Based on true friendship, NESTOR’s new single “Signed In Blood” is about that unbreakable bond of brotherhood that you just know will last forever. Or as a line from the lyrics goes: “It’s been so many miles and days between us, yet I know there’s a reason why we can’t let go” The track is available on Spotify, as well as a brand new video.
Originally founded in 1989 but only releasing their first album “Kids In A Ghost Town” in 2021, NESTOR’s acclaimed first album sent their fans on a journey back in time to the 1980s, both in sound, spirit and in visuals with their stunning music videos, everything completely self produced. Their album is also nominated for a Swedish Grammis in the category Hard Rock/Metal and will be re-released in a deluxe edition containing brand new bonus tracks later this year by Napalm Records who recently signed the band to their label. “Signed In Blood” is the first of these new tracks to be released during a year that will be full of exciting highlights from the band, among other things supporting childhood idols KISS at their arena gig in Stockholm this summer, as well as playing their own headline show at the properly named Nestor Fest at Falköpings Folkets Park in their hometown in Sweden.
A mere 6 months following the Peter Goalby’s debut solo release (of archived recordings), Cherry Red Records will release a follow up titled I Will Come Runnin’, also recorded during the same period.
Fans who waited 30+ years to hear something new from Peter following his departure from Uriah Heep, and a solo single, can add another album consisting of 10 songs, along with the aid of Paul Hodson, Robin George, and Eddy Morton.
Peter Goalby has been extremely surprised and happy with the response & reviews to the first album. I Will Come Runnin’ will be released May 6, 2022, and can be pre-ordered at Cherry Red Records, as well as Amazon.
*A 10-track album personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by the former Uriah Heep and Trapeze vocalist .
1 I Will Come Runnin’ 2 Rock ‘N’ Roll Crazy 3 A Brand New Love 4 Dancing on Water 5 Somebody’s Fool 6 It Was There All The Time 7 Waitin’ For An Angel To Call 8 There’s Always A Place In My Heart 9 Perfect Strangers 10 A Little Piece Of Heaven
Well, this is getting less fun as the ’80s goes on, as there seems to have been less albums each year, so I’ve had to dig well beyond my own collection (thank you youtube), but I did make a few fine discoveries. Remember, this is My list – If anything’s missing, leave it in the comments!
White Wolf – Endangered Species
The 2nd album from Edmonton’s White Wolf. An awesome album of AOR/Hard Rock. “Time Waits For No One”, “Run For Your Life”, the single “She”, and a cool cover “Just Like An Arrow” by British band Magnum. A shame it’d be 2 decades before a 3rd album from these guys. Just a great album…and great cover!
Honeymoon Suite – The Big Prize
The follow up to the band’s hugely successful debut from 1984. I actually prefer this album; better production [courtesy of Bruce Fairbairn] and songs, IMO. “Feel It Again”, Released February 4 [according to RPM], The Big Prize featured 4 hits – “What Does It Take”, “Bad Attitude” and “All Along You Knew” [featuring Ian Anderson].
Triumph – The Sport Of Kings
Hot off the excellent Live Stages double album, someone decided Triumph needed to come up with more mainstream pop rockers, more keyboards, and outside penned ballads! Not near their best, but contained the hits “Tears In The Rain” , “Somebody’s Out There”, and favorite “What Rules My Heart”.
Killer Dwarfs – Stand Tall
The Dwarfs 2nd album. Don’t think this [or the debut] made a dent on the charts, but they quickly gained a following with classic hard rockers like “Keep The Spirit Alive” , “Through Animal Eyes” and the title track. Cool guitar sound from Mike Hall [who later played in Carl Dixon’s band] and distinctive vocals from Russ Graham [who would later front Moxy for a few years].
Kick Axe – Rock The World
From Regina, Saskatchewan, this would be Kick Axe’s 3rd album in the ’80s, before a long break. A return to a more ‘metal’ approach than the one before, starting with the fast rockin’ title track (killer intro). It also included favorites “We Still Remember”, “Devachan”, as well as heavy cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”.
Brighton Rock – Young, Wild and Free
The debut album from Niagara’s Brighton Rock, which had followed an EP the previous year. Featured the hits “Can’t Wait For The Night” and “We Came To Rock”, and featured favorites like the title track, “Assault Attack” and “Barricade”. (RIP Gerry McGhee)
Sacred Blade – Of The Sun + Moon
Prog-metal band from Vancouver. Cool stuff, featuring lots of heavy guitars, acoustic guitars, metal rockers like “Salem” and “In The Light Of The Moon”, to some progressive influences on the likes of “Legacy”, “Moon” . Main writer Jeff Ulmer would re-do a number of things on his next project Othyrworld in 2005. (RIP Jeff Ulmer)
Frank Marino – Full Circle
His first studio album since 1982’s excellent Juggernaut. Full Circle saw more use of keyboards, and more lighter tracks, but still some good rockers, and good tracks overall. Favorites include “Hang On”, “Breakin’ Away”, and “Imagine”.
Sword – Metalized
Quebec metal band’s debut album. I think I saw these guys open for Alice Cooper in the ’80s. A pretty solid heavy record, on Aquarius (recorded & mixed by former April Wine guitarist Gary Moffett). Includes the great opener “F.T.W.”, plus “Stoned Again”, “The End Of The Night”, and “Out of Control”. A shame these guys only released 2 studio albums.
Jon-Mikl Thor – Recruits Wild In The Street
A fun album of hard-rock / metal, with rockers and anthems like “Ragnarock”, “Warhammer”, “Who’s To Blame”, and “We Live To Rock” (w/ Aldo Nova contributing to vocals on this one). Produced by Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats), who also wrote album track “Heartbreak Choir”.
Other releases: Kim Mitchell Shakin’ Like A Human Being / Deaf Dealer Keeper Of The Flame / Tom Cochrane & Red Rider s/t
BIBLE BLACK was a New York based band that featured former ELF / RAINBOW members Craig Gruber and Gary Driscoll, who after playing alongside Ronnie James Dio in the ’70s, formed their own band in the early ’80s. The band survived a few years, fronted by such singers as Jeff Fenholt (Joshua, Driver), Eric Adams (Manowar), and Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) and recorded a number of tracks with them. Keyboard player Mickey Lee Soule (also ex of Elf) was also in the band at one point, though there’s not a lot of keyboards here. This was a great heavy 2 guitar band, as evidenced by the songs here. Standouts include “Gone”, “Down On The World”, “Ain’t No Crime”, and “Deceiver”. Highly recommended as a great set of early ’80s American metal, and not just for the big name connections here. More in tune with the NWOBHM stuff happening at the time, along with ’70s Judas Priest and Dio than what was happening in the US at the time (IMO).
Press Release:
Bible Black was an East Coast American band formed by former Elf/Rainbow musicians Gary Driscoll and Craig Gruber, along with Andrew “Duck” McDonald.
The bands longest tenured singer was Jeff Fenholt, well known for his very brief stint with Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath and his work with the band Joshua.
The band also featured in its ranks 2 well known vocalists: Lou Marullo who later became known as the one and only Eric Adams…and Joey Belladonna who of course went on to join Anthrax.
All three vocalists recorded demos with Bible Black between the periods of 1981-1983. This cd for the first time compiles all recorded works of the band in one place.
Sadly Gary Driscoll, Craig Gruber and Jeff Fenholt have all since passed away, making this release a fitting epitaph to their time together as Bible Black.
Restored and remastered by Patrick Engel and licensed directly from the last surviving member Andrew “Duck” McDonald” we can now hear one of the great “lost bands” and a piece of Heavy Metal history.
Track list: 1. Gone, 2. Metal Man, 3. Back To Back, 4. Down On The World, 5. Ain’t No Crime, 6.Fighting The Wind 7. Back Door, 8. Paint It Black, 9. Fires Of Old, 10. You Got Me Where You Want Me, 11. Deceiver, 12. Midnight Dancer, 12. Gone (Jeff Fenholt vocals), 13. Metal Man (Jeff Fenholt vocals)
Norway was (is?) a band from New Jersey. Many years back I received the band’s 2nd album – Arrival (on Frontiers). It was a good disc of AOR/Hard rock featuring excellent cuts like “Givin’ It All”, “One Night Alone”, and “Find My Way Home”.
The band featured Jim Santos (guitar, synth prog), Glenn Pierson (vocals, keyboards), Joe Slattery (bass) & Marty Brasington (drums). In 2006 the band changed singers with Pierson being replaced by Dave Baldwin (ex Voices), and issued Rising Up From The Ashes (MTM). Not sure how this album did at the time, but I was unaware of it til I stumbled on it a few months ago. The songs and performances here are still just as good than the previous 2 albums, though the production and approach comes up a bit more AOR than Arrival. Plenty of appealing radio friendly tracks like “Save Me”, this could’ve been a hit in a slightly different era, But there’s plenty of good pop/rock songs here – “Anything At All”, “The Power of Gold”, as well as ballads like “Haunted”, and “The Only One I Need”
Much of this stuff bordering on Bon Jovi and Journey. type tunes and sound not so much keyboards, but in the backing vocals. Guitarist Jim Santos notes that the album did not turn out as planned- “MTM basically released our demos;-the drums and guitars were supposed to be re-done in a proper studio — didn’t happen.”
Santos is planning to put together a ‘Best of Norway‘ for possible release later this year, and having heard one of his much improved remixes, it sounds like it will be a welcome release for those who dug those Norway albums – “There are 5 songs from Night Dreams and 5 from Arrival, and 2 from Rising Up-that Glenn will redo the lead vocals that were sung by Dave Baldwin, plus we’re thinking of 2-3 brand new tunes and a pile of ‘extra’s’ -demo’s, lost unreleased tracks, and possibly a few special collector editions. Might be two discs. We’ll see what happens.”
Although Santos insists the band never really broke up, the members have gone on to other things, but intend to get back together for the upcoming Best of – “Drummer Marty Brasington had moved to Columbus Ohio shortly after Rising , which made it “difficult”. There were other individual personal matters that each of us had to handle. I moved to California for 5 years which didn’t make it any easier, lol. For my part I stay active playing everyday, recording, songwriting. I wrote lyrics for one song on the forthcoming new Frozen Rain album, and played guitar on a couple of things for Adry A (Mattsonn) and we wrote one song together. I know Marty plays with a classic rock band in Ohio. He has a small recording setup, and will be working on drums for a couple of new songs for the Best Of. Glenn also just writes and plays piano at home. Now he moved to South Carolina only 3 1/2 hours away from me, so we’re planning some catchup sessions. Bassist Joe Slattery, I think still lives in NJ, not sure what he is doing these days.”
To support the release, DARE will embark on a 12-date UK headline tour in October 2022. Planet Rock will start at 48-hour ticket pre-sale at 9am on Wednesday 12th January via www.planetrocktickets.co.uk.
Road To Eden follows Dare’s critically acclaimed albums Sacred Ground (2016) and Out Of The Silence 2 (2018). Both albums reached Number #1 in the Amazon Classic Rock Charts in four countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Dare entered the top #5 in the official UK Rock charts, number #6 in the US Amazon Classic Rock Charts and Number #1 in Japanese rock imports.
Road To Eden is destined to be another modern DARE classic. Produced by their lead singer songwriter Darren Wharton (ex-Thin Lizzy) at his studio the majestic mountains of North Wales. The new album has a harder rock edge than previous albums, whilst still retaining the atmospheric sound, and anthemic melodies that has become the band’s signature trademark.
Road To Eden features ten brand new beautifully crafted songs that captures the very heart of DARE. With a full headline UK tour set for the UK in October 2022, plus dates in Spain, Scandinavia, and Germany, it’s going to be an exciting year for the band.
“We wanted to write an album that translated well to live performance,” says Darren. “Road To Eden has some great anthems, energy and power. We can’t wait to play the new songs live.”
With previous DARE albums now having well over 4 million streams on Spotify, it’s clear that for the growing army of DARE fans, the wait is nearly over, as they prepare to join DARE on The Road To Eden.
BAND LINE-UP
DARREN WHARTON – VOCALS, KEYBOARDS VINNY BURNS – GUITARS NIGEL CLUTTERBUCK – BASS GUITAR KEV WHITEHEAD – DRUMS MARC ROBERTS – KEYBOARDS
TRACK LISTING
1. BORN IN THE STORM (4:45) 2. CRADLE TO THE GRAVE (4:21) 3. FIRE NEVER FADES (3:51) 4. ROAD TO EDEN (4:07) 5. LOVERS AND FRIENDS (3:43) 6. ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG (4:37) 7. I ALWAYS WILL (4:24) 8. GRACE (3:44) 9. THE DEVIL RIDES TONIGHT (3:49) 10. THY KINGDOM COME (4:30) 11. BORN IN A STORM (ROMESH REMIX) (4:21)
PRODUCED BY DARREN WHARTON
Planet Rock in association with The Gig Cartel presents
The success story continues for NESTOR, consisting of five childhood friends from the small town of Falköping, Sweden, who chose to restart the band they once formed back in 1989, that’s been lying dormant for just over three decades.
Their debut full-length album Kids In A Ghost Town was released on October 22 and reached first place on the Swedish Hard Rock Album Chart as well as an honorable second place on the list for Physical Album Sales. The album has been unanimously acclaimed by rock press and media, both at home in Sweden and abroad in Europe, the UK, and the US, where many have mentioned it as a given candidate for Album Of The Year.
Their music has already reached close to 1,5 million streams on Spotify and more than 500 000 views on YouTube of their music videos, among them the one for the single “Tomorrow” – an epic ballad duet with 80s icon Samantha Fox, that together with the videos for the two prior singles “On The Run” and “1989” showcase the band’s love for the 80s and all its attributes, with a sense of detail that is hard to match. With their live debut accomplished in conjunction with their album release at a sold-out gig in Stockholm, where the only real complaint was that the crowd wanted more, NESTOR have several upcoming live performances, both at the big arenas in Sweden and on the trustworthy summer rock festivals.
NesTOUR DATES 2021-22:Nov 20 – Keep It True Rising, Würtzburg, GermanyDec 10 – Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 11- Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 17 – Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden (w/ Takida)Feb 4 – Vulkan Arena, Oslo, Norway (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 5 – Berns, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 18 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 19 – Trädgår’n, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 26 Folkets Hus, Blomstermåla (w/ H.E.A.T)June 4 – Atlas Rock, Gävle, SwedenJune 11 – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, SwedenAug 3 – Sabaton Open Air, Falun, Sweden Many more dates to be added.
NESTOR embraces influences from the 80s in their nostalgic rock, with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart along with great passion. The album Kids In A Ghost Town is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
NESTOR ARE: Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar) Mattias Carlsson (drums) Tobias Gustavsson (vocals) Marcus Åblad (bass) Martin Frejinger (keyboards)
American bass player (& songwriter) Chuck Wright has been a part of several major bands over the decades, though best known for being the long time bass player in Quiet Riot (going back to playing on a few tracks on the legendary Metal Health album, to Guiffria & House Of Lords, Blackthorne (supergroup w/ Graham Bonnet), as well he was a member of Heaven & Earth (playing and writing on 2013’s excellent Dig album).
This past summer it was announced that Chuck was leaving Quiet Riot and moving on to other projects (like this solo album). This guy’s list of credits is extensive and outstanding, not just the bands that he was a member of (https://www.discogs.com/artist/136623-Chuck-Wright).
Chuck has just released a video for “Army Of Me” from his forthcoming solo album. *Check out the press release and link to video and download below.
QUIET RIOT’s Longtime Bassist CHUCK WRIGHT Releases First Official Single & Video “ARMY OF ME” From His Debut Solo Album, CHUCK WRIGHT’S SHELTERING SKY!
Los Angeles, CA – Long-time bassist for multi-platinum rockers Quiet Riot, Chuck Wright, proudly presents the release of the first single from his new solo album. Wright has also worked alongside such rock music luminaries as Alice Cooper, Greg Allman, Ted Nugent, various members of Guns N’ Roses and Kiss to name a few, and now embarks on his first-ever solo excursion.
The first single is a hard-rocking, intense interpretation of Björk’s 1995 hit “Army of Me” and is accompanied by a video that represents Wright’s exploration into disorder and parallels with the recent chaotic state of world affairs. The visuals include a 3D animation of an “army” of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs, the late Supreme Court Justice, feminist icon, and steadfast advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. “I chose to recognize the late Justice Ginsburg in this video as she was such a formidable presence on and off the bench. She challenged the status quo knocking down legal obstacles to women’s equality and inspired an army of believers.”
The track “Army Of Me” features several of Wright’s musical peers including the late Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) on drums, guitarist Lanny Cordola (House of Lords), and Sven Martin (Jonathan Davis Band) on keyboards along with songstress Whitney Tai, the recent “Best Vocalist” winner at The Intercontinental Music Awards.
The full-length album from Chuck Wright’s Sheltering Sky, coming in 2022, features over 30 guest performers including members of Mr. Big, Skid Row, Tesla, Dream Theater, Great White, Asia, Jefferson Starship, acclaimed solo artists Allen Hinds, Toshi Yanagi, and many others. Wright is finally stepping out on his own with a wide range of genres, from Jazz Fusion, Prog, Funk to in-your-face Hard Rock, which was in itself one of the things that led him to want to forge his own way and create this unique collection of songs within his “Sheltering Sky” project.
Asia’s debut album from 1982 featured a number of hits, but it was the lead off single that was most successful and became the band’s trademark song, as it would for John Wetton. The song became a Top single in at least a half a dozen countries, as well as #1 on Billboard’s mainstream rock charts. In a 2011 interview with http://www.rediscoverthe80s.com John Wetton explained the song – “The lyrics are an abject apology for my dreadful behavior towards a particular woman (the woman I would eventually marry, but divorce 10 years later), the chorus began its life as a 6/8 country song, but when Geoff and I started writing together, we moved the time signatures around, and “Heat of the Moment” emerged. No-one else particularly “got” the song, and it was the last song to be recorded for the album…”
Hearing this song always takes me back to when this first came out, and hearing it daily either playing pool at a neighbor’s house (with the radio on) or listening to it on my walkman while delivering papers. Years later I got to interview John Wetton, and he was happy to talk about Asia and that song. It would feature on every Asia collection, as well as every John Wetton live release.
Today sees a ‘live’ release of the classic track, from the band’s upcoming release Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1, to be released through BMG Records on 26th November 2021.
The live single version of “Heat of The Moment” was recorded live at Kleinhan’s Music Hall, Buffalo, NY, USA on 3rd May 1982. This performance came just days into their debut US tour. They were already selling out 2,000 – 5,000 seat halls. Within weeks, on the strength of an unprecedented amount of radio play and heavy rotation of their videos on MTV, their box office draw exploded.
Geoff Downes, who co-wrote the track with the late John Wetton commented: “Just before we went into the studio to record the first ASIA album, we realized we were one track short. So John and I sat down one afternoon and came up with “Heat Of The Moment.” He had the chorus, I had the verse and we literally put the ideas together there and then. I’m glad we did, because it became the lead-off single from the album and really established the band in the mainstream pop/rock charts. It’s hard to say whether or not the album would have been as successful had we not had this track, but for sure it certainly created a lot of momentum for us at the time. I’m proud of it, as it shows the instant magic John and I could work together as songwriters, and it still remains relevant 40 years on.”
The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 celebrates the huge appeal of the concert tours that followed ASIA’s first two albums in 1982 and 1983. The success continued following ASIA’s 25th anniversary reunion in 2006 and three more highly acclaimed albums. The slipcase boxset features 5 x 2CD concerts from 1982 (Buffalo, NY, USA), 1983 (Worcester, MA, USA), 2007 (São Paulo, Brazil), 2008 (Tokyo, Japan) and 2010 (London, UK).
British keyboard player [+ writer, producer, singer] Paul Hodson produced this album in 2004. Hodson recorded with the likes of Ten [Gary Hughes], Bob Catley [Magnum], Cloven Hoof, John Parr, and Peter Goalby [Uriah Heep]. I got this album well after the fact [British bands like Magnum and Ten were not in my collection til the mid 2000s], but it is a very strong album and heavier than the band’s mentioned above, which is due mainly to the guitar playing and sound of Vince O’Regan [Escape], as well as Hodson’s vocals, who at time can be as ‘eavy as Bruce Dickinson, but hey toss in the likes of Graham Bonnett and Gary Hughes too., …. But yeah, some huge guitar sound – riffs and big lengthy solos, love the lead off track “This Foolish World”, epic ” The Calling”, “Soulman”, and a pretty good cover of Rainbow’s “Light In The Dark”. 9 track album ends with the ballad “The Swan” [co-written with Eddy Morton, ex The Bushburys] – which features a nice fast keyboard/guitar break. Bass – Josie Vespa, drums – Lynch Radinsky.
*Great cover art from Al Barrow [former Hard Rain bandmate, ex Magnum]. A shame there was no follow up, but an excellent one-off project / release worth checking out.
Outsider Rock 