WHITE WIDDOW – New album out in October….

Australian AORsters White Widdow announced the release of their new album through the band’s facebook page.
Tha band stated: “The upcoming fifth White Widdow album “Victory” will be released in Europe & UK on October 26th 2018 on the AOR Heaven Label.”

Tracklist –
1. Victory
2. Fight For Love
3. Second Hand Heart
4. Late Night Liason
5. Danced In The Moonlight
6. Love And Hate
7. Reach Up
8. Anything
9. America
10. Run And Hide.

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HANK ERIX – “Nothing but Trouble” out in October ….

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Hank Erix is the frontman of the Swedish AOR band HOUSTON. A band that have been a bright star in the AOR / Melodic rock sky over their last five releases. The band received the best AOR album 2010 accolade in Classic Rock Magazine and have appeared on several impressive festivals throughout Europe such as Sweden Rock and Download festival. Over almost a decade with HOUSTON, Hank Erix has made quite a name for himself in the melodic rock world and it’s finally time for the release of his solo debut ‘Nothing but Trouble’.
The album features songs that has been marinating for years and sees the band leader of HOUSTON taking a bold step forward from the expected Houston sound and sees Hank flexing his more hard rocking muscles. Tagging along with Hank Erix on this 1700cc motorcycle ride of an album are members of Therion, Degreed, Art Nation, Wildness, Kryptonite , Palace, Gutterdämerung & Adrenaline Rush.
From the opening hook-filled but hard-hitting riffola of opener ‘Turn To Darkness’ through to the brooding and Dokken-esque first single ‘Fortune Hunter’ and the final salvo of ‘For The Restless and Young’, Hank shows a darker and heavier edge while the trademark melody always remains.
As Hank reveals “they say that life is not about being who you are; it’s about becoming who you want to be. After almost a decade with Houston I’ve learned a lot about myself and the music that I love. These songs are me, all me, singing my heart out for the world to hear and this album has been a dream of mine, something to cross off the bucket list if you will”

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Track listing:

1. Turn To Darkness
2. Last Chance To Love
3. Fortune Hunter
4. Way To Go
5. Shadowdance
6. Affair Of The Heart
7. Electricity
8. Freak
9. Giving Up On Love
10. For The Restless & The Young

Line-up:

Hank Erix – Lead & Backing vocals
Michael Palace – Lead Guitars & Backing vocals
Soufian Ma’Aoui – Bass
Daniel Johansson – Rhythm Guitars
Mats Ericsson – Drums
Micke Jansson – Keyboard / Synth

Additional guests:

Linnea Vikström – Lead vocals & Backing vocals on ‘Affair Of The Heart’
Alexander Hagman – Lead guitar on ‘Affair Of The Heart’
Sam Söderlind – Guitar solo on ‘Last Chance To Love’
Michael Palace – Additional guitars on ‘Last Chance To Love’
Victor Lundberg – Backing vocals on ‘Shadowdance’

 

AMRS APPROVED   9.5/10

 

HANK ERIX – ‘Fortune Hunter’ Music Video Released….

HANK ERIX, the frontman of the Swedish AOR band HOUSTON, has released a new single and music video for ‘Fortune Hunter‘, the track is taken of his first solo album ‘Nothing But Trouble‘, to be out on October 5th, 2018 via Livewire/Cargo Records UK.

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As Hank reveals: “They say that life is not about being who you are; it’s about becoming who you want to be. After almost a decade with Houston I’ve learned a lot about myself and the music that I love. These songs are me, all me, singing my heart out for the world to hear and this album has been a dream of mine, something to cross off the bucket list if you will”.

The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Mats Ericsson at BoomBridge Studios. Recorded at BoomBridge Studios & Erix Music & Production Studios. Executive Producer – HANK ERIX.

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Track listing:

1. Turn To Darkness
2. Last Chance To Love
3. Fortune Hunter
4. Way To Go
5. Shadowdance
6. Affair Of The Heart
7. Electricity
8. Freak
9. Giving Up On Love
10. For The Restless & The Young

Line-up:

Hank Erix – Lead & Backing vocals
Michael Palace – Lead Guitars & Backing vocals
Soufian Ma’Aoui – Bass
Daniel Johansson – Rhythm Guitars
Mats Ericsson – Drums
Micke Jansson – Keyboard / Synth

Additional guests:

Linnea Vikström – Lead vocals & Backing vocals on ‘Affair Of The Heart’
Alexander Hagman – Lead guitar on ‘Affair Of The Heart’
Sam Söderlind – Guitar solo on ‘Last Chance To Love’
Michael Palace – Additional guitars on ‘Last Chance To Love’
Victor Lundberg – Backing vocals on ‘Shadowdance’

 

STEVE PERRY – New album announced, New videoclip available….

Steve Perry announced through his new facebook page his return with a NEW album called “Traces” set for release on October 5th.

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“Traces”
track listing:

01. No Erasin’ (4:07)
Writers: Steve Perry, David Spreng
02. We’re Still Here (4:06)
Writers: Steve Perry, Brian West
03. Most Of All (4:23)
Writers: Steve Perry, Randy Goodrem
04. No More Cryin’ (4:29)
Writers: Dan Wilson, Steve Perry
05. In The Rain (4:06)
Writers: Steve Perry, David Spreng
06. Sun Shines Gray (3:57)
Writers: Steve Perry, John 5, Thom Flowers
07. You Belong To Me (4:07)
Writers: Steve Perry, Barry Eastmond
08. Easy To Love (4:03)
Writers: Steve Perry, Thom Flowers
09. I Need You (2:59)
Writers: Steve Perry, George Harrison
10. We Fly (3:56)
Writers: Steve Perry, Jeff Babko

In the meantime the videoclip shooted for the track “No Erasin'” is available and you can view it HERE

 

ROUGH GRIND – New music video …..out

Finnish hard rockers Rough Grind released a new music video!

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The Finnish hard rock/metal band Rough Grind released their new EP “Trouble or Nothing” (Inverse Records) exactly a month ago. Now the Finnish hard rockers give fans a chance to take a look behind the scenes on their new music video for “Bulletproof”.

The video proves that although the band delivers strong messages with an uncompromising attitude, they are not dead serious about their music and life in general. It seems that these four gentlemen have had hilarious studio sessions.

Moreover, Rough Grind might be pleased about the fact that “Trouble or Nothing” has had a warm welcome globally. The songs from the EP have found their way to radio playlists e.g. in the USA, Canada, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain and New Zealand.

Watch the music video for “Bulletproof” on Inverse Records’ YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/xpLYOMs03rE

Listen to the EP on:​

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mdzFQw
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/album/67967982
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/91781271
iTunes: https://apple.co/2NHf2sF
Google Play: http://bit.do/epJ8j
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Ndy5cO

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Track list:

01. Gilded Cage
02. Leap Of Faith
03. Bulletproof
04. Hereafter

 

Line-up:
Sami (vocals/guitars)
Ville (guitars)
Ari (bass)
Killi (drums)
Links:

MAXXWELL: Release ‘She’s Mine’ Video Teaser, Announce European Tour Dates 2018 with GUS G (FIREWIND, ex OZZY OSBOURNE)

If the Swiss heavy rockers MAXXWELL do something then they do it right. After MAXXWELL announced the tour with THRESHOLD and finally put UK on the list of countries played, they’re coming with more dates. MAXXWELL are considered to be an extremely playful band. So it’s not surprising that after a short, three-week stopover, the next trip will be done. No less than ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. (also Firewind) has invited the band as direct support. The shows can be found below. And then there’s the teaser clip for the official single “She’s Mine“. The clip shows the MAXXWELL from its strongest side. Fooling around, on and off stage. Release on August 24, 2018, one month before the complete album “Metalized” will be finally in stores (September 21, 2018). The video teaser can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/QnJIFNdxmS8

The video was filmed, edited and produced by Jörg Hennecke at Yorkproduction.ch.

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MAXXWELL live 2018:

August 31st 2018 – Dormagen (DE) – «Zons rockt» (with Doro)
September 7th 2018 – Neustadt (DE) – «Best Of Music» (with The New Roses & Alpha Tiger)
September 27th 2018 – München (DE) – Allacher Schiessstätte
September 28th 2018 – Irish House (DE) – Kaiserslautern
September 29th 2018 – Aldenhoven (DE) – Rockheaven
September 30th 2018 – Erfurt (DE) – From Hell
October 5th 2018 – Luzern (CH) – Schüür
October 10th 2018 – Aachen (DE) – Musikbunker (with Threshold)
October 11th 2018 – Pratteln (CH) – Z7 (with Threshold)
October 12th 2018 – Aschaffenburg (DE) Colos-Saal (with Threshold)
October 13th 2018 – Zoetermeer (NL) – Boerderij (with Threshold)
October 14th 2018 – Hamburg (DE) – Markthalle (with Threshold)
October 16th 2018 – Jena (DE) – F-Haus (with Threshold)
October 17th 2018 – Prag (CZ) – Nova Chmelnice (with Threshold)
October 18th 2018 – München (DE) – Feierwerk (with Threshold)
October 19th 2018 – Mannheim (DE) – MS Connexion Complex (with Threshold)
October 20th 2018 – Essen (DE) – Turock (with Threshold)
October 21st 2018 – London (UK) – Assembly Hall (with Threshold)
October 26th 2018 – Langenthal (CH) – Old Capitol
November 3rd 2018 – Offenbach am Main (DE) – Turnhalle TV Bieber
November 9th 2018 – Siebnen (CH) – District 28
November 17th 2018 – Rostock (DE) – Zwischenbau (with Gus G.)
November 18th 2018 – Oberhausen (DE) – Kulttempel (with Gus G.)
November 20th 2018 – Zoetermeer (NL) – Boerderij (with Gus G.)
November 21st 2018 – Genk (BE) – Colosseum (with Gus G.)
November 25th 2018 – Milan (IT) – Legend Club (with Gus G.)
November 27th 2018 – Sursee (CH) – Kulturwerk 118 (with Gus G.)
November 28th 2018 – Albstadt (DE) – Tropicana (with Gus G.)
November 29th 2018 – Siegburg (DE) – Kubana (with Gus G.)
November 30th 2018 – Mannheim (DE) – MS Connexion (with Gus G.)
Dezember 1st 2018 – Aalen (DE) – Rock it! (with Gus G.)
Dezember 2nd 2018 – Wien (Ö) – Escape Metal Corner (with Gus G.)
Dezember 5th 2018 – Bratislava (SK) – Randal Club (with Gus G.)
Dezember 6th 2018 – Budapest (UN) – A38 (with Gus G.)

 

 

NEWMAN – “Decade II” out in September…

In 1997 Singer, songwriter Steve Newman formed the band Newman and since 1998 have been producing consistently high quality albums filled with hook laden songs and thought provoking lyrics. The now, hard to find self-titled album was followed up in 1999 by the awesome “One Step Closer” album. Continuing the high standard came “Dance In The Fire” and then “Sign Of The Modern Times” in 2000, and 2003 respectfully. Fans and critics alike began to realize they were dealing with an artist that would evolve and mature with them.
The year 2006 saw the release of “Heaven Knows”, and once again proved beyond all doubt that Newman were becoming one of the top purveyors of Melodic Rock in the UK. Any doubts about the quality or consistency were cast aside when in 2007 “Primitive Soul” was released to great acclaim. This was followed in 2008 by “Decade” a double album celebrating 10 years of Newman. However, not wanting to take the usual route of a “hits” album this was packaged with a second CD containing another 14 unreleased songs which ended up being so well received it was reviewed as a new studio album. “Decade” may have been a great way for a band to sign off and call it a day, however, not only was this not even considered, the focus went into producing the next stage of the bands career.
In 2010 “The Art Of Balance” was released to huge acclaim from critics and fans. The band followed this up with a string of successful live dates including Cambridge Rock Festival, Firefest Festival, and a UK Tour supporting John Waite. All this was achieved in the face of huge emotional strain after Steve suffered losing both his parents that year. In fact, as the writing progressed onto the following recording “Under Southern Skies” this AOR Heaven release ended up being a very personal and reflective album for Steve.
All this time , the live band, with the addition of Pete Newdeck on Drums, joining Steve (Vocals, Guitar), Shaun Bessant (Guitar, Vocals), Paul Boyle (Keyboards, Vocals), Dave Bartlett (Bass, Vocals) were gaining momentum, culiminating in shows in Greece, Spain, Germany, and the US. 2014 saw the re-recording and release of the acclaimed first album as a Limited Edition, This coincided with a successful UK tour with Vega. More live shows ensued before returning to the studio in 2014 and putting together what would become 2015’s “The Elegance Machine”. In 2016 Newman embarked on their first UK headline tour which was a great success as well as some other selected dates in Europe. At the end of the tour Steve took some time late in 2016 to concentrate on writing for a few other artists as well as having 3 songs re-recorded for the Goran Edman album “Cry Of Dawn”. It was within these sessions that Steve started to piece together the foundations for his next release. In 2017 “Aerial” was released, a more classic AOR Melodic Rock feeling album which had tremendous reviews and responses across the globe.
So we turn to 2018, and the 20th anniversary of Newman. Steve decided to celebrate this with “Decade II” following the same format as the first Decade release. A 2 CD 34 track album covering the bands history from 2007 to the present.

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Newman – Decade II
Cd 1:
01 Hero To Zero (From the album “The Art of Balance” Chrome Dome 2010)
02 Heading For Your Heart (From the album “Primitive Soul” Chrome Dome 2007)
03 Ghost In The Night (From the album “Under Southern Skies” AOR Heaven 2011)
04 Feel Her Again (From the album “Siren” AOR Heaven 2013)
05 Stay With Me (From the album “The Art Of Balance” 2010)
06 The Elegance Machine (From the album “The Elegance Machine” AOR Heaven 2016)
07 Killing Me (From the album “Under Southern Skies” AOR Heaven 2011)
08 Primitive Soul (From the album “Primitive Soul” Chrome Dome 2007)
09 Endless (From the album “The Art of Balance” Chrome Dome 2010)
10 Fire With Fire (From the album “Under Southern Skies” AOR Heaven 2011)
11 Scar Of Love (From the album “Siren” AOR Heaven 2013)
12 15 Minute Revolution (From the album “Primitive Soul” Chrome Dome 2007)
13 She Walks In Silence (From the album “The Elegance Machine” AOR Heaven 2016)
14 Under Southern Skies (From the album “Under Southern Skies” AOR Heaven 2011)
15 Had Enough (From the album “Siren” AOR Heaven 2013)
16 Tumble Down (From the album “The Art of Balance” Chrome Dome 2010)
17 For The Man I Am (From the album “Primitive Soul” Chrome Dome 2007)

Cd 2:
01 Breaking The Barrier (From “The Elegance Machine” sessions 2014)
02 Girl Found Love (From “The Elegance Machine” sessions 2014)
03 Liar (From The “Aerial” sessions 2016)
04 One More Night With You (Frontiers song submission)
05 Fight No More (From the “Aerial” sessions 2016)
06 She’s The Woman (From “The Elegance Machine” sessions 2014)
07 Nightmare (“Under Southern Skies” Japanese bonus track)
08 Angel (From The “Aerial” sessions 2016)
09 World Keeps Turning (Frontiers song submission for the Toby Hitchcock album)
10 In Too Deep (From the “Aerial” sessions 2016)
11 The More I Love (“Under Southern Skies” Japanese bonus track)
12 Crossed My Heart (From the “Aerial” sessions 2016)
13 A Witness To Love’s Decline (From the “Aerial” sessions 2016)
14 Does It Feel The Same? (Frontiers song submission)
15 Race Of A Lifetime (From “The Elegance Machine” sessions 2014)
16 Never Becomes Again (From “The Elegance Machine” sessions 2014)
17 My Fantasy (From the “Aerial” sessions 2016)

 
DECADE II.
“So here we are again, oh, but hang on, we’re another 10 years (from the first Decade release) down the line on this musical journey. I can’t believe how quickly those years have gone by !! I wanted to keep the concept for this collection the same as the previous release, so once again, I am proud and excited to present to you another double CD re-performed and re-recorded featuring 35 songs from 2007 right through to 2017. 20 years since Newman first released the debut album, and I still get the same excitement and joy from recording and performing music. In the last 10 years the live band has gone from strength to strength and I am now surrounded by a bunch of really good friends who bring these songs to life whenever we play. My drive to write and perform is a selfish quest, however, my inspiration is you, everyone that supports my music, and the wonderful compliments I receive on a daily basis, thank you for your belief, this one is for you.” Steve Newman
Disc 1 features 17 songs from the 2007 album “Primitive Soul” through “The Art Of Balance”,
“Under Southern Skies”, “Siren”, and finally the 2015 album “The Elegance Machine”.
Disc 2 features another 17 songs, some that were written and even recorded, but not included
on the final releases, songs that were written for other artists and 2 songs that were originally released as Japanese bonus tracks. There are some songs, as before, that were “works in progress” especially recorded for this release and also another 6 songs from the “Aerial” sessions.

ATLAS – Debut album out in September….

UK melodic rockers ATLAS will release their debut album called “In pursuit of memory” on September 28th from AOR HEAVEN.

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Track list: 1. Samsara, 2. Bad Habit, 3. Breathe Me In, 4. Flesh and Blood, 5. As Time Goes By, 6. In The Frame, 7. Lock and Key, 8. Seasons Change, 9. Signal Of Hope, 10. Letting Go, 11. Supernova, 12. Live and Forget

ATLAS is a Melodic Rock band from the North of England that is comprised of 5 young musicians, i.e. James Thorley (Keyboards, programming and percussion), John Moss (Lead Guitars), Howie Little (Lead Guitars), Chris Redfearn (Bass Guitar) and Craig Wells (Lead Vocals). Keyboard player Thorley founded the band in early 2017 with the intention to create a band that centered its roots around the AOR and Melodic Rock genre whilst delving into other areas of Hard Rock, Metal, Progressive and even Jazz. 5 keyboard demos were produced by Thorley during the first few months of 2017.
The name ‘Atlas’ came from the working title for these demos, which would soon be molded into the songs heard on the bands’ debut EP ‘World In Motion’. ATLAS drew heavily on influences stemming from the AOR classic standards of Toto and Journey to the modern era of Work of Art and W.E.T with subtle progressive elements of Dream Theater mixed in to forge the early sound heard throughout their EP. The recording and mixing duties fell upon keyboard player James Thorley. Sam Millar of UK rock band Bigfoot contributed to the backing vocals on this EP which got self-released through their band camp website in late August 2017. The end of 2017 found the band achieve three awards from AOR Underground (A feature of Powerplay magazine) for ‘Independent album of year 2017’ for their release of the EP ‘World in Motion’, ‘Best Newcomer of 2017’ and ‘Song of the year’ with ‘Lost in The Moment’. This momentum and growing social media following provided the stepping-stone for the bands next endeavor. With strong motivation and after almost a year of working together as a band they were now eager to start collaborating on new material using the stronger aspects of their EP as a cornerstone.
The writing sessions for the debut album officially started in December 2017 and continued for 8 months. The band were given an opportunity in June to have a break from the album production when they were approached by UK Melodic Rock band Vega to open up for them and AOR Heaven rockers Midnite City in support of their latest album tour. Rob Evans of Powerplay Magazine had helped the band get in contact with Georg Siegl, the founder of AOR Heaven, and after discussions between the band and Siegl a contract was drawn up.

The album name ‘In Pursuit of Memory’ reflects the nature and themes of the songs heard throughout the album. With a common theme throughout the album being self-reflection, healing and learning from mistakes one has made; with lyricists Thorley, Moss and Wells all penning at least one track centered on those themes. The album was recorded and engineered by keyboard player James Thorley at his studio ‘The Woodshed”. Thorley also took on the role of the producer as he did on the bands previous self released EP.
Sam Millar of Bigfoot provided ‘guest vocals’ on the album as well; his vocal harmony contributions can be heard throughout most of the tracks and add a much desired AOR factor that the band often desire in their songs. Christoffer Borg (Taste, Art Nation) was chosen as the mixing and mastering engineer on ‘In Pursuit of Memory’. Borg’s credit’s, which include Anthrax, Evergrey & Kee Marcello gave the group confidence that he would be able to do the variety of songs they had written the justice it sonically deserved.

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ATLAS are:
Craig Wells – Vocals
James Thorley – Keyboards/Piano/Programming/Percussion
John Moss – Guitar Howie Little – Guitar/Acoustic Guitar
Chris Redfearn – Bass Guitar/Acoustic guitar

https://atlasmusicuk.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/atlasprojectuk

https://www.instagram.com/atlasprojectuk