Frontiers Music Srl is truly excited to present THE FERRYMEN’s self-titled debut album, set for release on June 2, 2017!
The Ferrymen is a brand new project featuring guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall) and vocalist Ronnie Romero Official Site (Lords Of Black, Rainbow), together with drummer Mike Terrana (Rage, AXEL RUDI PELL, MasterPlan, and more).
Watch the band's official EPK here:
The songs were written by Karlsson in Sweden during the summer of 2016. Once Romero was sent the music via their main bands' shared label home Frontiers, he immediately wanted to be part of the project. Terrana was the last piece of the puzzle and he recorded his drums in Italy, where he currently resides.
The resulting album is a shot of adrenaline for all lovers of melodic metal! Musically, you can expect maximum melodic metal fusing the songwriting and epic structures of the great ALLEN/LANDE records (for which Magnus Karlsson was the main architect of the first three widely praised releases) with the Ronnie James Dio-esque vocal approach of Romero. (Let's not forget that Romero was hand-picked by Deep Purple (1968-1976) and Rainbow's legendary guitarist Richie Blackmore to be the lead vocalist for Rainbow's recent reunion shows, so the Dio comparison is more than accurate!)
Tells Magnus, “When I wrote this record, having Ronnie singing, I had no limits in mind with the lyrics. Ronnie could sing everything and I am also very proud of the songs!”
“I am used to working with Lords of Black in a certain straight style,” adds Ronnie Romero, “but, this record was very different and it was very exciting for me!”
“Overall, I think it is one of the coolest and grooviest records I’ve ever done,” concludes Mike Terrana, a drummer with more than 100 records under his belt!
With stunning artwork courtesy of Stan W. Decker and an outstanding mix courtesy of Simone Mularoni (of Italian prog metal masters DGM), THE FERRYMEN is an album which will take the metal world by storm in 2017!
The entire Trans-Siberian Orchestra family, past and present, is heartbroken to share the devastating news that Paul O’Neill has passed away from chronic illness.
He was our friend and our leader -- a truly creative spirit and an altruistic soul. This is a profound and indescribable loss for us all.
We ask that you respect Paul’s family’s privacy now.
We will make additional announcements shortly.
Jeff Scott Soto has also just posted:
I am beyond speechless, heartbroken and devastated...one of the most amazing human beings on this planet, I will NEVER forget the many aspects in life this man shared with me and so many in the world, Mr Paul O'Neill, may you rest in peace sir!
MelodicRock Records is immensely proud and excited to be partnering with American musician Jimmy Davis to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Jimmy Davis & Junction's debut album 'Kick The Wall'. Working with Jimmy over the past several months, MRR will chronicle the complete history of JD&J recordings and bring that to the fans, remastered from original master sources.
MelodicRock Records and Jimmy Davis will reissue the debut album 'Kick The Wall', freshly remastered by JK Northrup along with a very special bonus. The release will feature a second disc featuring a rare live concert, 'Live At The Bottom Line', as broadcast by Westwood One in 1987.
But that's not all! A conversation that started well over a year ago will result in the long desired official release of one of the best unreleased melodic rock albums ever. We're talking about the phenomenal shelved sophomore Jimmy Davis & Junction album 'Going The Distance'. It's a melodic rock masterpiece.
Kick The Wall (Deluxe Edition, 2CD) and Going The Distance both released May 19. Preorders available shortly.
Jimmy Davis on that debut: "In the early 80s, I met John Scott. We were put together in a theme park show replacing my favorite local bluegrass band turned rock and roll band that featured fiddle, mandolin, guitar whiz Tommy Burroughs. I was already writing and wanted to incorporate all of my influences in one band like they did. But somewhere around 1985 I wrote 'Kick the Wall' and demoed it at John's home demo studio. We knew we were on to something. We started getting noticed and joined up with a new studio in Memphis, Sounds Unreel. The studio started in our soon to be manager, Jon Hornyak's house. But they grew into a full on 24 track studio. Our hero Jack Holder and Don C Smith all took us in and we stared recording what became the debut album."
You could be forgiven for never hearing of the 'Going The Distance' album previously, or even be entirely unaware of Jimmy Davis and his talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. It's never too late to discover a masterpiece. And that's exactly what these albums represent. An extremely talented band at their very best, another victim of record label machinations.
Jimmy on the 'lost' album: "We starred on the second record in Memphis and ended up doing 4 or 5 songs in LA with Danny Kortchmar with Chad on drums. It took a long time and we had amazing quests, Warren Hayes co-wrote and played, Kevin Dukes from Jackson Browne's band and the Memphis Horns... But things were changing going into the 90s. Grunge for one. I was tired and frustrated, nothing made sense. We made the record for three different label presidents and it was time for a change. I wanted to do what is now called Americana. I simply walked away and 'Going the Distance' was shelved."
No one knows how the original recording of 'Going The Distance' leaked, probably from one of the original advance cassette that Chrysalis Records sent out when the album was touted for release back in 1990.
But that would explain the less than perfect audio that has been heavily traded by collectors ever since.
And if that's you - wait until you hear this record remastered from the original tapes!
The power, passion and performances on 'Going The Distance' are nothing short of melodic rock perfection.
Mixing the rootsy, natural live Midwestern rock n roll style with the commercial melodic rock sound of the day is a brilliant combination.
Imagine Bryan Adams in his 'Into The Fire' style or John Mellencamp during his 'Scarecrow' period. Add in some Charlie Sexton, John Kilzer, Richie Sambora (solo) and Jimmy's own unique style and you get an amazing record that I personally would have had on regular rotation over the last two decades had the release gone according to plan.
Using previously unseen original artwork for both albums - including using the original cover Jimmy wanted for 'Kick The Wall' - this is an essential purchase for longtime Jimmy Davis fans. And there is no doubt that Jimmy is going to attract a whole new group of followers with these albums available soon.
MRR will release the 'Kick The Wall 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' with bonus live disc and the 'Going The Distance' album May 19. Presales available shortly.
LAST CHANCE TO PREORDER AND RECIEVE ADDIONAL BONUS TRACKS (Which will be emailed to all preorders this week).
Its finally time to announce the full details of the legendary ARTI TISI Archives!
We started with 55 tracks and took out a couple of duplicate alternative mixes and a few tracks that didn’t quite sonically match the quality of the main body of tracks. What is left is no less than 47 astonishing tracks that upon play back sound like a greatest hits album from the 80s. Except of course, none of these tracks have ever been released before!
Together with Arti Tisi, we’ve arranged the tracks into 3 separate discs that represent their own character and different eras in Arti’s recording career.
Disc One is ‘New York City’ – some of Arti Tisi’s best anthems and commercial melodic rockers alongside some amazing ballads.
Disc Two is ‘Back Again’ – a compilation of the harder edge of Arti Tisi’s songs, packing a hard rock punch not unlike Dokken, Hurricane, Lynch Mob or Shark Island.
Overall these three discs showcase everything that Arti Tisi produced over a number of years in the 80s and 90s. There is no logical reason why these songs weren’t massive radio hits in the day and why Arti Tisi isn’t a megastar.
At least now we can finally take it all in and appreciate the sheer brilliance that is Arti Tisi!
‘New York City’, ‘Back Again’ and ‘The Reeperbahn’ are all released April 19. Pre-orders will be shipped prior.
All 3 CDs are available individually for $15 (+$5 worldwide airmail shipping).
BUT – if you pre-order all 3 CDs ($45 and just $5 worldwide airmail shipping), for a limited time, those that order will get a bonus digital download of some of the additional tracks that make up the complete archive.
A special thanks must go out to JK Northrup for his efforts in transferring these tunes from very old DATs and original reel to reel quarter inch tapes and then painstakingly remastered the audio so it now sounds just as good as was originally recorded.
Now, please enjoy the full length preview tracks – 2 from each album – and pre-order now!
ARTI TISI - 'New York City' (1 Disc $15 + $5 shipping)
MelodicRock Records is thrilled to announce the signing one of the best collections of unreleased music to ever be left aside in the vaults, for a deal that will finally see this classic melodic hard rock material released to fans that have been demanding it for two decades.
Only one artist could possibly gather all these names into their recording career: Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Bruno, Al Pitrelli, Al Greenwood, A.J. Pero, Ian McDonald, Mark Hitt, Lincoln Schleifer, Tony Harnell, Bob Held, Phil Woods, Chuck Bonafante and even more…
The man that was once considered to replace Lou Gramm when he left Foreigner, a role he could have pulled off with ease.
Who else than ARTI TISI!
The Arti Tisi legend goes back many years. To the mid-to-late 80s, into the 90s…. Arti Tisi was one of the finest vocalists and go-to guys in the world. But why isn’t he the mega-star that the material demonstrates he should be?
It’s a mixture of bad timing, bad luck and bad record labels. Best that Arti explains himself:
I would never change a thing, not a single thing. I am so fortunate to have played with so many talents and I feel they were the reason the music was great and the reason I tried to always push myself to keep up. I think the thing is that a lot of the musicians I played with were trying to make a living in other bands. Talents like Al Pitrelli or Tony Bruno or John O’Reilly, they were so fantastic, so in demand. Denny McDermott who was on with Donald Fagen on drums and Mark Hitt on guitar and was soon off playing with John Entwistle.
It was so amazing, I had so many opportunities to record and work with many great producers, engineers, studios and musicians. And the constant team of John Greenberg, Billy Phelan and Billy Cinotti kept us together so that we could experience amazing, amazing times like when the guys from Deep Purple came to see us in Connecticut right after the ‘Perfect Strangers’ album and the next thing I know we are signed to Bruce Payne and Thames Talent! I mean c’mon Deep Purple’s management! That same year we began talking to Michael Wagener hoping to get something together between his producing the first White Lion and Skid Row records, then the amazing Jack Ponti who was another great mentor.
But I enjoyed working with Al Greenwood and Dave Greenberg the very most, they were the ‘Team’. Dave was an amazing engineer and Al a fantastic producer. Al, Bobby Held, Al Pitrelli and Tony Bruno would help by co-writing with me and getting me some great songs that they had written with Joe Lynn Turner with his amazing vocals, or Jordan Stanley with some fantastic lyrics, I mean we would just go in and record the songs and everybody would go off and I would do my vocals with Al and David in the studio all of the backgrounds, and the odd guitar or drum part and what a treat to have Al occasionally play a B3 on some tracks and bam – Dave and Al mixed it in an amazing fashion – always.
We would do label showcases but then one guy went out with Doro or Alice Cooper so it was hard to get everybody together for longer than just the recording. I remember one time we did a showcase for Atlantic at like 10 o'clock in the morning!
We were playing around New York at the China Club or L’Amour Brooklyn, or L’Amour East or the Cat Club to make money, build our fans, hustling, a publishing deal here or there.
Then I had these opportunities like when Lou Gramm left Foreigner, I met with Bud Prager to be considered to replace him but Lou was my idol and his idols were my idols, guys like Steve Marriott and Paul Rodgers and then Terry Reid once Al introduced me to him. When Ray Gillen passed away, John Greenberg arranged for me to go to San Diego and audition with Jake E Lee and Badlands. When I was on the plane to California I popped in the tape of some of the songs to learn and the first song I heard was High Wire with Ray killing it! I think I was paralytic with the guys (laughs) - Everyone I played with was amazing, all true gentlemen. They were so professional and creative; Complete masters of their craft.
No matter what the circumstances at the time or the way these tracks were recorded, the fact is they were and they are magnificent!
So fate has held them at bay all these years. At times there has been attempts by other labels to release these songs, to no avail. Arti Tisi’s work was left to be heavily traded via cassette in the 90s and then online in recent years. But no one has the masters. Or the complete picture. Until now.
After several months of conversations with MelodicRock Records, Arti Tisi is ready to unleash his collected works upon the world.
But what was uncovered is nothing short of spectacular. Going back through the collection of DAT tapes and quarter inch tapes was a vault of songs unprecedented in recent memory.
Of the 20 or so expected songs MRR was hoping to work with, we are now up to 53, with the possibility of still more.
All the cult classics will be included – A Little Too Early, I’ll Be There, Love You Too Much, Love Finds You Guilty….and plenty of never before heard songs, including a heartfelt cover of Rick Springfield’sMy Father’s Chair. More details will be announced soon.
So with this rich vault of classic material to go through, fans can be guaranteed a treasure trove of killer music to add to their collections soon. All remastered by the guiding hand of JK Northrup.
Work continues on this right now and an announcement about a release will be made prior to the end of the year, with the aim to have this material officially released in the first quarter of 2017.
Classic American melodic rock, hard rock and AOR has never sounded better.
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to present the release of “The Nature of Time,” Secret Sphere’s ninth studio album, on June 2, 2017.
The new recording celebrates 20 years of hard work that started back in 1997 with the release of the band's widely praised debut album, "Mistress Of The Shadowlight." Since then, Secret Sphere has evolved and developed their unique style into what has become a trademark sound, making them one of an elite group of bands putting the Italian metal scene on the global map. The addition of extraordinary singer Michele Luppi (also currently serving as keyboardist and background vocalist for the legendary hard rock act, Whitesnake) in 2012 brought the band to the next level. This was evidenced by his first release with the band, "Portrait Of A Dying Heart", receiving wide fan and critical acclaim and landing on many metal journalists best releases of 2012 lists.
The new album, “The Nature Of Time", proves to be the ultimate showcase of the band's skill in composing highly orchestrated songs and introducing their foray into a new age of heavy rock and metal music. High class songs with amazing choruses, big vocals, majestic orchestral arrangements, and amazing, mind-blowing, guitar heroics are the order of the day.
"The Nature Of Time" explores the "back to life" concept, an inward looking search of the self that can positively impact everyone's everyday life.
"The long writing process of this album has been a constant "re-living" of memories and feelings, that started with only instrumental pieces that were put together only in order to vent my then current state of mind: a way to express emotions purely, without any kind of "holding back," so to speak. I then talked to Michele and we decided these were the perfect basis for a new Secret Sphere record," states guitarist Aldo Lonobile.
"What can I say about this album? We spent a few months writing songs in a way that opened the doors to our new age of heavy rock...definitely a new beginning for each member of the band, a new approach that got inspired by the concept of the album itself. It's not easy to open and talk about love and kindness. We chose the most direct way, no masks, only passion, energy and light guided each note leaving any kind of fear behind. Eventually, with time, we became US, not individuals...THIS IS US. Some of these songs earned a very special place in my heart," concludes singer Michele Luppi.
This is truly a Symphonic and Melodic Metal masterpiece, a very cinematic album. So close your eyes, enjoy the journey and…the music!
Slaughter frontman Mark Slaughter to release his new solo album "Halfway There" in Japan via Universal Music on May 10, 2017 and in Europe and the USA via EMP Label Group on May 26, 2017.
Says Slaughter: "We have been dropping hints for a while, but it is official. I have signed a deal with EMP Label Group, the record label owned by my good friend David Ellefson of Megadeth, who will release my new solo record Halfway There on May 26th in the US and Europe!! I'm so proud of this record, and can't wait for everyone to hear it!"
If you pre-order "Halfway There" on CD or limited-edition vinyl LP on empmerch.com, you will get a free immediate download of the song"Hey You". Also, the first 200 pre-orders will be signed. Order here: http://empmerch.com/?submit=&s=mark+slaughter&p%20ost_type=product
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the release of RADIATION ROMEOS self-titled debut album on June 2.
Radiation Romeos is a new band formed by the amazing singer Parramore “Perry” McCarty, best known for being the frontman of legendary US metal act Warrior and famed Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens' solo project, Atomic Playboys (in fact, the inspiration for the name Radiation Romeos came from a line in the song “Atomic Playboys").
Musically, the band moves in a melodic hard rock direction with solid, metallic edges thanks to the production of Michael Voss (Phantom 5, Casanova, Michael Schenker), who also contributed to the songwriting. In the studio, Parramore sang all vocals with Dag Heyne handling guitars, Jogi Spittka on bass, and Gereon Homann laying down the drum work with gusto!
Perry says: “Radiation Romeos started when producer Michael Voss contacted me in San Diego through Facebook. A few days later we had the record agreement with Frontiers, so the RADIATION ROMEOS album was soon under way. Our goal was to write great melodic rock songs. The album “spans the globe” from the title track, power rockin’ RADIATION ROMEOS to some songs with a bit more grit like CASTAWAYS. All the way to a beautiful ballad, LIKE AN ARROW. Something for everyone, if you will… The recording was so much fun and exciting for me. I couldn’t wait to get up the following day to work on the next song! Michael is a wonderfully professional person with endless talent and the musicians super cool guys and top players!”
Parramore McCarty's career in music started when Robbin Crosby of RATT gave him his start singing in cover bands. His first major label album was “Fighting For the Earth” on Virgin Records in 1985 for the legendary heavy metal band Warrior. Steve Stevens' Atomic Playboys followed in 1989 on Warner Bros. Records. Then hereturned to Warrior and also started gigging in the LA area with Metal Freqs and Monster Traxx.
Radiation Romeos will take no prisoners with their exciting mixture of muscular rock anthems and killer melodic songs!
Album tracklisting:
1. Radiation Romeos
2. Ocean Drive
3. Bad Bad Company
4. Mystic Mountain
5. Like An Arrow
6. Promised Land
7. Castaways
8. Ghost Town
9. Til The End Of Time
10. On The Tight Rope
11. Monstertraxx
RADIATION ROMEOS
Parramore McCarty - vocals
Dag Heyne - guitars
Jogi Spittka - bass
Gereon Homann – drums
With their impressive debut album Hard Rock 'n Roll (2013), the follow up Rolling In Town (2015) and fresh from their first European tour in 2016, 42 Decibel is making a comeback with their latest album, Overloaded, which will be released by Steamhammer/SPV on June 23.
42 Decibel has recorded ten new rock tracks inspired by the idea of pushing a piece of equipment to its limits. The band recorded and mixed with this in mind, so most of the equipment used in the recording was pushed to its limits; VU meters hitting the red zone, red lights flashing resulting in various types of distortion. Overloaded still carries the Blues Rock torch from the previous albums, but this time 42 Decibel cranked it up a notch to give a more explosive experience but with that same Hard Rock n Roll these boys are known for.
With Overloaded 42 Decibel resolutely follow the course they set out on in early 2010 with their first 7-track demo and went straight on to put into serial production with their debut Hard Rock 'n Roll. The current line-up with Junior Figueroa, Nicko Cambiasso, Billy Bob and Matt Fraga, is bursting with energy and thirst for action, and – witth the exception of the final mastering of the album, for which they once more enlisted the services of Justin Weis – took on the entire spectrum of tassks involved in a dynamic studio production themselves.
You can see the video for the song "Dangerous Mess" here:
Overloaded will be released by Steamhammer/SPV as CD digi, vinyl, download and stream on June 23.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Whiskey Joint 3:07
2. Dangerous Mess 3:22
3. Brawler 3:42
4. Roadkiller 3:46
5. Hot Shot 3:03
6. Half Face Dead 2:39
7. Lost Case 4:37
8. Cause Damage 4:09
9. Double Itch Blues 6:55
10. Cannon Fodder 4:44
