Recently signed to Crusader Records / Golden Robot Records, South African sleaze rockers L.A. Cobra have released their first single for the label, "She’s My Prison", which is available now on all digital platforms.


Formed in 2005, L.A. Cobra is the only sleaze / glam / hair metal band on the African continent. They are the “sleaze rocking hair metal stars” from Pretoria (home of multi-platinum rock superstars Seether), flying the '80s glam rock flag from the handlebars of their Harleys whilst making a name for themselves internationally and locally. 


"She’s My Prison", is an anthemic arena rock single that revolves around the restrictive nature of a failed relationship. The track features screaming guitars, thunderous drums and bass, and a sing-along chorus that fans will distinctly recognize as L.A. Cobra. 







L.A. Cobra has been let loose to cause a rebellion amongst the youth with their revival of the '80s glam era. Largely influenced by '80s rock bands like Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P. and Skid Row, L.A. Cobra is all about girls, Harleys, big hair and a good time. 


The band is: Don Cobra on vocals and guitar, Slade on lead guitar, Ewil on bass guitar and Callie ‘The Animal’ on drums, bringing back those memorable guitar solos and “balls to the wall” hard rock shows we’re all starved for. With a modern twist from their song-writing as we know them, these guys are the real deal, and live rock and roll! 





 

Estranged THE QUIREBOYS singer Spike (real name Jonathan Gray) has apologized to his fans, just hours after his bandmates released a statement saying that he was no longer in the group.

Earlier today, the long-running U.K. rockers announced that they had parted ways with Spike and revealed their intention to continue as a five-piece, with longtime guitarist Guy Griffin handling the vocals.

A short time later, Spike took to his Twitter to write: "Just to clarify, I have received a letter from 3 of MY band members informing me that my services are no longer required to sing or perform with them.

"I will release an official statement shortly but for now, my sincere apologies go out to you all and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all my fans who are supporting me through this difficult time. Many of you I have known for years and consider my friends. Thank you for your love and support.

"Rest assured I will see you at the bar very soon.

"THE QUIREBOYS founder, only original member and singer, God bless, Spike x"

THE QUIREBOYS most recently performed without Spike aboard this year's Monsters Of Rock cruise, which departed out of Miami, Florida on February 9.

THE QUIREBOYS put out their most recent album, the well-received "Amazing Disgrace", in 2019.

The band's debut LP, "A Bit of What You Fancy", was released in 1990 and included the song "Hey You", which was THE QUIREBOYS' biggest hit, reaching No. 14 in the U.K. singles chart and No. 5 in the U.S. Billboard Rock chart.

In 2020, THE QUIREBOYS were scheduled to celebrate their 35th anniversary with a tour. The trek, which ended up getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, would also have marked 30 years since the release of "A Bit Of What You Fancy".

Following the band's inception in London in 1984 — originally as THE CHOIRBOYS, then THE QUEERBOYS, before settling on the less controversial name of THE QUIREBOYS — there followed six years of hard graft and personnel changes.

THE QUIREBOYS played to 72,000 people at 1990's Monsters Of Rock at Donington with the likes of WHITESNAKE, AEROSMITH and POISON. They supported THE ROLLING STONES that same year in Newcastle, and opened for GUNS N' ROSES at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1987 and again a couple of years later on their "Use Your Illusion" tour.

The public's appetite for THE QUIREBOYS had returned and hasn't waned since — three further studio releases ("Well Oiled", "Homewreckers & Heartbreakers", "Halfpenny Dancer") were released on various labels from 2004 to 2009 before the band found their new, and permanent, home on Off Yer Rocka, the label of the renowned festival brand Hard Rock Hell.

An anniversary edition — fully re-recorded — of "A Bit Of What You Fancy" drew much acclaim in 2021.




pic.twitter.com/Pk7XwVKn6S

— The Quireboys Spike Official (@SpikeQuireboys) March 29, 2022






The Quireboys have parted company with Spike and will continue as a 5 piece with all other current members.

Posted by The Quireboys - This Is Rock And Roll on Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Ann Wilson has released the new single, "A Moment In Heaven", featured on her upcoming album, Fierce Bliss, out April 29 via Silver Lining Music.


Says Ann: “’A Moment In Heaven’ tells the story of a one-hit-wonder in the star-maker machinery of Hollywood: the sublime cruelty of transient fame.”


“A Moment In Heaven” carries a specific point of reference for Wilson but could easily apply to anyone who has seen their career suddenly bathed in a bright beam of glory before the spotlight is abruptly moved elsewhere. “It’s one of those anti-Hollywood screed things,” offers Wilson, “the meat grinder of the music image maker machine and what it feels like to be on the inside of that. All of a sudden, it’s ‘happening’ on all thrusters, you’ve got a number one record and everyone’s pouring champagne telling you how much you ‘deserve this.’ You’re in heaven! But then the cruel reality comes down… what’s the next one? Can you follow that? It’s all about the short-lived glamour and ecstasy of being successful in the rock business.”







One of the premier hard rock vocalists of all-time, Wilson smashed boundaries with her band Heart, the 8-times Platinum, 35 million-plus selling Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trailblazers who formed in 1973. During a decades-long career, Wilson rode the roller coaster of fame, fortune and madness, learning both joyous and hard, hard lessons along the way. Fast forward to Summer 2020, and a meeting with legendary veteran ‘artist’s lawyer’ Brian Rohan provided the catalyst for Fierce Bliss’s creation.


“Getting to know him, talking to him and his belief in me made me go: ‘the hell with this sitting around the house, I’ve always wanted to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, I’m just going to go do it, I have some songs!” Wilson states firmly. “Brian recommended people to me that knew people in Nashville, so I met [famed Nashville session guitarist] Tom Bukovac and Tony Lucido at those Muscle Shoals sessions. I’d never met them before, and they really inspired me. It was like a big door opening. Put it this way, we’re now a band.”


With the musical chemistry organically established, Fierce Bliss came together quickly. “It grew from that first session at Muscle Shoals,” furthers Wilson, “I had originally intended to go in, record a few songs and see what I had, but it just took on this life. Jim Zumwalt, the attorney, got a hold of it and said I should look at a few other people. We went into Sound Stage in Nashville, where Kenny Wayne Shepherd came in and played on a couple songs. He was a whole other influence coming in, he just played his butt off, and with the gospel singers and everything else coming together, the whole project just started to grow. I’d known Warren Haynes from Government Mule for a while, we’d written a couple songs together with Government Mule playing, and those rounded out the record. So all of a sudden, where there was no record before, suddenly I had eleven cool songs that I really liked.”


Fierce Bliss is not just an album for fans of Ann Wilson and Heart, it is an album for everyone seeking a lavish ticket out of the sharp edges of an increasingly fraught society. Fierce Bliss also marks perhaps the first time in her illustrious career that Ann Wilson has truly felt the wind in her wings, something which might seem a strange statement given her pioneering history.


Fierce Bliss is available to pre-order here on CD Casebound Book (deluxe package), Vinyl and Digital formats.





Fierce Bliss tracklisting:


"Greed"
"Black Wing"
"Bridge Of Sighs"
"Fighten for Life"
"Love Of My Life" (feat. Vince Gill)
"Missionary Man"
"Gladiator"
"Forget Her"
"A Moment In Heaven"
"Angel’s Blues" *
"As The World Turns"


* Available on CD and digital formats only


"Missionary Man":





"Greed" video:





Lineup:


Ann Wilson - Vocals
Tom Bukovac - Guitar
Tony Lucido - Bass
Sean T Lane - Drums, Percussion & Bike
Gordon Mote - Keyboards
Tim Lauer - Keyboards


- Produced by Ann Wilson and Tom Bukovac
- “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues” produced by Ann Wilson and Warren Haynes
- Mixed by Chuck Ainlay
- Recorded by Chuck Ainlay at Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL and Soundstage, Nashville, TN
- “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues” recorded by Joe Paterno at Power Station, Waterford, CT
- "Black Wing" recorded by Sean Walker at Uberbeatz, Lynnwood, WA
- Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, NJ
- Executive Producer Jim Zumwalt


Musicians who appear on Fierce Bliss:


Vocals - Vince Gill on “Love of My Life”
Lead Guitar - Kenny Wayne Shepherd on “Bridge of Sighs” and “Missionary Man”
Guitar - Warren Haynes on “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues”
Guitar - Tyler Boley on “Black Wing”
Keyboards - Danny Louis on “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues”
Keyboards - Dan Walker on “Black Wing”
Bass - Jorgen Carlsson on “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues”
Bass - Andy Stoller on “Black Wing”
Drums - Matt Abts on “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues”
Choir - The Rev Nathan Young Singers on “Missionary Man”


Tour dates:


May
4 - San Francisco, CA - Great American
5 - Napa, CA - The Uptown Theatre
7 - Pala, CA - Pala Casino
9 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
10 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
13 - Los Cabos, MEX - Hard Rock


June
11 - Peachtree City, GA - Fred Amphitheater
13/14 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
16 - Tampa, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
17 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The Parker


Tickets can be purchased here.

In a new interview with Viktor Wilt of Idaho's KCVI radio station, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge was asked if he has already picked out a song from the band's latest album, "Impera", that is going to be marketed as the LP's next single. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Short answer: yes. I just don't know exactly… Sometimes there's a difference between — obviously, you in radio know that — the songs that we release as singles and the ones that are singles that we push with a video and all that stuff. Right now I know what we're hoping to do a little bit later in the year. Long story short, we're making sort of a trilogy of videos for 'Call Me Little Sunshine', 'Twenties' [and] 'Watcher In The Sky'. And that is sort of in the making. So it might be that that is sort of a different piece; that might be a different thing that comes out sort of separate to a radio campaign, whereas obviously we have our eye on what we're gonna do towards the fall in terms of what song we're making a video for right now and so forth."

GHOST's fifth album, "Impera" sold 70,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marks the third top 10 album — and fifth top 40-charting set — for the Swedish occult rock act.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Of "Impera"'s 70,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprise 62,500, SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 9.11 million on-demand official streams of the set's songs) and TEA units comprise 500.

"Impera"'s first-week album sales surpass that of any other album in the 2022 tracking year so far. It also has the largest sales week for a rock or hard rock album since the debut of FOO FIGHTERS' "Medicine At Midnight" in February 2021 (64,000).

"Impera" landed at position No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in France and Ireland, and No. 20 in Italy.

"Impera" was released on March 11. The 12-song effort was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace.

Forge worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare, whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Regarding his collaboration with Åhlund, Al Fakir and Pontare, as well as OPETH's Fredrik Åkesson who was brought in to sharpen the album's guitar attack, Forge recently told St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "I found that I can work really well with someone I respect, who is always pushing for the best. They make me want to write better, to get my game up a little."

GHOST's co-headlining tour with VOLBEAT kicked off on January 25 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada and concluded on March 3 in Anaheim, California.

In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the new character who is fronting the act for its "Impera" album phase.

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of "Prequelle".

Photo credit: Mikael Eriksson

"Pistol", a six-episode limited series about the legendary SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones, will premiere May 31 exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Based on Jones's 2018 memoir "Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol", the series from Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, who also serves as executive producer and director, was created by Craig Pearce and written by Pearce and Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Jones, Boyle and Pearce serve as executive producers alongside Gail Lyon, Anita Camarata, Tracey Seaward, Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and Wiip. The series is produced by FX Productions.

"Imagine breaking into the world of 'The Crown' and 'Downton Abbey' with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent," said Boyle. "This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever. It is the detonation point for British street culture...where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion…and everyone had to watch and listen…and everyone feared them or followed them. The SEX PISTOLS. At its center was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac — a hero for the times — Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there."

Anchored by Jones's memoir, which offers a fascinating new perspective on one of rock's greatest ever stories, "Pistol" moves from West London's council estates, to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's notorious Kings Road SEX shop, to the international controversy that came with the release of "Never Mind The Bollocks", which is frequently listed as one of the most influential albums of all time. Their single "God Save The Queen" was banned by the BBC and reached No. 1 on the U.K.'s NME chart, but appeared at No. 2 on the official U.K. singles chart, leading to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot. For the only time in chart history, the track was listed as a blank, to avoid offence to the monarchy.

"Pistol" stars Toby Wallace ("Babyteeth", "Acute Misfortune") as Steve Jones, Anson Boon ("Crawl", "1917", "Blackbird") as John Lydon, Louis Partridge ("Enola Holmes", "Medici") as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Fabien Frankel ("The Serpent", "NYPD Blue") as Glen Matlock, Dylan Llewellyn ("Derry Girls") as Wally Nightingale, Sydney Chandler ("Don't Worry Darling") as Chrissie Hynde, Emma Appleton ("The Witcher", "Traitors") as Nancy Spungen, and Maisie Williams ("Game Of Thrones") as punk icon Jordan.

A year ago, Jones and Cook blasted Lydon for his disparaging comments after he lost a legal battle over the right to use the band's songs in "Pistol.

Jones and Cook argued in court that an agreement they signed with Lydon meant decisions regarding licensing requests could be determined on a "majority rules basis."

Lydon, for his part, claimed that the bandmember agreement had not been applied since it was signed more than 20 years ago and that "all decisions" about the use of SEX PISTOLS music and imagery had been made with "unanimous" agreement.

However, a judge ruled that the contract was valid and active, and that the majority of the band could overrule any individual member's veto.

Photo credit: Miya Mizuno / FX

The Portuguese death / doom metal band The Chapter has unveiled the first details about their upcoming album. The new effort is called Delusion Of Consciousness and it will be released on April 22 as digipak, streaming, and digital download formats. Preorder on Bandcamp.


Music video for “Halocline” is streaming below. The video was produced and directed by Ricardo Bravo and Pedro Antunes at Crossover Studios.


Delusion Of Consciousness will consist of eight tracks for a duration of 46 minutes, where the band will unleash the melancholic beauty of his sound. The powerful sound has been secured by the producer Daniel Cardoso (Anathema, Angelus Apatrida, Ava Inferi) who took care of the recording, mixing, and mastering at Ohme Studios. Enclosed you can see the beautiful artwork by João Gomes.







Tracklisting:


“Halocline”
“Delusion Of Consciousness”
“Book Of Life”
“Compos Mentis”
“Sentidos a Morrer”
“Vultures”
“In This Place”
“Social Solitude” 


“Halocline” video:

Mexican metal band Agora, consisting of frontman Nat Contreras, guitarists Manuel Vazquez and Sergio Aguilar, drummer Eduardo Carrillo and bassist Dan Villarreal, have announced that they have signed with Golden Robot Records for the release of their new projects.


The band will release their new projects under Crusader Records (part of the Golden Robot Global Entertainment Group).


Agora have shared the stage with bands like KISS, Judas Priest, Guns N' Roses, Megadeth, Mötley Crüe, Deep Purple, Scorpions and Iron Maiden.




Agora joins the Golden Robot Records family amongst a long list of the best that the music industry has to offer, including L.A. Guns, Hardcore Superstar, Wildstreet, CrashDiet, Gilby Clarke, Phil X, and many more.

FOO FIGHTERS have officially canceled all of their previously announced shows following the death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Earlier today, the band released the following statement: "It is with great sadness that FOO FIGHTERS confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins.

"We're sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won't be seeing one another as planned. Instead, let's take this time to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we've made together.

"With Love, FOO FIGHTERS".

Hawkins died at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia on Friday (March 25). Local officials said an ambulance was sent to the hotel after a man reported having chest pains. The 50-year-old FOO FIGHTERS drummer did not respond to resuscitation efforts and was declared dead, the city's health department said.

On Saturday, the Colombian attorney general's office announced that Hawkins had opioids, marijuana and other drugs in his system before he died. A toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including anti-depressants, the office said. The statement added that the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences "will conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death" and that it "will continue the investigation and will report the results obtained within the framework thereof in a timely manner."

FOO FIGHTERS announced Hawkins's death on their Instagram account. "The FOO FIGHTERS family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the announcement read. "His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

The FOO FIGHTERS were scheduled to perform Friday at the Picnic Stereo festival in Bogota but their performance was canceled.

The band played Lollapalooza Chile on March 18 and Lollapalooza Argentina on March 20. They were scheduled to headline Lollapalooza Brasil on Sunday (March 27).

Hawkins has been open about his history of drug use. He overdosed on heroin in 2001 and spent a week in a coma, just four years after joining the FOO FIGHTERS.




pic.twitter.com/RRuEDt67pz

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) March 29, 2022

According to Oxford Mail, the former home of late DEEP PURPLE keyboard player Jon Lord is up for sale.

The eight-bedroom property Burntwood Hall in Goring-on-Thames, where Lord lived in the 1980s, is now on the market with a guide price of £8.5 million (approximately $11.17 million). The house, which comes with a bowling alley, games room and cinema room, was the inspiration for the song "Burntwood" from Lord's debut solo album, released in 1982.

Burntwood Hall has had several owners since Lord lived in the property.

Check out pictures of the home at Oxford Mail.

Jon Lord died on July 16, 2012 at age 71 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Lord, who was known for his keyboard virtuosity and his reinvention of the Hammond B-3 organ sound, co-wrote such PURPLE classics as "Smoke On The Water" and "Child In Time", among others. Lord and drummer Ian Paice were the only original members to last through the band's initial run from 1968 to 1976. He was on board for their 1984 reunion and stayed on through to his 2002 retirement from the band, after which he's worked primarily in the classical field.

Over the course of his career, Lord also worked with the ARTWOODS, FLOWER POT MEN, PAICE, ASHTON AND LORD, WHITESNAKE and good friend and neighbor, George Harrison.

In an interview with Peter Makowski, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about Jon Lord: "I'm not sure that the people in today's hard rock world really truly understand how innovative this guy was. He wasn't just another keyboard player on the side of the stage. In '66/'67, when Hendrix, Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore were taking the electric guitar to a new level, by using banks of Marshall stacks beefing up the sound, Jon Lord was one of the first guys in hard rock to take the keyboards through the same process. He took a fairly standard instrument like a Hammond organ put it through amplifiers and Leslie cabinets and introduced a whole new way of forcing the sound out of the keyboards.

"Ritchie Blackmore said that Jon formed DEEP PURPLE; he was certainly the instigator that made things happen," Lars continued. "If not the musical leader, Jon was the spiritual leader of the band. He was a pioneer, and I think that somehow that's gotten a little lost in the last few [months]. People are talking about, obviously, what a gentleman he was and what a fantastic band member but he really did something nobody had done before with the sound of the keyboards and I think that's probably the biggest thing to remember him f

Australia's black/death four-piece, Denouncement Pyre, will release its new studio album, Forever Burning, on June 17 via Agonia Records. Pre-order here.


Forever Burning is the fourth instalment from the Melbourne-based band and follow-up to Black Sun Unbound (2016). As a monument of black/death chaos, this collection of songs "represents a fiery will that cannot be broken," comments D (guitars/vocals). "A homage to the triumph and tribulations of those who walk the path of fire. With the limitations of the mundane world fiercely aligned against us, we charge forth, unwavering, unbound! Forever Burning!"


The album was recorded at the band's own studio, apart from drums, which were recorded at The Black Lodge Studio by Joel Taylor. Mixes took place at I-HQ (Nocturnal Graves, Order of Orias) with Jarro Raphael and mastering at High Voltage Audio with James Frazzetto. The cover artwork was crafted by Mitchell Nolte (Aborted, Mystifier, Lucifers Child). Elizabeth D’Aprano shot new band photos.







Tracklisting:


"Forever Burning"
"The Liberating Fires Of Moloch"
"Tongues Stretched For Salvation"
"Darkness In The Eyes Of Apophis"
"Hung Like Swine"
"Burn This World And Start Again"
"The Opposer Of Light"
"Sunder The Living Temple"


Lineup:
D. - Vocals & Guitars
T. - Guitars
R. - Bass & Backing vocals
L. - Drums

Rock ’n’ roll and a hockey great united on March 28 when the Young Guns tour – co-headliners Dirty Honey and Mammoth WVH – played to a packed Webster Hall in New York. Toward the end of Dirty Honey’s set, vocalist Marc LaBelle put on his New York Rangers jersey and introduced his good buddy, the team’s legendary hockey goalie Henrik Lundqvist, to join the band onstage for the song “The Wire”. With the audience chanting his name, Lindqvist strapped on his guitar and more than held his own. Check out the special performance below.





Remaining dates for The Young Guns Tour are as listed. To purchase tickets, go to DirtyHoney.com.




March
30 - Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
31 - The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA


April
1 - Rams Head Live, Baltimore, MD
3 - Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
5 - The Ritz, Raleigh, NC
6 - The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
8 - Marathon Music Works, Nashville,TN
9 - The Plant, Dothan, AL
10 - Hard Rock Orlando, Orlando, FL
12 - Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA





 

Hungarian Celtic punk pirates, Paddy And The Rats, throw an unforgettable pirate party with their second offering, "Everybody Get Up", cut from their sixth album, From Wasteland To Wonderland. The gripping new track invites the listener to join in a celebratory drink on the high seas. "Everybody Get Up" promises catchy dance and sing-along tunes, delivering another taste of the upcoming album, out April 29 via Napalm Records.


Paddy And The Rats on “Everybody Get Up”: “We shot quite an unusual video for our new single, ’Everybody Get Up’. The song itself sticks out of the line a little bit, because it has a kind of hip hop vibe like our childhood favourite bands, the Beastie Boys and Run DMC, and that is not typical of us. We wanted to visualize it, so we are wearing absolute different style clothing in the clip, summoning the New York hip hop and hardcore bands outfit of the 80’s. We made a very cool and funny mood video that can’t be taken seriously, at all. So many bad things happened to us recently that we needed some happiness, at last. So we took our teenage ourselves out again and were just fooling around.”







With their six full-length, Paddy And The Rats serve a top-notch pirate party fueled by a heavy dose of Punk, Polka and Folk, turning the world into a giant pub. This Irish influenced sound will assuredly bring up the urge to slam down a cold one while swinging happily along arm in arm to the beat. Formed in 2008 by singer and songwriter Paddy, the untamed unit have built a respective name within the scene due to hard work and extensive touring all over Europe - with more than 400 shows including at the world famous Wacken Open Air and the Sziget Festival. For the new album, they teamed up once again with producer Zoli Baker. The artwork was designed by Jill Colbert, who has also worked with bands like Alestorm, Exodus and Wintersun.


On a rousing 13 tracks, the Hungarians magically pull one stirring song after another out of their pirate hats, featuring a great variation of instruments like accordion, fiddle, banjo and bagpipe. The Celtic punks sail off on exciting adventures with their opener “Wasteland”, offering a longing duo of mandolin and vocals accompanied by violin injections. The spirit is incited with “Ship Will Sale”: The rousing track hits like a wild wave and invites the listener to join the party, swaying and stomping with them. The full-length pushes forward with “Party like a Pirate”, where they delight their shipmates with an eager party hit featuring a sweeping sing-along chorus. “Everybody Get Up” offers another power boost and slowly prepares for the end of the adventure, with its punkier, energetic sound. The last stop of the journey with the Celtic Punks is “Wonderland”. This emotional ballad provides the perfect note on which to end the album. With From Wasteland to Wonderland, Paddy And The Rats deliver a seaworthy adventure that fills the listener with addictive energy and simple happiness.





From Wasteland To Wonderland is available in the following formats:


- Jewel Case
- Jewel Case + T-Shirt Bundle
- Digital Full Length Album


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Wasteland"
"Ship Will Sail"
"Party Like A Pirate"
"After The Rain"
"Northern Lights"
"Matadora"
"Standing In The Storm"
"Everybody Get Up"
"Hometown Kid"
"Heartbreaker"
"Rumble Outta Here"
"The Last Hunt"
"Wonderland"


"After The Rain" lyric video:





Lineup:


Paddy O'Reilly - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitars
Sam McKenzie - Fiddle, Bagpipe, Banjo, Whistle's
Bernie Bellamy - Accordion, Backing Vocals †
Joey MacOnkay - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Vince Murphy - Bass, Backing Vocals
Seamus Conelly - Drums


(Photo - Sandor Bikali)

Frontiers Music Srl has announced the upcoming release of Swedish progressive metal masters Seventh Wonder's new studio album, The Testament on June 10, 2022. Today, the band has released the first single, “Warriors”, from the album. Watch the lyric video below. Preorder/save The Testament here.


The Testament follows 2018's Tiara, which, at the time, was the band's first new music in eight years. While the wait between albums was, mercifully, shorter this time around, the band certainly did not need any extra time to craft a stunning album showcasing their prolific instrumental skills and intricate songwriting. Indeed, The Testament is a high watermark in the band's already revered discography.


Seventh Wonder was formed in 2000 by bassist Andreas Blomqvist, guitarist Johan Liefvendahl, and drummer Johnny Sandin after their previous band fell apart. The music they were writing and playing turned towards progressive metal. When keyboardist Andreas “Kyrt” Söderin joined in late 2000, their new sonic explorations were only cemented further. Two demos were recorded (2001 & 2003) and the latter caught the attention of the label Lion Music, who signed the band in 2004. That collaboration spawned the first Seventh Wonder album, Become, which was released in June 2005. Become was well received by progressive metal fans and media alike; however, the band and singer Andi Kravljaca decided to part ways shortly after the recording process had ended. Enter the brilliant Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, ex-Vindictiv), who joined the band in 2005, actually prior to the official release of Become.




The next album, Waiting In The Wings was recorded in 2006 and mixed and mastered by legendary Tommy Hansen. This album was a huge leap forward in terms of song complexity and maturity and received outstanding reviews and fan accolades, establishing Seventh Wonder as a force to be reckoned with in the progressive metal world. 2007 was spent playing live in support of the album, including sharing stage with legendary bands such as Queensrÿche, Testament, Redemption, and many others in England, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.


Simultaneously in 2007, a follow-up to Waiting In The Wings was written. The band hit the studio in May of 2008 to record their third full-length, Mercy Falls, which was hailed as a true masterpiece at the time of its release. Mercy Falls was supported with several live shows in Europe, including Italy, Norway, Finland, and Holland.


In 2010, the band released The Great Escape, which again was met with critical and fan acclaim and cemented the band's standing as one of the premiere progressive metal bands in existence. In support, the band again toured in Europe and also appeared live in the USA at ProgPower Festival.


After The Great Escape album release, drummer Johnny Sandin left the band and would later be replaced by the incredibly talented Stefan Norgren (ex-Lion´s Share). Seventh Wonder fans collectively lost their minds in 2018 when it was announced that after an agonizing eight year wait, the band's latest studio album "Tiara" would be released. "Tiara" once again continued the band's winning streak of crafting progressive metal masterpieces and was greeted with high levels of enthusiasm.


Now, in 2022, the band one again returns with another magnum opus of a progressive metal album, The Testament.





Tracklisting:


“Warriors”
“The Light”
“I Carry The Blame”
“Reflections”
“The Red River”
“Invincible”
“Mindkiller”
“Under A Clear Blue Sky”
“Elegy”


“Warriors” lyric video:





Lineup:
Johan Liefvendahl – guitar
Andreas Blomqvist – bass
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Andreas Söderin – keyboards
Stefan Norgren - drums

James Corden has paid tribute to late FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins, calling him a "bright light" who "lit up every room he ever walked into."

The 43-year-old host of "The Late Late Show With James Corden" made his comments during last night's episode of the late-night show which he has been hosting since 2015.

"We were all shocked and saddened on Friday when we heard the tragic news that Taylor Hawkins had passed away," James said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "You have read things about Taylor and everything you read was true. He was a bright light. He lit up every room he ever walked into. He was so joyous and full of light and love and all the things that you want in a human being. I have such fond memories of any of the times that I got to spend with him.

"We just wanted to say that our thoughts go out to his family, his friends, his bandmates, the FOO FIGHTERS fans who are all around the world," he continued. "And Taylor, thank you for everything you gave us while you were here."

Corden then played an old "Carpool Karaoke" clip of him and the band crashing a Guitar Center in Los Angeles, where Corden, Hawkins and FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl compared their percussion skills and Corden laughing after failing to emulate Hawkins's drum solo.

Hawkins died at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia on Friday (March 25). Local officials said an ambulance was sent to the hotel after a man reported having chest pains. The 50-year-old FOO FIGHTERS drummer did not respond to resuscitation efforts and was declared dead, the city's health department said.

On Saturday, the Colombian attorney general's office announced that Hawkins had opioids, marijuana and other drugs in his system before he died. A toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including anti-depressants, the office said. The statement added that the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences "will conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death" and that it "will continue the investigation and will report the results obtained within the framework thereof in a timely manner."

FOO FIGHTERS announced Hawkins's death on their Instagram account. "The FOO FIGHTERS family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the announcement read. "His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

The FOO FIGHTERS were scheduled to perform Friday at the Picnic Stereo festival in Bogota but their performance was canceled.

The band played Lollapalooza Chile on March 18 and Lollapalooza Argentina on March 20. They were scheduled to headline Lollapalooza Brasil on Sunday (March 27).

Hawkins has been open about his history of drug use. He overdosed on heroin in 2001 and spent a week in a coma, just four years after joining the FOO FIGHTERS.