Phantom 5 Featuring Former Bonfire Singer Claus Lessman Returns With 'Play To Win' Album In October7/20/2017
Frontiers Music Srl will release the second studio album by PHANTOM 5, "Play To Win", on October 13.
The disc's first single, "The Change In You", can be streamed below. After the success of its self-titled debut album, the brainchild of producer/guitarist (and for this record, bassist) Michael Voss and vocalist Claus Lessmann has returned with yet another incredible outing of impeccable German melodic hard rock. Once again joined by Robert Boebel on guitars and keyboards and Axel Kruse on drums, these fist-pumping anthems will tickle the eardrums of any connoisseur of melodic hard rock. Michael Voss says: "[t]o all the rockers out there, we are more than happy to continue this labour of love and come back with a bang! Again, guitar wizard Robby Boebel delivered powerful riffs and Claus wrote some magic melodies. The drums were delivered by heart-pounding visual timekeeper Axel Kruse and taped by the famous Rolf Munkes at Empire Studios. Eleven well-balanced songs, full of emotion and power, right in the vein of our first album. If you like the first one, you will love the new one! Come and get it... and play it loud...we play to win!!!" Originally born as SUPREMACY, the band decided to change its name to PHANTOM 5 before recording its debut album for release last year. It had been a long time since the public had heard a melodic hard rock record this good coming from Germany. Mixing influences from the cream of the crop of German melodic hard rock bands, but with Michael and Claus's unique stamp on it, the debut was met with rave reviews across the board. After the success of that album, Michael and Claus knew it was a no-brainer to follow it up with an even more inspired outing and that is exactly what they've done here. "Play To Win" track listing: 01. The Change In You 02. Crossfire 03. Baptised 04. Read Your Mind 05. Play To Win 06. Child Soldiers 07. Do You Believe In Love 08. Phantom Child 09. Had Enuff 10. Shadows Dance 11. Reach Out PHANTOM 5 is: Claus Lessmann - Lead Vocals Michael Voss - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals Robert Boebel - Guitar, Keyboards Axel Kruse - Drums
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The Quireboys will release their brand new album, White Trash Blues, on September 5th via Off Yer Rocka Recordings. It will be preceeded by the Leaving Trunk EP, to be released digitally worldwide with two bonus tracks on August 1st. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved the blues. I used to buy The Blues Collection magazine back in the '90s - I’ve still got all of those CDs. It’s a genre that I’ve always loved and doing this album was a dream come true,” says keyboardist Keith Weir. There’s a genuine buzz in the Quireboys’ camp as the veteran rock and rollers ready their most ambitious album to date. “It’s never been black and white where The Quireboys are concerned,” said frontman Spike. “There have always been shades of the blues. And now we’ve got the perfect chance to put a new twist on some old classics.” But why now? After a successful foray into the world of Americana and the release of their most raucous album to date (2016’s Twisted Love), the decision to record a raft of iconic blues tunes might seem like a surprise - almost sideways - move. Far from it. “When Spike and I met Chris Ingham from Ramblin’ Man Fair he floated the idea of doing a blues set at this year’s festival and we loved the idea,” said guitarist Guy Griffin. “Why not do something different to the norm? And at that point we sensed an opportunity to make a blues record. All of the guys are great musicians - as a band we can play anything. I suppose the trick was giving these blues classics a unique twist and that’s what we’ve tried to do.” And on White Trash Blues the genre’s legends come thick and fast. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry and Billy Boy Arnold are all afforded a unique Quireboys makeover. Never has Spike sounded so authentic and the band so audibly confident. “The album came together very organically but they are songs everyone has played at different times over the years and they feel like they’re part of our history,” said guitarist Paul Guerin. “There are a few leftfield choices and we love that, but it’s always great to give the classics a go. We’re naturally suited to playing the blues but let’s be honest - once Spike starts singing they all sound like they could be Quireboys songs. And they can be!” Featuring special guest Lee Vernon, from Pearl Handled Revolver, on harmonica, White Trash Blues is the perfect companion to what promises to be a set to remember at Ramblin’ Man Fair on July 30th. “We didn’t just want to do carbon copies of these great old songs but at the same time we wanted to pay due respect to the people behind the songs,” said keyboard player and self-confessed blues aficionado Keith Weir. “I think we’ve managed to strike the right balance.” White Trash Blues will be available worldwide via Off Yer Rocka Recordings from September 5th. The digital release will include three bonus tracks. Tracklisting: "Cross Eyed Cat" "Boom Boom" "I Wish You Would" "Take Out Some Insurance" "Going Down" "Help Me" "Shame Shame Shame" "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" "Leaving Trunk" "I'm A King Bee" "Walking The Dog" "Little Queenie" Leaving Trunk EP - release date August 1st. Tracklisting:
"Leaving Trunk" "Champagne And Reefer" "Rollin and Tumblin" The Quireboys are: Spike - vocals Guy Griffin - guitar Paul Guerin - guitar Keith Weir - keyboards Nick Mailing - bass Dave McCluskey - drums (Band photo by Tom Gold) Courtesy of www.bravewords.com
Janet Gardner, best known as the lead vocalist of the all-female rock band VIXEN, will release her debut solo album on August 18 via Pavement Entertainment in conjunction with Pavement's cohorts Eternal Sound Records for Europe. All songs were written, performed and produced by Gardner and her husband of one year, Justin James, a guitarist, songwriter and producer who has previously worked with STAIND, COLLECTIVE SOUL and TYKETTO.
Janet and Justin will hit the road in September. They will perform songs from Janet's debut solo album and hits from VIXEN. Tour dates: Sep. 01 - Battle Creek, MI - The Music Factory Sep. 02 - Chesterfield, MI - Diesel Concert Lounge Sep. 08 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance Sep. 09 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater 1894 Sep. 12 - New York, NY - Iridium Sep. 14 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz Sep. 15 - Baltimore, MD - Fish Head Cantina Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross honored their friend and bandmate, guitarist and founder of VIXEN, Jan Kuehnemund, by resurrecting VIXEN in 2013. The band was committed to reunite in 2012 but Kuehnemund's cancer diagnosis caused what was thought of at the time as a delay. Sadly, however, after a fierce battle, Kuehnemund succumbed to her illness, thus the reunion was not meant to be. After discussing the idea with friends and family as well as lead vocalist from VIXEN's pre-reunion lineup, Jenna Sanz-Agero, it was agreed that it was the right decision for the three surviving definitive members to carry on as VIXEN.
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The third annual Killer Dwarfs "Rock Against Hunger" Charity Golf Tournament is happening Friday, August 25th at Lakeridge Links in Brooklin, Ontario.
Last year's tournament raised over $4000 for Feed The Need in Durham. The goal is to surpass that once again this year. The tournament is "Best Ball" so all levels of golfers will have a great time; last year was a blast! Also this year included is a very special intimate acoustic performance by the Killer Dwarfs. Spots are limited so book your foursomes or singles asap. Payment in full must be received to secure your spot. Help make this a day to remember and give back to those less fortunate. Contact [email protected] to get your registration forms and sponsorship information. Cost to participate is $170 per person, or $600 per foursome (must register as a foursome). That includes: golf, cart, driving range, bbq lunch, dinner, and prizes. Registration and lunch are at Noon, with a Shotgun Start at 1:00 pm, followed by dinner, raffle and door prizes at 6:30 pm. The Killer Dwarfs acoustic performance will happen after dinner. Courtesy of www.bravewords.com
At the Summer NAMM show, Charvel unveiled two new finishes for their Jake E Lee and Warren DeMartini signature models, both of which pay homage to the original guitars played by the Ozzy Osbourne and Ratt guitarists respectively.
Courtesy of Australia's Mixdown, the Jake E Lee Signature Blue Burst features a San Dimas body with a quartersawn maple neck and a 12” radius rosewood fingerboard designed with 22 medium jumbo frets. The model is a recreation of the one used by Lee during Osbourne's 1983-1986 period, during which he recorded the albums Bark At The Moon and The Ultimate Sin. The Warren DeMartini Signature Frenchie is a recreation of the model used by the Ratt guitarist, with the words 'too fast to live, too young to die' written in French upon its body. The body itself is made of a Dinky alder wood with a one-piece bolt-on quartersawn maple neck, a 12”-16” compound radius maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo stainless steel frets. Go to this location for more details. Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini sat down with Andy Aledort of Guitar World to discuss his career with Ratt, songwriting, his Charvel guitars, and much more in an exclusive interview session at The Music Zoo in Roslyn, New York on April 25th. Video footage from the event is available for streaming below.
Courtesy of www.bravewords.com
Iconic 80's rockers BLACK 'N BLUE along with opening acts: Station, The Split Ends(Scotty Dunbar's new side project) & Renegade Cartel are set to perform at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, New Jersey this Friday July 21st. Tickets are available for purchase via the venues website at this location: https://mexicalilive.showare.com/ordertickets.asp?p=60&src=default Guitar wizards Vinnie Moore (UFO) and Gus G. (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne) will hit the road for some shows together in November and December, 2017. This is Moore's first solo tour since 2015, and will mark the first time these two powerhouse players have toured together. The show will feature music from both guitarists' impressive catalogs.
"Gus and I met years back in Greece. I brought him up onstage to jam a couple tunes with me and we had a great energy together and had a blast. I knew that night that I would like to do some shows with him at some point. He's a very talented guitarist. Am really looking forward to some Gunslingin' with Gus.” From his first release Mind's Eye in 1987 through 2015's Aerial Visions, Vinnie Moore has set the standard for instrumental guitar albums by delivering soulful songs that feature his signature crackling guitar solos along with memorable melodic lines. Gus comments, "Touring with Vinnie Moore is yet another dream come true for me. His album Mind's Eye has had a huge impact on me as I consider it somewhat as a shred guitar "bible". I spent countless hours learning his licks as a teenager. We met and got to jam few years ago and have become good buddies since. I'm looking forward to returning to the US and playing guitar for you & sharing the stage with Vinnie! See you soon!" Tour dates: November 28 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall 30 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom December 1 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge 2 - Joliet. IL - The Forge 3 - Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall 6 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater 7 - Brooklyn, NY - St Vitus 8 - Stanhope, NJ - Stanhope House 9 - Somerville, MA - Once Ballroom Courtesy of www.bravewords.com This week on the Hair Metal Mansion Radio Show, host Andrew the Axeman welcomes MR. BIG frontman ERIC MARTIN as the special guest! In this extensive interview, Eric talks about the forthcoming new album "Defying Gravity", producer KEVIN ELSON being their "5th Beatle", his early days with the ERIC MARTIN BAND, how "To Be With You" is the "gift that keeps on giving", his other project the USA POP BRIGADE with TRIXTER members and MUCH more. We also talk about the tragic loss of DAVID Z, who Eric was going to be performing with as a part of Rubix Cube later this month.
Also on tap ... - The show is kicked off with HMM's tribute to bassist DAVID Z, with ZO2 and new ADRENALINE MOB. - Additional new music premieres from L.A. GUNS, RON KEEL BAND, BIGFOOT and STEPHEN PEARCY. - Plus, NOBODY'S CHILDREN as the FNA RECORDS Artist of the Week and more! The Hair Metal Mansion Radio Show w/ Andrew the Axeman premieres every THURSDAY night @ 9pm ET/8pm CT/6pm PT! The premiere simulcasts on 3 stations: - Philly Rock Radio: www.phillyrockradio.com - Rock93X: www.rock93x.com - Rock Radio UK - www.rock-radio.co.uk Each station has free mobile apps that you can download if on the go! Also available via iTunes, TuneIn and Google Play. Miss the premiere? Hair Metal Mansion is proudly syndicated to the best FM, AM and internet stations worldwide throughout the week and weekend! For ALL the air times, go here: http://hmmofficial.weebly.com/radio-showaffiliates.html
Steelheart is the brainchild of Miljenko Matijevic whose powerful voice and multi-octave range is the heart and soul of the band. Today they have announced the release of their new album, Through Worlds Of Stardust, set for September 15th. The first single from the album, "Got Me Runnin’” is available for streaming below.
"I cannot express how excited I am for you all to hear this new album. Our focus was to bring back the magic in the music with songs that have been lived, loved, laughed and struggled. I best describe this album as ‘deep, sexy, loving, twisted, romantic, and hungry rock'n roll.' The record was recorded throughout parts of the world including a live string section recorded in Stockholm Sweden. I truly hope you enjoy this album as it was created from the heart and no corners were cut. Love you all; we look forward to seeing you on the road," enthuses Miljenko. Although they were lumped in with the glut of long-haired hard rock bands emerging in the early '90s, the band was always more forward thinking than their peers and the 2017 version of the band has a contemporary and edgy feel, while still retaining the patented powerful vocals of Miljenko. On Through Worlds Of Stardust, Miljenko has fused his past, present, and future together, creating an undeniable piece of hard rock music. Certainly fans of the band's first three classic albums will be happy to hear those powerful pipes back in action, but fans of modern hard rock acts like Halestorm, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, and other melodic minded rock heavyweights will find much here to love. Steelheart released their self-titled debut album in 1990 and based on the buzz around the hit single "I'll Never Let You Go" was a smashing success (for example, 33,000 albums were sold in one day in Japan) and quickly reached platinum sales. Steelheart's sophomore album, Tangled In Reins was released in 1992 to critical acclaim and rave reviews, but moderate success in terms of sales in the US (by early '90s standards) due to the well documented rise of grunge music; however, East Asia was a different story, where the band was widely embraced yet again. In the midst of promotion of the album, a serious accident happened on Halloween night in 1992, when an improperly secured lighting truss hit Matijevic on the back of the head, breaking his nose, cheekbone, jaw, and twisting his spine. Almost impossibly, Matijevic managed to walk off the stage of his own strength before being rushed to a hospital. "Steelheart" as it was known ended that night. Four years later, Matijevic formed a new version of Steelheart with Kenny Kanowski (guitars), Vincent Mele (bass), and Alex Makarovich (drums) to record and release his third album, Wait. The album was very different musically from the previous two albums, but featured the song "We All Die Young" (millions of streams and counting on Spotify) which was later included as a re-recorded version in the movie Rock Star, which saw Matijevic providing the singing voice for Mark Wahlberg's character. The movie soundtrack was performed by Matijevic (and Jeff Scott Soto) on vocals along with Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne's then guitarist and frontman of Black Label Society), Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreigner), and Jason Bonham. Now the band, who BraveWords once compared to Led Zeppelin, is back with a sonic tour de force befitting of their stature. Don't be foolish and dismiss this as just another "band from the '80s" as you will miss out on one of the most surprisingly robust and balanced hard rock albums of 2017. Highly recommended for fans of hard rock from then and now.
Through Worlds Of Stardust tracklisting:
“Stream Line Savings” “My Dirty Girl” “Come Inside” “My Word” “You Got Me Twisted” “Lips Of Rain” “With Love We Live Again” “Got Me Running” “My Freedom” “I'm So In Love With You” “Got Me Runnin’”:
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Guitars, Ebow Guitars: Miljenko Matijevic
Musicians on the album: Guitars: Uros Raskovski Bass: James "Rev" Jones, Sigve Sjursen, Jesse Stern Drums: Mike Humbert, Randy Cooke Piano: Daniel Fouché, Ed Roth Guest guitar solo and part rhythm on My Dirty Girl by Kennet Kanowski Strings composed and conducted by Glen Gabriel Orchestrated by Anthony Weeden Performed by Stockholm Strings Courtesy of www.bravewords.com
Fan-filmed video footage of DOKKEN's July 15 performance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany can be seen below.
DOKKEN is planning to begin writing a new studio album this fall for a tentative 2018 release. The disc will mark the band's first collection of all-new material since 2012's "Broken Bones" effort. Speaking with AllThatShreds.com, DOKKEN guitarist Jon Levin laid out the band's schedule for the remainder of 2017. He said: "We're on the road all of July; we come back to do some U.S. dates, then were back to Europe. As November and December come and things slow down, we're going to start writing for a new DOKKEN record." When asked if the upcoming album was going to have the classic DOKKEN sound or if it would see the group going in a new direction, Levin said: "It's definitely going to have the classic DOKKEN sound. We should have it released in May of 2018, I'm thinking." After "Broken Bones" failed to meet his expectations commercially, DOKKEN singer Don Dokken publicly questioned whether the band should or would make another record. He was also ruthlessly criticized by fans after radiation treatments from a bout with stomach cancer and eventual vocal-cord surgery hurt his performances. He told the Bradenton Herald that he took a year or so off after "Broken Bones" to regroup and reassess the band's place in the rock marketplace. "I was getting so bad I had to say, 'Guys, I'm just destroying our brand. I suck,'" Dokken said. "I put on forty pounds. I couldn't sing. I just didn't look good; I didn't feel good. I just had to get the radiation over with and rehab and come back." "Broken Bones" sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 173 on The Billboard 200 chart. Don Dokken, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown completed a short Japanese tour last October, marking the first time in twenty-one years the band's classic lineup had hit the road. A new DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour is tentatively due before the end of the year. The set will feature footage from two of the Japanese shows — including Tokyo — as well as the band's very first comeback gig, which was held on September 30, 2016 at Badlands Pawn Guns Gold And Rock 'N' Roll in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Don told "The Classic Metal Show" that the main reason he doesn't want to continue with the classic DOKKEN lineup is that "loves" the band he has now — which features Brown, alongside Levin and bassist Chris McCarvil.
Courtesy of www.blabbermouth.net
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