Eric Wagner - In the Lonely Light of Mourning

TROUBLE frontman and doom icon Eric Wagner’s posthumous "In The Lonely Light Of Morning" is great goodbye to a legend. It always sad to listen to posthumously released albums.

The untimely passing of Eric Wagner in August 2021 robbed the metal world of one of its greatest ever voices. With doom pioneers TROUBLE, and an assortment of other projects, it cuts extra deep to spin this. In an unintended twist of fate, Eric had put the finishing touches on his debut solo album, "In the Lonely Light of Mourning" mere weeks before his passing. It now serves as the definitive swansong for one of doom metal’s most beloved voices.

Eric Wagner’s posthumous solo album, "In The Lonely Light Of Morning", was released March 18th, 2022 via Cruz Del Sur Music.

But, it is doom at its core: Earthy, honest, brooding and heavy -- just the way Eric preferred. "In The Lonely Light Of Morning" also finds Eric at his most vulnerable, with some lyrics suggesting he knew something foreboding was right around the corner. Eric Wagner's legacy is permanently secure in the annals of doom metal. Thus, it is impossible to quantify his impact on the metal scene. His legacy with Trouble is reflected in the countless bands who followed in their wake, purveying the same kind of heartfelt, undeniably heavy doom metal that touches the mind and spirit. Travel on, Eric.

Today's tune "In The Lonely Light Of Morning" is the title track of the latest and posthumous album release, enjoy!



More info @

Official Eric Wagner Bandcamp

Sorry, no Spotify on this one!

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Neal Francis - Changes

Soulful 70's funk is what Neal Francis do with his latest tune "Changes", the title tune from his latest album.

"The reincarnation of Allen Toussaint", as Craig Charles on BBC Radio 6 said about Neil.

"I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living -- consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction -- such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms and Chicago blues. His music evokes a bygone era of R&B's heyday while simultaneously forging a new path on the musical landscape. Ohio-based Karma Chief Records (a subsidiary of rising soul label Colemine Records) have already released two singles earlier this year, "These Are The Days" and "Changes, Pt. 1", with the full LP Changes to follow this fall. There is a deep connection between Francis' childhood -- his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP -- and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene. The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far."

And what a life it's been. Born Neal Francis O'Hara, the piano prodigy found himself touring Europe by the age of 18 with Muddy Waters' son and backing up other prominent blues artists coast-to-coast. In 2012, Francis joined popular instrumental funk band The Heard. With Francis at the creative helm, The Heard transformed into a national act, touring with boogaloo progenitors The New Mastersounds and chart toppers The Revivalists and appearing at Jazz Fest and Bear Creek. As The Heard's star rose, however, Francis sunk deeper into addiction. Once a promising sideman, by 2015 he had been fired from his band, evicted from his apartment, and was perilously close to self-destruction. "When you get close to death like that you can feel it," Francis recalls. An alcohol-induced seizure that year led to a broken femur, dislocated arm, and, finally, the realization that he needed to get clean.

The journey from a hospital bed to launching his solo career was neither predictable nor straightforward. There were musical fits and starts, relapses, and broken relationships. Yet the overwhelming passion driving Francis in this second act has been an overabundance of creative energy. "Drinking held my music in a half-cocked slingshot. I was always so consumed by drugs and alcohol that I didn't have the time, money or creative energy to do it. Sobriety let it loose."

Determined to realize the songs swirling in his head, Francis assembled a crack team of musicians, calling on bassist Mike Starr (THE HEARD) and drummer PJ Howard (THE REVIVALISTS, THE HEARD). He linked up with producer and analog-obsessive Sergio Rios (ORGONE, Cee Lo Green, Alicia Keys) and self-funded a trip to Killion Sound in Los Angeles to record the initial batch of material. "I learned to trust my instincts in that room," says Francis. Buoyed by classic horn arrangements and Rios' fierce guitar work, the resulting tracks illuminate a lifetime spent studying the masters of soul music.

From the RMI electra-piano riff that kicks off "She's A Winner" to the screaming organ swells of "This Time," Francis and company let it all hang out. This is fun music, dance music. Yet verse after verse and chorus after chorus, Francis wrestles with his past in a straightforward manner: "It's 5 o'clock in the morning, but I'm not home/ I'm surrounded by people, but I'm really alone." Like Toussaint and Russell before him, he's married the upbeat rhythms of New Orleans R&B with the lyrical approach of a confessional singer/songwriter. The refrain on "This Time" serves as a foxhole prayer for a better future: "Let me get it this time/I won't let you down/Let me get it this time/I won't fool around."

Francis finished recording basic tracks for "Changes" in Los Angeles in February of 2018 and spent the following months doing overdubs in Chicago with engineer Mike Novak (who also recorded demos for the project). Soon after he was eager to begin his touring career. After signing with Paradigm Talent Agency, Neal played shows across North American supporting Australian band THE CAT EMPIRE. He has received praise on several notable radio outlets including KEXP, KCRW’s The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and BBC Radio 6. Francis and his four-piece band recently performed during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, sharing the stage with THE METERS and other legends. This summer he performed at Summer Camp and Chicago’s Chi-Soul Festival, and hit the road with Lee Fields & THE EXPRESSIONS, DUMPSTAPHUNK and others. Francis pledges to tour relentlessly to promote his own music. “I’m doing this to fulfill a drive within myself, but also to pay tribute to the gifts I’ve been given. And it comes from a place of immense gratitude."

Today's tune "Changes" is the title tune from Neal's latest album, released on 9/20/19


NEAL FRANCIS 2019 TOUR DATES:

SEP 20 FRI - Knuckleheads Saloon - Kansas City, MO [w/ Lee Fields & The Expressions]
SEP 21 SAT - Schubas - Chicago, IL [Changes Record Release Show!]
OCT 10 THU - Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 11 FRI - Globe Hall - Denver, CO [w/ Black Pumas] (SOLD OUT)
OCT 12 SAT - Globe Hall - Denver, CO [w/ Black Pumas] (SOLD OUT)
OCT 14 MON - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 16 WED - Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, Canada [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 17 THU - Shakedown - Bellingham, WA [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 18 FRI - Neumos - Seattle, WA [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 19 SAT - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 21 MON - The Independent - San Francisco, CA [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 22 TUE - The Independent - San Francisco, CA [w/ Black Pumas] (SOLD OUT)
OCT 23 WED - Regent Theater DTLA - Los Angeles, CA [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 24 THU - Lodge Room Highland Park - Los Angeles, CA [w/ Black Pumas] (SOLD OUT)
OCT 25 FRI - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA [w/ Black Pumas] (SOLD OUT )
OCT 26 SAT - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ [w/ Black Pumas]
OCT 27 SUN - 191 Toole - Tucson, AZ [w/ Black Pumas]



More info @

Official Neal Francis Web

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The Skull - Ravenswood

The Chicago doom metal band THE SKULLs new LP, "The Endless Road Turns Dark", drops September 7th. First taste from it, is the single/video "Ravenswood".

THE SKULL is a musical collaboration founded by three former members of American doom metal pioneers TROUBLE; vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Ron Holzner and drummer Jeff "Oly" Olson, all three noted for their talents and strong influence in the worldwide metal scene. TROUBLE formed in 1979 and is universally hailed as one of the pioneers of doom metal genre, alongside bands such as PENTAGRAM, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, CANDLEMASS and SAINT VITUS. TROUBLE created a distinct (and distinctly HEAVY) style by merging influences from the British heavy metal bands BLACK SABBATH and JUDAS PRIEST with psychedelic rock acts of the 1970s. The band's first two albums, "Psalm 9" (released in 1984, enshrined in Decibel Magazine's "Hall of Fame" and regarded as one of the most important doom albums ever) and "The Skull" (1985) are cited as doom metal landmarks. The band later went on to flirt with crossover success when they signed with Rick Rubin's Def American Recordings for the release of 1992's "Manic Frustration".

THE SKULL formed in 2011 to "continue the sounds and spirit of TROUBLE - past, present, future" and has been performing for audiences in the United States and Europe to overwhelming response. THE SKULL released its first new material as a band in the spring of 2014 via NYC's Tee Pee Records.

The band's name is derived from TROUBLEs second album "The Skull".

"The Endless Road Turns Dark", set for worldwide release via Tee Pee Records on September 7, 2018! Enjoy today's tune "Ravenswood".



The Endless Road Turns Dark European tour dates:

26.09 NL-Amstelveen P 60
28.09 NO-Haugesund Heavy Nights - The Skull set
29.09 NO-Haugesund Heavy Nights - Trouble set
02.10 DE-Osnabrück Bastard Club *
03.10 DE-Hannover Faust *
04.10 DE-Hamburg Molotow *
05.10 DE-Berlin Cassiopeia
6.10 DE-Dresden Dresden Night of Doom @ Puschkin
07.10 AT-Vienna Viper Room *
08.10 HU-Budapest Dürer Kert *
09.10 SI-Ljubljana Channel Zero AKC Metelkova Mesto * 10.10 IT-Milano Ligera *
11.10 IT-Bologna Freakout *
12.10 DE-Sonthofen Barfly
14.10 BE-Antwerp Desertfest
15.10 DE-Frankfurt dasBett +
16.10 DE-Munich Backstage +
17.10 DE-Freiburg Slow Club +
18.10 DE-Cologne Sonic Ballroom +
19.10 NL-Landgraaf Oefenbunker
20.10 MT-Siggiewi Malta Doom Metal Festival

More info @

Official The Skull Web

Listen to ”The Skull - Ravenswood" on Spotify!



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Chicago - Stay The Night

Sunday, time for a classic.

"Stay the Night" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group CHICAGO and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing the lead vocals. Upbeat and rock-oriented, it was the first single released from that album.

This song is also remembered for its music video, filmed in and around the Los Angeles River. It shows Peter Cetera chasing a hard-to-get lady, played by Ingrid Anderson with Debbie Evans as stunt double, and features car-chases, notably featuring a red convertible Oldsmobile 442, and various stunts which Cetera supposedly performed himself. It was directed by Gilbert Bettman, Jr.

CHICAGO lead singer Peter Cetera wrote this with the Canadian songwriter David Foster. In the song, Cetera is trying to convince a girl to enjoy a night of casual sex. Cetera and Foster also wrote the album's hit "You're the Inspiration."

The video has a message: if you proposition a lady stunt driver and she isn't interested, take no for an answer if you know what's good for you. In 1984, it was rare for videos to have these theatrical qualities, and this video was also unusual as it presented an ending to the song that is not apparent when listening.

Directed by Gil Bettman, the video was overseen by Jeff Ayeroff, who was the creative director at Warner Bros. Records, which distributed CHICAGOs albums at the time. It was the first CHICAGO video to get regular airplay on MTV, and the first concept video they made (they had done some live videos). CHICAGO came late to the MTV party, and got little attention from the video for "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," which focused on the band performing the song in what looks like an art gallery. Ayeroff said in the book I Want My MTV: "They weren't exactly a current act. I thought that if I could create a car chase in their video, and the car got wrecked, how could MTV not play it? And it worked." Musically, this was a huge departure from the organic, horn-based CHICAGO sound of the '60s and '70s. You won't hear a horn on this one, but you will hear processed drums, especially at the beginning as the song opens with a series of big, clipped beats - something Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins had been doing.

The drums were done by Jeff Porcaro, who according to Roger Linn, was the best in the business when it came to drum programming. Porcaro, a member of Toto, was brought in by producer David Foster to craft the track, which gave them precise control over the instrumentation. This was bitter fruit to fans of CHICAGOs earlier work, but it was the cutting-edge hit sound of 1984 and kept their string of hits going. CHICAGOs drummer, Danny Seraphine, found himself on the sidelines for this one (as well as "You're the Inspiration"), and he wasn't happy about it.

Enjoy today's tune.



More info @

Official Chicago Web

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Mount Salem - Lucid

From Chicago Illinois we find the Rock n' Roll/Doom band MOUNT SALEM, they were formed in the summer of 2012. Their debut album "Endless" was released 4th Mars 2014 at Metal Blade. Hopefully a follow up will come soon.

MOUNT SALEM is playing an psychedelic doom rock with a droning and spellbound nightmarish feeling. The riffage are influenced by classic bands like BLACK SABBATH and PENTAGRAM.

The band consists of:

Emily Kopplin - vocals & organ
Kyle Morrison - guitar
Mark Hewett - bass
Cody Davidson - drums

Today's tune "Lucid", taken from the album "Endless". The Video is Directed by Dave Skwarczek - http://www.skwarczek.com/



More info @

Official Mount Salem Facebook

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High Spirits - Take Me Home

HIGH SPIRITS, a band that have visit Tune of the Day a couple of times, a band that I really like, simple hard rock with catchy tune and excellent accessibility, 100% High-Energy rock music from Chicago, USA!

To keep it simple today, I just pick a great track from the latest release "Movivator" and play "Take Me Home", one of the more atmospheric cuts, here you get very hooky duel guitars and solos that wont leave your legs alone.

Today's tune "Take Me Home" is the first single taken from "Motivator"



More info @

Official High Spirits Bandcamp

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Lord Mantis - Possession Prayer

Chicago, Illinois nihilistic doom/noise metal band LORD MANTIS, over the years, have been making a name for themselves within the underground metal scene and slowly being recognized as one of Chicago’s most noteworthy metal bands alongside such bands as Indian, Nachtmystium, The Atlas Moth, Yakuza etc. Their last album, “Pervertor” (which was released by Candlelight Records in 2012) would bring LORD MANTIS new levels of recognition and awareness to a wider audience which they build upon following their “Spawning The Nephilim” debut (which was released by Seventh Rule in 2009 respectively). With “Pervertor”, LORD MANTIS excelled beyond their debut album and even already having a reputation of putting on quite the devastating live show likewise.

With “Death Mask”, LORD MANTIS (who feature members who are involved and active in notable bands as Indian, Avichi, and Abigail Williams, and feature members who were once part of Nachtmystium at one point and being in-and-out of that band on several occasions) have made their most triumphant and glorious album to date. The masterpiece they’ve been threatening to make since inception.

Overall “Death Mask” (which also features guest appearances from the band’s honorary members, namely guest vocals courtesy of Indian’s Dylan O’Toole on the track “Negative Birth” and synth work from Sanford Parker, who also recorded and mixed “Death Mask” at the famed Electrical Audio and Soma studios in Chicago) is a much darker, doomier, and more experimental offering than anything the band have previously done. A haunting and despondent, yet punishing and violent audial soundtrack to depravity, despair, and personal suffering, “Death Mask” will bring recognition to LORD MANTIS even more within doom/black/noise metal circles and will bring new found recognition to the band as one of the more distinct and most twisted and demented underground metal bands from America today.

Today's tune "Possession Prayer" is taken from "Death Mask", enjoy!



More info @

Official Lord Mantis Web

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CWF - Aria

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.



More info @

Official Peter Friestedt Web

No Spotify yet, will update up on release!

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Alkaline Trio - I Wanna Be A Warhol

Alkaline Trio is a three-member Illinois punk rock band from McHenry, Illinois, formed in 1996. The band consists of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass), and Derek Grant (drums).

A few days ago did this trio stand on the stage at Debaser Medis for a show to the audience in Stockholm. Together on the tour they did have the american punk band "Bayside". Both bands played really good live, Bayside was a new acquaintance.

Founded in late 1996, by Matt Skiba, bassist Rob Doran and drummer Glenn Porter, Alkaline Trio released its debut single, "Sundials", in 1997. Following its release, Doran departed from the band and was replaced by Dan Andriano. The band subsequently recorded an EP, For Your Lungs Only (1998), and its debut studio album, Goddamnit (1998). Following the release of the band's second album, Maybe I'll Catch Fire (2000), Glenn Porter left the band and was replaced by Mike Felumlee for its subsequent album, From Here to Infirmary (2001).

Backed by the singles "Stupid Kid" and "Private Eye", From Here to Infirmary significantly increased the band's exposure, and its follow-up, Good Mourning (2003), charted highly on the Billboard 200. Good Mourning marked the recording debut of current drummer Derek Grant. In 2005, the band released Crimson which expanded upon the band's punk rock influences, with prominent overdubs and additional instrumentation, and continued with this direction on Agony & Irony (2008), which was released on V2 Records.

In 2010, the band released This Addiction on its own label Heart & Skull and Epitaph. Recorded in the band's hometown of Chicago, with early producer Matt Allison, the album was a conscious effort to return to its punk rock roots, and became the highest charting album of their career, debuting on the Billboard 200 at No. 11. In 2011 the band celebrated its 15-year anniversary with the release of Damnesia, which featured new, acoustic-based recordings of songs from across the band's career. The band's ninth studio album, My Shame Is True was released on April 2, 2013. 

Todays tune "I Wanna Be A Warhol" is a song by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the first single from their 2013 album My Shame Is True on February 5, 2013. A music video for the song was released on March 8, 2013 and it features the actress Milla Jovovich



Setlist at Debaser Medis:

This Could Be Love
Hell Yes
She Lied to the FBI
Every Thug Needs a Lady
Cringe
I Wanna Be a Warhol
I'm Only Here to Disappoint
Jaked on Green Beers
Sadie
Balanced on a Shelf
Emma
Mr. Chainsaw
Time to Waste
Young Lovers
Stupid Kid
Warbrain

Encore:
Private Eye
Radio

More info @

Official Alkaline Trio Web

Listen to "Alkaline Trio - I Wanna Be A Warhol" on Spotify here!

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