"Due to irrevocable circumstances, I am deeply saddened to announce that I have made one of the most difficult decisions in my life...... I have officially left Magnum...
I apologise to anyone who was maybe hoping to see me personally over the next few days, but sadly I will NOT be there. However, I should like it known, that, I am and will remain extremely proud to have been a small part of it all for the past 36 years or so and wish the band and organization all the best for the future. I will of course firmly remain in music and hope to see many of you a little further down the road, sincerely - Mark Stanway."
The Athens, Georgia-based melodic metal band THEOCRACY will release their new album "Ghost Ship" on October 28th in Europe and North America through Ulterium Records. Information on different editions and formats will be announced soon.
With Ghost Ship, Theocracy perfects the lively and fully-realized sound of As the World Bleeds, delivering 10 muscular and streamlined tracks that never lose focus and combine for one memorable journey. You like midtempo singalong anthems? Try the “Ghost Ship” title track. Thrashy rhythms and intensity? “The Wonder of It All” should be to your liking. Emotional ballads with huge melodic hooks? Go “Around the World and Back.” Or if you prefer epic, progressive tracks that do all these things and more, 10-minute album closer “Easter” is sure to be a favorite. Each song on Ghost Ship stands alone and has a unique signature, but every moment sounds unmistakably like Theocracy.
“So many kids were coming up to us after shows and telling us their stories,” says Theocracy vocalist Matt Smith. “A lot of them were searching for purpose and a place to fit in, and having grown up as an awkward and unpopular kid myself, their words really stuck with me. I started thinking about what a band of misfits Jesus’ disciples were: fishermen, tax collectors, and people of little consequence in the eyes of the world. Sometimes the ones most people don’t see, or choose to look straight through the ghosts of society, as it were, dead to the world end up having the biggest impact. That’s where the title and idea for Ghost Ship came from: all the misfits, the uncool, the outcasts, there is a place where you do fit in. Although Ghost Ship is not a concept album, this is a recurring theme, particularly in the title track and ‘Castaway.’”
"Ghost Ship" track listing:
01. Paper Tiger
02. Ghost Ship
03. The Wonder Of It All
04. Wishing Well
05. Around the World and Back
06. Stir the Embers
07. A Call To Arms
08. Currency In A Bankrupt World
09. Castaway
10. Easter
While fans wait for a new Work Of Art album; here's something very cool to check out - this is a great album!
The Swedish melodic metal band ENBOUND just released their new album "The Blackened Heart" in Europe and North America through Inner Wound Recordings and in Japan through Bickee Music.
The song "Get Ready For" can be streamed at YouTube:
ENBOUND is: Lee Hunter [Lars Säfsund - Work of Art] - Vocals Swede - Bass Marvin Flowberg - Guitars Mike Cameron Force [ex. Zonata] - Drums
"The Blackened Heart" contains a nice mix of heavy and up tempo songs, all with their own strong and grasping melodies. Enbound prove with "The Blackened Heart" that they can handle any angle of melodic metal. Like on their debut album, the characteristic powerful arrangements remain with the fantastic and emotional vocals from Lee Hunter on top.
The album was mastered by Jacob Hansen [Amaranthe, Volbeat, Primal Fear] and guests on the album includes Linnéa Wikström [Kamelot, Therion] and Mike LePond [Symphony X].
AOR Heaven will issue albums from Alien singer JIM JIDHED and Swedish Melodic Rock band SWEET MARY JANE on january 27.
Jim Jidhed - “Push On Through”
Jim Jidhed, the singer of the band Alien singer, will release his 6th solo album on January 27.
‘Push On Through’ is a heavier record than the previous ones. It still has the mark of AOR to it, but also a straight hard rock feeling at times. Producer Daniel Flores, who had a vision for this album, really nails that vision sound wise. Jim’s voice is stronger than ever at 53, and here all his experience, feeling, heart and soul come together in a very powerful way.
Jidhed was born 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He began playing and singing around the age of ten, and formed his first real band when he was 12-13 years old. At the time he was 16 he started a group called ‘Glamour’, and it was with this band things began to get more serious. 1982, at the age of nineteen, Jidhed released his first ever single with the band ‘Glamour’. The label was named ‘Polar’ and the woman who signed the band was Marie Andersson, daughter of Stickan (ABBA ) Andersson.
In 1986 Jidhed wrote a musical and played that in the spring of ‘87. At the same time, in December ’86, he teamed up with a new Swedish band that took the name ‘Alien’. Alien released two singles during ‘87, ‘Headstrong’ and ‘ I’ll Survive’, and by the fall they recorded ‘Only One Woman’ at ‘Polar’ studio. Alien recorded their first album early in ’88, at ‘Sound City’ studios in Los Angeles, and just a bit later that year they got a huge hit with ‘Only One Woman’ and headlined a big tour the full spring and summer. For personal reasons Jim left the band in the fall of 1988.
Between 1989 and 2005, the Swedish born singer released five solo albums until he and the original members from Alien teamed up once more, after over twenty years. They released a single, ‘Ready to fly’, and began playing some selected shows, performing (the songs of) their debut album. They decided to write a new album, and released ‘ Eternity’ in 2014.
Jim released his fifth solo album in December 2015, titled ‘Tankar i vinternatten’. It’s kind of a Christmas record, but with Swedish lyrics more into to the depth of things surrounding Christmas, and the state of mind of people around that time of year.
This year 2016, Johan Nyhlén - a true fan of Jim, Alien and the AOR genre - introduced Jim to producer Daniel Flores. Daniel had wanted to work with Jidhed for a long time, and now the two of them hooked up. ‘Push On Through’ is an album that, from the beginning, was meant to sound different from anything Jim has done in the past. And for sure, Daniel has made that happen. Daniel, who played the drums on the album himself, produced a heavier and tougher sound.
Further, on the release you find Ken Sandin (Alien) playing the bass, guitars were performed by Michael Palace and Philip Lindstrand, and Rolf Pilotti took care of the backing vocals. Jim's son Robin Jidhed was both the engineer and sounding board when Jim recorded his lead vocals.
Sweet Mary Jane was formed in the summer of 2012 in Sundsvall, Sweden, by Tomas Nässlin (ex, Roulette), Per Olof Åsberg (ex-Airborn) and young talents Alexander Olsson (ex-Anacondah) and Andreas Sparby (ex-L.A.C.K.).
They wrote the song “Fire in your eyes” with Tomas Lundgren from Roulette that Nässlin had kept in touch with from his time in the band. Later on Tomas Berggren (ex-Razamanaz) stepped up to take over the vocals. Tomas is the brother of Stefan Berggren who is known from Berggren Kerslake band, Grand Slam and also Snakes In Paradise.
The wide variety of musical influences really shows a great AOR sound that the band is really proud of. Lars Chriss of Lions Share produced their debut album “Winter In Paradise”.
London, UK - Legendary Greg Lake sadly passed away on Wed. Dec. 7th. As a founding member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Greg Lake has been a major force in music for over 40 years. He has long been considered a legendary voice and musical powerhouse whose impact changed the landscape of rock and roll. Many simply refer to him as 'The Voice'.
Greg was just finishing his autobiography titled 'Lucky Man', which is scheduled for release in 2017.
Says his long time manger and friend Stewart Young, 'Yesterday, December 7th, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer. Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been. Despite his illness which he knew to be terminal he always took the view about his life, career and family that he was indeed a lucky man... His family would be grateful for privacy during this time of their grief. Many thanks.'
Derek Davis, former Arista Records recording artist and Babylon A.D. front man follows up the successful reception of his first solo debut REVOLT with his new 12-song release, REVOLUTIONARY SOUL—a diverse collection of songs in which Davis pens nine, plays all instruments, sings, arranges, and produces.
Davis’s exploration of combining old school R&B, Funk, and Hard Rock is awe-inspiring and leaves the listener wanting more. The funk driven, hard-hitting title track “Revolutionary Soul” delivers the angst and vocal delivery he is known for. Both lyrically and musically the track speaks to the frustration and passion of the forgotten man in today’s ever changing world.
The second track “Rapture” is a sensual tale of a cat and mouse encounter between the sexes with an infectious groove. A brand new version of the Amy Winehouse hit “Valerie” shows Davis can take any song and turn it on its head to make it his own.
With “Think About It,” “Love and Abuse,” and the 1923 Jimmy Cox blues song “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” Davis brings out the horn sections, B3, and some great storytelling, along with some tasteful guitar leads.
The sultry ballads “Vicious Heart,” “King of Fools,” and “Stop! Wait a Minute” paint a beautiful landscape of broken hearts and lost love. Bobby Womack’s “Woman’s Gotta Have It” and “Picture of Love” keep the soul train moving right along.
On the last track, “All The Roads,” Davis lyrically bares his soul—emotionally and spiritually—providing a glimpse of his inner self, while weaving a sonic atmosphere of guitar sounds deep into the mind of the listener.
Derek Davis is a creative and talented performer, singer, songwriter, musician, and producer who delivers it all with REVOLUTIONARY SOUL!
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow will be playing 4 concerts in Europe this June. There will be no other Rainbow concerts in Europe in 2017. There is a special pre sale for active street team members. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 5pm UK time. Information is below. Coordinators, please share with street team members who have been active in supporting Ritchie and Blackmore's Night.
Pre-sale links for the fans will be open from 17.00 on the 5th December.
New Album - It's Called... "Rip It Up" - Released Feb 10th 2017
Yes people, we're extremely chuffed to announce that our new studio album is finished, and it is AMAZING! We can say this of course because we've heard it, so you'll have to trust us..
It was recorded in 3 sessions (March, June and August) and it's a real step up in every direction. There are 11 brand new cracking tunes, all written as ever by Luke. He also produced it, and our old mate Nick Brine recorded it at Rockfield in Monmouth (as with Wonder Days).
This time we made a few changes, with some new mixing ears wrapped around it in the form of the talented Clint Murphy at Modern World, and Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, who mastered it in New York USA.
The album artwork was done by a fantastic Norwegian artist (yes he's an artist) called Magnus Gjoen. His work focuses on how things are not always what they seem, which we think is a bit like us..
There will be formats galore, and also like Wonder Days, there will be a whole bunch of Thunder Store Only exclusive items. All of these will be available to pre-order tomorrow morning at 09:00, so pop back here and check it all out babies!
Paul Anthony will get the world exclusive first play of the title song "Rip It Up" at 08:10 tomorrow morning on Planet Rock, so tune in, have a listen, and spread the word. With your help, on February 10th 2017, we're going to Rip It Up, all over again...
Kristineappears on the band's newly released fifth studio album, Cardinal, duetting with vocalist Nikola Mijic on the radio friendly ballad 'Unconditional':
