Extreme metal pioneers, Venom Inc. performed what was dubbed the Return To Hammersmith 1984 show at the Keep It True Rising II Festival on October 2nd in Würzburg, Germany. Prt-shot livestream video is available below.
Setlist:
"Witching Hour"
"Black Metal"
"Die Hard"
"Leave Me in Hell"
"Countess Bathory"
"The Seven Gates of Hell"
"Teacher's Pet / Poison / Teacher's Pet"
"Buried Alive"
"Don't Burn the Witch"
"In Nomine Satanas"
"Welcome to Hell"
"Warhead"
"Stand Up (And Be Counted)"
"Rip Ride"
"Heaven's on Fire"
"In League With Satan"
"Schizo"
"Sons of Satan"
"Bloodlust"
Venom Inc. have released their new album, There’s Only Black, via Nuclear Blast. In celebration, the band have released a lyric video for the title track, which can be viewed below:
Almost 40 years after their inception, the revitalized 1989 - 1992 Venom lineup of guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn and vocalist/bassist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan, and the new addition of drummer Jeramie 'Warmachine' Kling have returned with one hell of a follow-up to their acclaimed debut, Avé, and show no signs of slowing down.
"How Many Can Die"
"Infinitum"
"Come To Me"
"There's Only Black"
"Tyrant"
"Don't Feed Me Your Lies"
"Man As God"
"Burn Liar Burn"
"Nine"
"Rampant"
"The Dance"
"Inferno"
Nightwish vocalist, Floor Jansen, released her third solo single, "Me Without You", via ADA Music in early September. On October 3rd she performed the song at Holland's NPO Radio 2. Check it out below.
On October 1st, Jansen celebrated 10 years as the vocalist for Nightwish. The band shared the following message:
"On this day ten years ago, Floor Jansen performed with us for the first time, and the rest is history and history in the making. For this occasion we share with you a live video of us performing 'Storytime' over all these years, starting at our first show together."
Jansen shared the following post celebrating the occasion via Instagram:
Jansen performed live with Nightwish for the first time on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of Anette Olzon, who fronted the band for five years. Jansen officially joined Nightwish in 2013.
Georgia based hard rock / metal band Them Damn Kings have just released their debut album, Rise Up. It features the tracks "Throw It Away" and "Yesterday" which were released to US metal radio last year.
Them Damn Kings is the wrecking machine created by guitarist / multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Jef Rhodes. Jef is a long-time professional Front Of House Engineer, and Backline Tech who has over two decades of international touring experience with such bands as: Opeth, Cradle Of Filth, Highly Suspect, Lacuna Coil, Watain, and Mayhem.
Enlisting former Lacuna Coil drummer Ryan Folden, the pair have recorded Rise Up, a monster of a debut album that sounds both new and exciting - while simultaneously reminding listeners of that golden age of the early ‘90s when hard rock, metal, and grunge ruled the late night rock clubs of the world.
The newly released video for "The Pill" from Rise Up can be seen below.
“After two damn years I’m excited and proud to finally announce our album, Rise Up, is available for your listening displeasure. I’m beyond excited for you guys to finally hear the full record!” says Rhodes. “Rise Up is just a starting point for us bastardizing rock n’ roll with our own heavy-handed spin on it. The riffs are flowing! And even as you’re reading this, I’ve already started writing the next album.”
Rise Up artwork and tracklisting:
"Good Enough"
"Throw It Away"
"Fields Of Fire"
"Compromise"
"Yesterday"
"Rise Up"
"Tell Me Why"
"Dickweed"
"The Pill"
'Sunshine Of Your Love"
Chicago's Aftermath warns there is "No Time To Waste" with their new single and video.
"'No Time to Waste' – words that everyone should live by in their daily lives. But the song is not about that. Rather it’s about all of us together having no time to waste as a free species. Everyone you talk to today says something isn’t right in the world and most can’t point out what it is that makes them feel that way. Their gut tells them something isn’t right. This song is about what we feel isn’t right with the world today and we urge people to wake up before it’s too late. It isn’t about being woke,but being awake. The song is at its core about unity and coming together to defeat our mutual enemy. Every great story has a hero and a villain. We the people are the hero in this song," says Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis.
The official lyric video can be viewed below. Stream the single here.
The band is currently putting the finishing touches on No Time To Waste, their forthcoming third album in a trilogy, on which the title track described above is included. The new album is a departure from the previous dark, concept album installment in the trilogy. It also includes the band’s re-imagining of the John Lennon classic, "Give Peace A Chance".
Aftermath, fronted by Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis, formed in October 1985 when Charlie and his schoolmate Steve Sacco (Guitar) got together. This early incarnation with Adam (Bass) and Ray Schmidt (Drums) released their first demo in 1986 featuring “Sentenced to Death”, “Revenge”, “Shotgun” and “The Aftermath”.
In 1987, they unleashed their second demo entitled Killing the Future featuring the tracks “When Will You Die”, “Going No Place”, “Chaos”, “Meltdown” and “War for Freedom”. The band pursued a mind-blowing speed and technical brand of thrash that soon set them apart from the pack and in the process made them a pioneering crossover thrash band.
The tracks "War for Freedom" & "When Will You Die" were both featured on the British Metal Forces magazine compilation LP Demolition: Scream Your Brains Out in 1988. Their appearance on the Metal Forces compilation further expanded the band's international appeal.
By 1988, the band's musical direction was changing, and Adam's raw and simple bass lines would soon be replaced with complex and technical bass parts handled at first by John Lovette. Ironically, John never played bass on any Aftermath recording and was not even a bass player. He wanted to join the band so badly, however, that he came to the audition with a friend's bass he had just started to play. The speed and complex playing he displayed were like nothing the members had ever seen before on bass. He landed the gig that day. When the band decided it was time to add a second guitarist, Lovette told his bandmates of his desire to switch to guitar and for the first time he came clean he was a guitar player pretending to be a bass player all along. His bass playing was surpassed by his guitar skills and the band found its second guitar player, but unfortunately the search for a bass player was forced to resume. Luckily, the search (for the time being, anyway) ended with Danny Vega. His warm and precise playing was the perfect complement to the guitar playing of Lovette and Sacco and worked amazingly well with Schmidt's powerful drumming. With Lovette handling most of the song writing duties, Aftermath was about to make an unbelievable musical change.
By 1989, that change brought on by Lovette's writing and the band's musical tastes and stylings had slowed and matured as evidenced by the release of the underground classic demo Words That Echo Fear. Danny Vega was replaced on bass by Chris Waldron. The band went onto to become a trailblazing progressive/technical thrash band in the years that followed.
In 1990, based on the huge international success of the Words that Echo Fear demo, the metal label RoadRacer Records (a subsidiary of Roadrunner Records) approached the band for a demo deal, which resulted in a live four track demo featuring the songs “Eyes of Tomorrow”, “Afraid Of Time”, “The Act Of Unspoken Wisdom” and “Reflecting Pictures". Negotiations eventually broke down and Aftermath signed to New York's Big Chief Records. The label's collapse halfway through the recording sessions led to a long delay in finishing the record. While the band struggled to pay the studio bill, the album the band started to record in 1990 would not see the light of day for four years. The experience left the band reeling and forced them to issue the album under their own imprint with the help of their manager through Zoid Recordings in 1994. Four long years had passed since the initial recordings for the record Eyes of Tomorrow and the scene had dramatically changed.
The album was subsequently re-released on Thermometer Sound Surface / Zoid and released yet again four years (1998) later on Black Lotus Records in a re-mastered version.
Quite famously, Aftermath, in a notable court case Tsiolis v. Interscope. Records. Inc., 946 F.Supp. 1344, 1349 (N.D.III. 1996) sued high-profile millionaire rapper DR. Dre over the ownership of the Aftermath name. The Rapper tried to buy the name for $50,000, which the band rejected. The band sued him. As part of the settlement, Interscope Records signed the band. To the label's surprise, the band delivered a record under the moniker Mother God Moviestar. Its eponymous Electro-Metal debut was released in March 1998. The case has been studied in law schools around the US related to the issue of trademark dilution.
Aftermath has continued to receive critical acclaim as one of the major influences in the genre. The band was featured on pages 9 and 10 of Gary Sharpe-Young's A - Z of Thrash Metal, available on Cherry Red Books. Aftermath is also given an entire feature section in Alexandros Anesiadis’ 2019 book Crossover the Edge: Where Hardcore, Punk, and Metal Collide.
Twenty-five years after its formation, Aftermath's music made its return in 2011 with the release of the Box Set 25 Years Of Chaos on Area Death Productions and the vinyl When Will You Die on F.O.A.D. The reemergence of one of the most original thrash bands ever continued in 2014 with their decision to reunite for several concerts in 2015.
Coming off their first show in 20 years at Ragnarokkr Metal Apocalypse in their hometown of Chicago, the band ripped the stage apart at Headbanger’s Open Air in Hamburg, Germany that summer. In the Fall of 2015, the reunion continued with the reissue of Eyes of Tomorrow. With an expanded booklet and remastered by Paul Logus (Pantera, Steel Panther), Shadow Kingdom Records released the band's debut along with bonus material. Following this release was the Killing the Future reissue on Divebomb Records. Once again Paul Logus remastered the tracks from their original source and created a wall of sound in the process. Killing the Future, along with the expanded booklet and bonus tracks from the band's 1986 first demo completed the celebration of the band's 30th anniversary.
In 2017, the band started writing the material for their new album. There is Something Wrong is an 11-song opus recorded by Chuck Macak. mastered by Ted Jensen and released through Ingrooves by Zoid Entertainment and The Label Group. A concept record in the truest sense of the word, the album features a mix of old-school crossover thrash and technical/progressive metal and is a commentary on what is wrong with the world today. A calling out of the masses to wake up and know the real enemy. The music is urgent, and the lyrics challenge the listener to seek the truth. Aftermath went back to its early days and revived its crossover thrash stylings on several songs, but those are only samples of what the listeners have in store for them once they put on their headphones and listen to There is Something Wrong in its entirety.
In 2020, Aftermath released a re-imagined version of the John Lennon classic, "Give Peace A Chance".
“John Lennon’s urgent call for peace in Give Peace a Chance is more important today than ever, and our call for peace with this cover is the perfect message to follow up our previous album. We released a dark concept album with a bleak message and felt it was important to follow that up with something positive. The visuals in the video are as important as the lyrics in a way. We live in a visual world today and this video needed to get out the message of HOPE. Having a young girl be the focus of the video was our way of getting that across. Seeing only positive acts when she puts on Lennon’s famous glasses was the perfect visual metaphor. Lennon’s message is transmitted not only through his lyrics but also through the perspective created by his unique lenses” says the band.
The video was directed by critically acclaimed video director Steven Nathan in New York City.
Lineup:
Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis - Vocals
Steve Sacco - Guitar
Ray Schmidt - Drums
George Lagis - Bass
BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale joined ALICE IN CHAINS on stage last night (Tuesday, September 27) at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, North Carolina to perform the classic AIC song "Man In The Box". Fan-filmed video can be seen below.
BUSH is on the road in the U.S. a special guest on a tour co-headlined by ALICE IN CHAINS and BREAKING BENJAMIN. The trek kicked off on August 10 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania and will wrap up on October 8 in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
In a recent interview, Rossdale stated about how the tour has been going so far: "It is going good. It is amazing. I feel like the baby band; we play early, we open the show… It is really fun to be around ALICE IN CHAINS, a legendary band. I've known Jerry [Cantrell, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist] a long time but never spent so much time with him. So, that's always fun; you can form better friendships or cement friendships like that.
"It just feels like a festival because people come early to watch us," he explained. "There are a lot of people watching the first band, then we play early, and they stay all the way through. We don't get to play in the night; we get to play in the scorching sun. I've done it for a long time. It is brutal, yet there is something magical about it as well."
BUSH ninth full-length album, "The Art Of Survival", is scheduled to drop on October 7 via BMG.
BUSH wrote and recorded what would become "The Art Of Survival" during 2022, reteaming with Erik Ron (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, GODSMACK) who produced "Flowers On A Grave" and the title track for "The Kingdom", and collaborating once again on two tracks with film composer, musician, and producer Tyler Bates ("300", "Guardian Of The Galaxy"). The central theme speaks to both the human spirit's resiliency in the face of trials and tribulations as well as the band's own enduring place as rock outliers.
Raleigh – thanks for jamming with us. Alpharetta, GA, we’ll see you tonight!
Frontiers Music Srl has announced the signing of Spanish progressive metallers, After Lapse, to the label for the release of their upcoming album, Face The Storm, on December 9. The band's melodic progressive metal approach will surely be music to the ears of discerning prog fans around the world.
The first single and video, "Come Undone", is out now. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Face The Storm here.
After Lapse was initially formed in 2018 by drummer Roberto Cappa, keyboardist Pablo Sancha, and guitarist Arturo Rodríguez who had all previously played together in the band Delyriüm for many years. After a few member changes in the early years of the band, After Lapse settled into their current lineup in 2021 and soon after caught the attention of the Danish agency/management firm Intromental Management, who immediately signed on to represent the band upon hearing the demos the band had recorded at that time.
Over the course of 2021 and well into 2022, After Lapse kept writing and recording music for what would become their debut album, Face The Storm. When Frontiers Music Srl was passed demos that the band was working on from their management company, they were thrilled with what they heard and moved quickly to sign the band for the release of their debut.
After Lapse's musical influences vary from progressive metal bands like Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Pain Of Salvation, Haken, etc. to power metal bands like Kamelot, Angra, etc., but they are also their own entity unto themselves and not merely the sum of their influences. But those influences do speak to the categorization of the band as 'melodic prog metal' and gives fans a good clue as to what to expect from debut album Face The Storm.
Face The Storm tracklisting:
"Thrive
"Where No One Cares"
"Come Undone"
"Face The Storm"
"Beyond The End"
"The Lie"
"Through This War"
"More"
"Facta Non Verba"
"Heal"
"Along The Way"
"Come Undone" video:
Lineup:
Rubén Miranda – Vocals
Jorge Escudero – Guitars
Pablo Sancha – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Javier Palacios – Bass
Roberto Cappa – Drums
Guest musicians:
Pedro J. Monge (Vhäldemar) – guitar solos in “Where No One Cares”
Carlos Lozano (Persefone) – guitar solo in “More”Alicia Avilés
Valero – cello in “Along The Way”
GRIM REAPER's founding guitarist Nick Bowcott took part in a special tribute concert to the band's late singer Steve Grimmett at this year's Keep It True Rising festival, which is being held from September 30 to October 2 in Würzburg, Germany. Joining Bowcott at the event were the surviving members of Grimmett's post-GRIM REAPER band STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER, Steve's son Russ Grimmett, who sang a few of his father's songs, JAG PANZER and TITAN FORCE frontman Harry Conklin, and other guest vocalists. Festival organizers produced and gave away for free 2,000 Steve Grimmett buttons and produced a special tribute t-shirt, with all proceeds to be given to Steve's family.
Professionally filmed video of the Steve Grimmett tribute at the Keep It True Rising II festival can be seen below.
This year's edition of the Keep It True Rising festival is being headlined by SAXON and VENOM INC. Also appearing at the event are New Wave Of British Heavy Metal acts DIAMOND HEAD, Paul Di'Anno (formerly of IRON MAIDEN),BLITZKRIEG, AVENGER, SARACEN, SATAN, QUARTZ, CLOVEN HOOF, HOLOCAUST, DEMON PACT, TYTAN and MYTHRA. Other acts scheduled to perform include RIOT V, RIOT CITY and KONQUEST.
Steve died on August 15 at the age of 62. The singer's passing came five years after he had his right leg partially amputated when an infected wound on his foot spread to the bones in his leg partway through his South American tour.
Grimmett's life-saving surgery in 2017 was carried out in Ecuador and the frontman was in hospital for just over a month while fans raised $14,000 to bring him home after his insurance company refused to pay because of the type of work he was doing.
GRIM REAPER's story began in 1979 after successfully fighting off hundreds of bands in a local Battle Of The Bands competition. This win, combined with an already sizeable following, aroused the interest of Ebony Records. Signing with the small U.K. label, GRIM REAPER released three albums in rapid succession to international acclaim. Due to legal turmoil with Ebony, GRIM REAPER would disband in 1988. Grimmett would go on to record with ONSLAUGHT, LIONSHEART and more recently THE SANITY DAYS. His renowed vocal range remains one of metal's most identifiable with loyal fans turning out in numbers to hear him perform.
GRIM REAPER was part of the "Hell On Wheels" tour which crossed the States in 1987, alongside ARMORED SAINT and HELLOWEEN.
Grimmett reformed GRIM REAPER in 2006 as STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER following an amicable decision between the singer and Bowcott, who both agreed that using the original name minus the other members of the classic lineup wouldn't be a proper reunion.
STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER released two studio albums, 2016's "Walking In The Shadows" and 2019's "At The Gates".
Since 2006, STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER had made a number of European festival appearances and toured all around the world.
Earlier this year, Steve told VWMusic that he had "no regrets whatsoever" about how his career panned out. "I should by rights be a millionaire, but I haven't got a penny to my name," he revealed. "I'm on welfare at the moment because of COVID, and a lot of people do think that I am a millionaire, but I can tell you now, I'm not. I've never received a penny — not one penny — from GRIM REAPER, so that says it all, doesn't it? But still, no regrets. I still love getting up there and playing. I still love watching the smiling faces in front of me. That says it all and does it all for me."
After a few exceptionally long years full of personal change and near manic levels of creative activity, Canadian musician Devin Townsend releases his follow up to 2019’s well received Empath in the form of his new release, Lightwork. Assembled from a barrage of material written during the pandemic, Lightwork (and its companion album of B-sides and demos; Nightwork) represents Devin at this stage of his life, post pandemic, and his reflections on what he (and many of us) have all gone through.
For Lightwork, Devin decided to see what would happen if he included a producer (an experiment he has been excited to attempt for some time) to help guide this selection of material. He chose long-time friend Garth “GGGarth” Richardson to help bring this idea to fruition, and through a difficult (but wonderful) process, the next Devin album have been delivered. The name Lightwork represents the music, as well as the act of creating music, as a kind of ‘light in the dark’ while trying to navigate the seemingly endless challenges that life can often present. When things seem like there’s “no way out” or that a situation becomes seemingly insurmountable, the connection to music, family, and creativity became a light in the dark that is the bedrock of this wonderful album.
Featuring artwork by frequent collaborator Travis Smith, Lightwork arrives in several editions including a Limited Deluxe Orange 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray boxset that includes both Lightwork & its companion album Nightwork on both CD & Vinyl, as well as a Blu-ray including 5.1 surround sound, album commentary & visuals, art-cards & extensive perfect-bound booklet, all contained in a lift-off lid box. There will also be a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, Limited 2CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD, Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album.
Check out a trailer for the Lightwork deluxe box set below.
Tracklisting:
"Moonepeople"
"Lightworker"
"Equinox"
"Call Of The Void"
"Heartbreaker"
"Dimensions"
"Celestial Signals"
"Heavy Burden"
"Vacation"
"Children Of God"
The new album will be available worldwide on October 28 via InsideOut Music. Pre-order here
Italian melancholic metallers SilentLie bring forth their sophomore full-length Equilibrium via Rockshots Records. Always drawn to the dark side of emotions, SilentLie's Equilibrium proceeds along this path. It stands on modern heavy tones and an obscure mood that can be compared to bands like Ghost, Ozzy Osbourne, and The Cure.
Spreading their dark wings, drums, and bass, SilentLie builds a wall of sound on which the guitars dance with tombstone keys while a powerful female voice embraces the listener with gritty, but catchy melodies. Many of the songs on the album, thematically, deal with the eternal struggle between good and evil, with lyrics introspective and personal. There’s a maturity to the music that acts as a pendulum swinging between ‘80s liquid verses and gloomy, almost doomy, parts.
"This album carries a wide range of emotions. Hold on tight and don't be afraid!" adds the band.
"Equilibrium" is a collection of 10 heavy songs, a journey in the dark without fear. The album was mixed in the USA by Grammy Award winner Dave Hagen at Dark Horse Studios (Evanescence, Alice in Chains, Mastodon). It's not the typical female-fronted album.
For the record's release day, the band is sharing their music video for the album's title track.
"A glorious narration of the precarious balance between good and evil. One of our best songs ever," says the band.
“Divided”
“On My Skin”
“Something To Remember”
“Taste Of Solitude”
“The One Who Disappears”
“Equilibrium”
“Hysteria”
“Modern Paradox”
“The Others”
“World Upside Down”
Pierce The Veil — guitarist/vocalist Vic Fuentes, guitarist Tony Perry, and bassist Jaime Precadio — have shared the video for their explosive comeback single "Pass The Nirvana."
The song was a juggernaut from the start — landing play listing at Rock This, Rock Hard, Rock Rotation, All New Rock, Rock Out, New Noise, Volume Máxim, Breaking Rock, Rock Arena, and more. It also netted over 6 million streams in the month since release.
Pierce The Veil have truly served up a new track full of fuzzy guitars, massive melodic hooks, and PTV's distinct emotional heart. "Pass The Nirvana" is quite the riff fest and it marks Pierce the Veil's first new music since 2016. It was worth the wait — and then some. It is destined to become a fan favorite that the PTV faithful will scream the lyrics to at their live shows.
"'Pass The Nirvana' is about the many horrible traumas that the youth of America have endured over the past few years," said frontman Fuentes previously about the song's powerful, relatable, and topical subject matter. "COVID, no proms, no graduations, an insurrection, school shootings. The list goes on. Their lives have been tossed around like clothes in a dryer, as the tensions within our country have infiltrated our own homes, friends, and families. To me, the song represents a euphoric detachment from all of that anxiety and stress and about finding some form of peace or nirvana."
Pierce The Veil are currently on the road with I Prevail and Fit For A King.
The time is right for Pierce The Veil's comeback as one of their classic and most beloved songs is also having a pop culture resurgence.
A decade after its release, the already platinum single "King for a Day" shot to No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Streaming chart, driven by the viral #KingForADay hashtag on TikTok. The song has enjoyed quite a pop culture moment, as global music superstar Lizzo used the track in a video on the platform. It demonstrates how vital PTV's iconic catalog is — and how vital the band and its new material remains.
October
1 - Silvers Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
2 - New York, NY - The Rooftop at Pier 17
4 - Montreal, QC - L'Olympia#
5 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
7 - Ft. Wayne, IN - The Clyde Theatre
8 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe
9 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Leg 2:
October
22 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Fest*
23 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Fest*
24 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
26 - San Jose, CA - San Jose Civic
28 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
29 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Fest*
31 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
November
1 - Boise, ID - Revolution Concert House and Event Center
2 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
4 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
6 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
8 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave#
9 - St. Louis, MO - The Factory
11 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
12 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center
13 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works
15 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
18 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia
19 - Cambridge, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
20 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Riverworks#
22 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
23 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
* I Prevail & Pierce The Veil Only // Festival Date
# Non-Live Nation Date
Frontiers Music Srl will release Powerzone, the second album from red hot rock singer Chez Kane, on October 21. The album follows Chez's self-titled debut, which was released last year. Watch a video for the new single, "Love Gone Wild", below.
Fans can pre-order/save Powerzone on CD/Color LP/Digital now. Chez will also be signing a limited number of vinyl (300) and CDs (300). 200 of each are available from Chez Kane's official webstore, while the remaining 100 of each will be available at tour dates after the album's release. The vinyl will be silver color and limited to 300 copies worldwide. Simply click the link for "Official Store" at orcd.co/powerzone. Limited edition gold vinyl is also available from the Frontiers' webstores, links for which you can find in the preceding link as well.
A talented young vocalist who fronts, along with her two sisters, the band Kane'd, Chez was first brought to the attention of the label after conversations with Danny Rexon of Crazy Lixx about the possibility of him scouting and producing some exciting new talent. Subsequently, Danny started working on some demos with Chez and the label did not pass up the opportunity to get involved with this incredible talent. Chez's debut solo album embraced the melodic rock style that both she and Danny so admire, while adding a new twist to the current takes on the genre. Powerzone takes that formula and makes it bigger, better, and bolder.
Chez' star rose, and deservedly so, with the release of her self-titled debut album. Now, with Powerzone, she's really ready to launch into orbit.
Tracklisting:
“I Just Want You”
“(The Things We Do) When We’re Young In Love”
“Rock You Up”
“Love Gone Wild”
“Children Of Tomorrow Gone”
“Powerzone”
“I’m Ready (For Your Love)”
“Nationwide”
“Streets Of Gold”
“Guilty Of Love”
“Love Gone Wild” video:
"(The Things We Do) When We're Young In Love" video:
A Killer's Confession have released a new tune, "Be My Witness". The song was written by Waylon Reavis, Morgan Bauer and Shawn Iannazzo. Stream it on all DSPs here, and watch a video below.
The band are currently out on tour as special guests with the Indian folk metal band, Bloodywood, who are on their first-ever US tour. Dates are listed below.
September
30 - The Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA
October
1 - The Gramercy Theater - New York, NY
3 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)
4 - The Turf Club - St. Paul, MN
6 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
9 - Aftershock Festival - Sacramento, CA
10 - Constellation Room - Santa Ana, CA (SOLD OUT)
11 - The Nile Theater - Mesa, AZ
13 - Studio at The Factory - Dallas, TX
A Killer's Confession have released three albums since forming back in 2016 Unbroken (2017), The Indifference Of Good Men (2019) and Remember (2021).
Waylon Reavis, prior to forming A Killer's Confession, spent a decade (2004-2015) as Mushroomhead's vocalist and appeared on three albums The Righteous & The Butterfly (2014), Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children (2010) and Savior Sorrow (2006).
Former IRON MAIDEN frontman Paul Di'Anno played the first show since his long-awaited knee surgery Saturday night (October 1) at the Keep It True Rising II festival in Würzburg, Germany. Professionally filmed video of the concert can be seen below.
Featured songs;
00:00 Sanctuary
04:21 Purgatory
07:34 Wrathchild
12:32 Prowler
16:04 Murders In The Rue Morgue
22:16 Remember Tomorrow
27:23 Genghis Khan
30:27 Charlotte The Harlot
36:00 Killers
39:59 Phantom Of The Opera
47:43 Transylvania
51:34 Running Free
Di'Anno, who has been receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in Croatia, finally underwent his knee surgery on September 12.
This past May, Di'Anno came face to face with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades before the band's concert in Croatia.
Harris, whose group kicked off the 2022 leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour at the 22,000-capacity Arena Zagreb, came out before the show to greet a wheelchair-bound Di'Anno and chat with him for a few minutes.
After his friendly meeting with Harris, Di'Anno stuck around long enough to watch some of MAIDEN's performance before leaving near the end of the set to avoid a huge traffic jam after the show.
Di'Anno spoke about his experience meeting Harris in person after all these years in a live video chat with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said: "[That] weekend was absolutely amazing. 'Cause me and Steve [have exchanged messages] about football [in the past]. But we actually hadn't met [face to face] for a long time. And it was brilliant, because I met up with Steve's sister Linda first, whom I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. And then [seeing] Steve was amazing, and then [meeting up with MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod [Smallwood] as well, it's made my whole year, actually. It was fantastic. It was pretty awesome."
Paul went on to say that the last time he saw Rod was in 2013 when both he and MAIDEN performed — separately — at Brazil's Rock In Rio festival.
"I missed the MAIDEN show because I got swamped by bloody press and stuff, so I couldn't actually do anything to watch the band," he explained.
Asked if it was "awkward" meeting up with Steve for the first time in 30 years, Paul said: "No. It was great. I wish I wasn't in this sort of position [being in a wheelchair]. Yeah, it was quite emotional. If it had been the first time we spoke together in 30 years, it would have been maybe a little bit more weird. But, as I said, we talk about football and stuff like that, and Steve phoned me up a couple of times from [his home in] the Bahamas."
Calling himself and Harris two "happy-go-lucky geezers" from London's East End, Paul went on to say that he owes Steve dinner "big time, because he looked after my missus and son over in the States on the last MAIDEN tour in Connecticut, in Hartford. He really looked after them — gave them backstage VIP stuff and all of that. It was great. So when I get my legs back, I'll take him out to dinner."
According to Paul, Steve called him the day after the MAIDEN show in Croatia but he missed his call. "But I did text him back," Di'Anno said.
Paul also set the record straight about where he stands with respect to his former band, saying: "What annoys me is that everyone's spreading rumors around that we don't like each other and stuff like that. I ain't got nothing [against] IRON MAIDEN at all. I tell you, the show was brilliant on Sunday — absolutely amazing."
Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.
More than a decade and a half ago, Di'Anno told The Jerusalem Post that leaving the MAIDEN juggernaut behind was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he had no bitter feelings toward his former bandmates. "I absolutely have no regrets about leaving MAIDEN — I wasn't right in the head at that time to be in the middle of all that," he said. "I was fed up and disillusioned; it would have been cheating the fans and myself if I had stayed. It was easy to walk away from, and I'm very happy the band got bigger and bigger."
Several years ago, Di'Anno told Metal Thunder Radio that he wasn't as involved with MAIDEN's songwriting as he would have liked. "Steve had most of the words and the lyrics [to the band's first album] all written. That was some of the bones of contention that we had in the band — that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. 'Cause I am actually quite a prolific writer, but a lot of my songs were not accepted. 'Cause it's Steve's band, obviously."
He continued: "That first album was a revelation, I've gotta tell you. It was amazing. And the second album, for me, not so much. That's when I started to lose interest a little bit. But [we] still [had] great times — really great times."
In May, Paul played his first full solo concert in seven years at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it will be included in a documentary about Di'Anno, to be directed by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon.
The Zagreb concert was free to attend and was held as a way of thanking Paul's fans for their help during the most difficult time of his recovery. The show took place just a day before the IRON MAIDEN's gig at the Zagreb Arena.
Di'Anno recently teamed up with several Croatian musicians to form a new project called WARHORSE. WARHORSE entered the studio to record three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — have been released as a special limited-edition DVD single.
In February, Di'Anno outlined some of the recent health issues he has battled during an appearance on the "Još Jedan" podcast. He said at the time: "I caught sepsis [when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body] in 2015, and it almost killed me. And I spent eight months in a hospital in England. You've got a crucial 45 minutes to get as many antibiotics in you before you die, and they managed to do that, which was great. Then I spent eight months in a hospital, and then another three months in a care home. And while I was in there getting things done, on hospital visits, I caught MRSA [Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections] there twice, in the hospital. So that was it. So it kept delaying things and delaying things… And then they took this knee out put this cement thing in. And it was only supposed to be in there for a year. And the first time they put that in, it broke, so they cut me open again and put another in. And that one is still in here. And while it's been in there this long, it's going toxic."
Di'Anno reportedly underwent an operation in 2016 to remove a "rugby ball-sized abscess" on his lungs and required a knee-replacement operation on both knees after getting involved in several motorcycle accidents over the years.
December 2 will see the release of Metal Against Animal Cruelty, the first offering by all-star project, Feelingless.
Brought to life by Hugo Markaida, member of Spanish melodic death metal band Rise To Fall, Feelingless is a project to support animal rights and to give a voice to the voiceless. Featuring top notch guest appearances by the likes of Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), Christian Älvestam (Solution .45, Miseration) and Ettore Rigotti & Claudio (Disarmonia Mundi) - just to name a few - Metal Against Animal Cruelty offers eleven tracks and will be coming out via powerhouse label Noble Demon. All proceeds raised from this release will be donated to local animal shelters in Spain, and in addition, the label will donate to an international animal welfare organization.
Founder and Feelingless mastermind Hugo Markaida comments: "The project was born in the middle of the pandemic, although it was an idea that had been germinating for a long time. My taste for this kind of projects began when I discovered, a few years before picking up the guitar, The Metal Opera Pt. 1 by Avantasia in a local music store. An album that brought together many of my favorite heavy and power metal singers that, wrapped in a medieval fantasy concept, was for a teenager like me an object of devotion. If we jump in time to the moment when I was composing the material that would make up the fifth album of my band Rise To Fall, just moments before the pandemic, many of the ideas and compositions that I liked the most did not specifically fit to the band and, as in every album, I had to put them aside."
He continues: "Still thinking about that Avantasia album that impacted me when I was a teenager, to bring out a project of that magnitude myself with my favorite singers must have had a sense of importance for the person I am today. Something special that would draw attention to one of the causes I am most committed to. And, incidentally, to support it with the profits resulting from the project.
"Both my partner and I are animal lovers, and we live surrounded by rescued animals. That is why it seemed important to me that, at a time when the whole of humanity was suffering from a global crisis and its consequences, we could not forget the most vulnerable. Thus, I began to outline the concept of the album around the exploitation and mistreatment of animals. I was willing to work with the best and most favorite of my artists, so I started composing the songs thinking beforehand about who was going to interpret them. I told the participating artists all about the project and its charitable nature, with no profit for the artists involved in favor of associations that help animals in need. It was touching to see how my idols sympathized with the cause and joined the project selflessly."
The result is Metal Against Animal Cruelty, a diverse metal album with twenty magnificent singers and musicians supporting the good cause on eleven tracks! Listen to the first single, "Feelingless", feat. Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra) below.
Hugo Markaida about the song: "This track is a tribute to one of my favorite artists like Björn Strid and David Andersson (recently passed away, may he rest in peace) from my favorite band Soilwork. Björn was the first artist I contacted and he agreed to collaborate in the project. The lyrics have some reference to Soilwork, legacy of David Andersson in the last stage of the band and Björn, main composers of the band, but it has a deeper and more personal meaning, as well as the dream of touring with Soilwork in Japan. The drums in this song are played by Lawrence Dinamarca, a Chilean/Swedish musician of an amazing level that I met while touring with his ex-band Nightrage. The guitar solo is by Pedro J Monge (Vhäldemar, Chromaticity Studios) and bass by Iñigo Lopez (The Descent)."
"Feelingless" feat. Björn "Speed" Strid(Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra) & Lawrence Dinamarca
"Anguish" feat. Jon Howard (Threat Signal, Imonolith) & Gavin Iedema, NeroArgento, Lawrence Dinamarca
"Peace" feat. Mikael Sehlin (Degradead, Engel) & Lawrence Dinamarca
"Love" feat. Ettore Riggoti & Claudio Ravinale (Disarmonia Mundi)
"Hope" feat. Christian Älvestam (Solution .45, Miseration)
"Nostalgia" feat. Rachel Aspe (Cage Fight, ex-Eths) & Jake E (Cyhra, ex-Amaranthe) & Lawrence Dinamarca, Diego Zapatero
"Guit" feat. Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra)
"Pride" feat. Daniel Heiman (Harmony, Heed, ex-Lost Horizon)
"Fear" feat. Ville Viljanen (Mors Principium Est) & Dann Hoyos (Rise To Fall, The Space Octopus)
"Rage" feat. Mikael Sehlin (Degradead & Engel) & Marios Iliopoulos (Nightrage)
"Anxiety" feat. Dalay Tarda (Rise To Fall)
"Feelingless" visualizer:
Feelingless lineup:
Hugo (Rise To Fall) - Guitars
Pedro J Monge (Vhäldemar) - Guitars
Iñigo Lopez (The Descent) - Bass
Lawrence Dinamarca - Drums
Country singer Mickey Guyton joined METALLICA on stage on September 24 at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park to perform the band's classic power ballad "Nothing Else Matters".
"Finally a real singer," METALLICA frontman James Hetfield quipped while introducing Guyton, who belted through the song's verses and shared vocal lines with Hetfield on the track's chorus.
Professionally filmed video of Guyton's performance with METALLICA, which did not appear in the original rebroadcast, was uploaded to the Global Citizen YouTube channel on Friday (September 30) and can now be seen below.
After the concert, the 39-year-old gave METALLICA a shoutout on her social media channels. "There are no words," she captioned several pictures of the collaboration. "I'm just grateful."
Guyton previously covered "Nothing Else Matters" on the 2021 tribute album "The Metallica Blacklist", which celebrated the 30th anniversary of METALLICA's classic 1991 self-titled record. Guyton was one of ten singers or groups who sang "Nothing Else Matters" for the album. Aside from her, Elton John, MY MORNING JACKET and Chris Stapleton also recorded versions of the same song.
Global Citizen Festival: NYC was hosted by Bollywood star and Global Citizen ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who introduced METALLICA as "the greatest rock band in the world."
METALLICA kicked off the eight-song set off with "Creeping Death" and closed it with "Master Of Puppets", which recently saw new life after its inclusion in season four of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things". The popularity of the 1986 song brought it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever in the band's lengthy career.
The setlist was as follows:
01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Enter Sandman
04. Sad But True
05. The Unforgiven
06. Wherever I May Roam
07. Nothing Else Matters (with Mickey Guyton)
08. Master Of Puppets
Last year, METALLICA's music video for "Nothing Else Matters" surpassed one billion views on YouTube. It was the first METALLICA track to reach the milestone.
The "Nothing Else Matters" video, which was uploaded to YouTube in October of 2009, was directed by Adam Dubin and edited by Sean Fullan and is made up of clips from the 1992 METALLICA documentary "A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica". The clip is perhaps best remembered for a scene where Lars Ulrich throws darts at a poster of WINGER frontman Kip Winger.
"Nothing Else Matters" reached position No. 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as top-ten positions on many European charts.
"Nothing Else Matters" was featured as a playable track in the music video game "Guitar Hero: Metallica" and has been covered over 40 times by a host of different artists, including STAIND, Shakira, Bif Naked, Macy Gray, DIE KRUPPS, REV THEORY and APOCALYPTICA.
A never-heard-before, totally new and different version of "Nothing Else Matters" appears twice in Disney's movie "Jungle Cruise".
There are no words. I’m just grateful @metallica. #GlobalCitizenFestival
Swedish melodic blackened death / thrash unit Vittra unleashes their latest video for the track “Halls Of Ancients”. The band’s new single comes off their debut full-length, Blasphemy Blues, set for release on November 11th.
Originally called Vildvittra, based on the characters created by Astrid Lindgren as part of Ronja Rövardotter [Swedish for Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter, a children’s fantasy book first published in 1981], their name later evolved into Vittra, inspired by the mythical creatures appearing in Swedish folk stories. And while Swedish folk is a recurring theme weaving in and out of their music, the band is firmly rooted in melodic death and thrash metal in the veins of Dissection, early In Flames, Megadeth, and At The Gates.
The video clip documents the band in the recording studio. Comments guitarist Johan Murmester, “‘Halls Of Ancients‘ is a mix of groovy and melodic death metal as in Soilwork meets Hypocrisy and old In Flames. The melodic verse has been with me for quite a number of years, influenced by the Inspector Gadget theme with a Soilwork touch to it. While the pre-chorus is the result of excessively listening to Megadeth, it is rooted in the central idea of how I wanted our songs to be experienced in a live setting: when I saw In Flames live a long time ago, they really got the audience going - I wanted to recreate that feel and get that vibe and experience for us as well!”
Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW),Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP),Matt Sorum (GUNS N' ROSES) and Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES) performed at a private event on September 3 at Usina Monte Alegre, a 400,000-square-meter space in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The concert served as the launch of ViralCure, an impact-first DeSci (Decentralized Science) platform to support healthcare-oriented research and development in alternative ways. The event was staged by Sthorm, a mission-driven special unit leveraging blockchain technologies for the advancement and dissemination of social and environmentally applied sciences, and it was attended by only 300 guests, including soccer player Ronaldo Fenômeno, socialite Ana Paula Junqueira, artist Tulio Dek and wingsuit champion Gabriel Lott.
Professionally filmed video of Bach, Sorum and Clarke performing the GUNS N' ROSES classic "Patience" can be seen below.
One of the invited guests, Paulo Baron, head honcho of entertainment company Top Link Music, previously shared video footage of the performance by Bach, Gibbons, Sorum and Clarke as well as several photos from the party.
Sorum is the co-founder of Sthorm, which has been described as a global hub of future-minded entrepreneurs, scientists, cypherpunks, and artists collaborating to drive disruptive solutions that have a genuine impact on society.
Sorum, who has also played with THE CULT, VELVET REVOLVER and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, is not involved with GN'R's hugely successful reunion, which features singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan alongside drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.
The 61-year-old musician, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).
Matt was among the GUNS N' ROSES members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012. He, Adler, Slash and McKagan attended the ceremony, while Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paulo Baron (@toplinkmusic)
On September 27th, Arch Enemy launched their European Siege 2022 in Dublin, Ireland at The Olympia Theatre. The band has since issued an official video recap, along with the following statement:
"What an amazing way to kick off the European Siege Tour 2022 in Dublin, Ireland! Thank you all so much for coming out and selling out the first show of the tour; we can't wait to do it again!"
High quality fan-filmed video of select songs from Arch Enemy's show in Dublin, Ireland has surfaced online and can be enjoyed below. Their setlist was as follows:
"Deceiver, Deceiver"
"War Eternal"
"Ravenous"
"In The Eye Of The Storm"
"House Of Mirrors"
"My Apocalypse"
"The Watcher"
"The Eagle Flies Alone"
"Handshake With Hell"
"Sunset Over The Empire"
"As The Pages Burn"
"Snow Bound"
"Nemesis"
"Fields Of Desolation"
Don't miss Arch Enemy on The European Siege 2022 alongside Behemoth, Carcass, and Unto Others. Dates can be seen in the official poster below.
A collection of 11 tracks that are ruthlessly catchy and mercilessly violent, Deceivers stands toe-to-toe with the highlights of the band's storied catalogue. Roaring to life with "Handshake With Hell", Arch Enemy make it clear they are out for blood, and every track is a hit, from the moody "Poisoned Arrow" to the titanically anthemic "One Last Time". Sounding more energized than ever, the quintet is operating at the highest level, delivering a maelstrom of diamond-hard riffing wrapped around cinematic melodies, thunderous drumming and towering vocals. Arch Enemy has proved, yet again, that they are unstoppable.
"Handshake With Hell"
"Deceiver, Deceiver"
"In The Eye Of The Storm"
"The Watcher"
"Poisoned Arrow"
"Sunset Over The Empire"
"House Of Mirrors"
"Spreading Black Wings"
"Mourning Star"
"One Last Time"
"Exiled From Earth"
Canadian classic rock roots and blues rock band The Commoners release the title track single "Find A Better Way", the third single taken from the forthcoming album Find A Better Way on Friday, September 30th. The single is mixed by legendary producer Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin) and is available to buy and stream at this location.
The album will be released on CD, limited edition vinyl and digital by Gypsy Soul Records on Friday November 4th. The CD and vinyl editions are available to pre-order from TheCommoners.ca. Pre-save the album digitally here.
The Commoners’ lead singer, Chris Medhurst, describes the "Find A Better Way" single as follows: “Our current world throws a lot of challenges at us all. We don’t have control over that, but we do have control over how we respond. 'Find A Better Way' is a powerful rock anthem that speaks to the challenges we must overcome and our need in humanity to find a better way.”
Possessing a sound tapped from the oaken belly of a whiskey barrel, The Commoners are a four-piece roots / blues rock band from Toronto, Canada.
Described as “a classic rock and roll affair,” the nine songs take the listener on a sonic voyage through the lives of the band, from the dusty back roads of rural Ontario to the bright lights of the big city. Offering their own blend of rock and roll, southern blues, and roots music, the Toronto-based four-piece band are known for their high-energy riffs, soulful vocals, and rich harmonies. The result is an authentic Southern-style rock experience.
The group was cobbled together over the course of a decade, adapting through numerous obstacles to form the unit as it exists today: Chris Medhurst (vocals/guitar), Ben Spiller (bass), Ross Hayes Citrullo (lead guitar), and Adam Cannon (drums). Often joined by their friend, organist Miles Evans-Branagh, The Commoners unite under a shared dream: to write, perform, and share music that is an authentic nod to the greats who paved the way before them.
“The new album authentically embodies the rock and roll, soul, and blues rock experience,” says the band’s lead singer, Chris Medhurst. “That’s something we really wanted to bring back. That’s the roots. That’s what we listen to.”
The Black Crowes are a considerable influence for us,” says Medhurst. “Derek Trucks, Marcus King, Led Zeppelin, and The Allman Brothers Band, too. These are the bands that we wear on our sleeves as we aspire to create our own music and sound.”
Find A Better Way is an album that demands attention from the first note. The opening lines “If I scream at the top of my lungs, and stamp my feet, ’til the floor comes undone,” immediately inform that a wild ride lies ahead. The album was recorded and produced at RHC Music in Toronto by the band’s guitarist Ross Hayes Citrullo. Ross collaborated with executive producer Renan Yildizdogan to strike the perfect balance of new and old recording treatments. The goal was to create something that felt new and original, yet still familiar to their target classic roots rock and blues rock audience.
“The vision from the beginning was to marry old and new southern rock together in a way that was unique to the band’s Canadian roots,” explains Citrullo. “By adding the soul and rock elements of the Black Crowes, and the southern blues rock undertones of the Allman Brothers to a production style akin to Blackberry Smoke and Rival Sons, I think we developed an authentic sound that compares sonically to some of our favourite records across all of those music genres.”
The album’s lyrical themes drill into the essence of humanity: love, regret, ambition, and fear. Circling the forever challenge of doubt vs. desire, The Commoners place themselves into the shoes of the everyman. The result? Nine tracks that function as a comfort and companion through all of life’s trials and tribulations, with melodic solos, soaring organ, and a punchy rhythm section to drive the messages home.
Drummer Adam Cannon says, “Music, like so much in life, is about the exchange of energy,” and The Commoners make more than a fair trade. Striving to present an impactful, memorable, and downright exhilarating live experience that accurately represents their recorded works, the band carries the listener over spirited choruses and group chants, before returning them back to earth in need of a shot of something smooth. You can expect to leave fully satisfied, sweat drenched, and heart racing, a good time guaranteed—just what we all need.
The Commoners enlisted a handful of Toronto’s finest musicians to help bring their record to life. On the title track Find A Better Way, the band brought on keyboardist Jeff Heisholt (The Trews) to lay down an iconic organ track. For the rest of the album, keyboardist Miles Evans-Branagh performed organ, piano, and Rhodes.
To accompany Ben and Adam on backup vocals, The Commoners called upon three of Canada’s top backup singers. Tash Lorayne and Shezelle Weekes (The Arkells), and Chantal Williams joined in to arrange vocal parts and enliven the mix with their vivacious voices resulting in a spine-tingling performance.
The Commoners also invited local legend Michael Eckert to lend his pedal steel talents on I Won’t and Alive. Adding the final cherry on top, renowned multi-instrumentalist Ben Healey treated Deadlines to a guitar solo worthy of the world’s greatest stadiums. Though these songs were all written by The Commoners, the contributions of these amazing guest musicians make the album something special.
“Every time we brought an outside player into the studio, they would offer their own unique instincts and interpretations of each song. This helped the album grow into a collaborative art piece that continues to surprise us with every listen.”
A rock anthem to its core, the title track, "Find A Better Way", carries a message that encapsulates the entirety of the record. With growing uncertainties, society faces challenges previously unseen, leaving the collective in a perpetual state of questioning, with doubt directed towards governments, public leaders, and our neighbours. From the aftermath of COVID-19, the increasing mental health crisis in North America, war crimes in Ukraine, and the explosion of social movements and protests, one thought unites us all—we need to find a better way to co-exist on this planet. Find A Better Way takes an inward look at confronting our tumultuous past and accepting personal accountabilities to uncover the strength needed to seek a solution.
"Find A Better Way" is the only track on the record to mixed outside of Canada. The band worked with legendary producer / mixer Kevin Shirley (The Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa, Led Zeppelin) at Caveman Studios in Sydney, Australia. Kevin’s mix helped set the perfect tone for the album, which Ross Hayes Citrullo was then able to follow for the rest of the record. Kevin’s involvement set The Commoners on the right path with this epic title track.
Mastering was also an important consideration for the band and their label. For this stage, the team sent their record all the way to Nashville, Tennessee to Pete Lyman (Tedeschi Trucks, Blackberry Smoke, Chris Stapleton, Rival Sons) at Infrasonic Sound. Pete’s specialty for mastering southern rock made the mixes come alive, making them sonically competitive to the band’s influences.
As a collective, we find ourselves emerging into a changed society, with uncertainty looming and shadowing the future. In their upcoming release, The Commoners remind us that music has a unique ability to heal, a medicine of extraordinary merit, and balm for the soul during dark times. Every major movement in history gave rise to change makers, and The Commoners are taking their stand, here to lead and inspire us all to Find A Better Way.
Tracklisting:
"Find A Better Way"
"Fill My Cup"
"More Than Mistakes"
"Too Much"
"Naturally"
"I Won’t"
"Deadlines"
"Hangin’ On Again"
"Alive"
The Commoners will be touring Europe over the next two months. Their live itinerary is as follows:
October
12 - Norderstedt, Germany - Music Star
13 - Hoganas, Sweden - Garage Bar TBC
14 - Varberg, Sweden - Maja’s
15 - Avesta, Sweden - Kulturgaraget
16 - Stockholm, Sweden - TBC
18 - Malmo, Sweden - Folk & Rock
19 - Hamburg, Germany - Cowboy und Indianer TBC
20 - Hamburg, Germany - Cowboy und Indianer TBC
21 - Asendorf, Germany - Break Out
22 - Singwitz, Germany - Kesselhaus
23 - Burglengenfeld, Germany - RockStürbl
24 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Muzeum Ochbodu
26 - Bremen, Germany - Meisenfrei
27 - Köln, Germany TBC
28 - Rimsting,Germany TBC
29 - Fiesch, Switzerland - Inch Bar
30 - Switzerland TBC
31 - Solothurn, Switzerland TBC
November
3 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Textil
4 - Castellon, Spain - Sala Because
5 - Orihuela, Spain - La Gramola
6 - Valladollid, Spain - Puerta Caeli
7 - Leon, Spain - Babylon
8 - Ourense, Spain - Cafe Auriense
10 - A Coruna, Spain - Sala Mardi Gras
11 - Cangas, Spain - Salason
12 - Valles, Spain - Bocanegra
13 - Vitoria, Spain - Urban Rock
15 - Chambery, France - Brin de Zinc
16 - Besançon, France - Bar De L’U
17 - Metz, France TBC
18 - Krefeld, Germany - Kulturrampe
19 - Ostend, Belgium TBC
For further details, visit The Commoners on Facebook.
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