Croatian hard rockers Animal Drive are preparing to begin work in earnest on the follow-up album to their stunning debut, "Bite!". To hold fans over while they wait for the band's new album, Animal Drive jumped in the studio to record a covers EP, “Back to the Roots”. The tracklisting includes a super-heavy rendition of Roxette’s “The Look” (featuring the guest vocals of Frontiers labelmate and fellow Trans-Siberian Orchestra artist Rosa Laricchiuta), a magnificent and epic version of Whitesnake’s “Judgement Day”, Skid Row’s “Monkey Business”, and Warrant’s evergreen classic “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Animal Drive showcase how much musical prowess the band possesses by covering these three hard rock classics and a mainstream '90s hit and completely making them their own.
On why the band chose to cover Skid Row's "Monkey Business", Dino Jelusic says “people used to, and still do sometimes, compare Animal Drive to Skid Row and their "Slave To The Grind" era. That song opens the "Slave To The Grind" album and it’s a monster jam, so it felt like a logical fit. Of the other covers on "Back To The Roots", Jelusic continues, "the other three songs are "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" by Warrant, "Judgement Day" by Whitesnake and "The Look" by Roxette. I've always wanted to cover "The Look" in a heavy way, so it was cool to finally do it. We are big Whitesnake fans and had to go for one of their more epic jams. The Warrant song is one of their absolute best and shows what a great songwriters Jani and the band are, plus it's a great fit for a heavy band to cover."
As for what can fans expect from the next Animal Drive album, Jelusic says, "I more or less have all the songs down. It will be epic, a lot more versatile than the first album, more pianos and orchestra, progressive, but still very heavy and melodic. Probably my finest lyrical and musical work to date."
Animal Drive's debut album, “Bite!” caused quite a stir in the hard rock scene, showcasing for the first time to the world the amazing vocals of Croatian singer Dino Jelusic. Originally formed in 2012 by Jelusic, who is the primary songwriter and driving force behind the band's sound, the band also features guitarist Ivan Keller, bassist Roko Nikolic aka Rokindja, and drummer Zvonimir Mihaljevic aka Zvone. Dino was chosen by the late, great Paul O'Neill to tour as a featured vocalist on Trans-Siberian Orchestra's most recent U.S. tours. Often compared to the likes of David Coverdale, Russell Allen, Sebastian Bach, and Steve Lee, Jelusic's commanding vocal presence is perfectly matched in Animal Drive's sound by guitarist Ivan Keller's monster riffs and screaming solos, and the thunderous rhythm section of Rokindja and Zvone.
Overall, Animal Drive showed, on their debut album, an impressive range of styles from Whitesnake and Skid Row at their heaviest to more modern hard rock/metal like Avenged Sevenfold and Alter Bridge to touches of progressive rock and metal elements the likes of Dream Theater thrown in the mix. The final result is melodic yet always very much possessing the hard rock "in your face" attitude.
"Back to the Roots” is a great chance to get accustomed with one of the hottest new Hard Rock bands around and if you are a serious fan, this time you can’t go wrong. Enjoy!
Original Survivor bass player STEPHAN ELLIS has passed away.
Stephan was a crucial part of the great legacy of Survivor’s heyday. I know Jim and Frankie will both be feeling this hard and my personal condolences go out to them and Stephan’s family, friends and fans.
Survivor's Frankie Sullivan has just posted this message on the band's FB page:
We are devastated to hear that Stephan Ellis has passed away. Steph was the guy who was only interested in the music. He absolutely had a special charm with the fans and within the band. I loved much when it came to Steph.
What I remember most and clearly recall is the day when we cut “Keep It Right Here.” The Bass part and lines in the intro just folded into the mix and it was the bass part that inspired me to reach higher on my guitar. We cut our tracks together, live in the studio. Steph’s runs on the neck of that blue bass are as memorable as the song itself.
The guitar player/bass player vibe has been around for a long time and Stephan and I had our thing as well. We fed off each other a lot and I think it was simply his calm ways that not only presented him to me in the beginning, it was also Steph’s calm ways that often helped most. He was always good for some adventurous storytelling that the censorship of today has removed, never to be told by this band reporter. But I learned a few things, we all did…!!!!
I will miss Stephan, we all will. We can talk for years about how much he’d cause us to laugh and most importantly to a rock n’ roll band at that time, the infamous “ice” lesson he passed on to us all one day that stuck for a long while.
This was Stephan Ellis to me –
Underrated yet never dated. Well dressed and on a consistent basis. Gargoyles and all and he was cool enough to pull off. Stephan was well-coifed, always ready and Stephan Ellis lived his own life in his own way and on his own terms.
As already announced, 2019 will bring many, many concerts for Cornerstone. The first half of the year the band will mainly perform in Austria - including a few appearances in Germany as well. During summer, the UK is on the touring-agenda again, the 10th time meanwhile! Continuing the good news, Cornerstone will do shows in France and Scotland this time - great news so far! Within the next few weeks some more gigs will be announced, for more infos check out the band's website.
Frontiers Music Srl is proud to announce the debut album, "Nowhere To Run" from the UK's The Brink! Set for release on May 17, 2019, fans can hear first single, "Break These Chains" today.
The band is part of the label's New Breed roster, a stable of young, up and coming bands forging the future of hard rock and metal.
Check out NOW the lyric video for "Break These Chains”
Influenced by classic bands of both the past and present, but with a modern edge added to the mix, The Brink bring new life and energy to the British hard rock scene with their vibrant 21st Century form of balls-to-the-wall rock ’n roll.
Starting out in the Cambridge area, the group have worked their way up the ladder to headline in cities such as London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Nottingham, while support slots have included a well received UK tour with The Departed in the autumn of 2018.
Following two self-released EP’s, The Brink signed to Frontiers in 2017 and are now set to release their debut album, ‘Nowhere To Run’, which has been produced by Nick Tauber (Thin Lizzy, UFO, Marillion). Weaving delicate vocal and instrumental harmonies around driving rock riffs, the record is packed with fist-pumping anthems and solid ballads befitting early Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, although their fresh new style has already enticed fans from a variety of rock genres.
Singer Tom Quick states that the lyrics have “a theme of unity and compassion, and an understanding that no matter who you are, there is always a place for you in this world. The songs are written from the perspective of personal situations that the band members have been through and our hope is that listeners will be able to relate to what we are talking about and be inspired by it.” Musically, he continues, "it’s filled with hard hitting riffs, sing-along choruses and kick ass ballads!”
As for the new single, ‘Break These Chains’, Tom explains that the song “was inspired by friends of band bassist Gaz Connor, who “both had very strong work ethics in well paid jobs, but they never felt it was paying off and they knew there had to be more to life. They had to break the chains that bound them. Lexi [Laine, guitarist] wrote a hard hitting riff to back up the message behind the lyrics, to really make them come to life and tell the story.”
Backed up with an exciting live show full of youthful vivacity, The Brink are a band to keep your ears open for.
