Archive for October 31, 2012

JOHN LAWTON & DIANA EXPRESS – Former Uriah Heep / Lucifer’s Friend Legend John Lawton To Release New Concept Album – The Power of Mind!

Posted in classic rock, contemporary rock, Music, rock albums, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , on October 31, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

October 31, 2012 – London, UK – The music industry is buzzing about the new concept album by former legendary Uriah Heep / Lucifer’s Friend vocalist John Lawton titled ‘The Power of Mind’. An innovative new CD, conceived, written and produced by the CGI member, Dr. Milen Vrabevski, but performed by John Lawton and Bulgarian ensemble Diana Express, ‘The Power of Mind’ is an exploration into the science of positive thinking and its applications to the subconscious mind. Featuring 14 amazing songs that showcase the soulful vocals of John Lawton and the powerful instrumentals by Diana Express will leave you wanting to hear it again and again…

“ ‘The Power of Mind’ is a concept album with positive thinking being the theme,” John explains. “In the world of today, I don’t think there are many better things to focus on. The way the songs flow into each other is really the way one would read a book or relate stories to friends. The melodies and lyrics say a lot about how we should view each other.”

John Lawton began his musical career in North Shields, UK, in the early ’60s with The Deans, a bunch of kids who decided at random that John should be singer. He then moved on to West One and later to Stonewall, which included John Miles, Vic Malcolm (later of Geordie) and Paul Thompson (later of Roxy Music). After Stonewall finished a stint at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg in 1969, John decided to stay in Germany. He is offered the job as singer with legendary German cult rock band Lucifer’s Friend (1969-1976, 1979-1995) and subsequently recorded 9 studio albums during his time with the band. In the early ’70s John also joined the Les Humphries Singers, with whom he recorded more than 20 albums and took part at 1976’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Listen to and watch the video for Fairy Tale below!

Stone Says: John Lawton has a truly amazing and timeless voice. Diana Express are certainly world-class musicians. I cannot say it any better than that. Metal be thy name.

In 1976 John joined Uriah Heep as their front man, and recorded the classic albums ‘Innocent Victim’, ‘Firefly’, ‘Fallen Angel’ and ‘Live ’79’, and toured Europe and the USA until September 1979. During his longstanding career John has worked with some big names of rock, on various projects, including Roger Glover’s ‘Butterfly Ball’ and Eddie Hardin’s ‘Wizard’s Convention II’. In late 1980 he joined German rock band Rebel on three albums, including their hit singles “Line of Fire” and “Eagles Flight”. He would record one more album with the group, now known as ZAR in the early ’90s. John ventured into the world of classical music when he recorded vocals for Volker Barber’s ‘Excalibur’. In January 1994 he formed GunHill, later known as JLB – John Lawton Band. The band recorded two albums (studio/live) and toured the UK and Europe. In August 2000 John recorded his first solo album, the critically acclaimed ‘Still Paying My Dues To The Blues’.

In December 2008 John entered the world of television by presenting the Bulgarian travel documentary series “John Lawton Presents”. Which leads to the teaming of John and Bulgaria’s Diana Express in November 2011 to record ‘The Power of Mind’ in Plevin, Bulgaria. John comments, “The involvement came via a musician friend of mine from Sofia, Bulgaria, who knows the writer and producer of the album, Milen Vrabevski. I met with Milen briefly in Sofia after an exchange of e-mails and he gave me a copy of the original ‘The Power of Mind’ CD, which had been sung in Bulgarian. I must say I liked it very much, it was very well sung, played and produced. Milen then asked me if I would consider singing the whole album again in English and after looking through the English lyrics I agreed. It was a real joy to record in the studio in Pleven, owned by the guitarist of the band, Maxim Goranov. It took me about a week and a half to complete the solo and backing vocals.”

John Lawton has built a reputation on his powerful vocals and charismatic personality and is regarded as one of the best singers around today! And now with his new CD ‘The Power of Mind’, John has reached an artistic peak. In conclusion John has this to impart to his longtime listeners, “People who know me and my background will expect something new and with ‘The Power of Mind’ they have exactly that. The album is a collection of excellent songs very well-played and produced and one which I am very proud of…so make sure you give it a good listen. Think positive and trust in the Power of Mind.”

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Available soon on iTunes, “Fairy Tale”, the first single from ‘The Power of Mind’.

Title: John Lawton and Diana Express – ‘The Power of Mind’

Label: Intelligent Music

Release Date: 12th November 2012

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For more info, click on the links below!

‘The Power of Mind’ website: www.thepowerofmindalbum.com

Visit the official John Lawton website at http://www.johnlawtonmusic.com/JLmusic.htm

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(Source: Glass Onyon PR)

LONG LIVE JOHN LAWTON & DIANA EXPRESS.

Stone.

MAELSTROM “It Was Predestined” – Out Now On Itchy Metal Entertainment

Posted in epic metal, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, Metal, metal music, Music, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , on October 31, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

Originally released to the underground in 2009, MAELSTROM’s It Was Predestined is now available in digital format via Los Angeles’ Itchy Metal Entertainment (IME).

Few self-released EPs have been met with the kind of critical acclaim and fan reception as It Was Predestined. Famed music journalist Martin Popoff called the release “A symphony of progressiveness the likes of which has pretty much never been articulated, invented, or heard, before now,” and world-renowned publications such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer and MetalSucks.net all sang MAELSTROM’s praises upon the EP’s release.

When MAELSTROM signed with IME earlier this year, it seemed only natural for the EP to be offered once again to metal fans around the world. Visit http://www.itchymetal.com to order your copy today.

For more on MAELSTROM, visit facebook: MaelstroM

Check out the video below of MAELSTROM guitarist and Julliard guest lecturer Joey Lodes in the studio demoing solos for the EP.

International Critical Praise for It Was Predestined:

Named in the Top two Unsigned Bands Worldwide – Terrorizer

Demo of the Month, January 2009 – Rock Hard

“Fusing a dizzying array of styles – death, power, thrash and prog-metal – with cinematic elements, jaw-dropping musicality and Gary Vosganian’s eccentric, staccato vocals, cult New York band Maelstrom have ended a two-decade hiatus to present something thunderously unique.” – Metal Hammer

A symphony of progressiveness the likes of which has pretty much never been articulated, invented, or heard, before now.- Martin Popoff – Editor in Chief BWBK 

“This band is on their way to becoming the next big thing.” – Metal Asylum

“Pagan/folk/viking/whatever metal has fallen out of favor since it momentarily exploded onto the scene in 2008-2009, but every so often a band in that micro-genre comes along that piques our interest. Long Island crew MaelstroM have some of the trademarks of that genre – vocals that occasionally soar, fantasy-themed artwork, keyboards – but theirs is a brand that’s distinctly thrashier and a whole lot less cheesy than most of what we hear. Great guitar work, too.” – Metal Sucks

“These tracks will leave you breathless…their power is undeniable” – The Gauntlet

“It Was Predestined is a flattering combination of old school and new school power, and it works surprisingly well.” – Metal Review

“Maelstrom is not your typical power metal act and It Was Predestined is going to strike a nerve with classic fans.” – Teeth of the Divine

“MaelstroM are not only back, they’re stronger than ever and dedicated to bringing their wildly inventive brand of metal to a new generation of listeners.” – Ultimate Guitar

“Maelstrom are a mean and snarly power metal band, and they aren’t afraid to keep things raw instead of sparkly.” – Unrestrained!

“If you love huge, massively melodic metal with an off the wall touch, ‘It Was Predestined’ is worth a listen.” – Chronicles of Chaos

MAELSTROM:

Gary Vosganian – Vocals

Joey Lodes – Guitars, Bass, Keys

Daniel Kleffmann – Drums

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To read Stone’s review of It Was Predestined, just click on the link below! Whoa!

MAELSTROM “It Was Predestined” – 3 Song EP Makes It’s Epic Metal Presence Known

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(Source: ClawHammer PR)

For more info on MAELSTROM, click on the link below!

http://www.metalmaelstrom.com

LONG LIVE MAELSTROM.

Stone.

Happy Metal Halloween From Metal Odyssey! 2012 Edition: Here Are Some Of My Favorite Spooky Albums & Movies…

Posted in halloween, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, holidays, horror metal, horror movies, Metal, metal music, Music, rock music, rock music news, science fiction movies with tags , , , , , , on October 31, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

HAPPY METAL HALLOWEEN! Today is October 31st and Halloween 2012 is finally here! As you’ll see below, I’ve selected some of my all-time favorite spooky albums and movies, especially for all you Metal ghouls, monsters, witches, zombies and goblins out there. Enjoy!

The scary album cover at the top of this post is Orange Goblin’s fourth studio album Coup De Grace. Released back in 2002 via Rise Above Records, I highly recommend Coup De Grace from the solid-as-steel discography of Orange Goblin. This isn’t a Horror Metal album, yet it is lyrically filled with plenty of strange stories. Monkey Panic is a true Horror themed song, however. Coup De Grace contains a sensationally cool mix of Stoner Metal, Doom and a cover of the Misfits classic We Bite, (a song which adds a potent moment of Horror Punk to this album).

As with many of you out there, my favorite King Diamond album is Abigail. One of the greatest Metal concept albums ever written, structured and performed, in my Metal opinion! Released back in 1987 via Roadrunner Records, Abigail also features current and longtime Motörhead drummer Mikkey DeeAbigail is the crème de la crème of the King Diamond discography, without any Metal doubt in my mind.

What would a Metal Halloween be without the super-duper legendary IRON MAIDEN? For that matter, what would Halloween be like without IRON MAIDEN’s iconic mascot Eddie? I cringe at the thoughts! IRON MAIDEN without question, has the greatest assemblage of album covers in Heavy Metal history. Thanks to artists Derek Riggs and Melvyn Grant, Eddie’s mascot celebrity within the world of Metal is second to none.

Back on March 25th, 2010, I posted a feature titled: My Favorite Heavy Metal Album Cover Is… and you can read all about it by clicking the link below! Hint: It’s IRON MAIDEN.

MY FAVORITE HEAVY METAL ALBUM COVER IS…

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Here Are 2 Of My Favorite All-Time Scary Movies:

Directed by the ultra-legendary John Carpenter, They Live was released back in 1988 and is distributed by Universal Studios. This is a Science Fiction-Horro Film that essentially shows what our world would be like if taken over by elitist aliens. Uh, huh. Filthy rich space aliens want to take over the world!

My favorite professional wrestler of all-time is the star of They Live: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. I feel his performance in They Live was stellar, just like his wrestling career. Rowdy Roddy Piper gives plenty of hurtin’ on these white-collar space aliens, before he, um… I won’t give the ending of this fabulous movie away.

Shout! Factory will be releasing, on November 6th, 2012, a “collector’s edition” of They Live, on both DVD and Blu-ray. Check out Shout! Factory here: http://www.shoutfactory.com

Another Science Fiction thriller directed by John Carpenter! This creepy Sci-Fi film takes place in 1997 and New York City is a maximum security prison! Once you’re put inside this NYC prison, you never come out… unless you’re Snake Plissken.

Legendary actor Kurt Russell is phenomenal in his role as Snake Plissken; his mission is to rescue The President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) from this horrible prison. It’s detailed as to how this all happened! Just get this movie at all Metal costs, if you already haven’t.

Escape From New York was released back in 1981 and  distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures.

Escape From New York also stars such other notable actors: Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Adrienne Barbeau and Isaac Hayes as The Duke of New York.

I once met the producer for Escape From New York! Debra Hill was introduced to me at a wedding I attended (somewhere) in Long Island, (sometime) back in the ’90’s. A very quick “hello” and (I think) handshake and that’s about it. That’s my “brush with fame” when it comes to this unreal terrific movie!

METAL BE THY NAME.

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HAVE A SAFE & SPOOKY HALLOWEEN.

LONG LIVE HALLOWEEN.

LONG LIVE METAL.

The words “super-duper” were used in this post.

Stone.