SLAUGHTER vocalist MARK SLAUGHTER has released the first and second of a series of in-studio videos discussing and previewing tracks from the upcoming album 'Halfway There', in stores May 26 via EMP LABEL GROUP/AMPED, in Europe via EMP/SPV, and in Japan via Universal Music Japan/EMP out on May 10th, 2017.
Episode #2 features Mark discussing and previewing the album track "Supernatural", and tells the touching story of how a lost guitar belonging to late Slaughter guitarist Tim Kelly found its way home to make a guest appearance on the track and can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/uy9ntN2yfnY
Episode #1 features Mark discussing and previewing the album track "Conspiracy" can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/i6AdIf3rRkc
'Halfway There' was produced and co-mixed by Slaughter with John Cranfield (AFI, Andy Grammer), with art by famed horror/album artist “Mister” Sam Shearon (Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden, KISS, Clive Barker).
Slaughter has also announced his first solo show to support Halfway There, Thursday June 22nd at The Gramercy Theatre, (with support from KIK TRACEE vocalist Stephen Shareaux) where Slaughter will be backed by bassist Jaymi “PINKBASSMAN” Millard, Guitarist Mike Himmel (Bret Michaels, Dug Pinnick), and his former VINNIE VINCENT INVASION bandmate, drummer Bobby Rock.
Mark Slaughter will also stay busy on the road with his namesake band SLAUGHTER, who will also play several US dates through 2017, including a performance at ROCKLAHOMA May 26th.
SLAUGHTER 2017 Dates:
5/18 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino
5/28 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
6/29 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest Milwaukee, WI
7/7 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort & Casino w/ Great White
7/13 - Baling, Germany - Bang Your Head Festival - Baling, Germany
7/28 - Sioux City, IA - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - w/Great White & Bret Michaels
8/5 - McMinnville, OR - Yamhill County Fair
8/11 - Three Forks, MT - Rockin The Rivers
8/12 - St. Charles, IL - The Arcada Theater
9/8 - Hinckley. MN - Grand RockTember V Music Festival w/Queensryche, Great White & More
I’ve always maintained that the writing partnership of Harry Hess/Pete Lesperance was the Lennon/McCartney of the melodic rock world and this, Harem Scarem’s 14th studio album, is not only further proof of that belief, it also proves that a long partnership can remain fresh, vibrant and exciting.
United is simply brilliant – a joyous celebration of the classic definition of melodic rock. Harem Scarem have never disappointed me. But I still have my favourite albums and I’m happy to add this one right near the top.
It’s just one glorious hook and chorus after another, but that isn’t the only thing that makes this album so extraordinary. It’s the intelligent musical bed that drives the songs and the contrast of unexpected twists and a quite varied palette of styles that all end up in the same place – melodic rock bliss.
The best aspect of this album is the diversity of the ways the anthemic choruses are delivered. Every song is different, yet every one is memorable.
And I love how the darker tone to many of these songs is seemingly cast aside for the many harmony drenched feel good choruses. It’s a contrast that’s almost impossible to pull off with such regularity.
Pete Lesperance shines with some of his finest riffing and soloing in years, Harry Hess is absolutely all over this record with what seems like a choir of harmony vocals and some really powerful leads.
United is essentially a 45 minute Harem Scarem history lesson. Fans will hear parts of Mood Swings, Weight Of The World, Voice Of Reason, Higher, Thirteen and Hope all in play.
There’s no track that doesn’t stand out on its own, but my personal favourites are the infectious Here Today, Gone Tomorrow; the fast stomping No Regrets; the moody modern rock brilliance of Bite The Bullet; the feel good stadium anthem Things I Know; another harmony drenched, lyrically brilliant The Sky Is Falling and the freeking fantastic bluesy-come-AOR anthem Indestructible.
Did I mention the great opening track and one of the band’s best ever ballads in One Of Life’s Mysteries? How about the hands-in-the-air Sinking Ship and the groove driven Gravity? Did I leave anything out?
How about the brilliant production and mix – among the best the band has delivered?
Jeff Scott Soto appears on backing vocals for Here Today, Gone Tomorrow and even more prominently, to great effect, on Bite The Bullet.
Why haven’t you purchased this already? What a wonderful, joyous, powerful statement from a band that just keeps delivering time and time again. Essential and perfect.
Finland make it two in a row. After the brilliance of OD comes the well established melodic rock heroes Brother Firetribe.
Following one of the most bombastic intro’s since Meat Loaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love, BFT hit the ground running with a typically boisterous riff infused opener with Help Is On The Way.
Production seems to be a notch up from the last album and there’s a sense of maturity within the songs.
Indelible Heroes is a wonderful keyboard drenched tribute to the greats that have left us which moves perfectly into the previously released single Taste of a Champion (one of the band’s great songs).
Elsewhere in the album highlights are plentiful as expected - Last Forever and Give Me Tonight both rock along at a fine pace. Then I find that the next couple of tracks don’t quite have the impact hoped for until the mid-tempo Heart Of The Matter corrects course with a great chorus which is followed by the band’s usual foray into classic soundtrack territory – this time covering the John Parr classic Restless Heart in perfect style.
Finishing the record on a high is the double header of the keyboard heavy Big City Dream and the ultra-moody drama of Phantasmagoria, every bit as epic as the title suggests.
The band’s Heart Full Of Fire is still my favourite album but this one might sneak into second place once I’ve lived with it another 6 months or so. It’s packed with the typical guitar/keyboard duelling melodies we have come to expect and demand from these very accomplished musicians. A simple review, but not a simple album. It will take a few listens to blossom, but once it does you can’t take that back.
We were forewarned that these guys were great and something special was on the way. And boy, is this something special or what?
In a year packed with A-Game melodic rock and AOR titles, OD (or One Desire) deliver what will surely be one of the top few debut albums in several years. Europe is of course again responsible for unleashing another glorious AOR masterpiece on us, this time it’s Finland that takes the trophy.
Vocalist André Linman is quite a spectacular find. Powerful, emotional and in control of a wide vocal range – he uses it all here.
If you love keyboards entwined with guitars and a pulsating rhythm section and a sound that brings Def Leppard into the 21st Century mixed with Brother Firetribe, Treat and The Magnificent. It’s the Giuffria style 80s meets 2017.
OD really do have their own thing going on here and it’s one memorable song after another. From the passionate urgency of the fast moving melodies of Hurt; to the quirky hard hitting Apologise to the commercial high energy anthem that’s made for stadium’s Love Injection.
That’s followed immediately by another fast paced melodic gem in Turn Back Time; a monster ballad Falling Apart (which gets better every listen); then the fast and furious keyboard and bass riff of Straight Through The Heart and the hands in the air anthem Whenever I’m Dreaming, which seemingly has two monster chorus hooks, each as good as the other.
Do You Believe then makes it 8 from 8 as far as killer choruses; while Buried Alive is the heaviest track on the album, but also the most keyboard driven. Fabulous!
The band close this monster debut with the heartfelt power ballad This Is Where The Heartbreak Begin.
Another essential purchase for anyone that loves the usual fare served up by these freakish Scandinavians. We have Work Of Art, Eclipse, Brother Firetribe, Degreed, HEAT and now we have OD. Magnificent debut guys.
“Modern rock just dosen’t get any better than this” – Andrew Hawnt, Powerplay Magazine.
In 2016 the band teamed up with Greenwall Management and Gain/Sony Music to reach new heights in their career and it’s a new, more powerful Degreed than ever before ready to take on the world. First single out is 'Shakedown'.
Degreed have shared the stage with greats like Europe, Turbonegro, Millencolin among others and they have been touring and gaining fans all over the world. In the fall of 2010 Degreed released their critically acclaimed debut album “Life, love, loss”
Having recorded the first album with producer Erik Lidbom, the band thought it made perfect sense to do the same on the second album “We Don’t Belong”. This time Erik also introduced the band to multiplatinum and Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Bill Champlin (former singer of Chicago, songwriter for Earth, Wind and Fire etc.) who co-wrote two songs for the album. Bill Champlin also sings a verse on the song “In For The Ride”. “We Don’t Belong” was released on the 2nd of September 2013 and that same month it made “Album of the Month” in Powerplay Magazine. By the end of 2013 the album had received great reviews and also “Album of the Year” by Swedish rock site rocknytt.net.
Degreed’s third album “Dead But Not Forgotten” was released in 2015 and was well received by critics all over the world and the opening track and first video “The Scam” got featured in Classic Rock Magazine.
DEGREED LIVE:
HRH Roadtrip Ibiza – May 12
Sabaton Open Air – August 19
HRH AOR – March 9
More dates to come.
Mr Big's new album, "Defying Gravity" will be released on July 7, 2017 on CD, CD/DVD and Digital.
A vinyl edition will be released as well at a later date to be announced soon.
DEFYING GRAVITY deftly showcases that patented MR. BIG blend of crunch and melody, from the freight-train ride of opening cut "Open Your Eyes" to the harmony-laden wonderment of "Damn I'm in Love Again" to the grateful/wistful nostalgia of "1992" (recalling the days when the band was flying high atop the singles charts with their international #1 smash "To Be With You") to the barnburning slide-blues closer, "Be Kind." Overall, DEFYING GRAVITY is prime evidence that the only thing MR. BIG remains tethered to is their ongoing pursuit of achieving creative excellence.
Original members Eric Martin (singer) (lead vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitars), Billy Sheehan (bass) and Pat Torpey (drums) reunited with producer Kevin Elson (who was behind the boards for the band’s 1989 self-titled debut, 1991’s LEAN INTO IT and 1993’s BUMP AHEAD) for an intensive six-day recording session in Los Angeles. While Torpey was unable to perform some of the songs on DEFYING GRAVITY due to a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, Matt Starr has been filling in for him on a majority of the album. Starr also been touring with the band for the past couple of years, with Torpey able to play a couple of songs at each stop.
“It was great to get back in the studio with our original producer, Kevin Elson,” says guitarist Paul Gilbert. “Kevin recorded all of our original classic albums from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and we immediately felt that magic chemistry with him on DEFYING GRAVITY. We basically played live in the studio. Over the years, we’ve all had a chance to experiment with every recording technique possible, but it’s still always the best just to play together as a band. Most of my guitar solos were tracked live with the band. I’ve worked hard on my improvisation in the last few years, and it really paid off on this record…both melodically, and on the face-melting stuff.”
DEFYING GRAVITY is the follow-up to 2014’s THE STORIES WE COULD TELL (Frontiers Music Srl), which Ultimate-Guitar.com described as “An exceptional offering of accelerated hard rock from one of the more dominant ‘supergroups’ of the late 1980s, MR. BIG return with a vengeance on THE STORIES WE COULD TELL.”
An official trailer for DEFYING GRAVITY can be seen here:
MR. BIG is gearing up for the launch their latest worldwide tour which starts May 31 in Milwaukee, WI at the Potowatami Casino. For all the latest tour dates, fans should check the band’s official website: www.mrbigsite.com
“2017 is filling up quickly with tour dates all around the world,” proclaims Gilbert. “I can’t wait to play the new songs, and of course our favorites from the old days like ‘Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy’ ‘Just Take My Heart,’ ‘Green Tinted Sixties Mind,’ ‘Wild World,’ and ‘To Be With You.’”
Here’s the complete track listing for DEFYING GRAVITY:
1. Open Your Eyes
2. Defying Gravity
3. Everybody Needs a Little Trouble
4. Damn I’m In Love Again
5. Mean to Me
6. Nothing Bad (About Feeling Good)
7. Forever and Back
8. She’s All Coming Back to Me Now
9. 1992
10. Nothing At All
11. Be Kind
Check out MR. BIG at any of the following tour stops (MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED):
The Athens, Georgia-based melodic metal band THEOCRACY and their label Ulterium Records just announced the "Ghost Ship" YouTube contest.
Record a video of yourself when playing or singing the Theocracy track "Ghost Ship" and upload it to YouTube. Send a link to the video to contest@ulterium-records.com to be included in the contest.
The contest will be open until June 20th, and then Theocracy and Ulterium Records will decide two winners: the best performance as well as the most creative submission. Below you can see the prizes for the winners:
#1 Winner [the best performance]
- "Ghost Ship" CD [signed]
- "Ghost Ship" 2LP vinyl edition with black discs [signed]
- A Theocracy t-shirt of your choice
- Contest video posted at the official Theocracy website and facebook page
#2 Winner [the most creative performance/video]
- "Ghost Ship" CD [signed]
- A Theocracy t-shirt of your choice
- Contest video posted at the official Theocracy facebook page
NY/NJ based metal band Dark Sky Choir announce the release of their self titled debut album on May 16, 2017. The record release party will take place on June 23 at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, and will be hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine of That Metal Show. The show is being sponsored by WRAT and WDHA radio stations. Artwork for the project was created by legendary cover artist Ioannis (Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Dream Theater, Dokken, Fates Warning, Skid Row, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen). The album will also feature guest appearances by Chris Caffery of Savatage, and Michael Pinnella of Symphony X.
Track list for this 43 minute release is as follows:
1– DEATH OF A NATION
2- LIKE IT OR NOT
3- WALKING BY MYSELF
4- DIE YOUNG (MAYBE HE WANTED TO)
5- THE END
6- SAILS OF CHARON
7- CRY FOR THE LEGIONS
8- SHOW NO MERCY
9- BEDOUIN CARAVAN
For more information and updates about Dark Sky Choir, go to www.darkskychoir.com
