NEWSDESK, 21st October 2009
> A TRIO OF BRITS HEAD FOR HELLFIRE
New Device, Huron and The Morning After are the latest additions to the line-up for the upcoming Hellfire Festival.
New Device are a hard rock band from South East England, UK. Influenced by the stadium rock giants of the late 80’s and early 90’s such as Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith and Metallica, New Device manage to achieve a sound where so many others fail; authentic, solid, blues based hard rock, written by real life long fans of rock music.
With high hopes and an album full of songs that have the potential to pioneer a new rock movement, the band is now ready to start taking care of business and hit road, bringing a stadium like presence to wherever they play.
http://www.myspace.com/newdevice
Hailing from the South East, The Morning After consists of four guys with an incessant passion for OTT, wailing 80's metal. Throwbacks? Think again fast.
What makes this band so exciting is that they've mixed the best examples of today’s metal with British heavy metal that was around two decades ago. Think; dual guitar solos hotter than a night with Angelina Jolie, beat downs that could take your head clean off and bridges so epic and tough, you'd form a six pack and pecks with one dangerously infectious listen.
http://www.myspace.com/themorningafterrock
Huron’s music is in their own words, hard, groove, brutal, melodic, addictive and memorable. In short Huron are different. Old school style but with a modern feel. They firmly believe that the UK needs a new injection and style of music since the saturation Screamo, Death and Emo bands and what’s more they believe they have it. Get yourselves down to the Scuzz stage on Hellfire Friday and tell them if they're right!
http://www.myspace.com/huronuk
Hellfire II will take place at the NEC Birmingham from 6-8 November. Tickets for Hellfire II are on sale NOW! Check out http://www.hellfirefestival.com/?page=tickets for more details.
> EARSHOT OFFICAL SITE AND FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
Always looking to push the envelope, Earshot lead singer and driving force, Wil Martin announced today that the band is launching their official website and free online music distribution channel http://www.earshotband.com/. As of today, Earshot's new single, "The Ugly Truth" will be available as a high quality MP3 complete with ring tones, lyric sheet and exclusive artwork.
"Obviously giving away music isn't a new idea since bands have been doing it for some time," acknowledges Martin. "However, I do think "albums" are becoming more irrelevant. This new venture allows us (Earshot) to connect with our fans in an innovative way, using all of the tools that technology has put at our disposal. As the late Dimebag Darrell once said to me, "You gotta either jump on the train, or get run over and killed by it.
As a follow up to "The Ugly Truth," Earshot will continue to roll out new material on the site every two to three months, giving fans immediate access to the most current music and associated content from the band.
"As an artist, I'm continuously evolving and being inspired each and every day," says Martin. "I want to deliver music that's artistically in the present and at the speed of now. My philosophy is simple: keep our music new and exciting while at the same time making it easily and instantly accessible."
To download the free new single, fans simply go to http://www.earshotband.com/ and fill out a private email form. By participating in Earshot's download process, fans not only get free music, but they can also reach out to the band directly, creating a more personal and uninterrupted dialogue.
"The vision is to build a stronger relationship with our fans," explains Martin. "We want to get to know them. Now that we're fully independent, we have the latitude to do just that which is very cool!"
> Z-RECORDS ON THE RADIO
Z-Records head Mark Alger will be taking part in a 2 hour retrospective about the label's history and what's in store in the future. He will also talk about the longest running melodic rock festival in Europe - Z-Rock - and future plans, plus he'll also talk openly about problems in the past.
The show will be hosted by Chris Nelson on Phoenix Radio on Saturday October 31st between 5-7pm GMT. It can be heard online at http://www.phoenixradio.co.uk/listen/listen.php.
http://www.myspace.com/zrockrecordsuk
http://www.myspace.com/zrockfest
> OMD / SIMPLE MINDS PERFORM FOR YOU
Simple Minds and OMD will appear on stage together for the very first time when they perform Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights" on their forthcoming UK tour which kicks off at the Newcastle Metro Arena on 30th November.
The news follows OMD's recent appearance in the BBC 4 television documentary Synth Britannia that chronicled the rise of electronic and industrial pop music in the mid 70s and early 80s. "Neon Lights," originally released on Kraftwerk's 1978 album The Man Machine, will be performed together by OMD and Simple Minds during Simple Minds' set on every date of their UK tour. Both bands have previously performed Neon Lights in their own right.
Says Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, "Kraftwerk were the link between a whole generation of kids in the UK that used synthesizers to define some of the 80's most glorious pop music. In our own way we want to honour their influence by performing Neon Lights."
"Kraftwerk's contribution to music is timeless," says OMD's Andy McCluskey. "Kraftwerk was the reason why we formed OMD. Simple Minds and OMD listened to Kraftwerk before we started making music, but eventually our individual styles of music ventured into different directions. Simple Minds' early electronic rock albums Empires And Dance and Reel To Reel Cacophony defined industrial electronic rock with 'I Travel', while OMD explored electronic soundscapes and minimalism with our early songs 'Electricity' and 'Messages'.
Simple Minds/OMD UK tour dates include:
Newcastle Arena (Nov 30)
Birmingham LG Arena (Dec 2)
Manchester MEN Arena (Dec 3)
Sheffield Arena (Dec 5)
Cardiff CIA (Dec 6)
London Wembley Arena (Dec 7)
Glasgow SECC (Dec 11)
Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre (Dec 12)
Ticket Hotline: 0871 424 4444 or book online at http://www.ticketline.co.uk/
> DOUBLE ALBUM RE-ISSUES
Ironbird (via Cherry Red Records) announces the following albums by the following bands are to be released as 'Ironbird Doubles' on the 14th of December:
Europe - Out Of This World & Prisoners Of Paradise
Dangerous Toys - Dangerous Toys & Hellacious Acres
Corrosion Of Conformity - Deliverance & Wiseblood
Brtiny Fox - Britny Fox & Boys In Heat
Riot - Thunder Steel & The Privilege Of Power
