NEWSDESK, 30th December 2009
Welcome to what will be the last Rock Realms news update of 2009. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
> SIMPLE MINDS' GOLD USB STICK
Following Simple Minds recent Graffiti Soul European tour, Concert Online is pleased to announce the release of the Simple Minds Gold Edition USB Tour Stick.
With 8GB of storage space, the Gold Edition USB Tour Stick will contain each of Simple Minds' UK and Irish concerts in their entirety, plus addition tracks recorded during sound checks, and exclusive backstage video footage of the band at their recent concert in Basel, Switzerland. The Gold Edition USB Tour Stick, which comes packaged in a stylish collector's box, will have a strictly limited print run of 222 copies, with a retail selling price of £99.
Effectively, fans will be able to purchase a single memory stick containing Simple Minds' entire UK and Irish Graffiti Soul tour, and what's more, every concert will feature a different selection of Simple Minds songs. No two concerts have the same set list.
The Gold Edition USB Tour Stick will include concerts recorded in the following cities: Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Sheffield, Cardiff, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast and Dublin - over 20 hours of audio performances.
"The Gold Edition USB Tour Stick is perfect for those fans who couldn't attend the concerts" says Concert Online founder Gerrit Schumann, "and no matter where they are based in the world, they can go to Concert-Online.com and either order the Gold Edition USB Tour Stick or download the MP3s to any or all of the concerts."
> GIANT'S PROMISE LAND
Frontiers Records to release Giant's come-back album Promise Land on February 26th in Europe and March 9th in the USA.
Giant, the powerhouse rock quartet, now formed by founding members David Huff and Mike Brignardello, together with Terry Brock and John Roth, will unleash their highly anticipated fourth album Promise Land on the international markets.
Formed by brothers Dann and David Huff, together with the experienced jazz-rock keyboardist Alan Pasqua and Nashville session bass player Mike Brignardello, Giant would soon become, with the release of their debut album Last of The Runaways (A&M Records, 1989), one of the most respected trademark bands of the melodic hard rock scene. Following countless live performances, the band recorded the follow-up Time to Burn (Epic, 1991), an album still regarded as a main source of influence for many melodic and hard rock bands nowadays.
With the sudden change of musical climate and after another World tour without Pasqua, Giant disbanded, with their members becoming involved again in different projects. Particularly Giant's front man and lead guitarist Dann Huff went on to become one of the most in-demand producers of our era, working in the rock, pop and country Music with countless artists including Shania Twain, Megadeth, Faith Hill, Madonna and Bon Jovi.
In 2001, the Italian uprising melodic rock indie Frontiers Records, prompted Giant to release III, an album that would landmark the rise the new melodic rock scene, particularly in Europe.
Unfortunately Dann's busy schedule along with the other members' commitments, made the reunion impossible to carry on as planned. However the vision of bringing back Giant as a living band unit, with a recording and touring line-up and with of course the possibility to offer the enormous legacy of the music produced was developed, until it became apparent that Dann Huff could not be a full part of this concept, even though he loved everything that Giant was. Thus original members, drummer David Huff and bassist Mike Brignardello, started an endless research for the right musicians that could be part of a renewed Giant line-up. And in the end the choice fell on singer extraordinaire Terry Brock (Strangeways, Seventh Key) and John Roth (Winger) on guitars.
In April 2009 the band started the writing and the recording sessions of the new album, with Dann Huff himself participating to the sessions, co-writing with the new line-up members the haunting ballad 'Our Love' and the straight out rockers 'Double Trouble', 'Plenty of Love', 'Save Me'. He offered songs from his catalogue, such as the album title-track, 'Through My Eyes' (both co-written with Mark Spiro) and 'Two Worlds'. He also later guested on lead guitars on 'Save Me' and 'Believer (Redux)', the latter being a song written by Erik Martensson and Robert Sall of new melodic rock sensations W.E.T. with Miqael Persson (with two more: 'Never Surrender' and 'Prisoner of Love' fruit of the Martensson/Persson collaboration).
"We have worked so hard and we are very happy and proud of this record, along with Dann", says David Huff and truly the production and band members songwriting and performances shine all over the album!
Promise Land includes the following songs: Believer (Redux); Promise Land; Never Surrender; Our Love; Prisoner of Love; Two Worlds; Plenty of Love; Through My Eyes; I'll Wait For You; Dying To See You; Double Trouble; Complicated Man*, Save Me. Also includes "The Making of Promise Land" documentary - interactive multimedia bonus. *Bonus track only available in the first pressing in digipak
Promise Land was mixed by Ben Fowler (Van Zandt, Cher, Meat Loaf) and mastered by Joe Palmaccio (3 Grammy Awards).
http://www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords
> NIGHTMARE RECORDS SIGNS MYRATH
Nightmare Records have inked a deal with Tunisian progressive metal band Myrath for the January 26th, 2010 release of their third album, titled Desert Call.
Myrath (english meaning "Legacy") is a metal band from Tunisia, a small county well known for its resort areas on the Mediterranean coast but certainly not for its metal bands. What started out as a teenager cover band formed in early 2001 by guitarist and main song writer Malek Ben Arbia (who was just 13 years old at the time), became a well known and respected band by the international prog-power international community when they released their debut album Hope.
It all started in March 2006 when the band opened for Robert Plant and Adagio in Carthage Amphitheater (Tunisia) in front of nearly 7000 rock/metal fans. Adagio keyboard player Kevin Codfert (who watched Myrath perform) detected the great potential of the band as well as their promising composition skills.
Myrath recorded their debut album Hope in December 2006 in a low cost studio in Tunis-Tunisia with the valuable assistance and guidance of Kevin Codfert as engineer and producer. This album was a turning point in the Myrath career as the band was signed by the French label Brennus-Music who released Hope worldwide in September 2007 It was praised by the media in numerous album reviews and was even voted third best album of the year by two major US webzines, as well as album of the week by several major metal radio stations. Hope also paved the way for the band to play well known festivals Metal Rock Festival (Norway) and Progpower-EU (Netherlands).
Desert Call Tracklist: 01. Forever And A Day, 02. Tempests Of Sorrows, 03. Desert Call, 04. Madness, 05. Silent Cries, 06. Memories, 07. Ironic Destiny, 08. No Turning Back, 09. Empty World, 10. Shockwave, 11. Hard Times (Exclusive Bonus Track)
http://www.myspace.com/myrathband
> STEEL PANTHER AND ALESTORM TO SWEDEN
In America, hair metal was long considered extinct - then came Steel Panther and showed just how wrong this was!
The Los Angeles-quartet have been around for roughly a decade, under different monikers - they released their debut Hole Patrol both in 2003 as Metal Shop, and in 2005 as Metal Skool. As Steel Panther, they debuted in 2009 with Feel the Steel, and this album has made the public take serious notice. For the acclaimed music, reminiscent of glam/hair metal heroes like Poison, Slaughter et al, but even more for the ironic (?) lyrics. Titles like 'Asian Hooker', 'Stripper Girl' and 'I Want Pussy' indicate, correctly, that the lyrics of Steel Panther would make a gangsta-rapper blush!
http://www.steelpantherrocks.com/
Scotsmen Alestorm have swiftly become one of the most talked-about new metal bands of our time. They debuted in 2008 with Captain Morgan's Revenge, an album of the folk metal persuasion and with a pirate image that would have gained an appreciative nod from the legendary Running Wild (RIP).
Album number two, Black Sails at Midnight, arrived promptly the following spring, and it hasn't taken Alestorm very long to find an audience, by touring heavily but also because their music is impressive, musically and from its entertainment value. For those who have longed for a band combining tough heavy metal-riffs with Celtic rhythms, and with a singer (Christopher Bowes) who sings about pirates with a bona fide Scottish accent, their patience has now been rewarded.
http://www.myspace.com/alestorm
> DISBELIEF
Alex Hagenauer of Souldemise has joined Disbelief as touring guitarist for the upcoming Hell Goes On tour in January 2010! Disbelief is still searching for a new guitar player for the upcoming events after the tour. Interested guitar-players can get in contact here: booking@disbelief.de
The title of the upcoming 20th anniversary Disbelief album will be Heal!. The album will be released in April 2010 by Massacre Records. Seven songs are included, three of them are cover-versions (Killing Joke - 'A Love Like Blood', King Diamond - 'Welcome Home', Crimson Glory - 'Red Sharks') plus four self made songs ('Certainty Of Reality', 'The Eyes of Horror', 'The Last Force: Attack!' and 'Isolation').
Disbelief see these songs as a homage to the following bands: Slayer, Crowbar, Death and Bolt Thrower. With these songs Disbelief want to show their honestly respect for these bands. Heal! will be the first self-recorded and mixed album by Disbelief.
The CD will be released with a bonus-DVD featuring live-material of the band.
