Archive for hard rock albums 2016

ACE FREHLEY “Origins Vol. 1” – Cover Song Album Releasing On April 15th!

Posted in classic rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Music, news, rock music with tags , , , , on March 6, 2016 by Metal Odyssey

Ace Frehley - Origins Vol 1 - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MO099099ILMF

The super fantastic ACE FREHLEY will be releasing his first cover song album on April 15th! Hot damn!

KISS vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley reunites with Ace Frehley on Free’s timeless song: Fire and Water. Whoa!!

Other world-class musicians featured on this album are Slash playing co-leads on Thin Lizzy’s classic song Emerald, Lita Ford singing and playing lead guitar on The Troggs #1 hit Wild Thing, guitarist John 5 playing alongside Ace as he sings his classic KISS song Parasite for the very first time, as well as Jimi Hendrix’s iconic Spanish Castle Magic. Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready plays guitar with Ace Frehley as he sings his KISS jewel: Cold Gin. Unreal!

ACE FREHLEY – Origins Vol. 1 – Track List:

1. White Room (Originally by Cream)
2. Street Fighting Man (The Rolling Stones)
3. Spanish Castle Magic – featuring John 5 (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
4. Fire and Water – featuring Paul Stanley (Free)
5. Emerald – featuring Slash (Thin Lizzy)
6. Bring It on Home (Led Zeppelin)
7. Wild Thing – featuring Lita Ford (The Troggs)
8. Parasite – featuring John 5 (Kiss)
9. Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf)
10. Cold Gin – featuring Mike McCready (Kiss)
11. Till the End of the Day (The Kinks)
12. Rock and Roll Hell (Kiss)

____________________________

MetalOdyssey

LONG LIVE ACE FREHLEY.

Stone.

THE NEW BLACK “A Monster’s Life” – Releasing On February 26th, 2016, via AFM Records

Posted in Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Music, news, rock music with tags , , , on February 8, 2016 by Metal Odyssey

The New Black - A Monsters Life - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MOILMFDSR933933

From AFM Records:

“This time for real.” Everybody’s using this phrase generously, nobody really means it, but it sounds good. Not for The New Black, though. When a band like this is saying “this time for real”, it comes from a bunch of musicians that released three records since 2009, that played Wacken and Rock am Ring and that shared stages with the likes of AC/DC, Black Label Society and Alter Bridge. So what that hell has not been “for real“ before?

So this time for real. For these Heavy Rockers it means: Working their asses off with a real producer in a real studio. Harder than ever. “We’ve reached a limit after self-producing our first three albums,” guitarist Christof Leim explains. “At some point you just go in circles, sound wise and with the songwriting.” The New Black however did not ask just any producer for the sake of it. They recorded with Danish icon Jacob Hansen, a proven master of kick ass Rock, the guy Volbeat committed to ever since their first album. Naturally, The New Black and a producer like that get along like a house on fire. Working on the album together in The New Black’s hometown Würzburg and in the Danish city of Ribe is what rocketed the band onto an entirely new level. “The cooporation was totally worth it,” main songwriter Fabian Schwarz agrees. “They’re still our songs, but they’re better and they sound better, too. At some point, you lose focus, you are too close. Some tracks are two years in the making or have been played live already which makes you focus on your own parts naturally. That’s why even the biggest bands work with producers.” Now, also The New Black did, in order to get that important outside perspective.

The results? They jump right at you. “A Monster’s Life” sounds like an album should sound that starts off with a smasher called “Long Time Coming”. As if the three years since the last record steered the band to this singular point. The New Black are still The New Black. Only much bigger. The trinity of heaviness, melody and groove has new kings, the songs are built to last and highly explosive, the production is massive on an international level. Hansen neither gave the band a typical Metal edge nor a classic Hard Rock sound, but chose to take the middle way. The nonchalant, too-cool-for-school Heavy Rock kick in the ass is still in full effect. The music has just put on a new black shining leather jacket, if you will – and still works fine with a few cans of beer.

The New Black - A Monsters Life - 2016 - promo album banner - #MO99ILMFD9339

“Ten tracks, no bullshit, no dead weights”, vocalist Fludid sums up the fourth album’s fundament. By now, The New Black can offer more than enough unique bravado to fearlessly step into any ring. Said opener “Long Time Coming” is self-confidently sowing the fields of Heavy Rock with enthusiastic uptempo riffing and a boldly anthemic chorus, “Blockbuster Life” convinces with breakneck speed and gang shouts. “With A Grin” is stomping through town like a monster only to erupt into a capital XXL chorus before the atmospheric “Send In The Clowns” throws in some epic hooks. Talking about epic: “That’s Your Poison, Not Mine” delivers a chorus written for stadiums. Seriously. In the loose rocking “Dead In The Water”, The New Black even sing about all those who claim that the band won‘t go anywhere anyway – and how much fun the five-piece has regardless.

The New Black - A Monsters Life - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MOILMFDSR933933

The New Black put all their hearts as well as an incredible amount of time and energy into this record. They went for broke, all in – and now they reap what they sowed. Aside the enviable thick guitar sound and the ballsy drums, Hansen‘s production is predominantly highlighting Fludid’s impressive vocals. “He’s our trump card anyway”, bass player Günt Auschrat and drummer Chris Weiß add with quite some understatement. This time around, they have more than one trick up their sleeves. Just like the huge lizard on the album cover that can’t wait to trample down Tokyo, “A Monster’s Life” will gather momentum and will shake our floors – on the record as well as on their tour early 2016. This time for real indeed.

__________________________

THE NEW BLACK:

Fludid – Vocals

Christof Leim – Guitars

Fabian Schwarz – Guitars

Günt Auschrat – Bass

Chris Weiß – Drums

Facebook: THE NEW BLACK

__________________________

AFM Records - Logo - Large!

MetalOdyssey

LONG LIVE THE NEW BLACK.

Stone.

THE LAST VEGAS “Eat Me” – Releasing On March 18th, 2016, via AFM Records

Posted in Hard Rock, hard rock bands, Music, news, rock music with tags , , , on February 7, 2016 by Metal Odyssey

The Last Vegas - Eat Me - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MO9933ILMFD

From AFM Records:

“Eat Me” is a mash-up of full-tilt boogie Rock, droney Zeppelin-esque riffs, and alt-psychedelic acoustic ballads. Equal part American bluesy riffs and Swedish production technique, the album balances grit & polish.

“This is truly an American hybrid album” quotes guitarist Adam Arling. “Some may call it ‘rock’, however its more ‘pop trash’. There’s even a song entitled “Hot Fudge” w/ a nasty Moog riff just waiting to rule a dance floor. It’s ridiculous”.

“Eat Me” was recorded in near lightning pace, in advance of singer Chad Cherry‘s relocation to Los Angeles over the summer.

“I was over in Sweden on a reality TV show for 2 months, when the guys decided to do another album. We had less than 3 weeks to write songs, rehearse, then schedule recording before Chad split.” quotes drummer Nathan Arling. “We wanted to capture the energy of a tight deadline and approach the material without looking back or over-thinking anything”.

The Last Vegas tracked “Eat Me” at Johnny K’s hit-making Groovemaster Studios in Chicago, a spot familiar to the band where they recorded critically acclaimed ‘Bad Decisions’ and 2013’s ‘Sweet Salvation’.

The fast pace worked to the band’s favor; as they adopted a “first-thought, best-thought, only thought” approach.

“We gathered some favorite demos lying around, added a few fresh ideas and rehearsed the hell out of the songs for about 8 days” says singer Chad Cherry. “We were tracking vocals up through the night I left for LA. We recorded like 12 songs in about 11 hours at Groovemaster, and it felt like we were making our first album again. It was awesome”.

The Last Vegas - band publicity photo - 2016 - #MOILMFDSP990033

The Last Vegas initially decided to self-produce ‘Eat Me’, after working with some industry heavyweights (2010’s ‘Whatever Gets You Off’-Nikki Sixx; 2012’s ‘Bad Decisions’-Johnny K; 2013’s ‘Sweet Salvation’-Roy Z).

And luckily TLV’s vision was perfectly complimented by a musical contact Nathan Arling came across while in Sweden filming the ‘Allt For Sverige’ TV series; Engineer/Producer Chris Laney. Mr. Laney mixed the album “Eat Me” in Stockholm, Sweden, song by song, as The Last Vegas fed him sessions built-in Chicago at the TLV studio space.

“We chipped away at each track’s session, layering guitars, Moog synths, bongos, bells, wind chimes, and even an old-school talk-box” says guitarist Bryan Wilkinson who makes his debut on “Eat Me”. “Chris’s mixes just kept blowing us away. Chris asked if he could go crazy in the mixes, and we demanded he do so.”

“Eat Me” is the first time The Last Vegas have collaborated with a European production team (Sweden’s Grammy-nominated Classe Persson is mastering). Being long-time fans of Scandinavian rock production and influenced by records from The Hellacopters, Turbonegro, Nomads and more, The Last Vegas were thrilled with a new approach in making an modern-day album; and the results of the inter-continental experiment.

“There’s a lot of feeling in this record. It’s fascinating what you can express musically when you record songs quickly, never second-guessing your gut instinct. We found the soul in Rock’n’Roll; from both Chicago and Stockholm” says Adam Arling. “But let’s not get too serious, I mean the album is called “Eat Me” after all. Catch you on tour in 2016.”

___________________________

THE LAST VEGAS:

Chad Cherry – lead vocals

Adam Arling – guitar

Nathan Arling – drums

Bryan Wilkinson – guitar

Danny Smash – bass

Facebook: the LAST VEGAS

____________________________

AFM Records - Logo - Large!

MetalOdyssey

LONG LIVE THE LAST VEGAS.

Stone.

THE ‘EVILUTION’ OF EVILYN STRANGE DUE ON MARCH 7TH

Posted in Hard Rock, Music, news, rock music with tags , , , on January 14, 2016 by Metal Odyssey

Evilyn Strange - Evilution - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MO33ILMFDSP993993

The ‘Evilution’ of Evilyn Strange will be released on March 7th through Thirteen772 Music. Featuring five tracks, the EP precedes a new 11 track album to be released later in the year. As well as announcing the release date the band have also revealed the artwork (above).

Frontman Phillip Strange and guitarist Mikael Johannesson have written a hard rocking follow-up to their debut album Mourning Phoebe. Says Phillip: “We’re definitely rocking a lot more this time out even though it wasn’t what I would call a conscious decision. We sat down and threw all sorts of influences into the mix with no restrictions. Mike’s playing on ‘Evilution’ is phenomenal, he’s on fire!”

Each of the five songs brings a unique flavour to the table. Continues Phillip: “The opening track ‘Let It Rain’ deals with the inevitable bumps in the road that life throws at you. The message is simple, do what’s right for you and yours; don’t let anyone hold you back or put you down… believe in yourself! ‘Invisible Man’ is about the side to you that you lock away from the rest of the world, where internal battles can make or break you. It’s about fighting your demons and keeping your head above water. It’s something most of us struggle with but is rarely discussed openly.”

Evilyn Strange - band logo - banner promo - #MO33ILMFDSP9939

Track three ‘Storm Clouds’ is perhaps the heaviest that Evilyn Strange have ever sounded. Says Phillip, “Mike wrote this insane riff with a thunderous rhythm part. I got really excited by it and we ended up with ‘Storm Clouds’, a real headbanging anthem. The subject matter is about getting yourself in a spot of bother by not thinking things through. It’s that common trap of being so focussed on one thing that the important things pass you by. I’m sad to say it’s very autobiographical, ha, ha!”

“The last two tracks, ‘ Never’ and ‘Stay’ are possibly the most obvious links to ‘Mourning Phoebe’. ‘Never’ is about struggling against the odds and trying to achieve the seemingly impossible. It’s often on the eve or succeeding that you feel at your lowest… hang in there!”

Of the final track ‘Stay’, Phillip concludes, “Some situations are so painful it’s all too easy to bury your head in the sand or run away. Of course, you can’t run from reality so eventually it’s gonna bite you on the ass one way or the other. Sometimes it’s better to stand and fight, however painful that may be.”

Produced by the band, ‘Evilution’ will be available to pre-order, from January 27th, in the CD format and digitally via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and other popular providers.

Track List:

  1. Let It Rain
  2. Invisible man
  3. Storm Clouds
  4. Never
  5. Stay

Band Members:

Phillip Strange (All Vocals)

Mikael Johannesson (All Guitars)

The Ghost (Drums, Keyboards)

____________________________

Evilyn Strange - Evilution - promo album cover pic - 2016 - #MO33ILMFDSP993993

For more info on EVILYN STRANGE:

Facebook: Evilyn Strange

MetalOdyssey

LONG LIVE EVILYN STRANGE.

Stone.

WISHING WELL – Band Features Legendary Vocalist GRAHAM BONNET On Lead Single From Their Forthcoming Debut Studio Album

Posted in classic rock, Hard Rock, Music, news, rock music with tags , , , , , on January 11, 2016 by Metal Odyssey

Wishing Well - Hippie Heart Gypsy Soul - single cover art - Graham Bonnet - 2016 - Inverse Records - #MO33ILMFD99

I’ve had the pleasure to listen to the first single, from the forthcoming debut studio album from Wishing Well, courtesy of Inverse Records. I’ll have to admit the song Hippie Heart Gyspsy Soul is a bonafide blast of Classic Hard Rock that has made my week! Wishing Well ROCKS this song to the Moon and back!

One all important reason this song soars is that Graham Bonnet shows off his distinctive and memorable vocals like the tried and true Hard Rock legend he is! Wishing Well features the great Graham Bonnet on this one song for their debut album and that alone makes this band very, very lucky indeed. Metal Be Thy Name – Stone

__________________________

From Inverse Records:

Wishing Well are a Hard Rock band hailing from Helsinki Finland. “Hippie Heart Gypsy Soul” is the first single taken from the “Chasing Rainbows” debut album to be released on 5th of February via Inverse Records. For the single the band joined forces with legendary Hard Rock vocalist Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz) and came up with a catchy and melodic Hard Rock song.

“We wanted something extra to boost the album and when we wrote “Hippie” we instantly realized that Graham would be a perfect vocalist for the song in many ways. I’m a lifelong fan of Graham myself and it’s fantastic that we made it at the end of the day. Pete (vocalist Peter James Goodman) had no problem with it since he’s a big fan too! I’m proud and pleased with the result and it’s just amazing that at 68 he’s still delivering the goods” says Anssi Korkiakoski, the song writer and guitar player of Wishing Well.

Wishing Well - Hippie Heart Gypsy Soul - single cover art - Graham Bonnet - 2016 - Inverse Records - #MO33ILMFD99

Graham Bonnet will be very busy this year since he’s releasing a new album on Frontier Records and an authorized biography later on this spring, written by Steve Wright. He’ll also play live in Finland in April after his Australian tour. “The guys got in touch and after I heard the song I was immediately ready to give it a go. It’s a catchy tune and perfect for my range. I like the lyrics too. We recorded my vocals in LA and the guys took care of the rest of it in Finland. I’m always ready to cooperate if it’s a serious band with a good song. I wish the guys all the best.”

The band is now promoting the single and CD with plans to play live as much as they can later on this year. The band consists of Anssi Korkiakoski (guitars), Rip Radioactive (drums), Richard Becker (bass) and Peter James Goodman (vocals), all experienced musicians who have cut their teeth in many other bands before Wishing Well.

__________________________

Inverse Records - logo - #2015IRMO

www.inverse.fi

MetalOdyssey

LONG LIVE WISHING WELL.

LONG LIVE GRAHAM BONNET.

Stone.