Highly anticipated would be an understatement... Chickenfoot – guitar hero Joe Satriani, drummer Chad Smith, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and frontman Sammy Hagar – have announced details of their second album Chickenfoot III, the follow-up to 2009's award-winning eponymous debut album.
Following weeks of online rumours and escalating hype, the band themselves have finally set the record straight in an official announcement which confirms the album's title, release date, and full track listing.
Chickenfoot III (not IV as previously implied) - UK Limited Edition Fan Pack is set for simultaneous worldwide release on Tuesday September 27th. The album, which was produced by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica), will come complete with specially designed 3D packaging.
The Fan Pack comes with two exclusive bonus tracks - "Down The Drain" (Live in Phoenix) and "Oh Yeah!" (Live in Phoenix) - plus a 132-page magazine dedicated to one of the worlds greatest supergroups. The Fan Pack magazine is 100% Chickenfoot-approved and contains exclusive interviews with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith talking about their new album, plus their respective careers as part of some of the biggest bands in rock.
The Fan Pack also tells the story of the making of the band's new video, how they created a 3D album cover, an overview of their solo careers and the story behind each and every song on the new record. The magazine is also packed with rare shots of the band, an exclusive muso section as well as a Guitar Pick Pack, 3D glasses and a 3D CD digital book pack with postcards.
Chickenfoot's self-titled debut album became a real collector's item due to its never-before-seen packaging initiative; once the front and back covers are touched, the black ink turns transparent, revealing pictures of band members and the album tracklisting.
Chickenfoot III will surely take-on the same level of collectability for its amazing 3-D packaging. All formats will come complete with special Chickenfoot 3-D glasses, which will enable fans to see the cover art and experience 3-D photos of the band. Without the glasses, fans will see only a plain, blank cover, only once the glasses are worn will the artwork come to life. The three formats are as follows:
Deluxe CD/DVD Limited Edition
Strictly limited, the deluxe edition of "III" includes 2 discs; the regular CD version of the album, plus a bonus DVD. The DVD disc features an EPK, including exclusive interviews with the band and behind-the-scenes footage, the 'Big Foot' and 'Sexy Little Thing' videos, and an explosive live version of 'Turning Left', recorded live in Phoenix, Arizona.
12" Vinyl Edition
Pressed on heavyweight 180gr vinyl, the 12" edition will come with a gatefold sleeve and an exclusive poster.
Standard Edition CD
The standard CD edition will come packaged in a high quality digipack.
"I am very proud of the new album," says lead singer Sammy Hagar. "We're calling the album Chickenfoot III because it's so good, the songs are so tight, it's like we jumped right past having to make a second record." He adds, "We've established a real trust, Joe and I, we truly bring out the best in one another, and that spreads to the whole band."
Chickenfoot III features 10 tracks packed with countless moments of musical-epiphany... Colossal, stadium-shaking riffs abound on earth-movers such as Alright, Alright, Last Temptation, Big Foot, & Lighten Up; Tradition meets innovation on the Nashville pop-tinged Different Devil, the Delta-blues flavoured Something Going Wrong and the aching rock ballad Come Closer. The latter marks a dramatic twist, in that Hagar wrote the words first and Satriani composed the music afterward, to suit the lyrics. Elsewhere, Chickenfoot tackle issues such as mortality in Up Next, and the world's economy in Three and a Half Letters.
Chickenfoot's 2009 self-titled debut was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album reached #3 on Billboard's Top Selling Independent albums of 2009, and #88 in the overall Top-selling 200 Albums of 2009. Supported by performances on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live, Chickenfoot embarked on a sold out 9-date club tour, which was quickly followed by a full world tour, incorporating 30 additional sell-out shows across North America.
Upon release, "Chickenfoot" debuted as a top 20 album all across Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux) as it did in Japan, the album charted inside the top 50 in virtually every other country in the world.
Chickenfoot were named "Best New Band" at the Classic Rock Magazine awards ceremony in London, 2009, and have received critical acclaim from numerous high-profile publications across the globe.
"This may be the best thing they've put their famous names to."
- Classic Rock Magazine
"Chest beating, man-sized heavy rock... One bad-ass supergroup."
- Mojo Magazine
http://www.chickenfoot.us/
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