Archive for the Artist Watch Category

LACUNA COIL Announce April 1 Release Of New Studio Album ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, New Music, News, Releases, Shows with tags , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2014 by Randy

Band Set For REVOLVER HOTTEST CHICKS IN ROCK TOUR With SICK PUPPIES, EYES SET TO KILL & CILVER

Tour To Run February 20 – March 20 In North America

LACUNA COIL are proud to announce the April 1, 2014 release of their new studio album ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’ in North America (March 31 in Europe, Australia, New Zealand). The album is the band’s seventh studio effort, and the highly-anticipated follow-up to ‘Dark Adrenaline’, which was released in January 2012 and saw the band tour with acts including Megadeth, Motorhead, Volbeat and Sevendust after debuting at No. 15 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

The band will return to the road to introduce North America to ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’ as part of the REVOLVER HOTTEST CHICKS IN HARD ROCK TOUR, which launches February 20 and features LACUNA COIL sharing a stage with SICK PUPPIES, Century Media Records labelmates EYES SET TO KILL, and CILVER. The tour launches in Wilmington, NC, and runs through March 20 in Anaheim, CA. See complete itinerary below, and visit www.hottestchickstour.com for additional details and VIP packages.

LACUNA COIL have this to say about ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’:

“What conflict could run so deep that it takes you to the deepest corners of your inner world? Today we are surrounded by a lot of lies, aliases, and people acting like they are wearing an invisible crown – but you better have thick skin if you want to wear this crown! ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’ is a cinematic album that could be the soundtrack of our days – it is a dark vision of a near future when survival is second nature, and failure is not something to be avoided, but rather cultivated with lessons learned along the way.

 

We set the bar pretty high with ‘Dark Adrenaline’ and it hasn’t been easy bringing our sound to the next level, but we have lived, learned and grown through a year full of personal issues and changes. We learned to be strong and get stronger, and we felt an inner vibe in this band that we haven’t felt before. We locked ourselves in an age-old studio in Milan, Italy, where history was strong and the past met with our future, vintage gear and the influence of classic Italian horror movies and bands like Goblin meeting the fresh and rough sounds of the modern world with unique and invigorating results. ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’ is Lacuna Coil introducing a new order, and letting nothing stand in our way…”

 

LACUNA COIL were joined in their native Italy by producer Jay Baumgardner [P.O.D., Sevendust, Evanescence, Papa Roach] and engineer Kyle Hoffmann [P.O.D., Bush, Zebrahead]. ‘BROKEN CROWN HALO’ was mastered by Howie Weinberg, whose credits include Rammstein, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Deftones and Sheryl Crow.

REVOLVER HOTTEST CHICKS IN ROCK TOUR

LACUNA COIL with SICK PUPPIES, EYES SET TO KILL & CILVER

FEBRUARY:

20: Wilmington, NC – Ziggy’s By The Sea

21: Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
22: Lexington, KY – Buster’s
23: Springfield, VA – Empire
24: New York, NY – Irving Plaza
26: Worcester, MA – Palladium
27: Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
28: Columbus, OH – Alrosa Villa
MARCH

01: Joliet, IL – Mojoe’s

02: South Bend, IN – Club Fever

05: Broussard, LA – The Station Live

06: Houston, TX – Scout Bar

07: Austin, TX – Infest

08: Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey

10: Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall

12: Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex

14: Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory

15: Seattle, WA – Studio Seven

19: Los Angeles, CA – House Of Blues

20: Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues

VEARA on God Save the States Tour – Erie, PA 12/20/2013

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, News, Photos, Shows with tags , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2014 by Randy

The God Save the States Tour, headlined by Major League, also consisted of two other awesome Pop-Punk bands (VEARA and Stickup Kid), that spread across various East Coast cities in just a short two week period. On Friday, December 20, 2013, the three bands stopped in Erie Pennsylvania for a late night party. Unlike most shows, this didn’t have an early start time. The first local band didn’t take the stage ‘til nearly 10pm, and Major League didn’t wrap up their set ‘til 2am. That being said, not a single band let the time become a factor…they didn’t care how late they were on and played their hearts out, making sure every single person in the venue had the time of their life.

The Rock Tribune popped in on behalf of VEARA, and we couldn’t be more proud of the fact that they were the band we were there supporting. Down to earth, no rock star ‘tude, some of the nicest folks you’ll meet type of dudes. Nestled in between Stickup Kid and Major League, they gave every bit of who they were to the crowd…to the point they could barely set down their instruments and walk off the stage. A lot of the tunes they played were off of their most recent album titled “Growing Up is Killing Me,” which is amazing regardless if it’s live or on disc. If you’re remotely interested in any form of Punk-Rock/Pop-Punk, this is certainly an album you should check out.

Needless to say, if you haven’t had a chance to see VEARA or any of the other bands that were part of this tour, you missed out…so keep an eye open for the next time they all come to a city near you. Also, big thanks goes out to Jamie and everybody else who helps make Erie Entertainment what it is…if it wasn’t for them, the Northwestern Pennsylvania area wouldn’t have had the number of great shows it’s recently had.

© Logan Rendulic, 2013-14 The Rock Tribune

Veara 12/20/13Veara 12/20/13Veara 12/20/13

Veara, a set on Flickr.

JAMES LABRIE – To release “I Will Not Break” Digital-EP in January

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, New Music, News, Previews, Releases with tags , , , , , on January 8, 2014 by Randy
Following up on the success of his latest studio album, “Impermanent Resonance”, Dream Theater’s James LaBrie is set to release a new Digital EP entitled “I Will Not Break” on January 14th, 2014 in North America via InsideOutMusic.The “I Will Not Break” EP will include 9 (!) tracks and a total playing time of 38 minutes for a special low-price with the following tracklisting:

JAMES LABRIE – “I Will Not Break” Digital EP (38:03)
1. I Will Not Break (3:52)
2. Unraveling (3:31)
3. Why (3:45)
4. Coming Home (Alternate Mix) (4:23)
5. Jekyll Or Hyde (Demo) (3:48)
6. Just Watch Me (Demo) (4:17)
7. I Tried (Jason Miller Re-mix) (5:13)
8. Over The Edge (Mutrix Re-mix) (4:33)
9. Euphoric (NeonGenesis Re-mix) (4:41)

While the opening title track is the album version taken from the “Impermanent Resonance” release, the songs 2 and 3 were previously only released physically as Digipak bonus tracks. Song 4 is an alternate mix version and songs 5 as well as 6 are special demo versions, all previously only released physically as bonustracks on the Digipak and the Japanese edition for the “Static Impulse” album in 2010. Songs 7, 8 and 9 are special dub step / electronica re-mixes of “Static Impulse” songs, previously unreleased (Song 7 was only available physically in Japan before). The re-mixes were done by US-based DJ’s Jason Miller, Mutrix and NeonGenesis. The cover artwork for the EP was once again designed by Gustavo Sazes / abstrata.net (Arch Enemy, Kamelot, etc.).

You can pre-order the “I Will Not Break” Digital EP here:
http://smarturl.it/jlb_iwillbreak

Check out the EP’s title-track “I Will Not Break” in a static video via the IOM YouTube channel here: http://youtu.be/Nj8aAo3O06E

James LaBrie checked in to comment about the upcoming EP release as follows:

“Hey Everyone! Matt, Marco, Peter, Ray and yours truly are very pleased to release this digital EP. It will show some of the songs with alternate mixes as well as letting you hear Matt’s exceptional voice with some of the songs in their demo versions. We also had 3 of the songs mixed in dub step stylings to give them a somewhat interesting flavour and twist. Hope you all enjoy this release, I personally think it is very cool. All the best in the New Year and see you out there….”
Most recently, the James LaBrie track “Lost In The Fire” was used by the Swedish sound library company Toontrack Music to promote the launch of one of their new products. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPlAcqmqY3YJames LaBrie’s latest studio album “Impermanent Resonance” was, just like the previous “Static Impulse” album from 2010, mixed and mastered at Sweden’s Fascination Street recording studios (Kreator, Opeth, Paradise Lost, etc.) with Jens Bogren and this time also Tony Lindgren. Upon release, “Impermanent Resonance” managed to enter the the Billboard Heatseeker Charts at #5 and #156 on the Billboard 200 Charts!  In Europe the album saw succes on the sales charts in Germany at position # 48 and The Netherlands at position # 67 as well as UK’s Rock Album Chart at position # 22.

All available European physical formats of “Impermanent Resonance” can be purchased here:
http://www.insideoutshop.de/Search?q=impermanent

James LaBrie – “Impermanent Resonance” online action:
“Agony” static video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqOHNPdh1Pw
“Agony” free download: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/specials/agony
“Back On The Ground” lyric-video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ralb05GOLjA
“I Got You” static video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqwl8nmPeHI
“Agony” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HglHt_IWO2o
“Letting Go” guitar play-through by Marco Sfogli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnA02SSLS30
“Agony” drum recordings by Peter Wildoer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILGw46EYzA
Diverse album songs by drummer Peter Wildoer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4lb_MPNRA

“Impermanent Resonance” Line-Up:
James LaBrie – Lead Vocals
Matt Guillory – Keyboards, Background Vocals
Marco Sfogli – Guitars
Ray Riendeau – Bass
Peter Wildoer – Drums, Screams

Selected James LaBrie Solo Discography:
Keep It To Yourself (MullMuzzler) – 1999
MullMuzzler 2 (MullMuzzler) – 2001
Elements Of Persuasion – 2005
Static Impulse – 2010
Impermanent Resonance – 2013

James LaBrie online:
www.jameslabrie.com
www.facebook.com/officialjameslabrie
www.myspace.com/officialjameslabrie

SNOCORE, THE PREMIERE WINTER TOUR RETURNS

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, News, Shows with tags , , , , , , , on December 20, 2013 by Randy

HEADLINERS THE PRETTY RECKLESS; HEAVEN’S BASEMENT, THE LETTER BLACK, CROBOT AND ONE LUCKY WINNING BAND FROM EACH MARKET WILL ALSO PERFORM

New York, NY (December 19, 2013)The SnoCore Tour, a celebration of music and winter sports, is back after a two-year absence.  The tour has spanned more than fourteen years, running annually from 1996 to 2010 and was established as a way to fill the musical void during the winter months which was traditionally overlooked by other tour packages that are focused on spring and summer. In its first year, SnoCore showcased such bands as Sublime and Less Than Jake, over the years everyone from Blink-182 to Incubus to Everclear to System of a Down graced the SnoCore stage. Now, after a brief hiatus, Wind-up Records and TKO are proud to be uniting to bring SnoCore back to the winter 2014 music scene and back to its roots.

“We are thrilled to be re-launching SnoCore!” says Ed Vetri President and CEO of Wind-up Records. “This tour has been a fan favorite since it began and has always featured both established and up and coming amazing live bands.  We are looking forward to making this THE winter music event for many years to come.”

The Pretty Reckless is headlining, Heaven’s Basement, The Letter Black, Crobot plus one band chosen from the international artist platform, ReverbNation, will also play in each market. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. Tour dates and more information is listed below.

The Pretty Reckless will release their sophomore studio album Going To Hell this March via Razor & Tie.  The band formed in 2009 and released their debut album Light Me Up in 2010 as well as a follow-up EP Hit Me Like A Man in 2012. After two years on the road supporting Light Me Up, the band has risen through rock ‘n’ roll’s ranks to become a polarizing presence. Over the course of their debut and EP, the quartet has sold over one million combined albums and digital singles and have supported Evanescence, Guns N’ Roses and Marilyn Manson on tour in addition to headline runs in both the U.S. and abroad. Momsen and her bandmates delivered nothing short of killer performances on their just-wrapped headlining North American “Going To Hell Tour” and the band will support Fall Out Boy on tour in Europe March 2014 after SnoCore wraps.  Watch the Fan Instagram video for the current single “Heaven Knows”, about to break the Rock Radio Top 20, and view the music video for “Going To Hell”, both tracks from the forthcoming album.

Heaven’s Basement have been making a name for themselves via their relentless touring and fiery live show plus music that features huge guitar riffs, killer melodies and an arena-rock sound.  Formed in the East Midlands in England, Heaven’s Basement have toured with the likes of The Pretty Reckless, Black Veil Brides, Papa Roach, Shinedown, Halestorm, Seether and more.  Kerrang declared, “Heaven’s Basement play as if their lives depend on it.  They should already be a big name – bristling riffs and jagged, riotous hooks are their poison and exceptional is not too strong a word.”  The band’s debut album, FILTHY EMPIRE, is in stores now via Red Bull Records; the first single from the album, “Fire, Fire,” cracked the Top 10 on the Active Rock Radio chart.  Heaven’s Basement’s new single, “Nothing Left To Lose,” is set to impact at Active Rock in January; the video can be seen here.  Heaven’s Basement is Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Sid Glover (guitar), Rob Ellershaw (bass), and Chris Rivers (drums).

The Letter Black burst onto the alternative rock landscape with their EP followed by the full-length debut, Hanging On By A Thread, in 2010 – now one of label Tooth & Nail’s top selling debuts in recent memory. The Letter Black has also had radio success with four radio singles from their debut, “Best of Me” (CHR No. 17), “Hanging On By A Thread” (CHR No. 23, Rock No. 6), “Believe” (Rock No. 4) and “New Fire” (Rock No. 17). Media have also gravitated to this heavy-hitting band as they have been covered in Revolver, AOL Noisecreep and AOL RadioBlog.  Tooth & Nail Records’ Pennsylvania-based rockers released their sophomore project, Rebuild in November 2013. The band is vocalist Sarah Anthony, guitarist Mark Anthony, bassist Matt Beal and drummer Taylor Carroll.

Central Pennsylvania band Crobot recently signed to Wind-up Records.  The band is currently in the studio with famed producer Machine (Clutch, Lamb of God, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes) to work on their 2014 Wind-up album release, the follow-up to their self-released debut album, The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer.  Crobot embodies a mixture of groove-heavy riff-rock that will want to make you bang your head and shake your ass.  Think of them as Wolfmother’s American cousins on acid who smell like leather and whose music scorches your ears like hot sauce to the taste.   You can’t help but feel that you are taken into another dimension and back again with the songs of Crobot.  Crobot will be on tour in select cities across the United States in 2014 with Clutch and The Sword before heading out with SnoCore.  Crobot is Brandon Yeagley (Lead Vocals, Harmonica), Chris Bishop (Guitar, Vocals), Jake Figuroa (Bass) and Paul Figuroa (Drums).

Using ReverbNation’s state-of-the-art reviewing dashboard, SnoCore will choose an up-and-coming artist to play in each market. Over three million musicians and bands use ReverbNation to manage their online presence and advance their careers through strategic industry opportunities. ReverbNation artists can submit to be selected through the opportunity listings in their free online profile here from January 29 through February 23.

For more information about SnoCore or any of the artists on the tour, please go to the SnoCore website.

SnoCore Tour Dates (Routing Subject To Change):

01/29               Lincoln, NE                             Bourbon Theatre
01/30               Des Moines, IA                       Wooly’s
01/31               Minneapolis, MN                     Mill City Nights
02/01               Milwaukee, WI                        The Eagles Hall
02/02               Joliet, IL                                   Mojoes
02/04               Flint, MI                                   The Machine Shop
02/05               Toronto, ON                            Phoenix Concert Theatre
02/07               Rochester, NY                        Montage Music Hall
02/08               Worcester, MA                        The Palladium
02/09               Albany, NY                              Upstate Concert Hall
02/11               Baltimore, MD                         Sound Stage
02/12               New York, NY                         Irving Plaza
02/13               Allentown, PA                         Maingate Nightclub
02/14               State College, PA                   Levels
02/15               Lancaster, PA                         Chameleon
02/19               Denver, CO                            The Summit Music Hall
02/21               Las Vegas, NV                        Vinyl – Hard Rock Hotel Casino
02/22               Santa Ana, CA                        The Observatory
02/23               W. Hollywood, CA                  House of Blues