Fri
18
Mar

One On One With Mitch Lafon - ACE FREHELY

Artist: 
Release Year: 
2015
Categories: 
Podcasts & Radio

ACE FREHLEY joins Mitch on episode 204 of One On One With Mitch Lafon.

Link to Episode: http://www.spreaker.com/user/talkingmetal/1on1-mitch-lafon-204-ace-frehley-march-2

In the episode's only interview, former KISS guitarist discusses his latest album Origins Vol. 1, working with Paul Stanley, his upcoming 2016 tour plans, the 40th anniversary of KISS' landmark Destroyer album, the 20th anniversary of the pre-reunion MTV Unplugged album, Psycho Circus, the reunion tour and much more.

Quotes from the ACE FREHLEY interview:

Getting Paul Stanley on the album: "It was actually rather easy. I called Paul and he picked up the phone right away. I told him what I was doing and he was very receptive."

"I had originally tried to get Gene on the record, but he never got back to me."

On working with KISS again: "I'm not ruling it out. I always leave the door open. Right now, I'm just very excited about Fire And Water. Paul's really happy with the way it turned out. I'm very happy. So, we're just moving forward in a positive way and whatever happens in the future happens or if it doesn't - it doesn't."

The 1996 KISS - MTV Unplugged album: "It was a little nerve-racking. We weren't sure how the fans were going to receive it, but when we taped the show; the fans just went crazy when me and Peter walked out. It was just one of those moments in time where everything solidified."

"Paul and Gene realized that they had to move forward with me and Peter because the fans wouldn't have it any other way."

The Reunion Tour: "It was a lot of fun in the beginning, but as the years progressed it got a little weird."

"Paul and Gene know how to push my buttons and Peter's buttons."

The supposed reunion album, Psycho Circus: "I felt it would have been a better album if me and Peter had played more on it."

For more about ACE FREHLEY visit:
Online: http://www.acefrehley.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/officialacefrehley
TWITTER: @ace_frehley
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/62olK5zZHSgFUXGDykgBL8

Follow Mitch Lafon on Twitter: @mitchlafon
One on One With Mitch Lafon's Official Twitter is: @1On1WithMitch
And Official Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/OneOnOneMitchLafon
 
Fri
18
Mar

CIRCUS MAXIMUS - Havoc (Review)

information persons: 
content: 
93%
Produced By: 
Circus Maximus
Release Date: 
2016
Released: 
Worldwide
Musical Style: 
Progressive Melodic Hard Rock
Label: 
Frontiers
Score: 
93
Friday, March 18, 2016
Categories: 
Reviews
 
On the surface, I’d say that overall, this isn’t as strong as the last album Nine, but there are parts of this release that I favor over everything the band has done before.
 
Havok is a left turn for the guys after their brilliant progressive monster Nine. This time they’ve evolved into something a little more commercial. The album is nowhere near as heavy as last time and there’s an updated more contemporary sound in play, plus more keyboards as well.
 
There’s a few tracks here striving for modern rock radio – there’s a trilogy of tracks almost immediately - the moody Highest Bitter has an almost Shinedown quality to it as does Havok, which throws in vocal effects and a distorted production. Pages rounds it off – modern progressive and heavy down tuned guitar.
I enjoy those tracks in the flow of the album, they fit the narrative, but if I’m honest, the main reason I’m listening to them is from a purist’s point of view, in that I want to hear an album start to finish as the artist intended.
 
What I’m really waiting for are the quite masterful melodic epics that bookend those heavier tracks. These are the band at their creative best - as progressive and epic as ever – but also more complex and hook driven than before. They aren’t heavy in the normal sense, but they sure are powerful.
 
Those tracks include the brilliant opening track The Weight, with its symphonic heart; then the even better Flames, which is really just magnificent. Mellow, yet uptempo, melodic yet challenging. It features a wonderful chorus and some inspired guitar playing and keyboard parts.
Loved Ones comes next and is the first of 3 big epics on the album. It’s a little faster and a little heavier, but still fits the new sound. The chorus has an epic feel as does the extended instrumentation.
After The Fire is darker and more guitar driven, but still dramatic and engaging and at 8 minutes goes by in a flash thanks to several different musical passages.
Remember is one of the melodic songs of 2016 so far for me and is in a word – essential. It builds from a soft start to an epic finish that just blows me away every time. The chorus hook is extreme, even if it takes a while to arrive and the interplay between keyboard/guitar and drums is unbelievable.
Chivalry closes the regular album and does it with class. Another 8 minute plus epic, the song travels a few different paths before a great guitar riff plays out over the last minute or two.

Fabulous stuff again from the guys. They reach new levels of commercial melodic accessibility here as well as turning modern for a few tracks too.
Some like myself will favor one style over the other, but it’s still a great listen start to finish and I dare say it could find the band some new fans.
Overall a different beast to the last album, so I expect some folks won’t rate it quite as highly, but there’s still many highlights to appreciate.
 

 

 
Fri
18
Mar

LORDS OF BLACK - II (Review)

information persons: 
content: 
83%
Produced By: 
Tony Hernando and Roland Grapow
Release Date: 
2016
Released: 
Worldwide
Musical Style: 
Melodic Metal
Label: 
Frontiers
Score: 
83
Friday, March 18, 2016
Categories: 
Reviews
 
If you attract the attention of Richie Blackmore and subsequently get the gig to front Rainbow in 2016, you must be something pretty special right?
Vocalist Ronnie Romero has done just that. But before hitting the road with the Purple One, his band Lords Of Black must first deal with their business at hand…. The release of their furious, fast and flashy metal opus “II”.
 
Lords Of Black are a metal band with a modern approach – “catchy, melodic and progressive” in their words. Pretty accurate too. There’s no end of double kick drum here, screaming vocals and truly over the top guitar acrobatics.
But there’s also piano, synth and orchestral passages as well as some softer moments where the true timbre of Ronnie’s voice shines.
 
But mostly – it’s fast, really fast or overdrive fast as the metal comes in your face and threatens to disintegrate your ears. Did I mention these guys are Spanish? Can’t really tell to be honest….this is old school commercial metal all the way.
 
All very consistent - as long as your ears can keep up - and one to crank when in need of a shot of adrenaline.

Once again co-produced, mixed and mastered by Roland Grapow, this album has the power of a nuclear reactor and the performances of 3 guys with their lives on the line.

 

 
Fri
18
Mar

THE TREATMENT - Generation Me (Review)

information persons: 
content: 
87%
Produced By: 
Laurie Mansworth
Release Date: 
2016
Released: 
Worldwide
Musical Style: 
Hard Rock
Label: 
Frontiers
Artist: 
Score: 
87
Friday, March 18, 2016
Categories: 
Reviews
 
With so many albums to choose from these days, it’s pretty easy to skip a release or even an entire band on occasion.
I haven’t given UK rockers The Treatment any time until now, given the bigger push by Frontiers Records.
And while I haven’t had time to go back and take in the band’s first two albums, I am a new fan on the basis of this third full length album.
Generation Me is The Treatment’s first album featuring Mitchel Emms on vocals and Tao Grey on guitar, and launches the band’s partnership with their new label Frontiers Music Srl.
 
Being that my appreciation of these guys comes directly from the hard crunch of the AC/DC styled riffs and the stand out vocals, perhaps this is a great place for anyone to start without the need for prior familiarity.
 
What we have here is a very enjoyable, high energy classic hard rock album that features a raw, but impressive production and music that’s best described as Tesla meets AC/DC.
The raspy, sometimes higher tone of Emms is really pleasing to these ears and the riffing is a great variety of punchy hard rock and faster paced dirty rock n roll.
 
Best of all are the songs. You can have the best sound and the best talent, but without the songs, you’re going nowhere.
The title track is fast and furious; the hard rocking opening track (and single) Let It Begin is a perfect opener; The Devil gets tuck in your head pretty easily; the softer going Backseat Heartbeat is pure melodic Tesla, mirroring that band’s excellent use of acoustic guitars; We Are Beautiful flows beautifully and Light The Sun is a cool anthemic Tesla styled rocker to close the album.

The only places I struggle is with the go-nowhere Better Think Again and I Know She Knows, which to me just has a really annoying chorus. That takes away from the second half of the album, but elsewhere it’s very consistent and thoroughly enjoyable.
 

 

 
Fri
18
Mar

ROYAL HUNT - Cargo (Review)

information persons: 
content: 
85%
Produced By: 
Royal Hunt
Running Time: 
90
Release Date: 
2016
Released: 
Worldwide
Musical Style: 
Hard Rock
Label: 
Frontiers
Artist: 
Score: 
85
Friday, March 18, 2016
Categories: 
Reviews
 
The powerhouse that is Royal Hunt continues on with this “in between albums” live release, a double album recorded during the band’s 2015 festival appearances.
The set takes in 90 minutes of full power Royal Hunt – a complete rendition of their signature concept album Paradox to kick off Disc 1. On Disc 2 there are just 5 songs, but thankfully the best track from the band's recent era - A Life To Die For - proves to be a fitting climax.
 
Just 12 songs for the 90 minutes of high intensity progressive (melodic) metal. You know the band – you know the songs. The only issue with a release such as this – is it any good? Yes indeed.
 
The recordings are clear, sharp and very well mixed. The performances are what you’d expect of the pros that André Andersen, DC Cooper, Andreas Passmark, Jonas Larsen and Andreas Johansson are.

One for fans of The Hunt and especially the Paradox album and a great performance from DC Cooper and the rest of the band.

 

 
Thu
17
Mar

INNERWISH 'Modern Babylon' Music Video Released

Artist: 
Release Year: 
2015
Categories: 
News Feed

The Greek melodic metallers INNERWISH just released a music video for the track "Modern Babylon" from their upcoming self-titled album. The album will be available on CD, 2LP, Tape and digital and will be released on March 18th through Ulterium Records in Europe and North America. Bickee Music will issue the album in Japan on March 30th.

Link to the music video: https://youtu.be/mjRZCq01VSA

The album was mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd at Studio Fredman [In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Hammerfall] and mastered by Peter In De Betou [Arch Enemy, Opeth, Amon Amarth]. The artwork of the album was created by Felipe Machado Franco [Blind Guardian, Rhapsody Of Fire, Xandria] and the design was done by Jan Yrlund [Korpiklaani, Apocalyptica, Manowar].

"InnerWish" track listing
01. Roll The Dice
02. Broken
03. Modern Babylon
04. Machines Of Fear
05. Needles In My Mind
06. My World On Fire
07. Rain Of A Thousand Years
08. Serenity
09. Sins Of The Past
10. Through My Eyes
11. Zero Ground
12. Cross The Line
13. Tame The Seven Seas

Check out the lyric video for "Needles In My Mind" at YouTube: https://youtu.be/7_l1lJPS-a4
Stream "Rain Of A Thousand Years" at YouTube: https://youtu.be/sfdla3ZsbEE

InnerWish online:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/innerwishofficial

Ulterium Records online:
Facebook: http://www.ulterium-records.com
Website: http://www.ulterium-records.com
 
Thu
17
Mar

OZZY OSBOURNE Storms America With Blizzard of Ozz 35 Years Ago

Artist: 
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Categories: 
Podcasts & Radio

Dallas, TX - March 15, 2016. North American syndicated Rock radio show and website InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands  hosts Ozzy Osbourne on the 35th anniversary of his best-selling solo debut Blizzard of Ozz.
 
Having been fired by Britain's heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, by 1980 Ozzy Osbourne was, for all practical purposes, washed up. Ozzy found himself with low self esteem and a raging drug and alcohol problem. If not for the heroic actions of his then-manager and future wife Sharon Arden, Ozzy would never have been offered the chance to clean up his act and hold auditions for a new band, where he discovered a diminutive 25-year old guitarist, Randy Rhoads, who inspired Osbourne.
 
After waiting nearly six months for Blizzard of Ozz to be released in the US, Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' nearly derailed his solo career with two of the most notorious incidents ever in rock history, including a shocking stunt in a record company conference room involving a live dove. Ozzy explains to InTheStudio host Redbeard what happened.
 
'So Sharon (manager) says to me 'We've got to make an impression.' She says, 'I want you to go into the board room, take these two doves, and throw them up in the air as a peace offering.' So, I drank a bottle of booze in the morning and said, 'I'll make an impression.'  - Ozzy Osbourne.
 
Nevertheless Osbourne would end up selling over four million copies in the US alone while helping to define the '80s pop-metal movement with classics 'Crazy Train', 'Mr. Crowley', 'I Don't Know' , and 'Suicide Solution'.  Additionally in this interview, Ozzy makes a passionate plea for anyone struggling with substance abuse to seek free help.
 
Ozzy Osbourne 'Blizzard of Ozz' / InTheStudio interview program is available now to STREAM at: http://www.inthestudio.net/redbeards-blog/ozzy-osbourne-blizzard-ozz-35th-anniversary/
 
Direct Link to InTheStudio broadcast affiliate radio station list: www.inthestudio.net/radio-stations
Direct Link to: Ozzy Osbourne: http://www.ozzy.com
Direct Link to InTheStudio: http://www.inthestudio.net
 
Thu
17
Mar

Noize In The Attic Podcast - DORO

Artist: 
Release Year: 
2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Categories: 
Podcasts & Radio
 
Doro Pesch talks candidly on this week's Noize In The Attic - Where Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You (www.noizeintheattic.com) on 88.7FM New Haven CT.
 
Doro discusses her upcoming single "Love's Gone To Hell" and reflects on her long relationship with her dear friend, Lemmy Kilmister.
 
'Last time she saw him, I could see he was not feeling well.  He was very, very skinny very thin. Lemmy said, 'Doro, it's all sold out but now I'm too old to enjoy it.' 'When he said that, it brought tears to my eyes'.

'When I finally got the call, I didn't even have to pick up the phone.  I felt the ringing of the phone was strange.  Oh no''

Hear the full episode (the interview starts at 30 minute mark)

http://noizeintheattic.podomatic.com/entry/2016-03-16T06_44_54-07_00
 
 
Thu
17
Mar

BLACK SABBATH Wraps Up Leg One of 'The End' Tour

Artist: 
Release Year: 
2015
Categories: 
Tour News
BLACK SABBATH
WRAP LEG ONE OF
"THE END" WORLD TOUR
 
SECOND RUN OF NORTH AMERICAN DATES
TO GET UNDERWAY AUGUST 17 AT
NIKON AT JONES BEACH THEATER
IN WANTAGH, NY
 
 
Ozzy Osbourne (Vocals), Tony Iommi (Guitar) and Geezer Butler (Bass) wrapped the first dates of BLACK SABBATH's massive 2016 THE END world tour last week (3/7) in Vancouver, BC to an overwhelming response, from fans and critics alike.  The first leg of sold-out North American shows will be followed by a run of summer performances including return visits to Los Angeles (at the iconic Hollywood Bowl), New York, Chicago and 14 additional cities.  Tickets for the summer shows are available at www.Livenation.com.  See BLACK SABBATH's world wide itinerary below. 
 
Here's some critical feedback from 2016's THE END tour:
 
"From the pulverizing opening tritone of 'Black Sabbath'...the show was more a celebration of the pioneering heavy-metal band's legacy than an epitaph...each of the musicians was in stellar form in Chicago...now may be the beginning of the end for Black Sabbath, but, as they proved in Chicago and over the years, their music will echo through the ages."
--Kory Grow, ROLLINGSTONE.COM, 1-23-16
 
"The beginning of The End happened Friday in Chicago at the United Center, where the band played a two-hour set of snarling hard rock songs, played according to the rules of strict minimalism but always with brawny execution...Black Sabbath remains a genre of its own, combining space jazz and prog-rock, gothic imagery and riff-heavy thunder."
--Mark Guarino, THEGUARDIAN.COM, 1-23-16
 
"The iconic rockers were able to bid farewell in style...If this was truly the band's last show in Washington, the quartet had left its fans with a night they'll never forget."
--Ernest Jasmin,TACOMA WEEKLY, 2-8-16
 
"Sabbath sounded so strong that, at times, it seemed like an absolutely ludicrous idea for these guys to even be thinking about hanging it up. Yet, if the goal is to go out on top--in peak fighting form--then Sabbath is right on track."
--Jim Harrington, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2-10-16
 
"Osbourne was confidently strutting the length of the stage, imploring the audience to clap along...Osbourne led the band through classics like 'War Pigs' and 'Children of the Grave,' exuding bravado and, often, joy.  The night didn't belong to Ozzy, though. While bassist Geezer Butler remains rock-solid...Iommi's effortless leads and power-chord riffs laid the groundwork for generations of hard-rocking axe-slingers, yet his attack still sounds fresh and resonant, and his vibrato-laden shreds are as precise as they were four decades ago..."
--Jeff Miller, BILLBOARD.com, 2-13-16
 
"Black Sabbath put on as perfect of a farewell show at the Pepsi Center [in Denver] as you could have hoped for. They played, sounded and yes, sung as well as they did in their prime...Instead of leaning on theatrics, they let tight riffs take the audience away...Their astonishing performance Monday night proved the band to be going out with remarkable live chops."
--Mike Long, DENVER POST, 2-16-16
 
"One of the strongest live rock shows in recent memory...Sabbath performed the music with such power and conviction that songs many of us have heard ad nauseam seemed fresh and new...The fluid rhythms, the interlocking, crushing dynamics between the rhythm section, and Iommi and Osbourne's uncanny ability to switch in and out of the role of avatar of doom and avuncular hype man, rousing the crowd, made for a show that was much more than merely a great performance. It felt inclusive."
--Tom Murphy, WESTWORD(Denver, CO), 2-16-16
 
"Black Sabbath turned its The End farewell tour into a celebration--albeit one steeped in a little bit of Satanic mechanics...the 100-minute, 14-song show was standard issue Sabbath--Spartan and leaden hard rock played with tight precision."
--Gary Graff, THE OAKLAND PRESS (Detroit, MI), 2-20-16
 
"Black Sabbath, from Birmingham, England, was foundational for metal, but the music it played on Thursday--all of it recorded between 1969 and 1976--is full of scales related to the blues, which has its own long tradition of despair masking joy. That joy on Thursday was in sound and feeling. You could hear the band in giant, clear, present detail, unusual for the Garden..."
Ben Ratliff, NEW YORK TIMES, 2-26-16
 
"...he [Osbourne] was on fire last night, hitting all the notes exactly the way you remember them. All the stretched out vowels, all the 'ohh yeahh!'s, everything. In even finer form was Tony Iommi, whose riffs were as crisp today as they are on the early records, and whose solos still screamed. No disrespect to Geezer Butler of course, who shined all night and especially on his bass solo in 'N.I.B.'...There really wasn't a moment where you weren't hearing some of the best heavy metal ever written...The show was also a serious reminder of how even with legions of excellent doom bands popping up for decades, still nobody can do it like Sabbath."
--Andrew Sacher, BROOKLYN VEGAN, 2-27-16
 
"If this in fact was the end for Black Sabbath, then it was one hell of a farewell."
--Dean Pilling, CALGARY SUN, 3-5-16
 
"Black Sabbath were magnificent...what sets Black Sabbath's music apart is how fresh it still sounds...a night free of stage effects or gimmicks, packed with a selection of brilliantly performed songs from the best heavy metal band there ever was and ever will be."
Robert Collins, CTV NEWS VANCOUVER, 3-8-16
 
These dates mark the end of the epic journey that BLACK SABBATH began nearly five decades ago.  The massive 2016 THE END world tour by the greatest Metal Band of all time will take the band to Australia and New Zealand in April, then Europe fora mix of summer headlining and festival performances, before returning to North America in August.
 
As previously announced, a special fans-only CD featuring original artwork by Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant is being sold at shows along the tour route.  The CD is comprised of eight previously unreleased tracks: four songs are outtakes from BLACK SABBATH's worldwide #1, Grammy Award-winning album 13 and four live songs from the band's critically acclaimed 13 World Tour.
 
When this tour concludes, it will truly be THE END, THE END of one of most legendary bands in Rock 'n Roll history...BLACK SABBATH.
 
BLACK SABBATH's remaining 2016 tour dates are as follows:
       
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
Fri 4/15 Perth, AU Perth Arena
Sun 4/17 Adelaide, AU Entertainment Centre
Tue 4/19 Melbourne, AU Rod Laver Arena
Sat 4/23 Sydney, AU Allphones Arena
Mon 4/25 Brisbane, AU Entertainment Centre
Thu 4/28 Auckland, NZ Vector Arena
Sat 4/30 Dunedin, NZ Forsyth Barr Stadium
       
EUROPE
Wed 6/1 Budapest,Hungary Groupama Arena
Wed 6/8 Berlin, Germany Waldebuhne
**Sat 6/11 Donington, UK Download
Mon 6/13 Verona, IT Arena Di Verona
Wed 6/15 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadon
**Fri 6/17 Dessel,Belgium Grasspop
**Thu 6/23 Halden, Norway Tons of Rock
**Sat 6/25 Copenhagen, DE Copenhell
Tue 6/28 Vienna, Austria Stadthalle
Thu 6/30 Prague, Czech Rep. 02 Arena
Sat 7/2 Krakow, Poland Tauron Arena
Tue 7/5 Riga, Latvia Riga Arena
**Thu 7/7 Helsinki, Finland Monsters of Rock
**Sat 7/9 Stockholm, Sweden Monsters of Rock
Tue 7/12 Moscow, Russia Olympisky Arena
       
**Denotes festival appearance
       
NORTH AMERICA
Wed 8/17 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Fri 8/19 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
Sun 8/21 Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live
Tue 8/23 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Thu 8/25 Boston, MA Xfinity Center
Sat 8/27 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Mon 8/29 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Wed 8/31 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theater
Fri 9/2 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
Sun 9/4 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Wed 9/7 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
Fri 9/9 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater
Sun 9/11 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheater
Tue 9/13 Portland, OR Sunlight Supply Arena
Thu 9/15 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Sat 9/17 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Mon 9/19 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Bowl
Wed 9/21 Phoenix, AZ AK-Chin Pavilion
         

Details on Tickets, VIP packages and more for the North American shows can be found at:  www.Livenation.com
 

 

 

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