Tag Archives: new rock

RAVEN – release new album: All Hell’s Breaking Loose

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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.

*To order on green vinyl, CD, and Cassette(!), check out – https://raven.tmstor.es/?lf=92b7b4d1d4cd1b587d5f32f64b525256

Recommended to fans of  Anvil, Lizzy Borden, Diamond Head, Saxon, Metal Church, Exciter, Armored Saint.

Links: 

https://smarturl.it/AllHellsBreakingLoose

http://sl-music.net/en/60-news-silver-lining/1058-ravens-all-hells-breaking-loose-out-now

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https://www.facebook.com/ravenbandofficial

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ROZARIO – Norwegian band issues debut single

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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.

Photo: Marius Sørgjerd

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/rozarioband

https://www.rozarioofficial.com/

https://www.instagram.com/rozarioband

https://www.facebook.com/PJMRecordLabel

ELOY – legendary German progressive band release new video and album

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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.“

LINKS:

https://www.music-merchant.shop/de/eloy/?fbclid=IwAR1vpFJexrOv8PEXuyOnwIm8pH3aSUoJ5uFA-98irIJNQFCGdld4SoyDQu4

http://eloy-legacy.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Official4Eloy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/480619625337102

https://www.facebook.com/drakkarentertainment

https://www.rockreport.be/albums/eloy-echoes-from-the-past

https://justforkicks.de/en/search?sSearch=eloy

AVI ROSENFELD & ANDRE TULIPANO – Battle Of Rock

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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.

LINKS:

http://avirosenfeld.wix.com/avirosenfeldband

https://avirosenfeld.bandcamp.com/album/battle-of-rock

https://www.facebook.com/AviRosenfeldBand

https://www.facebook.com/steelwarriorband

THE KINGS release new single. New album coming in September.

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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.

THE KINGS ONLINE:

https://thekingsarehere.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063548021148

https://www.instagram.com/thekingsrhere/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNjWtQvNPE

GODS OF SOMETIMES to release debut album

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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.

Links:

https://godsofsometimes.bandcamp.com/

https://linktr.ee/godsofsometimes

ALICE COOPER to release new album ‘Road’ in August

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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

Story Behind the Album Cover: ARJEN LUCASSEN’S SUPERSONIC REVOLUTION’ Golden Age Of Music

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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). 

Links:

https://usa-store.mascotlabelgroup.com/search?type=product&options%5Bunavailable_products%5D=last&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=arj

Album of The Day : ARJEN LUCASSEN’S SUPERSONIC REVOLUTION’s Golden Age Of Music

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Dutch songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen has done numerous big projects over the past few decades, under such names as AYREON, Arjen Lucassen’s STAR ONE, GUILT MACHINE, and THE GENTLE STORM. His new band is called ‘Arjen Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution’, and they have debuted with the massive Golden Age Of Music album. I say massive, as it’s 15 tracks over 2 LPs, and it is a great production of ’70s inspired heavy rock, not quite metal and not quite totally prog. Golden Age Of Music essentially pays homage to the prog and heavy bands of the ’70s. There’s tons of Hammond organ throughout this, big intros, fantastic heavy guitar, a good bit of variety, and plenty of references to classic bands and iconic songs & albums.

Immediate highlights include the title track (check out the band & song references in this one), “Rise Of The Starman” (Bowie!?), “Burn It Down” (a twist on Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water”, and dig the Jon Lord-like intro), “They Took Us By Storm”, and “Holy Holy Ground” (a more soulful number that reminded me of something Glenn Hughes might do) . Love this whole album! Side 4, (or the ‘bonus’ tracks) consists of 4 covers, including ZZ Top’s “Heard It On The X” (which is how this project got started), as well as versions of songs by T-Rex, Roger Glover, and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Lucassen plays bass on this, as well as writes most of the music & lyrics, and produces / engineers the project, even designing the awesome cover-art (check out the various classic album references on it!).

Arjeb Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution includes:

Arjen – bass

Jaycee (John Cuijpers) – vocals (Praying Mantis)

Koen Herfst – drums (The Cards, Vandenberg)

Joost van den Broek – keyboards (Ayreon, After Forever, Epica)

Timo Somers – guitars (Vengeance, Delain)

Supersonic Revolution – Arjen’s new band!

Canadian Prog-Metal Exports ONI Debut New Single, Feat. Jared Dines

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Canadian progressive-metal luminaries ONI have unleashed a ferocious new single, “Silence In A Room Of Lies” (feat. guitarist Jared Dines), a volatile, metallic anthem with a torrential onslaught of groove-laden riffs threaded with infectious melody.

Commenting on the new single, Jake Oni states:  “I’m super stoked to share my new song Silence in a Room of Lies! This track is the first step in a new direction for ONI musically. This is just a taste of what’s to come and I hope my fans enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. Writing with Jared Dines was an absolute pleasure and his contributions brought this song to a whole new level.”

Dines adds:  “I am very proud of the song we were able to write together, and I’m excited that the world can finally hear it! Jake is the coolest dude and working with him was an absolute pleasure!“

Produced by Josh Gilbert (former As I Lay Dying, current Spiritbox bassist) and Joseph McQueen (Bad Wolves, As I Lay Dying).

Stream the single – https://bfan.link/silence-in-a-room-of-lies

LINKS:

http://www.theoniband.com

https://www.facebook.com/TheOniBand