After a 2-year hiatus, Canadian melodic technical proggers Slyde return with their new EP ‘Back Again’ (February 17). Four tracks of virtuosic contrapuntal songwriting exploring the relationship between environmentalism and sci-fi, ‘Back Again’ is a fantastically entertaining listen. For fans of Haken, Coheedand Cambria, Rush, Dream Theater, etc, Slyde‘s music is driven by the clean vocals of frontman Nathan Da Silva and the powering keyboards of Sarah Westbrook; a beguiling fourpiece with an impressive return to form.
Before their hiatus, Slyde played over 150 shows on the Eastern Canadian circuit, including shows with Protest the Hero and at Canadian Music Week (2013), IndieWeek (2011-2013), and Wacken Metal Battle (2013).
The First single from the EP is available to purchase now at bandcamp:
Tim Bowness has released a lyric video for You Wanted To Be Seen, the first single to be taken from his superb new album ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’, due to be released on February 17th via InsideOut Music.
‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ is a concept album revolving around the onstage and backstage reflections of a fictional classic rock musician in the twilight of his career. Ranging from the hypnotic opener Worlds Of Yesterday to the wistful climax of Distant Summers, via the thrilling rage ofKill The Pain That’s Killing You and the orchestral expanse of You’ll Be The Silence, the album features some stunning solos and harmonically rich compositions that represent Bowness’s most musically ambitious work to date.
Bowness utilises a core band comprising Stephen Bennett (Henry Fool), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), Hux Nettermalm (Paatos) and Andrew Booker (Sanguine Hum), and is also joined by guests including Kit Watkins (Happy The Man/Camel), Steve Bingham (No-Man) and the legendary Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull). Andrew Keeling (Robert Fripp/Hilliard Ensemble/Evelyn Glennie) arranges for string quartet and flute on three of the album’s songs.
‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ can be pre-ordered at the following links:
After ten successful years with the label Nuclear Blast, British progressive protagonists THRESHOLD have signed a new contract and extended their partnership with the label. Furthermore, they have also announced plans for their next release. THRESHOLD are currently recording their 11th masterpiece at Thin Ice Studios in England, a new concept album that will be called ‘Legends Of The Shires’. It is being produced by Karl Groom and Richard West and it’s scheduled to be released later this year. More information will be revealed soon.
But that’s not enough:the band is also announcing the dates for the ‘Legends Of The Shires’-Tour 2017 where you’ll be able to fully experience songs from the new album on stage! This European Tour includes a one-off UK date at London’s O2 Islington Academy on 10th December.
Tickets on-sale now and available here: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/YDH1012T?brand=o2academyislington&camefrom=AMG_ISLINGTON_thhld
Richard West comments: “It’s great to be announcing these tour dates so soon, we can’t wait to get on the road and perform for you. Our new album is coming together perfectly, we’ve got a lot of strong material so it might be our longest one yet.”
Catch THRESHOLD live here: Legends Of The Shires -Tour 2017 (presented by ‘Rock Hard’, ‘Eclipsed’, ‘Rock It!’, ‘Blast!’ and ‘Wacken Radio’) + Special Guests
28.11. NL Bosuil – Weert
29.11. GER Hamburg – Markthalle
30.11. GER Berlin – Lido
01.12. GER Aschaffenburg – Colos Saal
02.12. GER München – Feierwerk
03.12. CH Pratteln – Z7
05.12. GER Stuttgart – Club Cann
06.12. GER Hannover – Musikzentrum
07.12. BEL Kortrijk – De Kreun
08.12. GER Essen – Turock
09.12. NL Zoetermeer – Boerderij 10.12. UK London – O2 Islington Academy
The last record of the band was their live album ‘European Journey’, which was recorded during the November 2014 ‘For The Journey’ tour and consists of 15 live tracks.
Guitar virtuoso and rock legend, Steve Hackett (formerly of Genesis), releases his latest album The Night Siren on 24th March 2017 through InsideOut Music (Sony). As implied in the title, The Night Siren is a wake-up call… the warning of a siren sounding in this era of strife and division.
‘The Night Siren’ showcases Steve’s incredible guitar as strongly as ever, along with musicians from several different countries who Steve invited to join him in celebrating multicultural diversity and unity. This includes singers from Israel and Palestine, who both actively campaign to bring Jewish and Arabic people together. There are also instrumentals from the USA and Iraq and a multiplicity of sounds, including the exotic strains of Indian sitar and Middle Eastern tar and oud, the ethnic beauty of the Peruvian charango and the haunting Celtic Uilleann pipes.
Steve is widely travelled, making friends everywhere he goes and has always embraced multicultural diversity. In these times of unrest, he has been inspired to express his belief that the world needs more empathy and unity. His wish to involve a range of musical sounds, instruments, musicians and singers from different parts of the world is both a development of his eclectic approach to music and shows how people can be brought together, even from war torn regions.
Talking about his latest work, Steve says, “This latest waxing represents a bird’s eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit, featuring musicians, singers and instruments from all over the world. From territorial frontiers to walled-up gateways, boundaries often hold back the tide. But while the night siren wails, music breaches all defences. To quote Plato, ‘When the music changes, the walls of the city shake’.”
The musical journey takes us from ‘Behind the Smoke’, focusing on the plight of refugees throughout the ages, to the penultimate track ‘West to East’ which reflects on the damage of war and the hope for a better world. From personal to universal, the themes celebrate the life force, breaking free from chains of repression.
Full Track Listing:-
Behind the Smoke
Martian Sea
Fifty Miles from the North Pole
El Niño
Other Side of the Wall
Anything but Love
Inca Terra
In Another Life
In the Skeleton Gallery
West to East
The Gift
In addition to singers Kobi and Mira (Israeli and Palestinian), also featured on the album are Nick D’Virgilio (drums) from the USA, Malik Mansurov (Tar) from Azerbaijan & Gulli Breim (drums & percussion) from Iceland, along with regular Hackett collaborators: Roger King, Nad Sylvan, Gary O’Toole, Rob Townsend and Amanda Lehmann. Additional musicians who add to the rich flavour of the album are Christine Townsend (violin & viola), Dick Driver (double bass) and Troy Donockley (Celtic Uilleann).
Steve Hackett is returning with an exciting new show Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett for a 15 date UK tour in April 2017. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the classic Genesis album Wind and Wuthering, Steve and his band will be performing several tracks from the album as well as fan favourites such as ‘The Musical Box’ and other Genesis numbers never performed before by Steve’s band including ‘Inside & Out,’ ‘One For The Vine’ and ‘Anyway’ as well as material from The Night Siren.
Mark Healy, the man behind the incredible sci-fi worlds of the Hibernal music project, has announced details of the latest album that is to be released on January 12th 2017.
Mark Healy is an author of sci-fi fiction. His music project Hibernal interweaves these sci-fi stories with instrumental music to tell a compelling storyline that unfolds throughout the course of the album.
The new record, ‘The Dark Of The City’, is based around the story of a cop who undertakes a relentless search for the creature that killed her partner. This new collection of 10 tracks follows on from his three previous releases, 2013’s ‘The Machine’, 2014’s ‘Replacements’ and ‘After The Winter’, released in April of last year.
I had this to say about ‘After The Winter’:
“Mark Healy’s cinematic and evocative soundscapes waft over a post-apocalyptic spoken word storyline to deliver an immensely visceral listening experience.”
You can pre-order ‘The Dark Of The City’ now and get a download of the title track immediately.
Tim Bowness will release his fourth solo album, ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’, through InsideOut on February 17.
A concept album revolving around the onstage and backstage reflections of a fictional classic rock musician in the twilight of his career. Ranging from the hypnotic opener Worlds Of Yesterday to the wistful climax of Distant Summers, via the thrilling rage of Kill The Pain That’s Killing You and the orchestral expanse of You’ll Be The Silence, the album features some stunning solos and harmonically rich compositions that represent Bowness’s most musically ambitious work to date.
Bowness utilises a core band comprising Stephen Bennett (Henry Fool), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), Hux Nettermalm (Paatos) and Andrew Booker (Sanguine Hum), and is also joined by guests including Kit Watkins (Happy The Man/Camel), Steve Bingham (No-Man) and the legendary Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull). Andrew Keeling (Robert Fripp/Hilliard Ensemble/Evelyn Glennie) arranges for string quartet and flute on three of the album’s songs.
When I spoke to Tim about the new album a month or so ago, he said,
“The new album’s just been finished. We’re looking at a mid-February release. In some ways, it is quite a departure. There are lots of flutes on it and due to the nature of ‘the concept’, it’s definitely the most traditionally Progressive album I’ve made. That said, it still sounds a lot like me.”
The album is now available to pre-order from Burning Shed, including an exclusive hand numbered gold vinyl LP + CD limited to 400 copies. All orders will receive a signed artwork postcard.
Beer and music have enjoyed a long history together. Now they’re taking the next step in their relationship.
The Lights Out, a music and light project that takes people on a journey through parallel worlds, and Aeronaut Brewing Co. have collaborated to create ‘T.R.I.P.’, a sci-fi album and an adventure beer.
The album explores the idea that our observable universe is one of many — a multiverse — where everything possible exists somewhere. It was inspired by the theory that each of us has infinite reflections of ourselves, living alternate lives. Each song on the album was written as a report back from another reality visited by The Lights Out.
The beer is an Imperial Session IPA – a paradox in a can – representing the full range of possibilities, brought together in a supremely drinkable offering by the intrepid brewers at Aeronaut.
This fall, drinkers who purchase cans of T.R.I.P. beer will find instructions on the label to obtain a copy of the ‘T.R.I.P.’ album, by taking an action on social media.
(This photo & cover picture by Erin Genett)
“The beer fuels your trip through the multiverse, and the album is the soundtrack to that journey,” said The Lights Out guitarist Adam Ritchie. “Aeronaut embraced the spirit of this album from the start, and was the perfect co-pilot to help us bring T.R.I.P. into this reality.”
“We designed this beer to pair with the album,” said Aeronaut CEO Ben Holmes. “It’s packed with galaxy hops, clocks in at 7.5% ABV and is refreshing to drink,” he said.
The beer’s artwork was created by Raul Gonzalez, and features the pandimensional pilot character from The Lights Out, and the band’s Color Machine – the vehicle that takes them between dimensions – flying through a wormhole.
“A fragmented and highly-competitive media landscape means bands need to come up with new ways to release material,” said Ulf Oesterle, chair of the Department of Music and Entertainment Industries at Syracuse University. “Most beer and brewery collaborations are with legacy acts like AC/DC, Kiss, IronMaiden and Queen,” he said. “None of them have used beer as a format to release a studio album. The Lights Out is venturing into new territory.”
Invention and performance are main ingredients of both The Lights Out and Aeronaut. For live performances of ‘T.R.I.P.’, The Lights Out pioneered a wearable light show, synchronized with the music, and Aeronaut is earning a reputation for its live music showcases as much as for its experimental brewing.
(Picture by Mary Bonaparte-Cerone)
It’s been a big year for both The Lights Out and Aeronaut. In addition to completing work on ‘T.R.I.P.’, The Lights Out opened for Andrew W.K. and members of Dream Theater, King’s X and the Dixie Dregs. Aeronaut organized a popular summer music series and won its first gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.
The Lights Out blends genres and technology to reinvent the experience of seeing a live band. For music, tour dates and news, visit http://thelightsout.com.
(Album insert by Creative Outlaw)
Aeronaut is a craft brewery and foods hub under one roof. Its inspired team of brewers and scientists collaborates with farmers and food makers to drive the invention of craft beers and spur a renaissance of local victuals and industrial revitalization. To see where Aeronaut is carried, visit the beer finder at http://aeronautbrewing.com.
Nuclear Blast are pleased to announce the release of Black Star Riders third studio album, “Heavy Fire”, in February 2017. The band will support the album with a full UK and Eire tour in March 2017. New single When The Night Comes In lyric video available here:
The band’s previous album, “The Killer Instinct”, was released in 2015 to widespread critical acclaim and went on to score multiple radio playlists. A solid year of worldwide touring culminated in December 2015 in an UK arena tour alongside DefLeppard and Whitesnake.
2016 saw the band return to the studio with “The Killer Instinct’s” producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, The Foo Fighters, Mastodon), at his studio just outside Nashville. The resultant album is Black Star Riders most accomplished work to date. From the immediate riffs of album opener “Heavy Fire” to the instant hooks of first single “When The Night Comes In”, from the dirty bass groove of “Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed” to the familiar and trademark dual guitars of Gorham and Johnson on “Testify Or Say Goodbye”, this is an album that will further cement BSR’s reputation as one of the world premiere rock acts.
“Angst, passion, power, glory, love, truth, lies, loyalty, questions that begged to be answered. There’s a guitar army coming…and it’s bringing the ” Heavy Fire”” – Ricky Warwick (vocals), Black Star Riders.
“”Not many new bands get to record three albums these days. Without doubt this is BSR’S best album so far. We had a great time recording it and can’t wait to play the new songs live on tour in March.” – Scott Gorham(guitars), Black Star Riders
Following on from their critically acclaimed albums ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ and ‘The Killer Instinct’ which have paved the way for Black Star Riders to be recognized as a power force in the modern day of Rock n’ Roll, ‘Heavy Fire’ will be once again released by Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The band have also brought in Pledgemusic, one of the most innovative and successful platforms of the modern music world, to give fans extra special product and experiences to go along with the album’s release.
Formats: Limited Edition Digibook CD (inc bonus track), CD, Vinyl, Vinyl Pic Disc, Digital Album
Mail order: Limited Orange & Clear Vinyl
Tracklistings below:
CD
1. Heavy Fire
2. When The Night Comes In
3. Dancing With The Wrong Girl
4. Who Rides The Tiger
5. Cold War Love
6. Testify Or Say Goodbye
7. Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed
8. True Blue Kid
9. Ticket To Rise
10. Letting Go Of Me
The Limited Edition Digibook CD will have above Tracklisting plus
Bonus Track
11. Fade
Limited Edition Gatefold Vinyl
Limited Edition Picture Disc Side One
1. Heavy Fire
2. When The Night Comes In
3. Dancing With The Wrong Girl
4. Who Rides The Tiger
5. Cold War Love Side Two
1. Testify Or Say Goodbye
2. Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed
3. True Blue Kid
4. Ticket To Rise
5. Letting Go Of Me
Digital Album @ iTunes – pre-order now and get the track ‘When The Night Comes In’ instantly: http://nblast.de/BSRHeavyFireIT
After a full year off the road, Black Star Riders (Ricky Warwick, Scott Gorham, Damon Johnson, Robert Crane and Jimmy DeGrasso) are back with a 16 date UK & Ireland run, joined on the first five dates by Scottish rockers Gun and The Amorettes and then Sweden’s own Backyard Babies with Gun on the remaining 11 shows.
Dates for Black Star Riders 2017 UK & Ireland Tour are:
W/ Gun and The Amorettes (below)
Thursday 2nd March Tramshed, Cardiff
Friday 3rd March William Aston Hall, Wrexham
Saturday 4th March Academy, Dublin
Sunday 5th March Limelight, Belfast
Tuesday 7th March Ironworks, Inverness W/ Backyard Babies and Gun (below)
Wednesday 8th March O2 ABC, Glasgow (Co-Headline Show with Gun)*
Thursday 9th March O2 ABC, Glasgow (Co-Headline Show with Gun)*
Friday 10th March O2 Academy, Newcastle*
Saturday 11th March O2 Academy, Leeds*
Sunday 12th March O2 Ritz, Manchester*
Tuesday 14th March Rock City, Nottingham
Wednesday 15th March UEA, Norwich
Thursday 16th March O2 Academy Bristol*
Friday 17th March O2 Kentish Town Forum, London*
Saturday 18th March O2 Institute, Birmingham*
Sunday 19th March O2 Academy, Bournemouth*
Modern music visionary Vangelis has announced the release on 3rd February of a new 13-disc box set entitled “Delectus,” featuringa chosen selection of his early discographic work. The mammoth collection will include all of his albums on Vertigo and Polydor, recently signed by Universal and remastered for the first time ever under the legendary composer’s own supervision.
Presented in a lavish box with an essay and a plethora of rare photographs, the discs are housed in two die-cut, gatefold disc holders within a rigid 242mm square slipcase, and accompanied by a 64-page book illustrating a period of his prolific career of the iconic Maestro.
“I always welcome remastering my old work for two basic reasons” – explains Vangelis – “firstly, I get the opportunity to bring the sounds to today’s standards, secondly, it gives me the chance to go through the experiences and memories of the time.”
“Delectus” gathers together Vangelis’ seminal albums “Earth”, “L’Apocalypse Des Animaux”, “China”, “See You Later”, “Antarctica”, “Mask”, “Opera Sauvage”,“Chariots of Fire”, “Soil Festivities” and “Invisible Connections”, plus his collaborative recordings with Jon Anderson as ‘Jon & Vangelis’ – “Short Stories”, “The Friends of Mister Cairo” & “Private Collection”. The remastered originals will be complemented with rare B-sides and 4 previously unreleased tracks.
Vangelis is regarded a pioneer in the evolution of modern music. In his lustrous discographic career he has composed and performed numerous albums covering the most diverse assortment of genres. He is most popular for his movie scores including Antarctica, Blade Runner, Missing, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Alexander and the 1981 Academy Award-winning soundtrack for Chariots of Fire. ‘Titles’, the theme for ‘Chariots of Fire’, was later chosen as background to the 2012 Olympics winners’ medal presentation ceremonies.
Six years after turning down the opportunity to join Yes, Vangelis joined forces with Jon Anderson in 1981 and the duo released 3 albums under the Jon & Vangelis moniker to critical acclaim. “The Friends of Mr Cairo” included celebrated single “State of Independence”, which also reached chart success with its 1982 cover by Donna Summer and again in 1992 with a Moodswings version featuring Chrissie Hynde released as “Spiritual High (State of Independence) Pt. II”.
Vangelis’ pioneering work is recognised beyond record sales and music awards. In 1992, the Maestro was nominated Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2001 Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur from the President of French Republic. He was the recipient of a Public Service Medal from NASA in 2003 and had a star named after him by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for the international impact and appreciation of his work as well as his rapport with the Universe. In 2008 Vangelis received the America Hellenic Institute “Hellenic Heritage Achievement Award” for his exceptional musical achievements and lifelong dedication to the promotion of Hellenism through the arts. The same year he also received an honorary doctorate at the University of Athens – Faculty of Primary Education and in 2009 he received the University of Patras Greece Honorary Doctor/Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Physics.
Both old and new fans who enjoyed Vangelis’s space-centered album “Rosetta” – won’t miss the opportunity to own some of the Maestro’s most groundbreaking work, remastered from the original first generation master tapes, all in an attractive and informative package. “Delectus” is out on 3rd February through all usual retailers.
Renowned not only for their powerful rock songs but also for countless moving ballads, British rock icons Magnum are set to surprise their fans with a very special release at the very beginning of the coming year: THE VALLEY OF TEARS – THE BALLADS has been scheduled for release on 6 January 2017 (US/Canada: 20 January 2017), an album featuring ten of their most accomplished ballads, all of them remastered and in parts even newly re-recorded and remixed.
Guitarist, composer and producer Tony Clarkin: “The release of this album was originally inspired by my daughter. A few months ago she asked me: ´Magnum have so many beautiful quiet numbers, why don’t you put together a compilation highlighting some of the most powerful tracks?`Olly Hahn of Steamhammer/SPV was immediately taken by the concept, so I set down to work on it.”
THE VALLEY OF TEARS – THE BALLADS contains material from the band’s different creative phases. Along with remastered versions of more recent ballads from albums such as Into The Valley Of The Moonkings, The Visitation and the current studio recording Sacred Blood – Divine Lies, there will also be a newly re-recorded acoustic version of their classic ´Lonely Night` and a new haunting live version of their hit ´When The World Comes Down` from their 1986 cult recording Vigilante.
The release will be supported by selected shows in the UK and Ireland during the run-up to Christmas and a German/Swiss tour where Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley join the “Rock Meets Classic” tour from 30 March 2017. Some more festivals for summer 2017 will be announced shortly.
THE VALLEY OF TEARS – THE BALLADS will be released as a digipak version, download and stream on January 06th, 2017 (USA/Canada January 20th, 2017) through SPV/Steamhammer.
TRACKLISTING
01 Dream About You (remastered)
02 Back in Your Arms Again (newly re-recorded)
03 The Valley of Tears (remixed, remastered)
04 Broken Wheel (newly re-recorded)
05 A Face in the Crowd (remixed, remastered)
06 Your Dreams Won’t Die (remastered)
07 Lonely Night (acoustic version, newly re-recorded)
08 The Last Frontier (remixed, remastered)
09 Putting Things In Place (remixed, remastered)
10 When The World Comes Down (new live version)
Magnum Winter Tour 2016
6th December
Concorde 2, Brighton.
Special guests Vega Ticket Link
7th December
Junction, Cambridge.
Special guests Vega Ticket Link
