Phil Rudd says his AC/DC bandmates have been giving him the cold shoulder, even though he's reached out to guitarist Angus Young asking to rejoin the veteran rockers.
The 60-year-old drummer isn't playing with AC/DC on their world tour after he was charged last year of threatening to kill a contractor and for drug possession at his home in Tauranga on New Zealand's North Island.
He says his current bail conditions would allow him to rejoin the band on the tour, but the band have ignored his pleas.
"They haven't called me. I wrote them a letter and I tried to get in touch with Angus but I have had no contact from anybody," Rudd told the Nine Network's A Current Affair.
"I'm very disappointed, but that's life."
"Phil created his own situation. It's a hard thing to say about the guy. He's a great drummer, and he's done a lot of stuff for us. But he seems to have let himself go. He's not the Phil we've known from the past," Young said.Angus Young responded to A Current Affair in a statement, explaining that Rudd had changed from the bandmate they originally knew.
"III" is a modern rock album inspired by 70' and 80's classic rock as well as the current rock sound. One can tell that HIGH ROAD EASY took their time (2 years, to be precise). The songs and the production improved (again) to the
previous releases ("Hotter Than A Thousand Suns", "Drive").
The European hard rock of HIGH ROAD EASY remains diverse. On one hand there are the up-tempo rockers like the Rainbowish opening track "Faster Than The Speed Of Light" or the records final track "This Is The Life" that tells the unbelievable story of stewardess Violet Jessop.
Commercially "Higher Ground" and "Wings" are most appealing and more “radio rock” friendly. One can’t help to notice that HIGH ROAD EASY possess the rare gift to write great ballads without the usual cliché as in "Come What May".
"My Life" is more progressive and lets Swedish drummer Magnus Brandell shine.
You could tell he went to Berklee and studied with Mike Mangini. "Darkness And Joy" shows a more 70's rock side that really suits the band and seems to become a favorite of the fans. "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" not only is the first official lyric video release, but also a good showcase of the bands blend of rock sound past and present.
A lot of time was invested in harmony vocals and layered choirs, both provided by lead singer Jan Knopf and main song writer / producer / guitar & bass player Sven Horlemann.
Give it a spin and you notice this album grows on repeated listens. The album was released worldwide April 4th, 2015.
Welcome to Long Beach 1971, the latest album in earMUSIC’s Deep Purple reissue series that, over the last two years, has seen the release of rare live material from the band, including “Paris 1975”, “Copenhagen 1972”, “Stockholm 1970” and “Graz 1975”. Spanning over 70 minutes of music, “Long Beach 1971” has been remastered in 2014 and is going to be released on February 27th, 2015 on earMUSIC.
Recorded at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, on July 30, 1971, it was broadcast on radio (KUSC 91.5 FM), a showcase for a support performance to Rod Stewart and The Faces.
An official release for a concert that has long been considered a landmark for the band, the set featured tracks (“Speed King” and “Child In Time”) from their fourth studio album, June 1970’s “In Rock”. This was a transitional release for the Mk II version of the band - guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, frontman Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, organ/keyboard player Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice –, being their first hard rock affair as well as their commercial breakthrough as the third leading über-rock band of the day along with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Completing the set that day were a considerably extended version of “Mandrake Root” from their July 1968 debut album “Shades Of Deep Purple”, and “Strange Kind Of Woman”.
Opening with an 11-minute long “Speed King”, the show actually starts off like a climax, with a frenzy of organ and batter of guitar and drums, before segueing into a fast and furious riff and some classic caterwauls from Ian Gillan. Next up is “Strange Kind Of Woman”. The piledriving central motif is a classic combination of rhythm and riff, the band hitting a bluesy, even funky, groove. Following is an impressive version of the Deep Purple classic “Child in Time”: it is 20 minutes of heavy action from Blackmore.
If you’re not too exhausted by that, there is time for one more, and it’s a good - not to mention long - one: “Mandrake Root”, a 27-minute extrapolation of the debut album track and concert standby.
All in all, the frenzy, powerful show is leaving the audience staggered, and not a little dazed, as they head towards the exit, into the warm California night, wondering what the hell just happened.
Deep Purple live just happened.
Tracklist
1. Speed King
2. Strange Kind Of Woman
3. Child In Time
4. Mandrake Root
Dark Star Records Artist CONQUEST is pleased to announce that they will be releasing a new Metal Gods Tribute Album called UNDER THE INFLUENCE. The new full length album will feature all new versions of some the greatest classic metal songs of all time like FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by METALLICA, COWBOYS FROM HELL by PANTERA, METAL GODS by JUDAS PRIEST and Many More! All the songs are Preformed by Conquest and Produced by Conquest and Adam Long. Look for the New Album UNDER THE INFLUENCE by CONQUEST to be available later this Summer via Dark Star Records in Association with Sony Music Entertainment.
Lions Pride Music is going double up for Brazil with the signing of Marenna and Horyzon
Lions Pride Music is happy & pleased with the signing of the much talented Brazilian melodic rocker, Marenna, for the up and coming EP release, My Unconditional Faith, which will contain 6 additional tracks along with 3 music videos. The EP will be released in Europe sometime in June. For now listen to the official lyric video for the track, You Need To Believe.
Next up is the promising band, Horyzon, who will be releasing their 3 track EP through Lions Pride Music as well in June. The AOR band Horyzon was conceived by Daniel Vargas (Lead Singer) and Ari Gomes (Bass). The band has influences from renowned bands such as Journey, Kansas, Asia, FM, Toto, Survivor as well as from more recent bands like Work of Art, Pride of Lions, H.E.A.T and Hardline.
The band is currently formed by Daniel Vargas (Lead Singer); Ari Gomes (Bass); Leandro Freitas (Keyboards); Wagner Alexandre (Guitar); and Rod Marcus (Drums and Backing Vocals).
Australian hard rockers HANSEL will release their new album, “69 Minutes … with Hansel!” on June 15, 2015 via Prime EON Media on CD. HANSEL‘s “69 minutes … with Hansel” is a culmination of the album “Never Say Die” &their 2 hard to find EPs, “Mission To Rock” & “Fluorescent Blue Lights” that collects all the 20 roaring tracks that the band has recorded up to this point from way back when it all started back in 2008, somewhere down under.
HANSEL are five dudes bound by an oath of Rock ‘n’ Roll. They roam the wastelands of standard, boring, paper dry, modern Brit pop bands, leaving them in their wake with their big hair, big anthem, hard hitting, glam rock style.
Track listing:
01. Murder 101
02. Mission To Rock
03. Shot Down For Love
04. Wildcat
05. I Don’t Need Saving (All I Need Is Rock ‘n’ Roll)
06. Eruption
07. Rock City
08. On The Run
09. Wild Tonight
10. Rocket-ship Of Love
11. Between A Rock And A Hard Place
12. Vampire
13. Murder 101
14. 1-800-Pleasure-town
15. The Whole Nine Yards
16. Hansel Says It’s Time To Rock
17. Fluorescent Blue Lights
18. Running On Adrenaline
19. Stop
20. Sweet Desperation
“HANSEL BRINGS THE GLORY DAYS OF 80′S GLAM ROCK AND METAL FORWARD TO A NEW CENTURY.” – CRAIG HARTRANFT, DANGERDOG.COM
“THE MUSIC SPEAKS FOR ITSELF … GLAM-TASTIC” – SKID, SLEAZEROXX.COM
HANSEL are:
Snake – Drums
Thruster Jones – Rhythm Guitar, Harmonies
Jett Jones – Vocals
Ezi Fingers – Bass
Grind – Lead Guitar
Mindlessly pouring propane onto the flame, HANSEL reignites the fire of rock inside. Hair and metal are combined in a blaze of arena rock glory as the snakeskin clad Novacastrian dudes hit the stage. Like love children of the gods of rock they toy with the sound of a golden age and set it loose upon the world again. Now with a modern edge that’s as sharp as Orion’s sword HANSEL return to bring hair metal back to it’s rightful place your soul.
Glowing like a beacon in the cold dark night. HANSEL is just so hot rite now.
MELODIC HARD ROCK IS BACK TO GERMANY - WELCOME SUPREMACY!
Do you remember when German bands cranked out true, classic Melodic Rock / Hard Rock albums regularly? When, right after masterpieces by the likes of the SCORPIONS, releases like BONFIRE's "Point Blank" or "Fireworks", FRONTLINE's "Heroes", CASANOVA and JADED HEART's debut albums used to be played all the time on your stereo? Well....now is the time for the Classic German Hard Rock sound, comprised of steel guitar riffs and super melodic hooks, to make a major come back. The new band's name says it all....SUPREMACY. This band marks the return of the amazing alliance between singer Claus Lessmann (ex-BONFIRE) with Michael Voss (CASANOVA, MAD MAX) plus Robby Boebel (ex FRONTLINE, EVIDENCE ONE) on guitar, Axel Kruse (ex-JADED HEART) on drums and former SCORPIONS bass player Francis Buchholz.
The guys are currently working on some extremely promising demo material and have inked a recording contract with Frontiers Music Srl for a release of their debut album in late 2015 / early 2016.
Michael Voss says: "It's a honor to work with all these gifted musicians on a full length album! After 25 years, to join forces with the fantastic Claus Lessmann takes me back into the 80's heyday times playing in Bonfire. We'll keep that spirit alive and moreover revive it. Thanks to Serafino and Frontiers for believing!"
Claus Lessmann adds: "I am really looking forward to writing, recording and rocking with all the guys of Supremacy. We all have so much to give and it really means a lot to me to work together with those talented musicians. It will also bring back the good old days of Rock'n'Roll when my good old friend Michael Voss was on my side all across Europe back at the "Point Blank" days. A big Grazie to Serafino, Mario and all at Frontiers for their belief and for givin' us one more reason to rock! Every little note of our songs will be a piece of our heart."
From Billboard.com today - you can hear a new NEAL SCHON solo track from his upcoming solo album Vortex.
He's touring with Journey, finishing up a Santana reunion project and has a new solo album coming out. Look up "busy" in the dictionary and you'll likely find a photo of Neal Schon.
"I'm really busting ass this next year and this year," Schon tells Billboard. "I'm so busy I don't have a free day. I barely have a day off 'cause I bit off so much. But now that I'm in it, I'm not willing to go, 'Y'know what, man? I'm tired.' I'm a little fried, but everybody goes, 'You look great.' I'm feeling good and health-wise I'm really good, so I'm just gonna do it." The two-disc Vortex, whose title comes from a recent nickname for Schon bestowed by Carlos Santana, reunites Schon with early '80s collaborator Jan Hammer, after the keyboardist dropped in on 2011's The Calling. "I had sent Jan a couple tracks to play on for (The Calling) and I hadn't worked with him since the '80s, so we rekindled our friendship and renewed everything," Schon says. "For this album I went to him ahead of time and said, 'I'd love for you top-lay on this record but I'd love you to stretch out more and I'm gonna leave some open space,' and he said, 'Great.' He worked on it in his own studio and just killed it, man."
and on JOURNEY....
Schon plans to give Vortex a live airing during the Les Paul 100th birthday tribute concert on June 9 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. He has designs to do a solo tour as well but will have to fit those between his other endeavors. Journey begins its nine-show residency on Wednesday night (April 29) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, which Schon predicts will be "really great. We're gonna be mixing up the set, so we won't be playing the same thing every show. We've rehearsed a lot of stuff that we didn't play in our tour last year, but we'll have time to rehearse even more." All nine shows will be recorded and filmed, according to Schon, and he also hopes that during downtime Journey will start working on new material. "I've been trying to get things going," Schon reports. "I have a few ideas, just everybody's been in different places and we haven't gotten together yet. But we could probably put together a couple songs while we're rehearsing in Vegas, maybe get 'em in movies or play some new stuff live. That'd be fun."
01. Miles Beyond
02. Awakening
03. Cuban Fly Zone
04. El Matador
05. Eternal Love
06. In a Cloud
07. Irish Cream
08. Lady M (Our love Remains)
09. NS Vortex
CD2
01. Tortured Souls
02. Schon & Hammer Now
03. Airliner NS910
04. Unspoken Faith
05. Twilight - Spellbound
06. Triumph of Love
07. Mom
08. Talk to Me
09. White Light
Out May 4th - ANBERLINNever Take Friendship Personal - Live In New York City
Tooth & Nail Records
Anberlin will be releasing a live version of their sophomore record Never Take Friendship Personal - Live In New York City on May 5th, 2015. Recorded live at The Gramercy Theatre, the album helps celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the original release of Never Take Friendship Personal. Mixed by original producer Aaron Sprinkle, the live album brings Anberlins vibrant live show to the fans who werent able to attend a date of the final tour in 2014, solidifying the bands legacy in the hearts of fans all over the world. Never Take Friendship Personal included Anberlins most successful single The Feel Good Drag, which spend 29 weeks climbing the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart before reaching #1. The song set the record for the longest rise to the top since the charts inception in 1988 and was certified gold in 2014.
Anberlin has been a staple in the Tooth & Nail catalog for over a decade with their release of Blueprints for the Black Market in 2003. Seven albums and 12 years later, they have toured the world many times over and released what many Tooth & Nail fans would call essential albums in the label catalog. Anberlin has shared the stage with countless artists over the years (including Smashing Pumpkins, Paramore, and Underoath) and scanned over 900,000 copies in the U.S. to date. Fans of Never Take Friendship Personal will enjoy the live version to remember Anberlin by.
Buy! Here's why:
Live performance recording of Anberlin's 2005 sophomore album Never Take Friendship Personal
Anberlin has over 1,000,000 lifetime scans to date!
The Feel Good Drag was certified gold after spending 29 weeks climbing the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart, landing at #1!
2014s Lowborn debuted at #11 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #1 on the Top Alternative Albums Chart.
Tooth & Nail Catalog accounts for over 600,000 scans
As seen performing with Paramore, Smashing Pumpkins, Underoath, Emery, The Almost, Copeland, and many others.
Booklet includes exclusive photos from Anberlins 2014 farewell Lowborn Tour.
WakeUpCall is a new young rock band produced by Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton...), M. Baggio (The Fire, Vanilla Sky...) and they've played more than 180 shows around Europe.
After a first EP (2011) and a full-lenght album (2012) WakeUpCall recorded 3 new songs that will be released this season.
The melodic metal band SIGNUM REGIS just released a music video for the track "Living Well" online. Their upcoming EP "Through The Storm" will be released on May 8th in Europe and on May 12th in North America through Ulterium Records.
There are four new tracks on the EP, as well as a re-recorded version of “All Over The World” from their debut album and a cover medley of the Yngwie Malmsteen classics “Vengeance/Liar”. "Through The Storm" shows that Signum Regis is a band that is constantly developing and improving everything from song-writing and musicianship to production and the visual part of the band. With this EP and the full-length album that will be released later this year, Signum Regis will surely win over many new fans in the melodic metal scene.
The mastering of "Through The Storm" was handled by Jacob Hansen [Volbeat, Amaranthe, Evergrey] and the artwork was created by Jan Yrlund [Delain, Apocalyptica, Korpiklaani].
"Through The Storm" EP track listing:
01. Living Well
02. Through The Desert, Through The Storm
03. My Guide In The Night
04. Come And Take It
05. All Over The World
06. Vengeance/Liar
D.M.K. (Dunbar, Merrill, Karl), is a hard rock group that is comprised of; vocalist - Scotty Dunbar, guitarist - Ted Merrill and drummer - Brian Karl. The band has just released a new E.P. entitled "3" which dives heavily into the struggle of band member's pasts as well as the will power to accept and overcome tragedy. This theme is most evident on the EP’s first single "The Fire That Won't Go Out".
In March of 2015 the bands single "The Fire That Won't Go Out” charted @ # 5 on Amazon's "Top 100 Hot New Releases Chart" Category: Hard Rock & Metal # 38 on Amazon's "Top 100 Best Sellers In Songs Chart" Category: Hard Rock & Metal & # 8 on Amazon's "Best Sellers In Songs Chart" Category: Miscellaneous.
On April 2, D.M.K. Celebrated the release of "3" by performing to a very enthusiastic crowd at the world famous " Whisky A Go Go " in Hollywood, CA on April 2nd, 2015. To top it all off, All of the copies of “3” that were made available for purchase to the crowd that night at the merchandise both had completely SOLD OUT by the end of the evening.
Scotty Dunbar states: “As some people may or may not be aware, I am a survivor of The Station Night Club Fire, which occurred on February 20th, 2003. I was in attendance that night along with my two buddies Derek Gray and Eugene “Gino” Avilez to see the band Great White. My two friends perished in the fire along with 98 other innocent lives.
The lyrics to “The Fire That Won’t Go Out” are pretty bold and in your face. I wrote the lyrics in regards to my recovery, acceptance and rising above such a tragic situation as the fire. So many of us go through dark valleys in life, and I think that many people will be able to relate to the lyrics of this particular song. Musically, It is the heaviest song I’ve ever done. Ted & Brian really deliver BIG time on this track.”
Plasma Films are also set to release a documentary of the same title. The film tells Dunbar’s story of survival and his road to recovery. The film was directed by Brian Ouellette and is scheduled for a late-May 2015 release.
The EP’s next track, "Memories Never Fade '15" is a ballad that anyone who has suffered a loss can relate to, as the lyrics state that your loved one's memory will never fade and they will always be in your heart. This ballad showcases a softer side to the band.
3 rounds out with a raw and energetic cover of the Alice Cooper classic "Under My Wheels". The cover highlights the band's attitude towards recording, "Just go in and play!".
Guitarist Ted Merrill States "It was great to just go into the studio with two other fantastic musicians and just play our hearts out and the chemistry really shines through.
The group is currently booking summer shows and the following have been confirmed, with many more to follow:
5/14 @ Mexicali Live - Teaneck, NJ (With: Eric Martin of Mr. Big)
D.M.K.’s first release as a group was this past December. The band recorded a bluesy take of the Christmas classic “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, which was mastered by Mark Slaughter. The single peaked at #2 on Amazon’s Top 100 Hot New Releases Chart. The single remained on the digital charts for the entire Christmas season.
WITHIN SILENCE: PHOTOS FROM VIDEO RECORDING POSTED ONLINE
The melodic metal band WITHIN SILENCE will release a music video for the track "Silent Desire" in early May. Check out some photos from the video recording below.
The upcoming debut album from WITHIN SILENCE entitled "Gallery of Life" will be released on May 8th in Europe and on May 12th in North America through Ulterium Records.
WITHIN SILENCE recently released a lyric video for the track "Road To The Paradise". Check it out below.
WITHIN SILENCE are confirmed for the Made of Metal festival that takes place in Hodonin, Czech Republic on August 14-16th.
The melodic metal band WITHIN SILENCE just released a lyric video for the track "Road To The Paradise" online. Their upcoming debut album "Gallery of Life" will be released on May 8th in Europe and on May 12th in North America through Ulterium Records.
Strong musicianship and the ability to write interesting songs with memorable melodies makes WITHIN SILENCE a band to be reckoned with for years to come. Their debut album “Gallery of Life” got everything from up-tempo power metal tracks like “Silent Desire” and “Emptiness of Night” to pounding metal tracks like “The Last Drop of Blood” to epic metal songs like “Road to the Paradise”.
“Gallery of Life” will be a perfect album for fans of bands like Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and Theocracy and fans of melodic metal in general. The artwork was created by Jan Yrlund at Darkgrove Design [Delain, Apocalyptica, Korpiklaani].
"Gallery of Life" track listing
01. Intro
02. Silent Desire
03. Emptiness of Night
04. Elegy of Doom
05. The Last Drop of Blood
06. Love is Blind
07. Anger and Sorrow
08. Judgement Day
09. The World of Slavery
10. Road to the Paradise
11. Outro
MAIDEN UNITED, the acoustic IRON MAIDEN tribute project featuring Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace) and Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), published an album trailer for the upcoming album 'Remembrance'.
'Remembrance' will be released on May 22nd on CD, red 12' vinyl and as digital download.
Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion), Thunderstick (Samson) and Wudstik (Ayreon, For All We Know) have been added to the list of guest musicians on the album.
Contributing musicians:
Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace) - Vocals
Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation) - Guitar
Joey Bruers (Up The Irons) - Bass
Stef Broks (Textures) - Drums
Huub van Loon (Dearworld) - Piano
Thijs Schrijnemakers (Orgel Vreten) ' Hammond
Mike Coolen (Within Temptation) ' Drums on Prowler
Marco Kuypers (Cloudmachine) ' Piano on Prowler
Thunderstick (Samson) - Drums on Burning Ambition
Paul Di'Anno (Iron Maiden) ' Vocals on Prowler
Blaze Bayley (Iron Maiden) ' Vocals on Futureal
Wudstik (Ayreon) and Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) - Vocals on Aces High
Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) - Violin on Still Life '15
Track listing:
1. Strange World
2. Charlotte The Harlot
3. Killers
4. Remember Tomorrow
5. Burning Ambition
6. Futureal (ft. Blaze Bayley)
7. Aces High
8. Prowler (ft. Paul Di'Anno)
9. Still Life '15
Strange World was released as a 2-track single on CD and iTunes on January 30th
Single track listing:
1 Strange World (single edit)
2 The Evil That Men Do (alternate version featuring Wudstik on vocals)
MAIDEN UNITED is an IRON MAIDEN tribute project which performs classic Maiden songs in new acoustic arrangements. 'Remembrance' is the third full-length album released by this project.
