Guitarist Scott Gorham has decided to step down from Black Star Riders to devote more time to Thin Lizzy.
This comes on the heels of Black Star Riders announcing that they have signed a multi-album worldwide recording deal with the long-running British independent label Earache Records.
Frontman Ricky Warwick comments, “We are extremely pleased to announce our new deal with Earache Records. We had an amazing eight years with Nuclear Blast and I want to thank everyone there for their commitment and dedication during this time, but it was time to part ways and Earache have well and truly stepped up to the plate. We can’t wait to start the new relationship with the great team there.”
The band are scheduled to enter the studio in Los Angeles on October 14th to begin recording the follow-up to 2019’s Another State Of Grace.
The new album will feature a different lineup as founder, and lead guitarist, Scott Gorham, deciding to step down from all recording and touring commitments with the band.
Warwick adds, “We are very sorry to see Scott go but we discussed a very heavy world touring commitment on the new record and Scott decided he wanted to concentrate just on Thin Lizzy — and being the legend he is, none of us can blame him. We all wish him the best and he will be looking to put Thin Lizzy back out on the road from 2022 onwards with a busy schedule, so he won’t be missing me too much.”
Los Angeles drummer Zak St. John will also join the band to record the new album.
Bass player Robert Crane comments, “We have known Zak a while from the L.A. session scene and I know he will blow everyone away when you see and hear him.”
Black Star Riders are not looking to replace Gorham and will remain a four-piece going forwards, with Ricky handling a lot of the guitar parts alongside Christian Martucci, who joined the band after album number three in 2018.
Martucci comments: “We have decided to let the abundance of rescheduled shows in 2022 blow over so we can come back in full force in 2023 without any distractions. We can’t wait to see all our fans and followers again after what seems like an eternity off the road and we appreciate no end their continued support and loyalty to BSR.”
Black Star Riders was formed by members of legendary Irish rock group Thin Lizzy in 2013 and has released four albums on the Nuclear Blast label in their eight years in existence and toured the world as both headliners and special guests.
As previously reported in the music news, Mr. Big released a 30th anniversary remastered, and expanded anniversary-edition of their chart-topping album, Lean Into It, on July 30th (read the details here). Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx spoke with frontman Eric Martin about the album, highlights from the interview appear below.
Sleaze Roxx: Take us through what was going on with the band going into [Lean Into It], having created a “buzz” with the “self-titled” album.
Eric Martin: Well, we did create a “buzz,” but that was virtually non-existent on the radio. There were a few FM stations that picked up Addicted To That Rush and Big Love. We just toured constantly. From like ’89 to ’91, now that doesn’t seem like a long time, but we were on the road. We played every town, every laundromat opening!. I’m making a joke, obviously, but we played every gig we could get. [guitarist] Paul [Gilbert], [bassist] Billy [Sheehan] and [drummer] Pat [Torpey] are from L.A. and I’m from the San Francisco/Bay Area. We went to North Hollywood, Griffith Park, where they filmed Rebel Without A Cause. They have this little train museum with a traincar. We shot the To Be With You video in one of those traincars. We had already put out four to five singles for radio from Lean Into It. We released that song, because of our manager. He really liked the song. His name was Herbie Herbert. He also managed Journey and managed me for over 20 years. I don’t know if at that point Atlantic [Records] thought that they were going to drop us, but they thought they had done all that they could at that point…
…The band wasn’t breaking, but we were selling out shows all across the country, but we weren’t selling a lot of records, I guess. So, we did the To Be With You video and we went back on the road. We didn’t read Billboard Magazine, that’s for the suits. I was excited that we were Top 10 on MTV. We were on the road and we pulled up to this place called Finky’s in Daytona Beach, Florida. I remember the sound company wasn’t even there, by the time we arrived. We were setting up our own gear. I go into the amusement center of this club, which was right on the beach. I remember I saw a TV and I remember hearing the guy on MTV saying, “And now the number one video on MTV…” It was To Be With You. I was so excited! Then he said, “And it also the number one song in the country.” I wasn’t ready for that…[So I tell the others, “Guys! We’re number one on MTV.” They looked at me and were like, “Oh, that’s nice..” and as we looked around, there were people lining up around the block for the show, things blew up. I’m going to sound cliche here, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Sleaze Roxx: Was To Be With You in jeopardy of making the record? I ask because it sounds like your manager was the one that really liked the song.
Eric Martin: I played it for Paul Gilbert in ’89, when Billy and I started the band. I would commute from the Bay Area to LA. We didn’t have the budget to put me up in a hotel, so I would stay at Paul’s house. While we were hanging out I would bring this gym bag with a bunch of cassettes. That song was on one of them. When I first met him [Paul], I was a little intimidated, because he was coming out of Racer-X… he’s a shredder. In getting to know him and talking with him, I found that he really likes The Beatles… a lot! That’s when I said to him, “I have a great song that I wrote several years ago.” He listened to it and said, “Man, that’s a great song.” We didn’t talk about putting that on a record. I just shared it with him. Kevin Elson was our producer and I shared it with him too, and he loved it..When it came time to do the second record, it was Kevin that kept saying, “You know, we have to put that song on the record.” None of us knew what direction we’d be going on the next record. We were a meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll band, but with a lot of notes… I want to say that Paul Gilbert, Pat Torpey, Kevin Elson and our manager were the ones that were really pushing for To Be With You to make the final cut.
Sleaze Roxx: How involved were you personally with putting together the bonus material that makes up the second disc?
Eric Martin: Our manager contacted me and said there was this label that wanted to put out a 30th Anniversary of Lean Into It. I hear this every now and then about labels wanting to put out a package or box set. This was different, because the label actually had a marketing campaign. Look we’re talking about it, I’m doing interviews and press for the release. I’m loving this, I’m a collector, too!. I love the red vinyl…It’s remastered and we even put together a singles box set that is coming or maybe it’s come out? It’s got like seven singles… I love the attention [laughs].
Sleaze Roxx: I know Mr. Big is either on a hiatus or maybe you’ve disbanded officially? Given the circumstances, the fans understand. Pat was a huge part of Mr. Big. Would it interest you at all to perform this album top to bottom, because as you said earlier this album is sequenced as a live set.
Eric Martin: I haven’t thought about it, until about two weeks ago when someone asked me a similar question. I was on a plane coming back from some gigs…Now, would I do that? Hell yeah [laughs]! My voice isn’t the same as it was 30 years ago. My balls dropped at 45 [laughs]! I’m now 60. Is my voice a little different? Yeah, I might have to do a portion of the songs a half step down, but I can still perform them. I do that currently on my solo acoustic shows and I play about five to six songs from the Lean Into It album. If you’re asking me if I could make that happen? I’d love to do it. I’m the cheerleader, but there are another two guys that we’d need on board.
Sleaze Roxx: Last thing, what did Pat bring to the band as a drummer, as a bandmate and a friend and what’s a memory you have of Pat?
Eric Martin: [Long pause] Every time I talk about him, I feel like I’m eulogizing the guy. I love him. He was the anchor of the band. He was also the referee. He was a phenomenal drummer. There’s a lot of drummers out there that knew just how great he was and loved his tone. When I first met him I was like, “Oh yeah, he’s a great drummer.” Then I heard him sing and he hit a couple of notes and he sounded like Paul McCartney. He was the full package, man…
…He was super intelligent and he was a staunch Republican. It was funny that [even though] we had a couple of Republicans and a couple of Democrats on that tour bus, we got along great and we didn’t kill each other [laughs]! He’s an all around good guy and I miss him all the time…
Exodus has released an official lyric video for their second single, Clickbait, off their forthcoming album, Persona Non Grata, out November 19th.
Guitarsit Gary Holt comments, “Very excited to launch the release of Clickbait from our upcoming record. Crushing and aggressive as hell, it captures the power of the new record perfectly! Getting more excited by the day. November 19th can’t come fast enough.” Listen to the clip, below.
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To read more details about Persona Non Grata, and to listen to the first single, The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves), please click here.
Celebrating its 45 anniversary, Destroyer was originally released in 1976 and is considered to be one of the quintessential KISS albums. It is the band’s first album to sell one million copies in its first year and holds the title of being their all-time best-selling studio album. Packed with concert staples and KISS Army favorites, including Detroit Rock City, Shout It Out Loud, God Of Thunder and Beth, on November 19th, UMe will release KISS – Destroyer 45th in the form of a Super Deluxe 4-CD + Blu-ray audio box set as well as on standard double black vinyl and limited edition yellow and red double colored vinyl, 2-CD set and digital.
For the recording of Destroyer, Bob Ezrin was brought in as KISS’s new producer, helping the band reach new levels, both sonically and creatively. The album also showed the band’s growth as musicians and songwriters, experimenting with new sounds which came in the form of the softer side of songs like Do You Love Me?, and songs heavy with orchestral arrangements including Great Expectations and their Billboard No. 7 hit single Beth. Following the breakthrough success of 1975’s No. 9 Billboard-charting Alive!, Destroyer was the KISS album that brought them to the forefront of the mainstream and transformed them into global rock icons. For its anniversary, UMe celebrates this seminal album’s legacy with a staggering amount of bonus material.
CD 1 includes the original album newly remastered at Abbey Road Mastering, while CD 2 features 15 demos from Paul Stanley‘s and Gene Simmons‘s personal archives — nine of which were previously unreleased. CD 3 is packed with studio outtakes, alternate versions / mixes and single edits — most notably a brand-new stripped-down mix for Beth (Acoustic Mix), and CD 4 contains an electrifying performance from the band’s visit to Paris France at the L’Olympia on May 22nd, 1976. For the Blu-ray audio disc, Steven Wilson was brought in to create a first-ever Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mix of the original studio album plus two bonus tracks, Beth (Acoustic Mix) and Sweet Pain (Original Guitar Solo), the latter featuring Ace Frehley‘s original recorded guitar solo that was not released on the studio album (this track is available on the 2012 Destroyer: Resurrected project).
Additionally, the Super Deluxe box features an extravagant array of collectable KISS memorabilia and ephemera, including a complete recreation of the original KISS Army Kit with the original folder and following items:
* KISS Army newsletter Volume 1 – No 2 announcing Destroyer * 2x 8″x10″ Destroyer Press Photos * Discography Sheet * Gene, Paul, Ace & Peter Bio Sheet * KISS Army Member Certificate * KISS Army Membership Card
Also included in the Super Deluxe set:
* KISS logo Iron-on * KISS Army Sticker * Detroit Rock City Bumper Sticker * Destroyer Cover Sticker * 11″x17″ KISS on Westminster Bridge UK Poster * 4 brand new 8″x10″ Band Member Photos * 8″x12″ Destroyer Foil Flyer * 8″x12″ Destroyer Canadian Flyer (super rare) * 4x Band Member Trading Cards (newly created for this boxset) * 16″x24″ KISS Over New York Skyline Poster * 16″x24″ KISS Halloween 1976 Concert Poster * 2x 9″x12″ Destroyer Tour Stage Blueprints on Transparent Vellum (never been seen before) * 16-page Destroyer 1976 Tour Program * Gotham Rock City News Volume 1 Newspaper that is a track-by-track interview with all 4 band members, Bob Ezrin and crew * 68-page hardcover book with extensive liner notes by Paul Elliott and Ken Sharp featuring interviews from Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, then-manager Bill Aucoin, album producer Bob Ezrin, and many more about the album’s writing and production process, U.S. and European tours, photo shoots, promotional stories, band member memories from their TV appearance on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, and an intoxicating amount of unreleased photos and imagery.
The entire contents are housed in a lift top- style box and features artist Ken Kelly’s original Destroyer cover art, arguably one of the most iconic album covers in rock, making this the ultimate KISS Destroyer souvenir.
DestroyerSuper Deluxe track listing:
Disc One:
Destroyer: Original Album Remastered
1. Detroit Rock City 2. King Of The Night Time World 3. God Of Thunder 4. Great Expectations 5. Flaming Youth 6. Sweet Pain 7. Shout It Out Loud 8. Beth 9. Do You Love Me?
Disc Two
Destroyer-Era Demos:
Paul Stanley demos:
1. Doncha Hesitate 2. God Of Thunder And Rock And Roll 3. It’s The Fire* 4. Detroit Rock City* 5. Love Is Alright*
Gene Simmons demos:
6. Bad, Bad Lovin’ 7. Man Of A Thousand Faces 8. I Don’t Want No Romance* 9. Burnin’ Up With Fever* 10. Rock N’ Rolls Royce* 11. Mad Dog 12. Night Boy* 13. Star* 14. Howlin’ For Your Love* 15. True Confessions
Disc Three
Destroyer: Outtakes, Alternate Versions / Mixes, Single Edits:
1. Beth (Acoustic Mix)* 2. Shout It Out Loud (Single Edit) 3. Flaming Youth (Single Edit) 4. Detroit Rock City (Single Edit) 5. Shout It Out Loud (Mono Single Edit) 6. Flaming Youth (Mono Single Edit) 7. Detroit Rock City (Mono Single Edit) 8. Beth (Mono) 9. King Of The Night Time World (Live Rehearsal Instrumental)* 10. Do You Love Me? (Mono Instrumental)* 11. God Of Thunder (Early Instrumental Mix)* 12. Ain’t None Of Your Business (Instrumental)* 13. Detroit Rock City (Instrumental)* 14. King Of The Night Time World (Alternate Mix)* 15. Great Expectations (Early Version)* 16. Flaming Youth (Early Version)* 17. Do You Love Me? (Early Version)* 18. Shout It Out Loud (Alternate Mix)* 19. Ain’t None Of Your Business (Outtake)* 20. Beth (Take 6 – Instrumental)* 21. Beth (Instrumental)* 22. Do You Love Me? (Alternate Mix)*
Disc Four
Live In Paris – L’Olympia – May 22, 1976*:
1. Deuce 2. Strutter 3. Flaming Youth 4. Hotter Than Hell 5. Firehouse 6. She / Ace Frehley Guitar Solo 7. Nothin’ To Lose 8. Shout It Out Loud / Gene Simmons Bass Solo 9. 100,000 Years / Peter Criss Drum Solo 10. Black Diamond 11. Detroit Rock City 12. Rock And Roll All Nite
1. Detroit Rock City 2. King Of The Night Time World 3. God Of Thunder 4. Great Expectations 5. Flaming Youth 6. Sweet Pain 7. Shout It Out Loud 8. Beth 9. Do You Love Me?
1. Detroit Rock City 2. King Of The Night Time World 3. God Of Thunder 4. Great Expectations 5. Flaming Youth 6. Sweet Pain 7. Shout It Out Loud 8. Beth 9. Do You Love Me?
Disc Two:
Paul Stanley demos:
1. God Of Thunder And Rock And Roll 2. Detroit Rock City* 3. Love Is Alright*
Gene Simmons demos:
4. I Don’t Want No Romance* 5. Rock N’ Rolls Royce* 6. Star*
Rarities:
7. Beth (Acoustic Mix)* 8. Shout It Out Loud (Mono Single Edit) 9. King Of The Night Time World (Live Rehearsal Instrumental)* 10. Detroit Rock City (Instrumental)* 11. Flaming Youth (Early Version)* 12. Shout It Out Loud (Alternate Mix)*
1. Detroit Rock City 2. King Of The Night Time World 3. God Of Thunder 4. Great Expectations
Side Two:
1. Flaming Youth 2. Sweet Pain 3. Shout It Out Loud 4. Beth 5. Do You Love Me?
LP Two:
Side Three:
Paul Stanley demos:
1. God Of Thunder And Rock And Roll 2. Detroit Rock City* 3. Love Is Alright*
Gene Simmons demos:
4. I Don’t Want No Romance* 5. Rock N’ Rolls Royce* 6. Star*
Side Four:
Rarities:
1. Beth (Acoustic Mix)* 2. Shout It Out Loud (Mono Single Edit) 3. King Of The Night Time World (Live Rehearsal Instrumental)* 4. Detroit Rock City (Instrumental)* 5. Flaming Youth (Early Version)* 6. Shout It Out Loud (Alternate Mix)*
*Previously Unreleased
Dolby Atmos – streaming
Destroyer: *Dolby Atmos 48kHz 24-bit:
1. Detroit Rock City 2. King Of The Night Time World 3. God Of Thunder 4. Great Expectations 5. Flaming Youth 6. Sweet Pain 7. Shout It Out Loud 8. Beth 9. Do You Love Me?
Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was a guest on Eddie’s Sirius/XM Trunk Nation show on September 16th once discussing the possibility of a KISS reunion.
Frehley said (as per blabbermouth.net), “Anything’s possible — I’ve always said that. That’s the first question so many people have asked me over the years: ‘Would you ever consider doing a KISS reunion?’ I said, ‘I never closed the door on anything.’ If the money’s right and it’s presented to me in the right way, anything can happen.
I’m on good terms with Paul [Stanley, guitar/vocals] and Gene [Simmons, bass/vocals], which is nice, because we created something really special in the early ’70s that has outlasted so many other bands. And God bless ’em. They’re still doing it; I’m still doing it. Peter [Criss, drums] is still around. I’m not quite sure why Peter hadn’t toured over the years as much as I have, but it is what it is.”
L.A. Guns have released the official music video for their second single, Cannonball, watch it below. The song is from the band’s forthcoming new album, Checkered Past, due November 12th.
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To read more details about this release, view a track list, and stream the first single, Knock Me Down, please go here.
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