Heavy rock band Stagma, the international musical collaboration featuring artists from Europe and the US, have dropped their debut album, the self-titled ‘Stagma’. The album, released on Lisbon-based Headshell Records, contains twelve tracks of Stagma’s signature heavy rock, including an introduction and conclusion by legendary videogame composer, Jeroen Tel.
Producer, composer and Stagma’s rhythm guitarist, Alex Santos says of working alongside Rob Mancini, Neil Fraser, Joe Petro, Vinny Appice, Patrick Johansson, and Jeroen Tel: ‘We’re really pleased that such a talented group of musicians could come together. We combined our efforts and produced an album we’re really proud of.’
He added: ‘When Simon Wright of AC/DC came on board to add drums to ‘Sister Sister’, it was then we knew we had something special.’ Having played and toured with acts such as TEN, Heaven and Earth, Black Sabbath, Maniacs of Noise, Yngwie Malmsteen, Scar For Life, Boneyard Dog, and others, these seasoned musicians plan to keep on producing more music for Stagma.
Song listing:
01 GENESIS // 02 POKERFACE
03 ROCKET MACHINE // 04 FACES IN THE MIRROR
05 PROMISE ME // 06 GATES OF VALHALLA
07 CASTAWAY // 08 BOUNTY HUNTER
09 SISTER SISTER // 10 VIKING NATION
11 WRITTEN IN STONE // 12 TO BE CONTINUED -
Lineup: Rob Mancini - vocals Alexandre Santos - rhythm guitars Neil Fraser - lead guitars Joe Petro - bass
Vinny Appice - drums on tracks #01 to #08 Simon Wright - drums on track #09 Patrick Johansson - drums on tracks #10 and #11 Jeroen Tel - synths and keyboards on tracks #01, #03, #06 and #12
Tracks #02 to #11 composed by Alexandre Santos
Tracks #01 and #12 composed and arranged by Jeroen Tel
All lyrics by Rob Mancini
Songs produced and arranged by STAGMA
Mixing and mastering by Alexandre Santos
An unfortunate screw up with one of last year’s MRR titles was brought to my attention this week.
The Arti Tisi release “The Reeperbahn” contains a track that isn’t Arti at all. “When You Love Someone” is actually the original Drive She Said track, as released on the “Driving Wheel” album. And it seems we also used the original master of “Think Of Love”, with Arti's voice overdub, without permission as well.
It’s no excuse, but a lot of the source material lacked labelling, so this clearly demonstrates an area that needs to be handled more carefully with future planned archive releases.
Obviously this was an unintentional and innocent mistake, but also a pretty dumb one at that. MelodicRock Records and Arti Tisi sincerely apologise to Mark and Al’s family.
Millennial Reign "The Great Divide" is a really strong US power metal album that should be perfect for fans of bands like Queensryche, Crimson Glory, Stryper and Theocracy! Artwork by Jan Yrlund [Battle Beast, Pyramaze, Korpiklaani]. Released May 25.
Tracklisting:
01. The Genesis
02. Break The Tide
03. More Than Scars
04. Imagine
05. Till The End
06. In Your Silence
07. The Day The Sun Stood Still
08. Behind The Time
09. Wounds In Hand
10. The Great Divide
The Great Divide album info
The US power metal band Millennial Reign are back with their new album "The Great Divide"! The album features new members Travis Wills [vocals], Steve Nichols [drums] and Neil Bertrand [bass] together with founding member Dave Harvey [guitars]."The Great Divide" is the follow-up to "Carry The Fire", the label debut for the Swedish label Ulterium Records. Since the release of "Carry The Fire" the band toured with Stryper on their "To Hell With The Devil 30th anniversary tour" as well as supported bands like Sonata Arctica, Leaves' Eyes, Theocracy, Omnium Gatherum, Hammerfall and Joe Lynn Turner.
"The Great Divide" feels like a more focused and powerful album than its precursor and the new vocalist Travis Wills [Infidel Rising] really shines through the album with his raw and emotional vocals. Fast, catchy songs like "Break The Tide" and "Imagine" are mixed with epic songs like "Till The End" and "Wounds In Hand" and together they form a great collection of songs that should appeal to fans of US power metal and melodic metal.
Millennial Reign are scheduled to support Stryper and Hammerfall in June and will also play in Mexico for the first time this year.
"The Great Divide" is a really strong US power metal album that should be perfect for fans of bands like Queensryche, Crimson Glory, Stryper and Theocracy!
Millennial Reign line-up:
Travis Wills - Vocals
Dave Harvey - Guitars
Steve Nichols - Drums
Neil Bertrand - Bass
Millennial Reign discography:
2018: The Great Divide [Ulterium Records]
2015: Carry The Fire [Ulterium Records]
2012: Millennial Reign
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Ty Sims Artwork by Jan Yrlund [Battle Beast, Pyramaze, Korpiklaani]
After taking the world of rock music by storm with last year's surprise hit 'Amber Galactic', which also got nominated for a Swedish Grammy in the process, and leaving people speechless after a breath-taking first European tour in November/December, Swedish classic/progressive rock supergroup THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA have completed the works on their impatiently awaited next album.
Today the band reveals details of their upcoming album, entitled 'Sometimes The World Ain't Enough'.
Just like 2017's 'Amber Galactic' the album will feature two different cover artworks (see above) for the regular and limited editions.
The album is set for release on June 29, 2018 via Nuclear Blast and will contain 12 brand new songs. The limited first edition digipack CD as well as the vinyl will also feature an exclusive bonus track. The Japanese version will also feature an additional bonus track.
Sometimes The World Ain't Enough
01. This Time
02. Turn To Miami
03. Paralyzed
04. Sometimes The World Ain't Enough
05. Moments Of Thunder
06. Speedwagon
07. Lovers In The Rain
08. Can't Be That Bad
09. Pretty Thing Closing In
10. Barcelona
11. Winged And Serpentine
12. The Last Of The Independent Romantics
Limited edition digipack CD & Vinyl bonus track
13. Marjorie
Japanese Bonus Track
14. Pacific Priestess
'Sometimes The World Ain't Enough' was again produced by the band themselves and was recorded at Handsome Hard Music / Larsson Music Studio as well as Nordic Sound Lab in Skara, Sweden. Mixing duties were taken on by the band's guitarist/percussionist Sebastian Forslund and mastering was done by Thomas ”Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
Pre-orders will start soon.
Soon, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA will descend from their extraterrestrial orbit and take over your hometown. The place you thought you knew will for one very special night become a palace of sin, where the champagne hits you harder, the stakes are higher and all the women are undercover space commanders. And on top of all that, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA will put on the rock show of the year, guaranteed to blow your mind.
PRE-ORDER NOW - EARLY DIGITAL AUDIO DELIVERY AHEAD OF CD SHIPPING APRIL 25
STONELAKE - Thunder And Rain ($15 + $5 worldwide shipping)
MRR APRIL RELEASE DEAL -
CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD + STONELAKE ($30 + $5 worldwide shipping)
It is with great pleasure that MelodicRock Records announces the signing of Swedish hard rockers StoneLake for the release of their new studio release ‘Thunder And Rain’.
It is the third release in a partnership with StoneLake’s founder Jan Akesson, following previous albums from S.A.Y and Jan Akesson’s Shadow Rain.
This will be StoneLake’s seventh album and their first in 5 years. The band might have a new updated logo, but ‘Thunder And Rain’ is an album of classic StoneLake you know and love – high octane guitar riffs, pounding rhythm section and layers of vocals and keyboards brining the melody.
Bound to appeal to fans of Swedish hard rock, TNT and Yngwie Malmsteen and the like…
Jan Akesson comments: “We are happy to announce the release of our 7th album "Thunder and Rain" through Melodic Rock Records! After a break of nearly 5 years it's great to have finished the work of an album that we are very proud of!”
Vocalist Peter Gundstrom: “With this work we are back to the roots where we once started off with melodic songs, harmonies and riffs like the old school! Everything comes from heart and soul and I am very humble still to be able and deliver what I love!”
Jan concludes: “To release this album is great because this means that we are back for the future again! We feel that the songwriting and production gets better all the time and this have no ending as long as we love what we are doing! We would also like to thank Andrew for believing in us and that our cooperation goes on and on!”
STONELAKE IS:
Peter Grundstrom – Vocals, Backing Vocals
Jan Akesson - Guitars – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Lasse Johansson - Bass
Jens Westberg - Drums
Produced By: Jan Akesson
Recorded, Mixed And Mastered By: Jan Akesson AT UMP Unlimited Music Production
In August 1984 guitarist Jan Akesson and singer Peter Grundstrom got to know each other after performing at the same show in different bands; Jan was lead guitar in Ravage and Peter was fronting Whitelight. Their meeting led to the conclusion of Jan’s work with Ravage and he became a new member in Whitelight in the fall of the same year.
Whitelight’s focus was melodic hard rock, initially influenced by Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company and then by a 'new wave' of English, American and Canadian bands such as Whitesnake, Van Halen, Journey, Toto, Riot, Wrabit and Dokken. Whitelight played many gigs and produced many demos in search of that elusive record deal.
After 3 years with Whitelight, in 1987, Jan decided to leave the band and went his own way to spread his wings with tougher, more guitar-oriented hard rock. Peter stayed in Whitelight, who changed their name to Kee Avenue.
Jan went on to form new bands Why Not, Perfect Stranger and Dr Blue, playing many very successful gigs and making several acclaimed recordings.
Kee Avenue split up in 1991 after the bass player and the keyboard player left the band. After this final breakup Peter went on to play and sing with several different, mostly cover bands, though he kept on writing songs, always looking for the right project to showcase his talent.
In 1994 Jan decided to step back from live performance to concentrate on writing and producing songs in his new studio on the emerging digital recording platforms that would soon come to dominate the music industry.
Finally, 15 years after the two first played together, Jan decided to give Peter a call, thinking that it was time for a ‘reunion’. A good meal and a few beers was the spark that lit a new beginning.
The result was StoneLake.
'Thunder And Rain' will be released April 25 on MelodicRock Records.
PRE-ORDER NOW - EARLY DIGITAL AUDIO DELIVERY AHEAD OF CD SHIPPING APRIL 25
CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD - Struck By Lightning ($15 + $5 worldwide shipping)
MRR APRIL RELEASE DEAL -
CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD + STONELAKE ($30 + $5 worldwide shipping)
Swedish rockers Captain Black Beard have signed with Melodic Rock Records for the release of their new studio album ‘Struck By Lightning’, coming worldwide April 25.
The first single and video from the album “All The Pain”, is out now, with the new video 'Dead End Street' making it's debut now:
The new album sees a switch in musical direction for the band, unleashing a wave of powerful new anthemic, pure melodic rock songs.
“It’s an honor to work with such enthusiastic champions of our genre.” says bassist Robert Majd.
In the summer of 2017 Captain Black Beard entered the studio to write a new chapter in the bands history. Robert Majd and Christian Ek along with new lead singer Liv Hansson as well as producer Jona Tee (keyboardist in H.E.A.T) pretty much reinvented the band’s sound.
The album that was recorded is called ‘Struck By Lightning’ and features a fresh dose of high energy melodic rock. From the instant catchiness of the opening track “All The Pain” to the heavy closing of “Straight Out Of Hell”, the band combines their AOR influences with their hard rock roots.
“This is a tremendous album and I’m really excited for the guys,” states MRR owner Andrew McNeice. “They’ve created a great new sound that brings together everything I love about music – killer songs, big production and hooks and harmonies everywhere. This album is going to put the guys on the map.”
Captain Black Beard was formed in 2009. Their self-titled debut album was named one of the "Albums Of The Year" by legendary journalist Geoff Barton of Classic Rock. The follow-up "Before Plastic" featured guest appearances by Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grand Funk Railroad) and Mats Karlsson (220 Volt). In 2016 the band released "It's a Mouthful" and toured with Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen, Deep Purple), Robin Beck, House Of Lords and performed at the festival Hard Rock Hell AOR for the second time in their career.
Swedish Metal band Bullet will release a new digital single and video today. The new song "Fuel The Fire" is taken from the forthcoming studio album "Dust To Gold". The song is also available as a limited 7" vinyl version with a cover version of ANGEL WITCH's "Dr. Phibes" on Side B.
The new album "Dust To Gold" will be released through Steamhammer/SPV on April 20th 2018 as CD digi (incl. poster) / 2LP gatefold (golden vinyl) / download / stream
