The American progressive metal band SCALE THE SUMMIT, based out of Houston, Texas, have released their fifth album "V" (pronounced Five), it was released on September 18, 2015 on Prosthetic Records.
It was mixed by Jamie King and is the band's first album with drummer J.C. Bryant.
SCALE THE SUMMIT was formed in 2004. The band is influenced by other progressive acts such as CYNIC and DREAM THEATER. However, unlike most other progressive metal bands, they have no vocalist and play instrumental music. The band gained notice as part of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour with DREAM THEATER, ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA and BIGELF.
After the first turn of "V" I feel that the complex compositions needs more time to sink in before I can judge the album. "The Migration", the 2013 album looks that have been the ground base for this creation. That one had an fantastic mix between fast-paced technical metal shredding and atmospheric melodies, a piece of art in music. Really looking forward to take a deep dive into "V".
Today's tune "Blue Sun" is taken from the bands latest effort "V", enjoy!
From Bellingham, Washington comes the space out rock act WILD THRONE. This is a new interesting find where we get rhythms that's are far out spastic and the boundaries are pushed to it's Max.
WILD THRONE consists of Josh Holland (guitar/vocals), Noah Burns (drums) and Jeff Johnson (bass). The band’s sound is a dynamic mix of elements of JUDAS PRIEST, MASTODON, QUEEN, THE MARS VOLTA, classic metal, thrash and progressive rock, creating music that Pitchfork once described as “exhilarating, fun ferocious” and “proof that ambition and skill don’t automatically cancel out heart.”
The volume and brutality of heavy metal, compositional elements of prog rock, atypical time signatures of math rock, along with things not normally found in those genres such as strong melodies, a touch of psychedelia and some old-fashioned, straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll, along with impeccable musicianship, and meld them into a big, multi-layered, many-faceted sound that is completely their own
Today's tune is the title track taken from the album "Harvest Of Darkness" - available 10/2/15 on Roadrunner Records!
Monday, new week, time to introduce the "Record Of The Week".
The Swedish rockers GRAVEYARD chose my birthday (September 25th) to release their fourth full-length effort, "Innocence & Decadence". Nice of them to think of me, although I honestly do not think it was my birthday that was behind the date for this fall release even if I would like it to be so. Let's say that's the case with this release. Enough about the ego trip.
”Somewhere between Innocence & Decadence is where you´ll find
GRAVEYARD. Hard at work trying to figure out which apples that will
fall from what tree. Can you see us? We´re that little hopeless case of a
fly in denial – since forever stuck between the piles of shit that your
ever repeating life keeps lining up for you”
GRAVEYARD have been delivering excellent fuzz-soaked, blues retro sound across three full-length albums over the years. The 4th album "Innocence & Decadence" continues where they left last time, but with a more grown up attitude, it swings with a big soul and have a groove that shuffles in all the corners among the classic rock vein.
Just after the first spin you will hear immediately that this is not a rush job, but an well thought out record, made with heart, sweat and synchronized desires. All members have made their marks on "Innocence & Decadence". The vocal parts where we hear Joakim Nilsson's very characteristic voice in the center shows no weakness at all, he sounds great. Even the return of Truls Mörck who takes place behind the microphone in the song "From A Hole In A Wall" where he does it with style and creates a small protrusion on the album.
The music steps a bit back to the late ’60s in the more pop-leaning tunes. Jonatan Ramm's riffs are cleaver and innovative, yet old.
The album starts with a psyched-out killer opener "Magnetic Shunk" to the soulful sleeping bare skin ballad of closer "Stay For A Song". In between we have classic GRAVEYARD material like "The Apple In The Tree", "Never Thiers To Sell" and the psychedelic "Hard-Heeded". The album got a few soulful ballads like the amazing "Exit 97" and the lovely stand out tune "Too Much Is Not Enough". The two last songs are pretty slow bluesy things. This album is infused with Joakim Nilsson's skills and the beauty of
Jonatan Ramm's riffs. "Innocence & Decadence" reflecting
perfectly the versatility of their songwriting. The album hooks me and I catch my self smiling, hey, they did it again!!
With "Innocence & Decadence" the band explores new territories - without getting lost. It's a bloody well-made music!
"Innocence & Decadence" has been recorded in the Atlantis
Studios in Stockholm (Sweden) alongside both Janne Hansson and Johan
Lindström.
Today's tune "Too Much Is Not Enough" is taken from "Innocence & Decadence". This tune is the most stand out song they have produced so far and I just love it. It's a really soulful piece that touches you deep.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Oct 11 Dynamo Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 16 KB Malmö, Sweden
Oct 17 Münchenbryggeriet Södermalm, Sweden
Oct 23 Pustervik Göteborg, Sweden
Oct 30 Technikum Kultfabrik Munich, Germany
Oct 31 Kulturzentrum Schlachthof e.V. Wiesbaden, Germany
Nov 01 Melkweg Oude Zaal Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nov 03 O2 Academy Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom
Nov 04 Electric Ballroom London, United Kingdom
Nov 05 Manchester Academy 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
Nov 06 Muziekcentrum Trix Antwerpen, Belgium
Nov 07 L’Atelier Luxembourg Ville, Luxembourg
Nov 09 Arena Wien Vienna, Austria
Nov 11 Circolo Magnolia Segrate Mi, Italy
Nov 12 Post Tenebras Rock Geneva, Switzerland
Dec 04 Ace Of Cups Columbus, OH
Dec 06 Fine Line Minneapolis, MN
Dec 08 The Summit Music Hall Denver, CO
Dec 12 Venue Vancouver, Canada
Dec 15 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Dec 16 FONDA THEATRE Los Angeles, CA
Dec 17 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
"Sister Morphine" is a song written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Marianne Faithfull. Faithfull released a version of the song as the b-side to her 1969 single "Something Better" on Decca Records, 21 February 1969. Although sung live to a backing track by Faithfull at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, that film was never televised and "Something Better" did not hit the UK chart, an estimated 500 copies only being issued by Decca. A different version was released two years later by The Rolling Stones as a track on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was originally credited solely to Jagger and Richards, but after a legal battle Faithfull retained her rights as a co-author, acknowledged by the 1994 Virgin Records reissue of the Stones' album catalogue from Sticky Fingers through Steel Wheels.
The personnel for the Faithfull version is herself on vocals, Jagger on acoustic guitar, Ry Cooder on slide guitar and bass, Jack Nitzsche on piano and organ, and Charlie Watts on drums. The Stones' version has Jagger on vocals, Richards on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Cooder and Nitzche again on slide guitar and piano respectively, Bill Wyman on bass, and Watts again on drums.
Faithfull recorded the song again in 1979, during the sessions for her Broken English album; this version was subsequently released on a 12" single, and appears as a bonus track on the second disc of the 2013 deluxe edition of the album.
A chapter of the 1978 book Babel by Patti Smith is entitled "Sister Morphine" and the song is referenced in the 1982 novel The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by Philip K. Dick.
Today's tune is Marianne Faithfull's "Sister Morphine" from 1989 live album "Blazing Away".
"Howling Around My Happy Home" is a monotone bluesy thing that simply affects parts of the body in a pretty delightful way.
Daniel Norgren (born 1983 in Borås, Sweden), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. He is working through a small indie label called Superpuma records and has been doing so since 2006.
The debut album Kerosene Dreams was mainly recorded on homemade instruments and was followed up by Outskirt in 2008. This album attracted a steady crowd of blues fans and also opened the doors and roads down south for touring Europe. In 2010 Horrifying Deatheating Bloodspider was released and opened the doors even wider. It was also nominated in the category singer/songwriter album of the year at the Swedish manifest gala. Horrifying Deatheating Bloodspider was followed up by the six-track EP Black Vultures in late 2011, including "Going Home Finally" that was originally tracked for and aired in the BBC Radio show called God's Jukebox.
On stage Norgren plays the drums and guitar, with Anders Grahn on upright bass. Sometimes Andreas Filipsson accompanies the duo on a homemade organ. Norgren has played festivals and venues in Europe such as Way Out West in 2010 and Roskilde Festival in 2011.
In early 2013 the album Buck was released followed up by a European tour. Most of the songs on Buck were recorded in Norgren's home on a 4-channel cassette porta studio. It contains studio recordings like "Whatever Turns You On". This song was tracked and filmed in the Algorythm Sound studio and quickly became a hit when it came out on YouTube. The album l contains a live version of "Moonshine Got Me" that was originally released on the Black Vultures EP but now re-recorded during a tour in Scandinavia.
In 2015 his new album Alabursy was released followed by another European tour. Again most of the songs were recorded at home on his 4- channel cassette port studio.
Todays tune "Howling Around My Happy Home" is taken from 2013 album "Buck"
Upcoming Tourdates:
2015-10-28 Göta Lejon Södermalm, Sweden
2015-10-29 NorrlandsOperan Umea, Sweden
2015-10-30 Gävle Konserthus Gavle, Sweden
2015-10-31 Lunds Stadsteater Lund, Sweden
2015-11-06 Göteborgs Konserthus Lorensberg, Sweden
2015-11-17 Folketeateret Oslo, Norway
2015-11-18 Ole Bull Scene Bergen, Norway
2016-01-27 Jazzhouse Copenhagen, Denmark
2016-01-28 Winterbeat Festival Aalborg, Denmark
2016-01-29 Uebel & Gefährlich Hamburg, Germany
2016-01-30 Lido Berlin, Germany
2016-01-31 UT Connewitz Leipzig, Germany
2016-02-02 Kulturkirche Cologne, Germany
2016-02-03 Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht, Netherlands
2016-02-04 AB Club Brussels, Belgium
2016-02-05 De Roma Antwerp, Belgium
2016-02-08 100 Club London, United Kingdom
2016-02-09 La Péniche Lille, France
2016-02-10 Pop Du Label Paris, France
2016-02-18 Biko Milan, Italy
2016-02-19 Bronson Ravenna, Italy
2016-02-20 Orpheum Graz, Austria
2016-02-21 Porgy & Bess Wien, Austria
2016-02-23 Ampere Munich, Germany
2016-02-24 Kaserne Basel, Switzerland
2016-02-25 Usine Geneva, Switzerland
2016-02-26 Manufaktur Schorndorf, Germany
2016-02-27 Konzerthaus Dortmund, Germany
September 25th is a day we always play a LED ZEPPELIN tune, one is for remembering John Bonham who passed away on 25 September 1980 and the second is that it's my birthday :) An Happy Sad day!
"Over the Hills and Far Away" is the third track from English rock band LED ZEPPELINs 1973 album Houses of the Holy. It was released as a single, with "Dancing Days" as the B-side, in the US.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant originally constructed the song in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a small cottage in Wales where they stayed after completing a grueling North American concert tour.
Plant's vocals enter on the next repetition. He tenderly offers himself to the "lady" who's "got the love, he need's." The acoustic guitars build in a crescendo toward the abrupt infusion of Page's electric guitars along with drummer John Bonham's and bass guitarist John Paul Jones' rhythm accompaniment.
Through the pre-verse interludes and instrumental bridge, "Over the Hills and Far Away" stands out as an example of Jones and Bonham's tight interplay. Following the final verse, the rhythm section fades out, gradually replaced by the echo returns from Page's electric guitar and a few chords played by Jones on Clavinet. In the final 8 bars, Page executes a linearly descending/ascending sequence and then concludes with the idiomatic V-I cadence on synth imitating a pedal steel guitar.
The song was released as Houses of the Holy's first US single, reaching #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, later becoming a staple of the classic rock radio format.
Set lists from LED ZEPPELIN concerts frequently contained "Over the Hills and Far Away", the song being one that the band introduced on stage well ahead of its studio release. The live recording on How the West Was Won, a combined edit of the concerts on 25 and 27 June 1972, was the second public performance of the song. In his spoken introduction to the song before the 27 June 1972 performance in Long Beach, California, Robert Plant says "we did this song once before, the night before last at the Forum, and it was too much, really great." The band continued to play it on the rest of the 1972 concert tour of North America and retained it consistently through 1979, before omitting it from their final tour of Europe in 1980. In singing the song live in 1973 and later concerts, Plant often substituted the opening lyrics of the second verse ("Many have I loved, many times been bitten") with the opening lyrics of the third verse ("Many times I've lied, many times I've listened"). He also commonly followed the words "pocket-full of gold" with "Acapulco Gold" (a type of marijuana), as can be heard on the live album How the West Was Won. Also, at concerts guitarist Jimmy Page performed an extended guitar solo, which essentially consisted of the rhythm and lead guitar parts of the album version split into two separate pieces. This extended solo made the live renditions last seven minutes or more.
Archive footage of this track being performed live at Seattle in 1977 and at Knebworth in 1979 was used for an officially distributed video of the song, used to promote the 1990 LED ZEPPELIN Remasters release. The video accompanied a CD single which was released following the successful "Travelling Riverside Blues" release.
The song was first called "Many, Many Times", as shown on a picture of the original master on the LED ZEPPELIN website.
Today's tune "Over the Hills and Far Away" live at Earl's Court 1975.05.25 London, UK
Here is another clip from the 2007 Reissue of The Song Remains the Same (1973 Madison Square Garden).
TOTO singer Joseph Williams teams up with former CHICAGO singer Bill Champlin and Swedish guitarist/Producer Peter Friestedt for a new release following the success with the ”Live In Concert” DVD that made it all the way to the top on the Swedish Chart!
In 2012 Champlin/Willams/Friestedt did a sold out Scandinavian Tour and during this time the first recordings of the "CWF" album took place! The new album also includes contributions from Steve Porcaro of TOTO, Randy Goodrum (TOTO, CHICAGO), Will Champlin and Tamara Champlin.
Champlin says:
"I’ve been involved with a project that includes me, Peter Friestedt a great guitarist and producer from Sweden, and Joseph Williams, the singer of TOTO!
I was pretty knocked out by the stuff. I’d almost forgotten how good it was when we did it. There are great songs and even better performances on this album, and I know you’ll love it It’s rare for me to be involved with a project and be surprised by how good it is. This one will knock you out"
Joseph Williams is the lead vocalist with Grammy winning US band TOTO.
He has been busy as a composer of film and drama scores, as a session vocalist, backing singer and can be heard in Disney’s animated feature film “The Lion King”as singing voice of the adult Simba (“Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”).
Guitarist, producer & recording artist Peter Friestedt has released two critically acclaimed albums “LA Project” (2002) and “LA Project II” (2008) that got top reviews. Peter has been a busy sessionplayer playin on records with David Foster and Fergie Frederiksen and touring Europe and Japan with Joseph Williams with who he also released the "Williams/Friestedt" album that was a top 40 hit in Scandinavia!
Bill Champlin was the lead singer of the legendary band CHICAGO for more than 25 years, and is a founding member of the band Sons of Champlin. Champlin has written Grammy award winning songs for Earth Wind & Fire and George Benson, and worked with countless artists including Elton John, THE DOOBIE BROTHERS and Steve Lukather of TOTO.
Today's tune "Aria" is taken from the upcoming album CWF, set to release at 23:rd of october.
SHOOTING GUNS are hard at work fortifying the heavy end of the psychedelic spectrum. Hailing from the subarctic wasteland of Saskatoon, SK, they haunt the foggy moor between Sabbath-styled doom riffery and heavy pulse-riding kraut-rock.
The band scored the soundtrack to Canadian horror-comedy "WolfCop" and released the Official Soundtrack in 2014 in partnership with One Way Static, RidingEasy Records, and Cinecoup. Locked in their studio during a -50 cold spell during one of Canada’s harshest winters on record, SHOOTING GUNS gave themselves a crash course in composition and enlisted the talents of Toby Bond to create a cinematic score locked to every second of this action packed party movie. Not only is this the loudest album that the band has released yet, it's their first movie score soundtrack, first concept album, and it features more guitar solos than all their previous work combined.
Their sophomore LP, Brotherhood of the Ram, (Record Of The Week - December 2013) released in 2013 through RidingEasy Records was nominated for the 2015 JUNO Metal/Hard Album of the Year as well as the Polaris Music Prize. Their debut LP, Born To Deal in Magic: 1952-1976, was also nominated for the Polaris Music Prize in 2012.
SHOOTING GUNS provide the perfect soundtrack for the morning after the apocalypse, when you are sitting in the rubble of your home in a bathrobe and think, 'What should I do now?' and end up zoning out for hours in a psychedelic trance instead of making a survival plan. Bad move on your part, because you are probably going to die.
The VINYL version of "WolfCop" was released in different pressings.
The first press came out as RED & BLUE MARBLED VINYL. Limited to #1000 copies worldwide. Vinyl packaged in a deluxe gatefold old school tip-on jacket with original artworks by RANDY ORTIZ (Marvel Comics, Mondo,…) The Second press was pressed in a AMETHYST COLOR VINYL + BONUS 7" Limited to #450 copies worldwide. Vinyl packaged in a deluxe gatefold old school tip-on jacket with original artworks by RANDY ORTIZ (Marvel Comics, Mondo,…) Also included is a FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD and a BONUS 7" containing 3 promo tracks by Shooting Guns. This bonus 7" comes on white or black vinyl (randomly inserted)
Today's tune is "" is taken from "WolfCop" soundtrack. The Video is pretty cool, check it out.
Recorded by Shooting Guns at Pre-Rock Studios (Saskatoon, SK), mixed by SJ Kardash at Full Color Studios (Saskatoon, SK), and mastered by John McBain (San Francisco, CA). Cover art by Randy Ortiz.
When a concert is cancelled, breaks usually a charge of slight confusion. Chaos is the most common notice in the newspaper.
Yesterday's U2 concert got cancelled for security reasons. Live Nation has issued the following press release;
Due to a security issue, did The Globe have to evacuated during the evening and on the advice of the police, we have no choice but to move the concert to the new date. Yesterday's concert by U2 moved thereby to today (Tuesday 22 September). All tickets to Yesterday's concert are valid for the concert on today (Tuesday).
We apologize for the inconvenience and hope for understanding from fans. Safety is our top priority.
For questions about the moving concert, contact Live Nation. All ticket issues refer to AXS.
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.
The Innocence + Experience Tour (styled as iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE) is an ongoing worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the band's 2014 album Songs of Innocence, the tour will visit arenas throughout 2015. It is U2's first time playing arenas since 2005–2006 on their Vertigo Tour. The Innocence + Experience Tour opened on 14 May 2015 in Vancouver, Canada, and will comprise two legs, one featuring concerts in North America from May through July, and a second featuring concerts in Europe from September through November. Shows were predominantly booked in pairs for each market, with a total of 76 concert dates scheduled.
Concerts are structured around a loose narrative of "innocence" passing into "experience", with a fixed set of songs for the first half of each show and a varying second half, separated by an intermission–a first for U2 concerts. The stage spans the length of the venue floor and is divided into three sections: a rectangular segment representing "innocence"; a smaller circular B-stage representing "experience"; and a connecting walkway to represent the transition between the two themes. A 96-foot-long double-sided video screen is suspended above and parallel to the walkway; the structure features an interior catwalk between the video screens, allowing the band members to perform amidst the video projections. For the tour, U2's sound system has been moved to the venue ceilings and arranged in an oval array in hopes of improving acoustics by evenly distributing sound throughout the arena.
According to Billboard, the North American leg of the tour grossed $76.2 million from 36 sold-out shows.
So lets play a tune with U2. Today's tune is from acclaimed director Vincent Haycock, Woody Harrelson and daughter Zoe star in a 7-minute short film for U2s "Song for Someone" from their thirteenth studio album Songs of Innocence.
Monday, time to introduce this weeks "Record Of The Week", today we will jump back to 1983, the year when "Pyromania" got released. It's the third studio album by English rock band DEF LEPPARD, released on 20 January 1983. It is the first album to feature guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album was a huge success, charting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart and selling over ten million copies in the US, and thus being certified diamond by the RIAA.
I believe that I bought "Pyromania" during summer 1983. Then I was just a stripling, no fuzz on the chin, as I have today. With my own savings I went to the store and got my self a copy (yes I still have it, but it's pretty worn out) anyway, during that summer this record got so many spins on the record player that I know every single lyric, every single riff, I even manage to play a few of them on my acoustic guitar :)
One cool thing about this record is; I remember the time so well like it was yesterday. I got most of my friends to buy a copy and play some air guitar together. During this summer it was also the first time I got the opportunity to taste "Gravad Sik" (Pretty same as Gravlax), is a Nordic dish consisting of raw "Sik" (Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae), cured in salt, sugar, and dill. "Gravad Sik" is usually served as an appetizer. It's one of the most delicious appetizer of fish species that I ever tasted!
Back to the record "Pyromania", an album that really have the classic sound and feeling. "Pyromania" can also be seen as a transitional one between the heavy metal sound of their first two albums and the beginning of the radio-friendly direction of later releases. The album featured heavy metal rockers such as "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Stagefright" and "Die Hard the Hunter" as well as Top-40 hits "Photograph", "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'".
The album was partially recorded with original guitarist Pete Willis, whose rhythm guitar tracks appear on all songs. Midway through the recording sessions, Willis was fired for excessive alcohol abuse and replaced by Phil Collen, who contributed guitar solos and other parts that had not yet been recorded by Willis. On the original LP release, Willis is visible in the background of the photograph of singer Joe Elliott, while Collen is given his own personal photo as the new full-time member of the group.
The album caused controversy with its cover artwork, which shows an animated picture of a skyscraper building with a large flame and black smoke coming out from the top floor, and a bullseye pointed at the flame. Many stores were offended by this cover and refused to sell the album.
The record contains in my world, only strong tracks, so it's very difficult to choose a song. So I choose one of the classics "Rock of Ages" to get a good video and a Spotify link, behold, "Pyromania" is not on Spotify so the link will be from the "Viva Hysteria". The tune takes its name from the hymn "Rock of Ages". It begins with a German-like nonsense phrase, "Gunter glieben glauten globen", which was later sampled in "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by the OFFSPRING as well as "Call Me What You Like (If You Like Rock-N-Roll)" by Puffy AmiYumi. This was also sampled in a parody of the song, "Rape Rock of Ages," by shock rock band the MENTORS. According to the official Def Leppard FAQ,
The music video was directed by David Mallet and shot on 8 December 1982 (Guitarist Phil Collen's 25th birthday), in Battersea, London, England.
Former Def Leppard co-manager Peter Mensch appears in this video as one of the monks.
Listen to ”Scale The Summit - Blue Sun" on Spotify here!
