NEWS, 11th March 2011
> STEELHEART TO SWEDEN ROCK
Do you recall the wonder singer who dubbed Mark Wahlberg's vocal parts in the movie "Rock Star" (2001)? That's right - Miljenko Matijevic, the Croatian-American main man of Steelheart from Connecticut. The band was acclaimed as one of the finest in early 90s' hair metal. The two first albums "Steelheart" (1990) and "Tangled in Reins" (1992) overflow with classics like "Angel Eyes", "Steelheart" and the killer ballad "She's Gone". Steelheart dissolved in 1992 after Miljenko getting severely injured on stage by a falling lighting rig. An attempted comeback in 1996 proved abortive, but ten years later Miljenko revived Steelheart for real and released the Led Zeppelin-influenced "Good 2B Alive" in 2008. Now the band makes their Swedish debut - beware of glass-shattering high notes when Miljenko opens his mouth!
> ANGEL WITCH TO SWEDEN ROCK TOO
One of the prime cult-bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal will finally debut at SRF! Angel Witch, led by singer/guitarist Kevin Heybourne, released their eponymous debut in 1980. The album was a historical landmark in ominous, diabolical and mystical heavy metal. Shortly thereafter, line-up problems led to the break-up of Angel Witch. However, Kevin Heybourne has revived his "baby" on a(n ir)regular basis, to tour and record the occasional new album. In our time, the computer game "Brütal Legend", featuring Angel Witch's signature song "Angel Witch", has contributed to a whole new generation discovering the band. Now these new fans can cheer along with the old ones as songs like "Angel Witch", "Angel of Death" and "Sorcerers" echo over the domains of SRF.
> IT'S BLACK ‘N BLUE TIME
Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of the new album from Portland-based Rockers Black 'N Blue on May 13th in Europe and May 17th in North America.
“Hell Yeah!” is a proud comeback statement for a band that wrote the pages of hard rock history in the 80’s. Black ‘N Blue released four successful and critically-acclaimed albums through Geffen Records: their self-titled debut (1984), “Without Love” (1985), “Nasty Nasty” (1986), and “In Heat” (1987), with the latter two albums produced by the legendary Gene Simmons of KISS. Catalogue sales in the US were in excess of one million units and the band’s original guitar player Tommy Thayer went on to replace Ace Frehley in the current KISS line-up.
Black 'N Blue reunited for the first time in 2003 under the initiative of singer Jaime St. James, when he began writing tracks for a new album along with original member, Jef "Woop" Warner. The process came to a halt when St. James joined Warrant as their new lead vocalist in February of 2004. In recent years, Jaime has been releasing records and touring the world with Warrant.
In late 2008, plans to get back into the studio and finish the “Hell Yeah!” album were underway, as well as festival appearances and other touring. “The band’s line-up is all original except Shawn Sonnenschein”, tells Jaime St. James “but he has been in the band now for about 8 years. Still the new guy... Jeez!”. Black ‘N Blue recently joined the ever-expanding roster of Frontiers Records.
“Hell Yeah!” goes back to the roots of the “classic” Black ‘N Blue sound, mixing tight and hard rocking songs with a sleazy attitude. “This new album is a real thrill for us and all of the BNB fans” says St. James. “Our last studio recording was in 1988 so it's a big deal. This is a classic BNB-sounding CD and could be described as a cross between all our previous records. It is heavy for the most part, but I like to think it reminds me of our first album. That's why we brought back the original logo. We just modernized it”.
Black ‘N Blue will make a special live appearance at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merryweather Post Pavilion in Columbus MD on May 14th. More shows and festivals to be announced.
The new album “Hell Yeah!” will include the following tracks: Monkey; Target; Hail Hail; Fool's Bleed; C'mon; Jaime's Got The Beer; Angry Drunk Son Of A Bitch; So Long; Trippin'; Falling Down; Candy; Hell Yeah!; World Goes Round
http://www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords
http://www.myspace.com/blacknblueofficial
> CIRCLES TO RELEASE DEBUT EP
On May 16th, Australian progressive metal act CIRCLES are set to register their presence on the international metal radar with the release of their stunning debut EP, ‘The Compass’ via BASICK RECORDS. ‘The Compass' combines musical influences from technically minded bands such as Periphery and Textures, whilst simultaneously drawing lyrical and vocal comparisons to the early works of Incubus and Faith No More.
Incredibly only in their first full year as a band, CIRCLES have amassed critical acclaim from fans worldwide after self-releasing the "Prelude" demo in 2010. The band hit the live scene immediately after the release of the demo, playing numerous shows and festivals in Australia and in February 2011 inked a deal with boundary pushing UK label BASICK RECORDS.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with got-djent.com drummer Dave Hunter comments: “We’re just really excited to get the music out through Basick and to be working with them. They’ve got the same vision as us and the future looks very exciting. There are lots of things on the horizon, lots of things to do. No time to waste. And we can’t wait to get this going.” Read the full interview with CIRCLES here.
TRACKLIST: 1) The Frontline 2) Clouds Are Gathering 3) ACT III 4) Eye Embedded 5) The Design 6) Ruins
http://www.myspace.com/listentocircles
> WILLIAMS/FRIESTEDT ALBUM ON THE WAY...
TOTO singer Joseph Williams and acclaimed guitarist/songwriter Peter Friestedt team up for a new remarkable AOR release! The record combines Williams' outstanding vocal performances with Friestedt's top notch guitar work and superbly crafted arrangements.
Joseph Williams was the lead vocalist with Toto during the mid-to-late 1980s (“Fahrenheit”, 1986 and “The Seventh One” – 1988). He also has been busy as a composer of film and drama scores, as a session vocalist, backing singer for the band Chicago and can be heard in Disney’s animated feature film “The Lion King” as singing voice of the adult Simba (“Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”).
Guitarist, composer, producer, major label recording artist Peter Friestedt has released two critically acclaimed albums “LA Project” (2002) and “LA Project II” (2008) that got top reviews and were called ‘best Westcoast records’ in years. Peter has recently toured with Chicago singer Bill Champlin, Toto singer Joseph Williams and Michael Ruff.
"Working with Joseph is always a treat, we’ve been doing concerts in Scandinavia together and during this period the idea of doing a whole record together was brought up", Peter comments and continues: "It's been an exciting process making this record. The great contributions and dedicated work from songwriters and musicians resulted in a record exceeding all expectations".
Joseph's extraordinary vocals beautifully shine with impeccable background vocals arranged by Joseph, Bill Champlin and Lars Säfsund (Work Of Art). The line-up includes guests such as former CHICAGO singer Bill Champlin, Tommy Denander, John "JR" Robinson, Randy Goodrum and Bill Cantos.”Williams/ Friestedt” was produced by Peter Friestedt and co-produced by Joseph Williams with executive production handled by Joey Carbone; mixed by Ronni Lahti (Talisman, Lake Of Tears) and mastered by Björn Engelmann (Rammstein, Roxette). During Summer 2011, Joseph Williams once again will tour as lead vocalist with Toto.
"Williams/Friestedt" will be released on the 27th of May 2011 on AOR Heaven.
http://www.peterfriestedt.com/
> ELEVENER ARE SYMMETRY IN MOTION
Elevener came to life as childhood friends Johan Bergquist (vocals, keyboards, bass) and Andreas Brodén (guitar, drums) joined forces in 2005 to make new music sounding as if the 90’s never had existed. The duo released the Elevener debut-album “When Kaleidoscopes Collide” in July 2008 on AOR Heaven. “When Kaleidoscopes Collide” generated rave reviews and was one of the most talked about debut albums on the AOR scene that year.
In January 2010, guitarist Magnus Lindqvist heard the Elevener debut and through a mutual friend. He and Johan got together and soon realized they shared the same taste and ambitions in music and Lindqvist replaced Brodén who had left the project due to other commitments. As the hunt for the missing pieces began, Johan came to think of drummer Anton Roos (Saffire) whom he had seen playing on the Gothenburg club scene in early 2010.
Thanks to Magnus having played on the cover band circuit with singer Pierre Wensberg (Prisoner, Tommy Denander, Heartbreak Radio) and bass player Robert Garnold (Heartbreak Radio) were asked to join and to Johan’s delight Elevener had now evolved into a full band.
The new line-up started recording in late 2010, and in February 2011 they hooked up with Martin Kronlund at JM Studios (Paul Young, Phenomena, Overland etc.) to put the finishing touches on the new album called “Symmetry in Motion”.
"Symmetry In Motion" will be released on the 27th of May 2011 on AOR Heaven.
http://www.myspace.com/elevenelevenagain
> GHOSTFEST
Founder and organiser Toyan St. Hiliare adds "Ghostfest has grown rapidly over the past years, each year raising the bar further and further. We owe everything to the monumental performances from previous artists and the amazing atmosphere the fans bring, the event is always a weekend of pure enjoyment and I can’t wait!"
This year’s event will continue at the popular Leeds University on the 25th & 26th June, with weekend tickets for a wallet friendly £30 (subject to booking fee) available from http://www.seetickets.com/ and http://www.leedstickets.com/.
Order yours as of Monday 14th March and be sure not to miss out.
