Beautiful Creatures have announced they will be releasing a remixed, remastered, re-sequenced deluxe edition of their sophomore album Deuce.
Following Beautiful Creature’s self titled release in 2001, the core band (Joe LeSte (Vocals), Kenny Kweens (Bass) and Anthony Focx (Guitar) immediately entered the studio with a new lineup which included lead guitarist Alex Grossi and began recording material for the follow-up to their debut, which would end up being titled Deuce.
Produced by guitarist Anthony Focx and bass guitarist Kenny Kweens mixed by Toby Wright, (whose past production work includes Alice In Chains, Korn and KISS), Deuce was released worldwide in 2005 and ultimately landed premier placements on the hit FX TV series Sons Of Anarchy, the Walt Disney/Touchstone hit film The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as well multiple other TV & movie soundtracks.
Beautiful Creatures founding bassist Kenny Kweens states, “unlike our Warner Bros. debut record, Deuce was never properly released digitally and nearly impossible to get physically due to all the changes in the industry. We are really looking forward to everyone hearing Deuce as it was meant to be sonically.”
Beautiful Creatures Deuce Deluxe (which is currently set for a March release) will feature every track the band recorded for the Japanese Release (JVC Records) as well as the U.S. Release (Spitfire/Eagle Rock), In one digital package that has been re-mixed and remastered. It will also include new album cover artwork and edits that up until now, were not included in either initial release.
“We are really excited to be doing this”, says Joe LeSte “We have all been through a lot both personally and professionally as a band – and even though we have all gone down different roads, whenever we see each other or chat on the phone, it’s like no time has gone by at all. I saw Kenny (Kweens) and Alex (Grossi) on the last Monsters Of Rock Cruise, we ended up all onstage together playing a Beautiful Creatures tune, it was really fun – within 48 hours, all of our phones lit up. So, we collectively said – F#ck it, let’s go for it- and well, here we are!”
Ruben Mosqueda of Metal Titans spoke with Overkill frontman Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. Portions of the interview appear below.
MetalTitans: Overkill has a signature sound much like Motorhead, Slayer or AC/DC. Do you view yourself as one of those unique acts that cranks out records and stays true to their sound?
Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth: [pause] These are some bigs shoes to fill. I wouldn’t necessarily say…I’d really like to pay attention to our own house vs. a comparative; who’s shoes are relatively bigger. I do think at the end of the day that we have a “brand.” Overkill is an identifiable entity musically; you will recognize our music whether it’s my voice or D.D.’s bass or the riffs.
One of the freedoms that we have and you’ve heard it on this record [Dana’s note: The band’s new album, The Grinding Wheel]; we’re not a “one trick pony.” It sounds like Overkill for sure. The Grinding Wheel sounds nothing like Our Finest Hour and Come Heavy sounds nothing like Mean, Green, Killing Machine. Yet they all sound like Overkill songs. All four come from different influences and different craftsmanship. They’re different works of art that are all Overkill. That’s where my pride lies with this record.
We worked with diversity but in “comfortable” diversity. Meaning that we knew these place[s] and have been there before’ we pushed them to zones that were further than before. We took the punk rock a little further, we took the Rock n’ Roll a little further. We have an “epic” vibe on The Grinding Wheel, we have thrash on Mean, Green, Killing Machine and we have a “groove” on Come Heavy. There’s not one or two types of songs on this record let’s say there’s like seven. [laughs].
MetalTitans: What’s the significance behind the title of the album?
Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth: Well, I think it speaks volumes about Overkill. We’re one of those “foxhole bands.” [laughs] I mean who would you rather be in a foxhole with other than Overkill?! [laughs] We’re the guys that know how to shoot the guns. [laughs] We’ve done it a lot, we do it for our own sanity and we for our own satisfaction.
We also consider ourselves as part of a community; the whole community is a grind. We are the most accepted music, we’re not the most popular music by the masses. Those of us that love it we feel like this is our religion. I still reach for an old Scorpions record or a Thin Lizzy record. I can’t abandon my [Black] Sabbath records because they are part of me.
MetalTitans: You mentioned Thin Lizzy which is a fantastic band and I feel the creators of power metal with Emerald.
Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth: There are five of us that feel the same as you do; as we covered Emerald on the extended version of The Grinding Wheel [Laughs] So it will be on the vinyl and the Digipak versions.
We actually added Emerald on the European tour on the last tour in November [‘16]. We ended the set with Emerald. It was really fun to do and we made it our own. We talked about doing some covers last and we all decided on Sanctuary by Iron Maiden but then [guitarist] Dave Linsk kept planting Emerald in my ear. That selfish bastard. [laughs] He wanted to show off his prowess. [laughs] He in the middle of the lead he dropped in and played at quadruple speed the Irish national anthem! [laughs] You hear a song like that and you can hear where we came from you can hear where Iron Maiden came from. I’m really happy with the end result; I think we put our stamp on it.
1. Mean, Green, Killing Machine
2. Goddamn Trouble
3. Our Finest Hour
4. Shine On
5. The Long Road
6. Let’s All Go To Hades
7. Come Heavy
8. Red White And Blue
9. The Wheel
10. The Grinding Wheel
Ratt lead singer, Stephen Pearcy, will be releasing his new solo album, Smash, on January 27th through Frontiers Music Srl. The singer is streaming another song from album called, Ten Miles Wide, which can be heard, below.
Listen to Rain below as well.
Additionally, to hear other songs from this forthcoming release, click on the titles:
“It took long enough to finish the new record Smash and it is well worth the patience taken, giving every song as much attention as the next. Erik Ferentinos (lead guitars & co-writer), Greg D’ Angelo (drums) and Matt Thorne (bass, keyboards) and myself didn’t settle on any first, second or third takes. We let some songs grow if needed, then go back and complete it. We’re very happy with the outcome, that we were able to experiment and grow with the new songs,” says Pearcy of the new album.
Smash Track Listing:
1. I Know I’m Crazy
2. Ten Miles Wide
3. Shut Down Baby
4. Dead Roses
5. Lollipop
6. Hit Me With A Bullet
7. Rain
8. Want Too Much
9. What Do Ya Think
10. Jamie
11. I Can’t Take It (Album Version)
12. Passion Infinity
13. Summer’s End
Iron Maiden’s hugely successful The Book Of Souls World Tour will return to North America for an extensive series of arena and amphitheater shows in summer 2017. The mammoth tour opened in Florida last February playing fourteen sold-out shows in the U.S.A and Canada along with a further 58 concerts in 34 other countries around the globe.
First night reviews from Ft Lauderdale called it “…a full-throttle, devil-may-care performance that thrilled a sold-out BB&T Center” (Sun Sentinel) with Revolver magazine reporting how the band’s legendary mascot Eddie dominated the Maya-themed stage: “From a walking zombie towering over band members during the set, to being featured on a host of back-drops and huge blow-up figures – the quintessential symbol was omnipresent for the entire show” including Eddie having his heart literally ripped out of his chest and hurled into the crowd by singer Bruce Dickinson.
The full list of dates:
June:
3 Bristol, VA Jiffy Lube
4 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
7 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
9 Charlotte, NC PNC MUSIC PAVILION
11 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
13 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
15 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casina Amphitheater
16 Minneapolis, MN Xcel Energy Center
19 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Arena
21 Houston, TX Toyota Center
23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
24 San Antonio, TX ATT&T Center
27 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Ampitheater
28 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Areana
July:
1 San Bernardino, CA San Manuel Ampitheather*
3 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Center
5 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
7 Salt Lake City, UT Usana Amphitheater
9 Lincoln, NE Pinniacle Bank Arena
11 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
12 St Louis, MO Hollywood Casina Ampitheater
15 Toronto, Canada Molson Amphitheatre
16 Quebec City Canada Videotron Centre
19 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
21 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
*There will also be some further bands added to the show at San Bernardino.
Steve Harris commented, “We are really looking forward to returning to North America for a full tour. We had always planned to go back there and to the UK as last year, due to the global nature of the tour and the period it took, we just didn’t have time to cover them properly and we do still like to get to fans in as many places as possible.
So this year we’re able to reach many more cities in America, including a return to places Maiden haven’t played for many, many years like Lincoln Nebraska, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City and Oakland California. We also welcome playing in Brooklyn for the first time.
We will, of course, be bringing the full production with us including all the Eddies and the Maya-themed stage sets. There’s been a great reaction from everyone to this tour’s theme, people really seem to love it. We’re still deciding on the final set-list and we’ll work that out once we get into rehearsals. Most of our North American fans haven’t seen the show yet so as we want to give them the same Book Of Souls live experience that we took around the world, it’s unlikely we’ll change much. And of course we know our fans appreciate us playing a lot of the older songs too, so we will continue to do that!”
Tickets for the Prudential Center and Barclays Center performances go on-sale Saturday, January 28th at 10am through Ticketmaster. As usual, there will be an exclusive pre-sale for Iron Maiden Fan Club members, details of which can also be found on ironmaiden.com along with information on how Fan Club members can participate in the draw to be “First To The Barrier”.
Iron Maiden are delighted to welcome are delighted to welcome Ghost as their special guests for the North American leg of The Book Of Souls World Tour.
After great feedback to last year’s North American trial of the concept, Maiden fans will again be able to enjoy a Trooper VIP upgrade package that will allow them early access to the venue, a pile of Trooper goodies and Maiden swag, Trooper beers, food and a designated area to meet with other fans, plus the opportunity to win some great prizes. The upgrade packages are available at US$199 from troopervip.com. The concert ticket must be purchased separately.
For the 2017 shows Maiden will once again, in conjunction with the Promoters, be implementing a partial paperless ticketing system in as many venues as possible, which they have been successfully doing since 2010 and has worked well in lessening the ticketing scalping and drain of the prime tickets into the Secondary Ticketing sites.
The Book Of Souls is Maiden’s first ever double studio album and their most successful chart-wise to date, debuting at the Number one spot in over 40 countries around the world and Number four in the U.S.A.
American Idol finalist James Durbin and Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi have announced a collaboration entitled, Maps To The Hollywood Scars. The first five song EP will be released worldwide via New Ocean Media (HIM, Adelita’s Way, Motorhead) on February 17th. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on Maps To The Hollywood Scars – Volume 2-set for a spring release, as well as their first video, which will be released in the coming weeks.
Durbin and Grossi will also be appearing and performing live on the Fox and ABC morning shows as well as in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Feb 22nd – Later that evening they will hold a free “E.P. Release Party” at “Count’s Vamp’d”.
Art Of Anarchy are one of the rare rock bands where each member has a strong identity, and together creates something special. No filler, just raw talent, and dedication to the music and being true to who they are. The members have collectively sold tens of millions of albums worldwide and have a rock pedigree that most artists would be content to rest their laurels on. But while AOA possess the star power of a rock “super group” in spades, the band’s focus is squarely on songwriting and musical craft.
Lead guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal hails formerly from Guns N’ Roses, while bassist John Moyer first rose to fame as a member of Disturbed. Twin brothers Jon Votta (guitar) and Vince Votta (drums), meanwhile, first gained renown as fixtures on the New York music scene. The most recent addition to the group is Grammy Award winner Scott Stapp, the founder and lead singer of Creed. Stapp will be replacing the late Scott Weiland (of Stone Temple Pilots) as AOA’s lead singer.
AOA evolved organically out of an 18-year friendship between Bumblefoot and the Votta brothers. Jon Votta came to Bumblefoot with the idea of putting together a new band with a diverse group of talent and a uniquely melodic and aggressive sound. The group released their self-titled debut album, Art of Anarchy in June 2015, featuring the late Scott Weiland on vocals. The album showcased a gritty hard rock edge balanced by a powerful focus on innovative songwriting and skillful musicianship. Bumblefoot shines throughout the album not only as band’s co-guitarist (and a world class one at that) but also as the producer and engineer on the album. Jon Votta shares lead responsibilities with Bumblefoot and co-wrote the album with Weiland. Vince Votta brings his powerful rock drumming sensibilities and showmanship, while Moyer brings a punchy bottom end that rounds out the sound of AOA.
The band’s next chapter begins now. The addition of Stapp and the electrifying new musical direction he brings ushers in a new era for the group. “I’m excited to be a part of Art of Anarchy,” said Stapp. “I appreciate collaborating with other talented artists and I can’t wait to share our new music with the fans very soon.”
“The other members of AOA and I are equally excited to have Stapp on board,” said manager John Gomez. “This is the first band Scott has fronted outside of Creed and his heart’s really in it. Scott’s vision, his gift for gut-wrenching storytelling, and his powerful vocals lend a bold new energy to the group,”
Bumblefoot adds, “Scott’s style and the personal lyrics he’s been writing are taking the sound in a new direction— one that brings out the best in all of us. It’s a new chapter for us all, and I’m looking forward to sharing the new music with the fans and seeing what the future holds.”
For everything AOA, including upcoming tour dates and news on the band’s upcoming album, head to the band’s official website. Be sure to also follow on Facebook and Twitter.
