Coordinating everything remotely during the pandemic – with Russ Mackay handling the engineering/mixing/mastering from Toronto – was the hardest aspect of recording, but they managed to pull it all together, making a record that sounds cohesive from start to finish, giving no suggestion that it was anything but a smooth process. As well as Mitch Perry’s guest appearance the band also invited Naro’s son, James, to appear on the record, who “sang some harmonies – like father, like son, he sounded really great.” There are hopes to tour the record, though sadly, after a years long battle with cancer, Naro passed in 2021, but thankfully he recorded all of his parts prior to his death, and 1985 stands as a great epitaph to a great vocalist.
1985 will be available in the following formats: – Digital – Digipak-CD – 180g Black Vinyl (EU exclusive) – Gold Vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies) – Clear/Pale Green Marbled Vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies) – White/Black Marbled Vinyl (US)
WINGS OF STEEL is a new hard-rock/metal band from Los Angeles featuring guitarist Parker Halub and singer Leo Unnermark. The band’s 5 track EP is (you can check out my review in a previous post), and the band is preparing to make their live debut. The band’s sound captures the classic 70s & 80s eras of hard rock & metal (see UFO, Whitesnake, Iron Maiden, Great White…). Here is a new interview with Parker & Leo on the band, their EP, and future plans! …. *Check out the links below for more info and ordering their album.
Can you tell me [briefly] how yourself and Leo met and decided to put together Wings of Steel?
We met in April 2019 while studying music in L.A. It was pretty evident from the start that we would form a band and things basically took off from there.
Can you each give me a short list of favorite musicians, singers, writers… as well as ‘Top 10’ list of your favorite albums growing up?
Some of my (Parker) favorite musicians/guitar players include John Sykes, Michael Schenker, Neal Schon, John Norum, Estas Tonne, and many more. Some of Leo’s favorites include David Coverdale, Paul Rodgers, Steve Lee, Bruce Dickinson, Robin McAuley, and more. Part of what makes Wings of Steel what it is, is the fact that Leo and I take influences from many different sources and it would be a difficult task to give an exact answer with every source that has inspired us. That said, here are 10 of our favorite records; 1. Dio – Lock Up the Wolves (1990) 2. Judas Priest – Painkiller (1990) 3. Whitesnake ‘87 (1987) 4. Blue Murder – Blue Murder (1989) 5. Diamond Head – Lightning to the Nations (1980) 6. Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell (1980) 7. Krokus – Heart Attack (1987) 8. Y&T – Ten (1990) 9. Dokken – Tooth and Nail (1984) 10. Gotthard – Gotthard (1992).
Where did the name Wings of Steel come from? And can you tell me a bit about the CD artwork?
The band name actually sprung from the title track “Wings of Steel.” We had spent a great deal of time trying to find a name that does justice to our sound/style, and after writing the song, we had found it. As for the artwork, Leo and I had an idea sketched out on a piece of paper that we took to our good friend and tattoo artist Spencer Caliguiri. We gave a rough description of what we wanted and Spencer delivered the final product on the first try.
What [if] of other recording bands had you each been involved with in the past?
Both of us have been involved in previous bands, more so for the sake of live entertainment rather than recording.
Can you give me a bit of insight in to each of the 5 tracks, as to where the musical and lyrical ideas came from and any antidotes from recording them?
Songs are totally up for interpretation. Most of the songs are written as perspectives on a wide variety of things. Fictive imagination and sometimes real life examples of society, spirituality, and overwhelming emotion are some examples of larger scale topics; things that can be touched on multiple levels. A part of the journey of Wings of Steel is to give the listener the option of owning the song by allowing it to carry multiple meanings. The music and what ultimately becomes the Wings of Steel sound is a combination of both our inputs. As we mentioned earlier, our influences (musically and lyrically) come from many sources/genres and it’s tough to definitively name them all. The bulk of the EP was recorded in our Bomb Shelter turned studio at Parker’s parents’ place out in Thousand Oaks, CA. It’s hard to pick any one particular highlight as the EP was recorded over the span of a few months and when you’re having fun, the process takes care of itself and we’re just along for the ride.
This is a 5 song EP, done independently. Have you guys shopped it around to any labels? And is there plans [or work begun] for a full length album?
We’ve had several labels approach us with offers since the EP went live back in March, however we plan to stay independent for the indefinite future as we don’t want our creative process and image being limited or influenced by a contractual obligation. Owning the rights to our own music is important to us as well. As for our next release, we have already begun the writing process and are looking forward to a release sometime next year.
As the band is based around the 2 of you, are any shows planned and other players chosen?
We have our debut show planned for September 23 at the Whisky-A-GoGo in Hollywood. We will be joined by a second guitarist and bassist, as well as Mike Mayhem who played drums on the EP.
(for Leo) – There is a huge hard rock / metal scene in Sweden. Can you share some insight on it and perhaps a few of your favorite Swedish bands at present?
In the bigger cities, there’s definitely a solid presence/scene of hard rock/heavy metal music. There aren’t too many upcoming bands that have caught my attention, however some of my favorite Swedish rock bands/musicians include Europe, Treat, 220 Volt, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Mickey Dee.
Outsider Rock 