Category : LATEST NEWS

DIAMOND HEAD SIGN WITH DISSONANCE AND WILL RELEASE THEIR NEW SELF-TITLED ON APRIL 22ND, BAND IS CURRENTLY ON A NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

Influential and iconic heavy metal band, Diamond Head, have announced their first album of new material in eight years. Called Diamond Head, the album features an exciting new talent in singer Rasmus Born Andersen.

The band has signed with Plastic Head/Dissonance Productions and the record will be released on April 22nd, 2017. They will also be rereleasing their last two releases worldwide, All Will Be Revealed and What’s In Your Head on May 20th, 2017. In addition, all albums will be released on limited edition colored vinyl on Backs On Blacks Classics label on June 20th, 2017.

In 2014, Diamond Head invited London based, Danish-born Ras to join the band. Together, they completed a European tour, which included appearances at Hard Rock Hell and Headbangers Open Air Germany.

The spark of creativity led the band to start working on the new album in January 2015, Brian Tatler, founder of Diamond Head said, “When we began talking with Ras about making a new record, he said, we should write the songs as a band just like Diamond Head did at the beginning of our career. There’s no substitute for writing together in the same room, we spark each other off and create something far bigger then we could have done individually.”

Brian continued, “Ras has certainly renewed the energy within the band. I had no interest in doing another record, but after working with Ras on the European tour, that all suddenly changed. I wanted to make a record with him. He’s a confident singer and he’s not trying to fill anyone’s shoes.”

Speaking about the new album, Brian said, “This new album has an echo of the early albums, but I always try to push our music forward somewhere new, if possible.”

Ras adds, “All in all this album was made with the band’s first fans foremost in mind from start to finish. We wanted to write songs that would have ties to the best parts of all of the previous albums. We feel we have achieved what we set out to do and we hope everyone will hear and feel the Diamond Head spirit through this new eponymous record.”

In general the album lyrics focus on political and environmental themes, specifically warning that our world is in many ways leaning towards self-destruction. The opening and closing songs encapsulate these topics, while the body of the album explores subtopics in more depth, along with songs dealing with lighter subjects.

Watch the video for, All The Reasons You Live, below.

Diamond Head North American tour dates:

North American Tour November 1- December 4th

Confirmed Dates:

11/12 Houston, TX Concert Pub North
11/13 Dallas, TX Trees
11/15 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
11/16 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater
11/17 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
11/18 Baltimore, MD Fish Head Cantina
11/19 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance
11/20 NYC, NY Webster Hall’s Marlin Room
11/21 Rochester, NY Bug Jar
11/22 Montreal, QU Katacombes
W 11/23 Ottawa, ON Brass Monkey
11/24 Toronto, ON Garrison
11/25 Detroit, MI Token Lounge
11/26 Chicago, IL Tailgators
11/27 Milwaukee, WI Metal Grill
11/28 St. Louis, MO Fubar
11/29 Kansas City, MO Harrah’s Voodoo Lounge
11/30 Denver, CO III Kings

12/2 Hollywood-The Whisky
12/3 Corona, CA M-15 Concert Club
12/4 Crockett, CA Toots

JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE TO RELEASE “HE SAW IT COMIN'” ON JANUARY 27TH

Jack Russell’s Great White represents the next phase of his legacy. On January 27th, 2017 Frontiers Music Srl will lay the framework for this new phase with the release of He Saw it Comin’.

“For me this is so much more than a collection of songs, it is the culmination of a lifetime of living. It is about addictions, love, pain and many facets of the human condition. I tend to write autobiographically and on this album I dealt with topics I’ve never explored,” explains Russell of the new record.

Rather than look backwards and merely attempt to relive the multi-platinum hard rock entity’s storied origins, Jack Russell set his sights on the future. In December 2011, Jack Russell’s Great White first bared its teeth. Robby Lochner has been with Jack since it’s inception, they soon welcomed back longtime bassist and friend Tony Montana—this time as a guitar player and keyboardist— they then added drummer Dicki Fliszar , then bassist Dan McNay. This group has a sharp, soaring, eclectic, hook laden new album ready, boasting the bluesy hard rock stomp that made Russell and Montana icons in the first place.

“It’s a powerful band,” Russell proclaims. “The music is dynamic and I’ve gone where I’ve never gone before. Lochner was a catalyst for moving forward. I wasn’t sure how the writing would go at first but soon realized the chemistry is beyond words. He’s my copilot and one of my best friends.”

This past year the musicians hit the studio to cut their official full-length debut. It taps into the bluesy bombast and heavy energy of Russell’s celebrated material, but it’s a distinctly modern metallic monster.

“We want the new material to blow people’s ears back,” Russell goes on. “It has the elements of the best of Great White, but there’s diversity, vibe and an edge to it. It draws from our 60’s and 70’s roots in a more modern way.” Montana agrees, “It’s got the classic sound. The first element is Jack’s voice. No other band sounds like this one, ever did or does now. When I was 17-years-old, I remember walking around the UCLA campus listening to the band’s first EP. I was a fan before I ever joined the band. We’re going to maintain that integrity moving forward.”

That integrity became forged over nearly thirty years. In 1984, the band broke out of the Los Angeles scene with its self-titled debut followed by seismic platinum-selling outings such as 1987’s Once Bitten… and 1989’s …Twice Shy. Moving over 10 million copies worldwide, they stood out as tried-and-true rock stalwarts into the 21st century until 2011, when Russell went on to form Jack Russell’s Great White.

Ultimately, the new music is for the millions of fans who stuck by Russell all these years. It’s everything they’ve been waiting for and more.

He Saw it Comin’ Track Listing:

1. Sign Of The Times
2. She Moves Me
3. Crazy
4. Love Don’t Live Here
5. My Addiction
6. Anything For You
7. He Saw It Comin’
8. Don’t Let Me Go
9. Spy Vs Spy
10. Blame It On The Night
11. Godspeed

Jack Russell’s Great White Lineup:

Jack Russell (Vocals)
Tony Montana (Guitar, Keyboards)
Robby Lochner (Guitar)
Dan McNay (Bass)
Dicki Fliszar (Drums)

For more information on Jack Russell’s Great White, visit:

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter

ARMORED SAINT TO RELEASE NEW LIVE ALBUM “CARPE NOCTUM,” PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE

Armored Saint have teamed up with PledgeMusic to release their new live album, Carpe Noctum.

From Armored Saint, “Why PledgeMusic? Our fans have been extremely supportive over the years. We want to share the process of realizing this project with you by giving you the chance to be a part of it, from start to finish. How does it work? You place your orders here and when the album is released, you will get your items in the mail. But throughout the process, you will have access to the regular updates that we will post on this page.”

In conjunction with PledgeMusic, this special live album is available in various formats and bundles, with every “pledge”/purchase receiving a digital download of the tracks, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes content (including footage from Wacken 2015, plus 2016’s Ozzfest and Queensryche appearances, and more!).

For more information about this release, and to pre-order, please visit pledgemusic.com/projects/armoredsaint.

Carpe Noctum song listing:

1. Win Hands Down
2. March Of The Saint
3. Stricken By Fate
4. Last Train Home
5. Mess
6. Aftermath
7. Left Hook From Right Field
8. Reign Of Fire

Armored Saint tour dates w/ Queensryche, Midnight Eternal:

Nov. 15 – Showbox At The Market – Seattle, WA
Nov. 16 – Ace of Spaces – Sacramento, CA
Nov. 17 – Riverside Municipal Auditorium – Riverside, CA
Nov. 18 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
Nov. 19 – Club Red – Mesa, AZ *
Nov. 21 – Jakes Backroom – Lubbock, TX *
Nov. 22 – Alamo City Music Hall – San Antonio, TX
Nov. 23 – Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Nov. 25 – Clicks – Tyler, TX
Nov. 26 – Trees – Dallas, TX
Nov. 29 – Mavericks at the Landing – Jacksonville, FL
Nov. 30 – Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, FL

Dec. 1 – The Cuban Club – Tampa, FL
Dec. 2 – The Music Farm – Charleston, SC
Dec. 3 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Dec. 4 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
Dec. 6 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Dec. 7 – Rex Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
Dec. 8 – Diesel Concert Lounge – Chesterfield, MI
Dec. 9 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
Dec. 10 – The Metal Grill – Milwaukee, WI *
Dec. 11 – Limelight – Peoria, IL
Dec. 13 – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE
Dec. 14 – Kanza Hall – Overland Park, KS
Dec. 15 – The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
* =Armored Saint only

WHAT IS PAY TO PLAY AND WHY IS IRON MAIDEN BASSIST STEVE HARRIS SO AGAINST THE PRACTICE?

In recently posted news, Motley Crue is being sued for $30 million by a band called, The Raskins, who opened for them in 2014. The band alleges that Motley’s crew members ran out on stage in monkey masks and sprayed them “with water guns filled with urine.” The Raskins also reportedly paid $1 million to join the tour and complained that they were forced to play short sets in mostly empty venues after managers often refused to open the doors for shows; the public address system was turned off or interfered with during their shows; they weren’t allowed to sell merchandise or given dressing rooms; and they were hit with heavy equipment.

This is a practice known as pay to play. According to the The Berkeley Beacon, “Pay-to-play is a business strategy that some concert promoters use, claiming it as a foolproof way to get an audience to a show. It can work a couple of ways. When someone books a big name [artist], who will definitely sell out the venue, an unknown band can pay a lot of money upfront to be put on the bill as the opening act. The hope is that by playing for such a large audience, the opener will make up the difference in new fans.

The other type of pay-to-play is when the promoter will only let a band onto a bill if they can sell a quota of tickets. In the past, [a company such as the] Keynote Company has required openers to sell up to $300 worth of tickets for a show, cutting them only $50 if they are successful. This can be extremely detrimental for newer artists, who inevitably end up paying for the unsold passes out of pocket. We all know most novice musicians’ pockets are pretty empty to start with, so it is a high-risk scenario either way.”

Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris has been very outspoken against the pay to play practice. Harris told Metal Journal, “I hate it when people charge bands to play with them – I hate that. I’ve never done that and I will never do it.

To me, it’s just wrong. A band should get at least some expenses to pay a gig, and they should’t have to pay to play. I’ve always been really against that. I’ve always tried to help people out.”

When asked why Iron Maiden continue to advocate for upcoming musicians, he replies, “Well, because we can. Anybody who’s in a position Maiden is, any band that can potentially take another band on tour, you can help people. It doesn’t take much effort to do that.”

Harris also believes it’s one way to repay the music scene for his “fantastic life and career,” adding: “I’ve worked very hard, but maybe I’ve had a bit of luck along the way. At the end of the day it’s nice to give something back.”

sources: berkeleybeacon.com and Classic Rock via teasrock.com

NEW BOOK, “THE OTHER SIDE OF RAINBOW,” TELLS THE STORY OF ONE OF HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL’S ALL TIME GREAT BANDS

When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, many a rock n’ roll fan was left befuddled. Why would one of rock’s top guitarists leave one of the world’s most popular bands? Regardless of the reason, listeners would ultimately be thankful, as Blackmore soon launched Rainbow – a band that rocked just as ferociously as Purple, whose music has proven to be timeless and incredibly influential on subsequent heavy metal bands.

And along the way, Blackmore proved to be extremely adept at spotting largely-unknown talent, and introducing them to the world – including vocalists Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet, and Joe Lynn Turner. However, with Blackmore as the group’s leader, band members came and went on a regular basis – preventing the band from possibly reaching their full potential.

The Other Side of Rainbow features nearly 30 all-new interviews conducted exclusively for this book, including former band members (Joe Lynn Turner, Graham Bonnet, Tony Carey, Doogie White, etc.), those who worked closely with the band (Wendy Dio, Flemming Rasmussen, etc.), and were admirers of their music (Eddie Trunk, Charlie Benante, etc.).

Read an excerpt here.

Ordering information below:

Paperback and Kindle
Nook
iBook

LOUDWIRE RECAPS THE “BOWL 4 RONNIE” EVENT, SINGER JEFF SCOTT SOTO SAID HE HOPED TO BOWL BETTER AS “NUNO BETTENCOURT [AND I] SUCKED [LAST YEAR]”

Chad Childers of Loudwire reports:

On November 4th, the second annual Bowl 4 Ronnie event, sponsored by the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout At Cancer Fund, at the Pinz Bowling Center in Studio City, California.

The event started with a red carpet introduction for those participating along with a VIP hang upstairs. Those in attendance were invited to bowl, eat and drink before the actual tournament started at 9PM. The Bowl 4 Ronnie emcee for the night, SiriusXM Volume host Eddie Trunk, fielded one of the teams, welcoming back Tom Morello and Jeff Scott Soto from his team last year and pulling in John 5, Tim “Ripper” Owens and Rock Feinstein. Morello came ready to roll, arriving on the scene with his own ball and bag.

“I would not miss this event because I’m such a huge fan of Ronnie James Dio. I miss him. I only knew him very casually, but I miss his music so much, so I’m here to support his memory and his spirit and do anything I can to stop cancer from claiming any other great people. I’m here to do anything I can. And I brought my own damn bowling ball. None of these other metal dudes bring their own ball. I know what’s up,” laughed Morello.

Meanwhile, Soto was hoping for a better outcome than last year, telling us, “I’ve practiced a little bit. Last year was a catastrophe, me and Nuno [Bettencourt] sucked, so this year, it’s redemption.” Trunk also was looking for redemption, sharing, “I don’t want to make excuses, but I did pull a muscle after my first roll [last year] and I was in pain for the rest of the night and Morello hasn’t let me live it down.”

…Before the tournament, Eddie Trunk led the presentation of a $25,000 check to UCLA, helping to further the research of Dr. David Wong, who is developing a non-invasive saliva test for early cancer detection. Wendy Dio spoke to the crowd of the importance of getting checked for cancer regularly, especially for the males on hand who typically are less likely to visit the doctor.

“The saliva tests will help for men’s cancer, which is what ours is all about. Breast cancer has come a long, long way since it started and so much research has been done, and now it’s going really well, and we want to do that for stomach cancer, gastric cancers, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostrate cancer, because these cancers don’t have enough money being given to research,” stated Dio. “But we have to bring attention to it because more and more people are dying, especially men, because they don’t get checked. Women are going to get checked, but men, you’ve got to drag ’em there. Early detection saves lives, so please get yourself checked.”

Read more about the event at Loudwire.

source: loudwire.com