The brand new band DAYS OF WINE consists of close friends from the Oslo/Norway music scene. After years of playing in their respective bands, it was time to join forces to make a high class album.
During Spring 2021, ten songs were recorded for the self-titled debut at Stable Studios, Oslo. The songs are based on the lyrics of Leif Johansen but musically grounded in the Classic Rock genre.
Leading the charge is the melodic and “raspy” voice of singer Leif Digernes. To emphasize the 60’s and 70’s influences, all backing tracks were recorded “live” in the studio.
Some friends also came by and contributed to some of the songs, i.e. brothers Gregg Bissonette (drums, David Lee Roth, Ringo Starr, Joe Satriani,, etc.) and Matt Bissonette, (bass, David Lee Roth, Ringo Starr, Joe Satriani, Elton John, etc) on “Angles In Disguise”, Jon Pettersen (Ammunition) played the acoustic intro to “Healerman”, Markus Klyve (Tekro’s Kingdom) the solo on “Never Stop Believing”, Lars Andrè Kvistum (Conception) keyboards on “Spread Your Wings” And Ronni Le Tekro (TNT/Tekro’s Kingdom) add. guitars on “Paint The Sky”
Line-up: Leif Digernes: Vocals (Westpoint, Bronx, Stuntbandet) Leif Johansen, Bass, keyboards, Vocals (21 Guns, Phenomena, A-ha) Geir Digernes, Drums/Percussion, (Sons Of Angels, Stuntbandet) Tom Sennerud, Guitar, Vocals (Stoneflower, Diezel) Jon Johannessen, Guitar, (Stoneflower, Diezel, Ronni Le Tekro`s Kingdom
earMUSIC is delighted to announce the release of H.E.A.T’s new studio albumForce Majeure on August 5th, 2022.
For most people, the last two years have probably been marked by exactly what has given H.E.A.T’s album it’s name – a “force majeure”. But H.E.A.T definitely don’t let such force stop them, quite the opposite. The band is back with original singer Kenny Leckremo on the lead, taking everyone on a speedy and energetic ride through H.E.A.T city!
Today, the band returns with a new single and its title “Nationwide”could hardly be a better answer to the current global situation. It not only kicks off the band’s Scandinavia tour, but also makes us look forward to the festival season 2022 that so many are longing for.“Nationwide” is the epitome of what the band have done so successfully in the past – unite young and old rock fans alike.
But not only sonically, but also visually, the band takes it up a notch. For the music videos as well as the whole artwork, a vibrant fictional world – H.E.A.T City – has been built for this release only, creating an exciting surrounding for the band’s energetic album.
Pre-order Force Majeure here: https://Heat.lnk.to/ForceMajeure . Available in CD Digipak, 2LP Gatefold, and Limited Edition Colored 2LP (yellow).
TRACKLISTING: 1. BACK TO THE RYTHM 2. NATIONWIDE 3. TAINTED BLOOD 4. HOLLYWOOD 5. HARDER TO BREATHE 6. NOT FOR SALE 7. ONE OF US 8. HOLD YOUR FIRE 9. PARAMOUNT 10. DEMON EYES 11. WINGS OF AN AEROPLANE
*From 9th April, the band will go on a big Scandinavian tour followed by an EU tour throughout May and will also have the first songs from the album in their luggage.
Since the band’s early days, starting from their song “1000 miles” – a huge hit in their Scandinavian home in 2009, media worldwide has been praising every one of the band’s albums as one of the best rock albums in the respective years.
H.E.A.T Kenny Leckremo – Lead Vocals Dave Dalone – Guitars Jona Tee – Keyboards, Organ Jimmy Jay – Bass Don Crash – Drums
EWINIAR is a new band from Croatia, consisting of Marin and Katarina Tramontana (husband & wife). They have recently released their independent debut album Burning The Night, which has received plenty of great reviews and following. In this interview Marin and Katarina talk about their influences, as well as various aspects of their new album. *Check out my previous review, as well – check out the links below.
First, can you tell me a bit about the band name, what it means or where it came from?
Marin: Ewiniar is the name of the Micronesian god of thunder. Since we share a love for rain and heavy rhythms it seemed very interesting to us. Also, it does not suggest a style of music that we play, so we have extra freedom of expression that is very important to us.
Had you been making music together prior to this, and how did it evolve in to Ewiniar – the sound and direction your album has taken?
Marin: We were both in a few bands that played mostly covers, but we wanted to go in a different direction and start something on our own. That’s how the idea of Ewiniar was born. It all started with a few demos, but later we realized we wanted to make a complete project. We weren’t targeting a specific style; we were just looking for a sweet spot between our musical possibilities and our musical tastes and I think we achieved that on our debut album.
What influences have you both as singers, musicians, songwriters? [favorites of each, as well as a few favorite albums each]
Katarina: I adore music and I understand it very broadly so I have been and still am influenced by artists from different genres. It’s definitely not easy to pick some favorites from everything I listen to, but let’s say these are artists I’ve been listening to for years: Paradise Lost, Dead Can Dance, Depeche Mode, AIR, The Sisters of Mercy, Nick Cave and Vangelis.
As for the albums, the choice is also not easy as I could choose many of them. The first that come to my mind are: Type O Negative – October Rust, Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Tiamat – Wildhoney David Sylvian – Secrets of the Beehive, Mark Lanegan – Blues Funeral, Nightwish – Century Child.
Marin: I can say that that I grew up with classic metal bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slayer and I still like them very much, but later I discovered some of the bands that Kate already mentioned and that was my way to go. My albums would be in no particular order: Type O Negative – October Rust, Paradise Lost – Icon, Amorphis – Tales From the Thousand Lakes, Alice In Chains – Dirt, anything from Dead Can Dance…
Can you tell me a bit about how songs were put together — what they started with and how they developed?
Marin: Usually, I have a bunch of short ideas, that can be musical part or some vocal line and everything starts from there. From there I add new things, while trying to keep the flow of the song. Sometimes it goes smoothly, sometimes I need to rearrange songs multiple times before the balance is reached. Once song is musically done, I am forwarding it to Katarina for the lyrics. Our roles are fairly divided. I make the basic construction of the songs and the vocal lines. Once the song is ready, Kate works on the lyrics, in the end we work together on the vocal arrangements and details.
What influences or inspires the lyrics or lyrical topics? Any stories behind any songs you can tell me about?
Katarina: I write about everything I feel, see and hear. Sometimes inspiration comes from my own experience, and sometimes it’s from other people’s experiences. Sometimes it’s just a feeling I draw from a book I read or a film I watch. Honestly, I tend to over-analyze everything, so from that tendency comes the inspiration for the lyrics I write. As for the context, I don’t like to say what the song is about but I prefer the listeners to interpret as they want and find their own meaning in it. But, since you ask, I can tell you a secret that the film Scream for me Sarajevo was a great inspiration for me while I was writing the lyrics for the song Mother.
Do you plan on playing this album live? If so, presumably you’ll be adding players to the band for live shows.
Marin: Regarding live gigs, we were slowed down by corona virus situation, but once everything goes back to normal (at least to some extent), we will hopefully be able to be active in that way, as well. Of course, we want to perform live, but until the conditions for that are met, we will continue to release new material as duo.
Did you have a hand in choosing the album’s artwork? and can you tell me a bit about the cover? [what’s it about and about the artist who created it]
Katarina: Artwork was done by English artist James Hutton. In search for something that will be interesting and suit our style we found his sketches and drawings on social networks and immediately fell in love with them. His works are brilliant, mostly in occult folk style with pen and paper. There is no specific message behind the cover, it is more like a glimpse of the visual atmosphere that can be heard in our music, mix of the good and evil, hope and sadness, dream and reality sharing the same space, or in this case, burning fingers of the hand.
What is the hard-rock / metal scene like in Croatia? And the music scene there in general? Any fellow Croatian bands you’d recommend to rock fans?
Marin: I would say that Croatian scene is not too big, but those who are there are very passionate about what they do. Before COVID-19 it was just fine, concerts were being held very often with good communications between the bands. There are always some enthusiastic promotors who are willing to push scene little bit further, but unfortunately, Covid made everything worse and there are lot of bands quitting these days. The bands I would recommend are: Act of Denial, Kryn and Manntra. These are great musicians; you may even know some of them.
Have you started thinking about or writing a follow up album? When might that happen and how might it differ?
Marin: Our future plans are to be active as long as possible and to produce new songs and albums. As soon as we were done with the debut album we started to work on new songs, so I can say that it is already in progress, but for now we are still promoting current album and hopefully later in the year we will be able to talk about follow up album with more details.
Envy Of None, the new band and debut self-titled album from Alex Lifeson (Rush), Andy Curran (Coney Hatch), Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne due for release on Kscope on April 8th
PRE-ORDER HERE(https://eon.lnk.to/EnvyOfNone) Alex Lifeson is no stranger to the concept of evolution. As a founding member of Rush, he’s been able to explore more musical ground than just about any other guitar player out there – taking rock to new progressive heights throughout the decades and always in the most wildly inventive of ways. His influence can be heard on countless bands around the world, from indie shoegaze and math rock to heavy metal and beyond. Over the last few years Lifeson has been focusing on a new project that, no matter how well-acquainted you are with his discography, will undoubtedly shatter all seeds of expectation and blow the mind. That project is Envy Of None.
The new band, also featuring Coney Hatch founder/bassist Andy Curran, accomplished producer and engineer Alfio Annibalini and singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne, will be releasing their self-titled debut album on April 8 via Kscope. Its 11 tracks – which ricochet between various shades of alternative, experimental and synth rock – throw surprises at every turn, twisting dark melodies against contemporary pop hooks. Lifeson himself is proudly aware of how little of it crosses over with the band that made him famous.
However, it was only when singer Maiah Wynne became involved that this truly started to feel like a band destined to go somewhere. Her haunting melodies and soul-baring intensity is – by the admission of her own bandmates – what truly brought this music to life. All things considered; she is a star in the making… “I sent over an early version of the song Shadow,” explains Andy Curran. “When I played what she’d done back to the others they were like, ‘Who is this crazy talented person?!’”
The album’s first single, Liar, is out now. Its industrial beats, driving fuzz bass and atmospheric guitars concoct a seductive swirl indeed – thrilling in ways closer to the darker art rock of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle than anything these musicians have been known for prior.
“Maiah became my muse,” continues Alex Lifeson. “She was able to bring this whole new ethereal thing through her sense of melody on tracks like Liar and Look Inside. After hearing her vocals on Never Said I Love You, I felt so excited. I’ve never had that kind of inspiration working with another musician. When we say she’s special, it’s because she’s really fucking special!”
“One of my favourite things about these songs is the intimacy of them,” reveals Maiah Wynne. “It makes them feel different and more honest. There are some heavier songs too, like Enemy, and then tracks like Kabul Blues, that sound completely different to anything else.”
The album closer, Western Sunset, which was penned by Alex Lifeson in tribute to his dear friend Neil Peart. It’s a highly emotive piece of music to honour a man deeply missed by the rock community at large, and even more so by those who were lucky enough to know him. “I visited Neil when he was ill,” says Alex Lifeson. “I was on his balcony watching the sunset and found inspiration. There’s a finality about a sunset that kinda stayed with me throughout the whole process. It had meaning. It was the perfect mood to decompress after all these different textures… a nice way to close the book.”
It’s a book you’ll almost certainly want to be reading. Envy Of None’s self-titled album is due for release on April 8 via Kscope.
Envy Of None track listing 1. Never Said I Love You [04:06] 2. Shadow [03:21] 3. Look Inside [04:44] 4. Liar [03:13] 5. Spy House [02:23] 6. Dog`s Life [04:36] 7. Kabul Blues [03:12] 8. Old Strings [05:15] 9. Dumb [04:19] 10. Enemy[04:16] 11. Western Sunset [02:25]
Ltd Edition deluxe version – presented in a gatefold sleeve with a blue coloured vinyl LP, 2 CDs including a 5 track bonus disc, 28 page Booklet with exclusive content CD – includes a 16 page poster booklet LP – on black vinyl / baby blue coloured vinyl (North America exclusive) / white coloured vinyl Digital
Envy Of None are: Alf Annibalini – Guitar, Keyboards, Programming Andy Curran – Bass Guitar, Synthesized Bass, Programming, Guitar, Background Vocals, Stylophone Alex Lifeson- Guitar, Mandola, Banjo, Programming Maiah Wynne – Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Keyboards
Well, something very different….hard rockin’, but plenty of ’70s influences, some prog, some pop, and a lot of imagination – musically and lyrically. Check out tracks like “Children Of The Stars”, “Vultures Of Nevermore”, “To The Unknown”, “A Night Upon My Shoulders’, and epic piece ” Sweet Promethean”. Great songs and productions, plenty of acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, cool guitar breaks, and synths. The bio compares these guys to one of my favorite bands – Blue Oyster Cult, which is what caught my attention. Like BOC, very crafted songs, and not really ‘heavy’ in the metal sense at all. Very good cover of “California Dreamin”, with great harmonies. Awesome cover album cover art to boot!
SIX SILVER SUNS is a recent addition to the Finnish rock field, but the band’s members are all well known musicians. Janne Mannonen on the drums is known from Finnish legendary band, YUP. Vocalist Markku Kuikka has been heard on many of heavy and hard rock albums. Guitarists Toni Bite and Harri Petjakko, bass player Teo Lehto and keyboardist Sammy Tabermann have released dozens of records with several bands. Helena Haaparanta is heard as a background singer.
Six Silver Suns has emerged from the desire to wander back to the golden years of rock and pop music: the 70s and the 80s. The band’s inspiration comes from progressive rock, goes towards Blue Öyster Cult, and combines all with the catchy tunes and melodies from AOR and Hard Rock scene.
Their first release is entitled “As Archons Fall”. The album includes ten versatile songs which have beautiful harmonies and melodies all the way. “As Archons Fall” is a fantastic journey to the Six Silver Suns Universe, where any song can lead a listener into different kind of cosmic soundscapes. You cannot underline just one song only because “As Archons Fall” is an entire experience for the listener. There is also pleasant cover song, The Mamas and the Papas – “California Dreamin`”. The album’s opening song – “Lord of the Southern Tower” lead you into distant worlds and tune you in to following songs. Until you have reached the song “A Night upon My Shoulders”, you will understand the whole. Of course there is some pieces to pick up as a enjoyable moments as you like.
“Six Silver Suns has two main composers, and both have a strong vision. On my other band YUP, I felt I did not have much to offer as a composer, while now I feel like I’m more on my own field, musically. When Toni and I started to write music for Six Silver Sun, we soon realized we work really well together, even though our tastes in music are quite different”, explains Janne Mannonen.
“Six Silver Suns has given me a chance to sing in a completely new musical environment. Our goal has been to take influence from the 70s and it was surprisingly easy to find that natural groove. We all have been playing in quite different type of bands, but all that experience came together nicely in Six Silver Suns, and – at least to my ears – we sound good! ” Vocalist Markku Kuikka says.
“This record is an awesome and casual journey into the world of rock music where there are no rules. Imagination and the freedom to compose without frames was a key element of this record for myself. I think this record will be a joy for many people for a long time to come”, explains Toni Bite
Line up: Markku Kuikka-vocals, Toni Bite-guitar, Janne Mannonen-drums, Harri Petjakko-guitar, Teo Lehto-bass, Sammy Taberman-keyboards.
Track list: 01 Lord of the Southern Tower, 02 To the Unknown, 03 Children of the Stars, 04 Fading by Light, 05 Sweet Promethean, 06 Cosmic Bitter Blues, 07 The Stranger, 08 Vultures of Nevermore, 09 Edge of Forever, 10 A Night upon My Shoulders, 11 California dreamin` (The Mamas and the Papas cover)
As expected with the associations guitarist Jo Henning Kaasin has [see bio below], this has a definite Deep Purple / Rainbow influence. The lead off track “We Are One” is pretty close to Rainbow’s “Spotlight Kid”, with that opening riff, and fast tempo; good song, very familiar. Elsewhere it’s a good set of guitar rockers, and strong vocals from Jan Thore Grefstad [who’s recorded albums with Highland Glory and Saint Daemon]. He suits this Purple/Rainbow direction quite well. Love the variety of tunes here, from the heavy epic “Revelation” [pretty cool organ in there too], to more ’80s type rockers like “Chain Of Love” and “Carry On”, to the album’s lone acoustic ballad “Shades Of Yesterday”, possibly the best cut here [great guitar break and vocal].
Debut album from hardrock band KAASIN. KAASIN was founded by guitarist, Jo Henning Kaasin, who, in the past has collaborated with with Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple/Rainbow), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple/Black Sabbath), Doogie White (Rainbow/Michael Schenker), and Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), Kaasin was a founding member, guitarist and songwriter with Come Taste The Band, who began as a Deep Purple tribute band, and released their lone album of original material in 2019, which featured guest appearances from JL Turner and Doogie White. CTTB was put on ice in January 2020 and JH Kaasin, then went on to form his own band, simply called KAASIN. He recruited his cousin, Staale Kaasin from Spider and 2020 Vision, to handle bass. The band also features the Norwegian singer, Jan Thore Grefstad, known for his incredible vocal duties with SAINT Deamon, Highland Glory and TNT. KAASIN also includes Benjamin Dehli on Hammond organ/analog synth and Chris Brush on drums.
KAASIN released two singles “Runaway Train” and “Revelation” on Streampeak Music in 2020. Both have been a great success, streaming in thousands on Spotify, Youtube, iTunes, and other download/streaming services. “Runaway Train” also went Top 10 on rock radio stations in France, the UK, Sweden and Norway. KAASIN released a third single, “Hidden” on Pride & Joy Music in July 2021, (i.e.the first single from the upcoming album, Fired Up).
The CD version of this release contains last year’s two digital singles, “Runaway Train” and “Revelation” as bonus tracks. KAASIN – Melodic hardrock in the tradition of the great bands from the seventies and early eighties.
Track list: 1. We Are One, 2. Hidden, 3. The Smoking Gun, 4. Carry On, 5. Shades Of Yesterday, 6. Walking Downwards, 7. Chain Of Love, 8. Wrong, 9. Inside Out, 10. Revelation (CD bonus track), 11. Runaway Train (CD bonus track)
Recorded and engineered in JUKE JOINT STUDIO, Notodden – Norway and at DEHLI MUSIKK, Bø in Telemark. Produced by Benjamin Dehli, Halvor Halvorsen & KAASIN
Much like Ken Ingwersen’s latest album The Future Looks Bright, Barnabas Sky is a project put together by a guitarist / songwriter, and assembled with an outstanding cast of great singers for each track, from bands Markus Pfeffer admired [hence the title]. A solid collection of heavy rockers and a few lighter melodic numbers. Great hefty sounding guitars, and lots of good songs. Really liking the opener “Legends Rise” and “Say Goodbye To Darker Days” [both featuring Danny Vaughn of Tyketto], as well as the heavy riff rockers “Yesterday’s Gone” [featuring Bob Rock of Impellitteri], and “Youngblood” [w/ Jesse Damon of Silent Rage]. Love the sound and production of this album; nice big guitar sound, well placed keyboards where needed. And pretty cool songs, which I’m looking forward to hearing more of.
The new all-star hard & heavy project BARNABAS SKY comes from the mind of guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Markus Pfeffer (Lazarus Dream, Winterland, ex-Scarlett) from Kaiserslautern/Germany. The debut album full of catchy hooklines, edgy-groovy rocking guitar riffs and filigree guitar solos is titled “Inspirations” for a certain reason: Pfeffer was able to hire singers from internationally known bands for it, which had influenced him significantly during his musical beginnings: Jesse Damon (SILENT RAGE), Steve Grimmett (GRIM REAPER/LIONSHEART), Danny Martinez Jr. (GUILD OF AGES), Rob Rock (IMPELLITTERI/AXEL RUDI PELL), Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE) and Danny Vaughn (TYKETTO) do the lead vocals on the album.
TYKETTO’s “Don’t Come Easy” was one of the first CDs Markus Pfeffer listened to on an endless loop as a schoolboy in 1991. Three decades later, he composes two songs together with TYKETTO’s golden throat Danny Vaughn, the appropriately titled epic opener “Legends Rise” and “Say Farewell To Darker Days” with elaborate vocal arrangements and poignant lyrics.
SAVATAGE singer Zak Stevens contributed lyrics about the psychological effects of the pandemic for the heavy stomping track “What Lies Beneath”, which is underpinned with down-tuned guitar riffs and subtle orchestral arrangements, and he sings about a legendary figure of Russian folklore in the form of a bird with a woman’s head on “The Alkonost”.
GUILD OF AGES frontman Danny Martinez Jr. from Denver/Colorado dominates the melodic hard rock songs “Breathe Again” and “In My Mind” with his very own timbre and velvety voice. The latter is the album’s first video track with a more than hooky guitar riff and lyrics about the increasingly important attention to mental health.
SILENT RAGE’s smoky-throated frontman Jesse Damon carries the epic ballad “Till The End Of Time” and the rocker “Youngblood”, with AOR legend PAUL SABU contributing backing vocals for both tracks. Nostalgia fact on the side: Interestingly, the Hollywood classic movie “The Thief of Bagdad” starring Sabus’s father was Markus Pfeffer’s favourite film during his childhood. Damon recorded his vocals in North Hollywood at the studio of Bill Metoyer (FATES WARNING, ARMORED SAINT etc.).
Melodic metal siren Rob Rock (AXEL RUDI PELL, IMPELLITTERI, M.A.R.S. etc.) takes over the mic on the riff monster “Yesterday’s Gone” and GRIM REAPER’s Steve Grimmett’s unmistakable voice convinces on the straight rocker “Never Enough”.
As a tribute, Pfeffer has adapted the title tune of the seventies TV series “Timm Thaler” in a “GARY MOORE way” and provided it with deliberate sonic and stylistic reminiscences of Moore’s classic “The Loner”.
Musical guests on the album are keyboardist Thomas Nitschke and pianist Michael Weickenmeyer, drummer/percussionist Thomas Rieder and bassist Bernd Schreiber. The album’s artwork was designed by well-known French artist Stan W. Decker (RAGE, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, MASTERPLAN) and mastering was done at Rolf Munkes’ (CREMATORY) Empire studios in Bensheim, Hessia.
The names of the contributors speak for themselves – there can hardly be more arguments to lend BARNABAS SKY’s debut album an attentive ear.
Tracklist: 1. Legends Rise, 2. What Lies Beneath, 3. In My Mind, 4. Yesterday’s Gone, 5. Till The End Of Time, 6. Say Farewell To Darker Days, 7. Breathe Again, 8. The Alkonost, 9. Timm’s Theme, 10. Youngblood, 11. Never Enough, 12. Till The End Of Time (Piano Version)
I’ve picked up almost every Yes album over the years, and since the ’80s I often wondered if I was picking up Yes albums more so for the Roger Dean artwork than the music, which (for me) didn’t always grab me from album to album. The first 2 singles from The Quest I enjoyed, and the new video/single for the ballad “Future Memories” is the most likeable and memorable Yes song in decades. Jon Davison, who joined the band in 2012, penned the song and delivers a fantastic vocal, with such a great melody. The video itself appears to be a tribute to the band’s collaboration with Roger Dean over the past 50 years, as it features images of the album covers he’s done for the band, flowing along with band member pics, colors, and ongoing paint strokes.
15th October 2021: YES, who are Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood, recently released their new studio album The Quest on InsideOutMusic/Sony Music The album was produced by Steve Howe. “Much of the music was written in late 2019 with the rest in 2020. We commissioned several orchestrations to augment and enhance the overall sound of these fresh new recordings, hoping that our emphasis on melody, coupled with some expansive instrumental solo breaks, keeps up the momentum for our listeners,” said Steve.
Today the band are please to reveal a video for the track ‘Future Memories’, watch it now here:
‘The Quest’ also sees its physical release in North America, as of today. Pick up your copy here: https://yes-band.lnk.to/TheQuest The album has also been hitting charts worldwide, find a selection of them below: #7 German Album Charts, #20 UK Album Charts, #1 UK Rock Album Charts, #5 Swiss Album Charts, #8 Japanese International Weekly Charts, #23 French Physical Album Charts, #37 Belgian National Album Charts, #54 Dutch Album Charts, #60 Italian Album Charts.
Previous video singles from The Quest include “Dare To Know” and “The Ice Bridge”
The Quest was recorded across the globe, The sessions took place in the UK with Steve Howe, Geoff Downes & Jon Davison, while Alan White & Billy Sherwood got together in the studio in the US. “Billy Sherwood and myself did all the rhythm sections, bass and drum, in America,” says Alan White, “down in Los Angeles at Uncle Studios, where he works a lot. It helps when you’ve got a good place to work,” Alan laughs, “and Billy’s really good on the recording desk, so we got things down relatively quickly. I spent quite a while studying the music before I went down to LA so I was prepared.”
The Quest is also now available for pre-order on various formats, including a Limited Deluxe Box-Set that features a Gatefold 180g 2LP on exclusive colored vinyl, 2CD+Blu-ray Digipak (featuring 5.1 mix & backing tracks), 36-page perfect bound booklet, enamel pin badge, 60x90cm poster, slipmat & hand-numbered certificate of authenticity, all housed in a rigid lift-off box.
Containing 11 songs, 8 on the main CD with 3 extra tracks on a bonus CD, The Quest will also be available as Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, 2CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP+2CD & as Digital Album. Order now here: https://yes-band.lnk.to/TheQuest
CD1: 01. The Ice Bridge 7.01, 02. Dare To Know 6.00, 03. Minus The Man 5.35, 04. Leave Well Alone 8.06, 05. The Western Edge 4.26, 06. Future Memories 5.08, 07. Music To My Ears 4.41, 08. A Living Island 6.52 CD2: 01. Sister Sleeping Soul 4.51, 02. Mystery Tour 3.33, 03. Damaged World 5.20
Formats are: Limited Edition Deluxe 2LP & 2CD plus Blu-ray Box-set, Limited Edition 2CD & Blu-ray Artbook, Gatefold 2LP & 2CD plus LP-booklet, 2CD DigipakDigital Album.
The current line-up of YES was completed in 2015 when Billy Sherwood replaced founder member Chris Squire, at Squire’s insistence, as he bravely fought a losing battle with leukemia. Since then, YES have concentrated on touring with their Album Series tours, each featuring a classic YES album in its entirety. During this period YES have released three live albums Topographic Drama – Live Across America (2017), Yes Live 50 (2019) and The Royal Affair Tour: Live in Las Vegas (2020)
NESTOR are five childhood friends who formed a band over three decades ago in their hometown of Falköping, Sweden. Now the rockstar dreams of their youth have been revitalized and once again the band embraces influences from the ’80s with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart.
Sweden band NESTOR debuted their first track via youtube back in March. The song “On The Run” is a classic ’80s type energetic aor-rocker, with a great riff, catchy chorus’, reflective lyrics, and a hilarious video featuring the band’s singer travelling back in his Volvo picking up his old bandmates to resurrect the band. It reminds me of Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” video from ’85 as well as those Twisted Sister clips from the era. They followed that up with “1989”, a song about their fondness for that year — it was the year the band actually existed, as I listened to an interview with frontman Tobias Gustavsson where he talked about the band’s beginnings. “1989” is a punchy ’80s styed rocker, and again with another awesome video. The band’s third track released was the power-ballad “Tomorrow”, which is a duet with ’80s pop star Samantha Fox. Another outstanding track and accompanying video clip, featuring Fox, who looks and sounds better than I remember her from the ’80s. The track rivalling any of the great power ballads from 35 years ago. Now the whole album is ready to be released to the world on October 22. It features 10 tracks, and if the first 3 songs released got you excited for this album (with those 3 songs having been seen/heard over a million times on youtube), then Kids In A Ghost Town will be worth the wait! Every track would be a potential single if this was 1984. Kids In A Ghost Town might get you thinking back to those bands that were huge over decades ago like Journey, Van Halen [w/ Hagar], Kiss, Europe, Y & T… you’ll find plenty here to like, Great hooks, riffs, keyboards, all produced and presented like a lost ’80s album. Lots of fun, retro AOR rock tunes, lyrics reflecting and referencing the past relationships, stories and ’80s women – such as on “Perfect 10 (Eyes Like Demi Moore)”, other favorites being the heavier “Firesign”, “These Days”, as well as closing ballad “It Ain’t Me.” Included in the credits is Swedish songwriter Andreas Carlsson who has writing credits with TONS of 80s and 90s acts, including Bon Jovi (see Bounce), Paul Stanley (see Live To Win), Europe (see Back To Eden), Def Leppard (see X), as well as pop acts like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Celine Dion…. (seriously – look this guy up). Kids In A Ghost Town celebrates the spirit of the ’80s rock era in music and image. Can’t wait to get this CD for the car… may even want to dig out a jean jacket!
The album is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
TRACK LIST: A Fanfare For The Reliable Rebel (Intro) / On The Run / Kids In A Ghost Town / Stone Cold Eyes / Perfect 10 (Eyes Like Demi Moore) / These Days / Tomorrow (Feat. Samantha Fox) / We Are Not OK / Firesign / 1989 / It Ain’t Me
NESTOR ARE: Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar), Mattias Carlsson (drums), Tobias Gustavsson (vocals), Marcus Åblad (bass), Martin Frejinger (keyboards)
Icon Of Sin is based around the vocals of Brazilian metal singer Raphael Mendes, who has made a name for himself for his remarkable vocal similarities to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson. In fact listening to this album, it may be easy to forget the title for a moment and think you’re listening to something new from Maiden. If you’re waiting patiently for a new Maiden album and need something to fill the time, this would be well worth checking out. Musically, it even sounds like Maiden in places, as well as influences of WASP [post ’90s], Sabbath [w/ Dio], Rainbow….. Check out tracks like tracks like “Road Rage”, “Shadow Dance”, and “Clouds Over Gotham” to see what I mean. But, really – great playing, a solid metal album – even if much of it sounds familiar, plenty of really good songs. Favorite tracks being “Arcade Generation” and “Night Breed”. Will be interesting to hear more from Raphael Mendes.
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the signing of ICON OF SIN, a new project centered around the vocal talents of the popular Brazilian YouTube sensation Raphael Mendes. He is joined in the band by two other stellar Brazilian musicians, Sergio Mazul (SEMBLANT) and Marcelo Gelbcke (LANDFALL).
Raphael Mendes has become a very popular figure in the Youtube world due to his jaw dropping vocal covers. His recognition as one of the hottest new talents in metal started in 2016 when he was invited by guitarist Fabio Lima to record a YouTube video that wound up going viral. Encouraged by the reaction, Mendes launched his own YouTube channel to create more videos for fans to enjoy. As more and more fans around the world started to discover him, he was invited to join other musical projects, including Marius Danielsen’s “Legend Of Valley Doom Part 2”, which also featured Michael Kiske, Vinny Appice, Mark Boals, Michele Luppi, and Diego Valdez, among others.
One of the things that made Mendes’ reputation grow considerably happened earlier in 2020, when a video series called “What if Bruce Dickinson sang in other bands” was launched. With Mendes Dickinson-esque singing style being used to cover songs by Megadeth and more, these versions impressed fans worldwide and word quickly spread in the metal community. Collaborative versions are now being made with some emerging rock artists and also musicians from the global metal scene, such as drummer Aquiles Priester (ex-Angra, Primal Fear, W.A.S.P.).
Raphael’s videos ended up reaching the eyes and ears of Frontiers, a label known for signing and nurturing the most promising new names of the next generation of rock and metal. Frontiers has recently started to work more and more with South American based talent and had the thought to pair Raphael with two outstanding musicians of the Curitiba metal scene, both of whom have already unveiled their musical talents through the label: Sergio Mazul, singer of Semblant and Marcelo Gelbcke, guitarist of Landfall. While the music of their respective bands are quite dissimilar, both have a passion for traditional heavy metal and knew they could craft amazing music for Mendes to put his vocals to. They have already set to work with Raphael in the creation of a no-nonsense, straight ahead classic pure heavy metal album.
“Music is my passion, a way of life!” says Raphael Mendes. “It’s really been and continues to be a fantastic experience, working on the Icon Of Sin album. The songs are so powerful and it has awakened something in me that I haven’t felt for a long time from a heavy metal album!”
Tracklist: Icon Of Sin Road Rage Shadow Dancer Unholy Battleground Nightbreed Virtual Empire Pandemic Euphoria Clouds Over Gotham Arcade Generation Hagakure (Intro) The Last Samurai The Howling Survival Instinct
Outsider Rock 