NEWSDESK, 6th December 2009
> SWEDEN ROCK ADDITIONS
Raven:
Raven from Newcastle is one of the most legendary and long-lived bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Centred around brothers John (vocals, bass) and Mark Gallagher (guitar) they delivered well-crafted and, for its time, delightfully brutal music on their first three, classic albums Rock Until You Drop (1981), Wiped-Out (1982) and All for One (1983). And excepting a more melodic, US-courting period in the mid-80s, Raven have continued to deliver bona fide heavy metal, disregarding musical tends - to the delight of their fans. An accident in 2001, severely injuring Mark Gallagher's legs, forced the band to take an extended break, but in 2009 they returned with the new album Walk Through Fire. And in 2010, it gives us great pleasure to welcome one of the great names of British metal to their SRF-debut!
Ratt:
They brought down the house at SRF 2008 - now Ratt, one of the biggest glam metal-bands in history, return to Sweden and the festival. In the 80s, the band were the main competitors of Mötley Crüe, creating a multitude of classic tracks like 'Round and Round', 'Lay It Down', 'You're in Love' and 'Wanted Man'. Then came an extended period during which Ratt came and went with ever-changing line-ups, none of which came close to the stature of the original band. Order was restored in 2007, when the band resumed touring with three of the five classic members, including vocalist Stephen Pearcy. And in April 2009 Ratt signed a new record deal with Roadrunner, where their highly anticipated comeback album Infestation will be released Spring 2010. No doubt about it anymore, the band is back and they're hungry again!
Y&T:
San Francisco's Y&T caused a sensation within the metallic underground when they released Earthshaker in 1981. The album, and its successors Black Tiger (1982), Mean Streak (1983) and In Rock We Trust (1984) are all timeless classics with an equally melodic and aggressive heavy metal-sound and songs from the top drawer and then some.
Sadly Y&T never played in Sweden during this golden age, so the expectations were immense when they finally arrived at SRF in 2003. The performance was a resounding success, which repeated itself on the band's return the following year. And now guitarist/vocalist Dave Meniketti, bassist Phil Kennemore and guitarist John Nymann, accompanied by (relatively) new drummer Mike Vanderhule, will return to the scene of this double triumph - at about the same time as Y&T's first new album in 13 years (!) sees the light of day.
> FRONTIERS NEWS
The Murder Of My Sweet:
The Murder Of My Sweet's highly anticipated debut album Divanity will see the light of day on January 29th in Europe and February 9th in the USA on Frontiers Records.
The Murder Of My Sweet is an exciting new band formed in early 2007, when drummer/producer and songwriter Daniel Flores met the awesome singer Angelica Rylin. "There was a rumour that Angelica was the finest vocalist in Stockholm and I wanted to see if that was true" tells Daniel "To my amazement she was!". Daniel already had a line-up formed by Daniel Palmqvist on guitars, Johan Niemann on bass and Andreas Lindahl on keyboards, so the next step after Angelica joined the guys was to start writing songs. "Angelica's voice needed another sort of song than what we had on the table" continues Daniel, "So we wrote more than 25 songs with 12 of them that will end up being on the album".
As band names go - perhaps there's never been a more fitting, so appropriate name than The Murder Of My Sweet - a moniker inspired by the 1944 movie Murder, My Sweet. "We love all Film Noir movie styles (especially the old ones) and we wanted to combine that with our rock music" explains Angelica. The Murder Of My Sweet's aim is to create a distorted film noir vibe and experience - put the wonder, sadness, humour and sheer zest of life into their music tour de force. The band offers a rich and cinematic musical landscape covering a wide spectrum of the rock genre and reflecting the diversity of the five members own musical experiences.
The material selected for the band's debut album Divanity (a title describing a personal interpretation of diva, divine and vanity - all of them being essential ingredients in the record) includes all: from dark subject matters to pure fiction. 'Kiss of Death' takes a glimpse into the state of love where you give up your self for the desire to have or to do something that you know you should avoid, while 'Bleed Me Dry' describes the feeling of being different and wanting to go your own way in life. 'Follow The Rain' is all about breaking a pattern from where you make the same mistakes over and over again into becoming a person with control of your life, 'Storms Of The Sea' is a beautiful tale of a young woman on her quest around the world to seek her long lost lover and 'No Evil' is the band's encouragement to embrace the dark rather than being afraid of it.
The grand finale of the album is the larger than life - described by Rylin and Flores as The Murder Of My Sweet's own 'Bohemian Rhapsody' - track called 'Death Of A Movie Star'. A massive piece of music showcasing The Murder Of My Sweet's dynamics with a sense of playfulness by switching from soft, rippling sounds and beats to limitless rage with beautiful melodies!
The first single off Divanity, 'Bleed Me Dry' was launched last November 13th on the Swedish markets, and entered the national charts at position No. 14 (highest new entry of the week). The song was also on No. 2 on the singles download charts. This brought the fever for the new album's release to a very high temperature notwithstanding the cold Scandinavian winter! "I was truly excited and happy to see that our music gained some good impact and that there is already a lot of music fans aware of The Murder Of My Sweet" says Angelica, "It was such a great, happy moment to hear that our debut single actually made the top 20 in the Swedish single chart - A BIG thanks to all the fans who bought our single. Me and the guys are so thrilled with the attention and great early feedback were getting from media, press and radio and were looking forward to an exciting and big adventure to start in 2010. "
Divanity tracklisting includes: No Evil; Follow The Rain; Bleed Me Dry; Chemical Attraction; Kiss of Death; One Bullet; Tonight; Storms of the Sea; Destiny; Revolution; Valerie; Death of a Movie Star.
First edition limited pressing in digipak includes bonus videoclip: 'Bleed Me Dry'.
Digital edition on iTunes includes the exclusive bonus track 'Mistaken'.
"We are currently planning new gigs here in Sweden and in Europe and we are soon flying to Paris, France and Cologne, Germany to do promotion for Radio, Tv and Magazines. There lots of ideas floating around but we must be smart and make the best out of the time we have right now. We are also planning to write new songs next year together with Jesper Strömblad from In Flames for our next album, that will be big fun!" concludes Angelica Rylin.
http://www.themurderofmysweet.com/.
http://www.myspace.com/themurderofmysweet.
Wig Wam:
Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of Wig Wam's new album Non Stop Rock and Roll on January 29th in Europe (excluding Norway) and February 9th in the USA.
The Norwegian glam kings are finally back in the ring with their brand new aptly titled album. This new record shows all the elements that made up the monster reputation these guys are internationally known for: driving energy, unstoppable force and never ending fun!
Non Stop Rock And Roll is easily the band's most complete album to date that offers 12 fresh sounding, breathtaking songs, that wears the guitars on it's sleeves, still showing a more mature and less cheesy band.
The catchy hook lines and melodic hard rock anthems that Wig Wam are known for are still very much present, yet the feel of this album brings you right in front of the Marshall amps. Blowing your speakers with full blown Rock'n Roll this album is a hard rocking musical journey from the catchy opening track and first single 'Do Ya Wanna Taste It' to the electrifying riff of 'Walls Come Down', from the glam rock happy going sing along anthem 'C'mon Everybody' to the fast and furious title track. And hey, the boys also have the ability to set your girlfriend's heart on fire with a couple of unique ballads for the ride. With three gifted songwriters - singer Glam, guitarist Teeny, bassist Flash - in the camp plus the time machine drummer Sporty, "Non Stop Rock And Roll" shines, tweaks and pounds a full blooded rock'n roll album ought to.
Tracklisting: Do Ya Wanna Taste It; Walls Come Down; Wild One; C'mon Everybody; Man In the Moon; Still I'm Burning; All You Wanted; Non Stop Rock And Roll; From Here; Rocket Through My Heart; Chasing Rainbows; Gotta Get It On (*). (*) Bonus track for Europe & USA only available in the first edition in digipak
Wig Wam is finally ready to take you to the ultimate rock trip, and bring their wild live performances on the road in 2010.
http://www.myspace.com/wigwamania.
