Sons Of Apollo–former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force)—has just released the Vicente Cordero-directed video for Lost In Oblivion from their highly anticipated debut album, Psychotic Symphony. Watch it, below.
Released today via InsideOutMusic/Sony, Psychotic Symphony is available as a 2CD Mediabook (featuring a second disc of instrumental mixes and extended booklet with an exclusive Studio Diary), Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD (which comes with an etching on side D and the entire album on the CD), Standard Jewelcase CD & digital download. It was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” which is the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater. Order it here.
As Portnoy exclaims, “I can’t believe it’s finally here. The Sons Of Apollo debut album is finally OUT TODAY. This album has a little bit of something for everybody…Classic Rock, Metal, Prog…it’s a musical feast for the ears! To prime everybody for the release, we’re excited to debut the video for Lost In Oblivion. This song is full-on energy, excitement and shred! From that crazy double bass drum pattern that took me forever to perfect, to the insane bass and guitar unisons throughout the song, to Jeff’s always-hooky chorus…this song is another great example of what this band is about.”
Stay tuned for news about Sons Of Apollo first worldwide tour in 2018.
As music fans begin to plan their 2018 vacations, Monsters Of Rock Cruise, the world’s premier hard rock/heavy metal experience at sea, has announced that its final public sale begins today (10/19). Limited cabins are available at MonstersOfRockCruise.com, with prices beginning at $1,299 per person, double occupancy. Government fees, taxes, and gratuities are additional and mandatory for all passengers, regardless of age.
Departing out of Miami, FL, the five-day/five-night full ship charter cruise will set sail February 11th-16th aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas (a new ship for MOR) and visit two new ports: Falmouth, Jamaica and the private isle of Labadee. As in past years, the 2018 cruise will also feature two optional pre-cruise parties in Miami (complimentary to cruisers) on the evening of Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th (details TBA).
The confirmed line-up for the 2018 Monsters Of Rock Cruise features over 35 artists, including: Tesla, Queensrÿche, Thunder, Lita Ford, Winger, British Lion featuring Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, LA Guns, KIX, Y&T, Lynch Mob, Great White, Beasto Blanco, Doro, Pretty Maids, Vixen, Firehouse, Loudness, Michael Sweet (of Stryper), The Quireboys, Tyketto, Dangerous Toys, Junkyard, Keel, Raven, Madam X, Rhino Bucket, John Corabi, Autograph, Lillian Axe, Rough Cutt, Mitch Malloy, The Iron Maidens, Kickin’ Valentina, Jared James Nichols, Thee Rock ‘N Roll Residency, and Atomic Punks.
New lineup additions include Joel Hoekstra (guitarist for Whitesnake and Trans Siberian Orchestra), Faster Pussycat, and Paradise Kitty, plus a special appearance by Rick Allen of Def Leppard. Beyond his amazing career with Def Leppard, Rick is also an accomplished artist and will be showcasing his extraordinary talent in a special art gallery designed especially for the cruise. Finally, fans can look forward to a surprise performance by Rick during the cruise!
In addition to the band performances, the cruise will feature over-the-top, customized activities, including: Monster Artist/Fan Photo Experiences, Gong Show Karaoke, Star Wars Theme Night, My RockNRoll Valentine Ball, “So You Think You Can Shred?” and Cooking with Rock Stars hosted by Lisa Tirone of Chef it up!. Also, the cruise will feature the first Monsters of Rock shipboard Surfing Competition, dubbed “MOR North Shore”. The event will be part of the evening’s themed event, “Hawaii in the Caribbean,” where fans celebrate a night of Aloha festivities and music.
Plus, Eddie Trunk and comedian Don Jamieson (VH1’s “That Metal Show”), San Francisco bay area radio host Nikki Blakk, and Luc Carl (SiriusXM’s “Hair Nation”) are the official cruise hosts and will moderate Q&A’s and many other specially designed events crafted especially for this voyage. Just announced, former That Metal Show alumni and comedian, Jim Florentine, will join his VH1 mates for a special reunion aboard the cruise with fan events to be announced.
On December 1st, Rush will release a lavish, new and expanded edition of the landmark album A Farewell to Kings — the fifth studio album originally released in 1977, which introduced the radio hit Closer To The Heart, album tracks A Farewell To Kings, Madrigal, Cinderella Man, as well as enduring fan favorites with Xanadu and Cygnus X-1.
A Farewell to Kings—40th Anniversary will be available to fans in four distinct configurations including (1) Super Deluxe Edition, (2) three-CD Deluxe Edition, (3) four-LP Deluxe Edition, and (4) the Deluxe Digital Edition.
The Super Deluxe Edition includes three CDs, one Blu-ray Audio disc and four high-quality 180-gram vinyl LPs. The set encompasses the Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 remastered edition of the album for the first time on CD; a complete Rush concert recorded in February 1978 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, newly mixed by longtime Rush engineer and original A Farewell to Kings producer Terry Brown from the multi-track live tapes; four newly-recorded cover versions of songs from the original album by Dream Theater, Big Wreck, The Trews and Alain Johannes; and an instrumental studio outtake of the spacey sound effects the band has creatively titled Cygnus X-2 Eh. The Hammersmith show features, for the first-time ever, over 34 minutes of unreleased performances including a complete 2112 suite, Lakeside Park, a drum solo and Closer To The Heart. The Super Deluxe Edition’s audio content on its CDs is duplicated on its vinyl discs. Meanwhile, the Blu-ray Audio disc contains a brand new 5.1 surround mix of the album by four-time Grammy® nominated surround sound producer Steven Wilson, along with three original 1977 promo videos from a newly found 2-inch quad video master significantly improving the video quality for Closer To The Heart. The Super Deluxe package also includes an elaborate new 40th anniversary cover treatment by longtime Rush creative director Hugh Syme, who has also created a new piece of artwork for each of the album’s six songs, and an extensive 12,000-word liner notes by Grammy®-winning rock historian Rob Bowman.
The Super Deluxe Edition of A Farewell to Kings—40th Anniversary will also include several exclusive items, including a unique King’s Ring, with custom velvet pouch and neck chain; two lithographs with original artwork by Hugh Syme; a special 12-inch turntable mat featuring distinctive artwork by Hugh Syme; and a reproduction of Rush’s original 1978 A Farewell To Kings tour program.
A Farewell to Kings—40th Anniversary second configuration will be released in a three-CD Deluxe Edition, with the newly reasserted A Farewell to Kings album, the Hammersmith Odeon show, the four new cover songs, Cygnus X-2 Eh outtake, Hugh Syme’s song-specific artwork and Rob Bowman’s liner notes.
The third configuration will be offered as an audiophile 180-gram four-LP Deluxe Edition featuring the same audio content as the three-CD edition with double-gatefold packaging, 32-page vinyl-size booklet, the special 12-inch turntable mat, along with Syme’s artwork and Bowman’s liner notes.
The fourth configuration, the Deluxe Digital Edition, will feature the original album as disc 1, the complete Hammersmith concert unedited as disc 2, and the four covers songs plus the Cygnus X-2 Eh outtake as disc 3.
A Farewell To Kings 40th Anniversary is available for pre-order now at rushbackstage.com.
Tom Keifer has released a new video for his song The Way Life Goes, the title track of the guitarist’s 2013 solo album, which will arrive as a deluxe edition on October 20th. Watch the clip below.
To read more about this release, please click here.
Black Sabbath have released a live video of their final performance of Paranoid, watch it below.
The footage was captured at the band’s last-ever show at Birmingham’s Genting Arena in February and was the last track they played together before they took their final bow.
It’s been lifted from the DVD and Blu-ray of Sabbath’s concert movie The End which will also be released on CD and vinyl on November 17th through Eagle Rock.
Speaking previously about the experience, Sabbath said, “To bring it all back home after all these years was pretty special. It was so hard to say goodbye to the fans who have been incredibly loyal to us through the years. We never dreamed in the early days that we’d be here 49 years later, doing our last show on our home turf.”
The End features live scenes from the concert along with backstage footage and studio performances of tracks they didn’t play on the night.
1. Black Sabbath
2. Fairies Wear Boots
3. Under The Sun / Every Day Comes And Goes
4. After Forever
5. Into The Void
6. Snowblind
7. Band Intros
8. War Pigs
9. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
10. Bassically / N.I.B.
11. Hand Of Doom
12. Supernaut / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Megalomania
13. Rat Salad / Drum Solo
14. Iron Man
15. Dirty Women
16. Children Of The Grave
17. Paranoid
Extras: The Angelic Sessions
1. The Wizard
2. Wicked World
3. Sweet Leaf
4. Tomorrow’s Dream
5. Changes
The third annual Bowl For Ronnie Celebrity Bowling Tournament, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, took place on Friday, October 6th, 2017 at Pinz Bowling Center in Studio City, California. This year’s event brought in $49,000 for the Dio Cancer Fund, now in its eighth year of raising awareness and much-needed funding for cancer research. It was attended by a capacity crowd of over 300 rockers, bowling enthusiasts, DIO fans and Dio Cancer Fund supporters, with tickets selling out the day before causing the building to be filled to capacity.
Hosted again by Sirius XM’s “Volume” host Eddie Trunk, rock musicians in attendance at the event were former Guns N Roses drummer Steven Adler, Doug Aldrich (Dio), David Alford and Chris Hager of Rough Cutt, Vinny Appice (Dio/Black Sabbath), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Ira Black (Lizzy Borden), Ann Boleyn (Hellion), Jimmy Burkhard (Billy Idol), Alex Cane (Richie Ramone), Dino Cazares (Fear Factory), Calico Cooper and Chris Latham of Beasto Blanco, Fred Coury (Cinderella), Robbie Crane and Ricky Warwick of Black Star Riders, Jimmy DeAnda (Lynch Mob/Bullet Boys/Lies, Deceit and Treachery), Mikkey Dee (Scorpions/Motorhead), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Christine Devine (Fox11 News), Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint/DC4), Matt Duncan, Shawn Duncan and Rowan Robertson of DC4, Dio Disciples members Bjorn Englen, Joe Retta, Scott Warren and Simon Wright, Rock Feinstein (Elf/The Rods), Marc Ferrari (Keel/Cold Sweat), Rita Haney, Sonia Harley, Terry Ilous (Great White), Adam Jones (Tool), Richie Kotzen (Winery Dogs), Bob Kulick, Jordan Mancino (Wovenwar/As I Lay Dying), Johnny Martin (LA Guns), Sean McNabb (Lynch Mob), Tom Morello (Prophets of Rage), Dave “Chili” Moreno (Puddle of Mudd), Marty O’Brien (Lita Ford), Budderside members Colin Reid, Rich Sacco, Michael Stone and Patrick Stone, Roy Z (Halford), Jeff Scott Soto (Sons of Apollo), Mick Sweda (Bullet Boys/Lies, Deceit and Treachery), Shane Tesheart (Lies, Deceit and Treachery), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake), Joey Vera (Armored Saint/Fates Warning), Lonnie Vincent (Bullet Boys/ Lies, Deceit and Treachery), vocalist Chas West, guitarist Brent Woods (Wildside), August Zadra (Dennis DeYoung Band), Ahmet Zappa, who attended with his sister Diva, and actor Star Fields (Sons of Anarchy).
The celebrity team capturing first Place this year was sponsored by Round Hill Music Publishing and captained by Marc Ferrari, comprising musicians Rock Feinstein, Fred Coury and Jeff Scott Soto as well as music attorney Mark Abbatista and Tami Lester of Round Hill. Second Place in the celebrity category went to the team comprising Chris Latham, Calico Cooper, Chris Hager, Phil Demmel, who brought his own clear bowling ball complete with a skull inside, Bob Kulick and Roy Z.
Last year’s champion team, captained by Eddie Trunk, placed third this year. Eddie’s team comprised Tom Morello, Doug Aldrich, Brent Woods, Sebastian Bach, and Dan Hayes, who won the online auction for a spot on Eddie’s team.
First Place in the corporate team category went to Rhino Entertainment for the second year in a row. Zappa Entertainment placed second and Metal Blade Records came in third.
Musician Rock Feinstein, who is Ronnie James Dio’s cousin and has now played on the winning celebrity bowling team two years in a row, came in from his home in Cortland, NY to participate. He will head up the new East Coast chapter of the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund and will be planning sister bowling and motorcycle events in 2018 to raise money for the charity.
Jeff Scott Soto, who also played on the winning celebrity team for two years in a row, commented about the event, “It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be invited three years in a row to honor the late great Ronnie James Dio, the incredible cause and do it surrounded by peers and fans alike! Always an incredible evening of laughs, love and bowling. I hope to be involved every year as I love and support this cause with every fiber of my being.”
A check for $25,000 was presented to representatives of Dr. David Wong’s research team from the Dental Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles where they are developing a non-invasive saliva test for early cancer detection. This brings the total presented to Dr. Wong’s project by the Dio Cancer Fund to $100,000. Dio Cancer Fund Medical Director Dr. Sandeep Kapoor announced that the project will be publishing a new study in March which will contain an acknowledgement of the Dio Cancer Fund’s support for its research. Dr. Wong believes this simple test will receive FDA approval and become available for medical use within the next two years. Information about Dr. Wong’s research is available at ucla.edu/wonglab.
2017 Bowl For Ronnie winners are as follows:
First place corporate team – Rhino Entertainment *2nd year in a row
Mark Pinkus, Susanne Savage, Eric Franklin, Garrett Graveline, Mike Engstrom, Brian Hay
First place celebrity team – Marc Ferrari’s team (sponsored by Round Hill Music Publishing)
Marc Ferrari, Rock Feinstein, Fred Coury, Jeff Scott Soto, Mark Abbatista, Tami Lester
Second place corporate team – Zappa Entertainment
Ahmet Zappa, Eleanor Burke, Jeff Pezzuti, Richard Scheltinga, Javi Silva, Kristine Soares
Second place celebrity team – Chris Latham, Calico Cooper, Chris Hager, Phil Demmel, Bob Kulick, Roy Z
Third place corporate team – Metal Blade Records
Suzy Cole, Vince Edwards, McShane Reilly, Steffan Salas, Diana Tanda, Jordan Mancino
Third place celebrity team – Eddie Trunk’s team
Eddie Trunk, Tom Morello, Doug Aldrich, Brent Woods, Sebastian Bach, and auction winner, Dan Hayes
Highest Overall Score/Dean Schachtel Award – Scott Courtright *2nd year in a row
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