SBB - cover artwork of the forthcomin​g album

SBB, a legendary progressive rock band from Poland, return in early April with a brand new studio album simply titled “SBB”. Today the band revealed its cover artwork created by the well-known Polish architect Tomasz Konior.

Józef Skrzek, the leader of the band, recalls the first meeting with Konior: „We had many common things to talk about  - we were talking about Krystian Zimerman, the remodeling of the market place in Katowice and so on. I mentioned that he could work on SBB’s new album cover - Tomasz said he has never done anything like this before, but he took on this challenge... We have the same sensibility on beauty – that’s another common thing. For me, the album cover is extremely important, and Tomasz just hit the mark. This is our first but surely not the last project." 
 
The album will be released by Metal Mind Productions on April, 2nd in Europe and June, 5th in USA (via MVD).  Skrzek describes the new material as „a new sound - fresh, mature yet spontaneous and full of youthful energy".  SBB currently consists of Józef Skrzek and Apostolis "Lakis" Anthimos.

 

Tracklist:
 
1. Piwnica
2. Niemen
3. 74
4. Bunkry Wiedeńskie
5. Zwątpienie Lakisa
6. Aries
7. Urodziny w Roskilde
8. Rozstanie
9. Ameryka
10. Nowy Wiek
11. Lot nad Chicago
12. Seged
13. Memento
14. Muzy
15. Zaufani
16. Requiem

Metal Mind Productions

http://www.metalmind.com.pl
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NEARfest Apocalypse tickets on sale this weekend!

Tickets for the NEARfest Apocalypse go on sale Saturday, March 3rd at
10:00am ET. NEARfest Apocalypse will mark the last NEARfest ever to be
staged. The event will be held June 22nd through June 24th in
Bethlehem, PA at the Zoellner Arts Center on the beautiful campus of
Lehigh University. The lineup is one for the ages and will feature
headliners Eloy, in their first-ever performance in North America, the
revitalized Renaissance, and the ever-enigmatic Van der Graaf
Generator. The 3-day lineup is rounded out by other world-class acts
such as Änglagård, the Mike Keneally Band, Twelfth Night, Il Tempio
delle Clessidre, Gösta Berlings Saga, Helmet of Gnats and Aranis.

More information on the lineup can be viewed at on our website,
http://www.nearfest.com/lineup.asp.

Ticket Prices

Tickets for NEARfest will be sold in 2-day and 3-day bundles. The
2-day bundle includes Saturday and Sunday only while the 3-day bundle
also includes Friday night's performances.

Ticket prices for NEARfest Apocalypse are as follows:

LIFT
3-day: $240.00
2-day: $180.00
Friday-only: $60.00

ORCHESTRA
3-day: $220.00
2-day: $165.00
Friday-only: $55.00

GRAND TIER
3-day: $200.00
2-day: $150.00
Friday-only: $50.00

BALCONY
3-day: $180.00
2-day: $135.00
Friday-only: $45.00

Seating chart: http://www.zoellnerartscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/baker_seating_chart.pdf

Friday tickets are initially only available as part of a 3-Day Bundle.
Remaining Friday-Only tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 10th,
2012 at 11:00am ET.

There is a 4-ticket per person limit. No single weekend day or
single-band passes will be made available.

How to Purchase Tickets

Tickets will be available via three methods:
- Online from Zoellner Arts Center Online Tickets Website,
https://ztickets.lehigh.edu
- By phone at 610-758-2787 ext. 0 using Visa, MasterCard, American
Express or Discover
- Zoellner Arts Center Box Office, 420 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA

* If you plan to purchase tickets, online it is recommend that you
create an account with Zoellner Arts Center's online ticketing system
in advance. It will speed up your transaction.

** Tickets are expected to go very quickly. If you secure tickets
online, DO NOT return them to the ticket pool. There is a significant
chance that you will not be able to get back into the site to purchase
different seats before they sell out.

There is more information on our Tickets page at
http://www.nearfest.com/generalsales.asp.
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Abandoned Stars - Opening Act 'For fans of Rush, King's X and Pain Of Salvation'

Abandoned Stars from 2010 began with Scottish brothers Leen and Tony
Hodge on Bass and Drums, soon joined by Frenchman Olivier Hadder on
vocals and Italian Peppe Schiavone on guitar.

Abandoned Stars take influences from classic prog rock like Rush &
Dream Theater and newer prog metal bands such as Pain of Salvation,
Opeth & Karnivool.

Summer 2011 the band chose four songs of their repertoire to be mixed
and mastered by the excellent Marty Bak of SLR studio,Ontario, Canada
in order to unleash their EP 'Opening Act' to the masses. To support
the release, a music video for the song 'Beyond Reason' was made
available from December 2011.

Early 2012 the band is being played to a few rock/metal web radios and
got some national and international FM airplay and the EP is
collecting rave reviews in the press across the globe. Abandoned
Stars is also a real stage machine: their first show of the year was
unbelievably hot for Scotland and melted the ears of the Teviot
Underground (400+ capacity) in their hometown of Edinburgh, a good
omen for things to come!

Press:

'DREAM THEATER and RUSH are the clear major influences here and then I
am talking about the first couple of DREAM THEATER records, mixed with
RUSH circa 'Presto' and they also have some similarities to KING'S X.
It's a pity there are only 4 tracks on the album, but happily they all
sound very good and make you very eager to a full-length CD release.
The album was mixed and mastered in Canada and you can really hear
that, because like already mentioned earlier on, they sound very
non-UK/Scottish and are closer to a Canadian, American or Scandinavian
band. Opener "Beyond reason" shows right away we are dealing here with
a very impressive band, because this is RUSH meets DREAM THEATER meets
KING'S X at it's best! Following track "Follow your heart" is
catchier, has some great keyboard arrangements and a killer
KAMELOT-ish chorus, so a more straight-ahead uptempo piece, with still
some massive sounding Prog Metal breaks and overall the best song on
the EP… these songs are meant to sound darker than the earlier tunes
and are resembling a very slight touch of bands like PAIN OF
SALVATION, NEVERMORE and MASTODON. The band has a great lead singer,
instrumental it all sounds very good and who knows in 2012 this band
might release a sensational full-length CD that will be as good as
2011's PAGAN'S MIND classic 'Heavenly ecstasy' that was the best Prog
Metal album of the year 2011' ~ Gabor Kelinblosem- Strutter, Holland

Band Line Up:
Lead Vocals – Olivier Hadder
Guitar – Peppe Schiavone
Bass – Leen
Drums – Tony Hodge

Tracklisting:
1- Beyond Reason
2- Follow Your Heart
3- Sealing My Fate
4- Against The Tide

Abandoned Stars
Web: www.abandonedstars.co.uk
www.facebook.com/pages/Abandoned-Stars/144587568925194?sk=info
www.reverbnation.com/show/6564139#!/
www.myspace.com/abandonedstars
www.youtube.com/user/AbandonedStars

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Powertrain - Tracks 'As seen in Fireworks Magazine'

Powertrain effectively meshes the diverse influences of its members to
create their unique blend of melodic metal, classic rock and power
pop. The music stirs memories of the classic guitar and Hammond-driven
hard rock of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, the airy prog of Pink Floyd,
the 80's power metal of Dio and Iron Maiden, or the modern feel and
moodiness of Alice In Chains. Though their diverse rock sound is not
easy to pigeonhole into any one genre, Powertrain is consistently
defined by their strong musicianship and tight, melodic songwriting.

Powertrain can trace its roots back to Heir Apparent's European tour
in the fall of 2006, which featured a touring lineup that included
bassist Bobby Ferkovich, drummer Jeffrey McCormack, and Op Sakiya on
keys. Shortly after that tour concluded, McCormack and Ferkovich
joined Dead Prjct, a solo endeavor of Fifth Angel lead guitarist
Kendall Bechtel. Dead Prjct proved to be short-lived however, and
Ferkovich and Sakiya again banded together along with shredder John
Jaunese and recorded several songs with The John Jaunese Group that
would be featured on various shred guitar compilation CDs.

In the summer of 2008, Bobby and Op found themselves without a band
and with a handful of demos they wanted to record. Bobby called up old
friend Kendall Bechtel to see if he was interested in working on them,
and Bechtel agreed. Kendall provided a much-needed spark, and would
end up writing all the lyrics, vocal lines and guitar parts. As the
recordings progressed in Sakiya's SonicOp Studios and the songs began
to gel, the three musicians began to realize that together they had a
chemistry and collaborative
atmoshphere in the studio that was very creative, and just a lot of
fun. It was a no-brainer decision that a band shoud be formed, and
Powertrain was born.

The reworked demos became the "Will To Power" EP, which was released
in April 2009 and spawned a minor internet radio hit in "I'm Alive".
The band immediately dove into recording a full-length follow-up, and
eventually released the "Tracks" album in October 2010.

For the recording of its second full-length album, Powertrain has once
again engaged the services of Jeffrey McCormack to handle the drum
duties. The new album, titled "Off The Rails", is slated to be
released in the spring of 2012.

Band Line Up:
Kendall Bechtel: All guitars, lead and backing vocals
Op Sakiya: Keyboards and orchestration
Bobby Ferkovich: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Jeffrey McCormack: Drums

Tracklisting:
1- Eating You
2- Cain
3- One Night
4- Radio
5- Stray
6- Out of Place
7- Rock Train
8- Complication
9- Her Majesty
10- Say You Will
11- Hard Core

Powertrain
Web: www.powertrainband.com
www.facebook.com/Powertrainband

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Already Gone - One Good Reason 'Melodic Rock - for fans of Bon Jovi, Pride, White Lion'

Already Gone are a melodic rock band that formed in July 2009, in the
Midlands, UK. They are a commercial force, not to be underestimated,
influenced by classic rock acts such as Bon Jovi and The Eagles, and
fused with elements of Nickelback and Avenged Sevenfold.

Singer Luke Maskery, who appeared on ITV's Stars In Their Eyes aged
18, is often compared to the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Steven Tyler.
He is joined by his right hand man, Dan Nutt on guitar, and together
they form an explosive Bon Jovi/Sambora chemistry that sets the stage
alight at every show!

On rhythm section, drummer Vikki Brown and bassist Tim Buxton complete
the outfit. They are the sturdy backbone to the band, and are both
well accomplished musicians in their own rights.

In the last 3 years, Already Gone have moved from strength to
strength, and regularly play venues from Glasgow to London, as well as
playing sell out shows in their home towns of Stoke and Crewe.

2011 saw the band of young musicians beat 12,000 other bands to reach
the INTERNATIONAL FINAL of The Surface Festival, at The London o2
Arena! Their fans, often recognizable by their bright pink AG tshirts,
swarmed the o2 for the final, and armed themselves with pink balloons
and cowboy hats!

Now, the fans religiously follow the band from city to city up and
down the UK. The AG pink army is growing rapidly, with thousands of
followers on their facebook pages, and more fans joining the army
daily!

Already Gone have a 13 track debut album titled 'One Good Reason'
which was independently written, recorded, and released by themselves
in September last year. They have a second music video due for
completion in April this year, as well as a part in an independent
movie called 'The Limelight', which was filmed by the British Youth
Film Academy, in association with the CO-OP.

Recently, the band have been reviewed by music industry specialists
around the UK and across Europe, and have started selling copies of
their album to fans worldwide. Now, they are looking for the right
person to help them to the next level! Watch out for Already Gone...

Band Line Up:
Lead Vocals – Luke Maskery
Guitar – Dan Nutt
Bass – Tim Buxton
Drums – Vikki Brown

Tracklisting:
1- Cry Baby
2- What Does It Take?
3- Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll
4- Make My Day
5- Wash Away The Tears
6- Sweet Dreams Baby
7- Turn Away
8- Let Me Be Your Slave
9- Sweet Lady Jane
10- In Your Arms
11- One Good Reason
12- Girls I Used to Know
13- So Long Gone

Already Gone
Web: www.alreadygone.co.uk
www.facebook.com/alreadygonerock
www.twitter.com/alreadygonerock
www.reverbnation.com/alreadygone
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Van der Graaf Generator Legend Judge Smith Creates A Movie For Your Ears - A New Concept CD 'Orfeas'

Independent composer and recording artist Judge Smith, who in 1967
co-founded with Peter Hammill the influential underground band 'Van
der Graaf Generator', has created a movie for your ears – a new
concept CD titled 'Orfeas'; a retelling of the ancient myth of
Orpheus, the magical musican who travels to the Land of the Dead in
search of the lost Eurydice. Since his Van der Graaf Generator days,
Judge Smith has been responsible for a wide variety of music projects,
including four stage-musicals (with productions at the Edinburgh
Traverse, Sheffield Crucible and the Lyric, Hammersmith), opera and
cantata libretti, songs for the '70s TV show 'Not The Nine O'clock
News', and songs recorded by Peter Hammill and Lene Lovich. His film
'The Brass Band' has won several international awards. Judge Smith's
music is complex in structure and often fragmented, but is always
tuneful and strangely memorable, with humor never far from the
surface. In the course of a twenty-year independent solo career, he
has released ten CDs and DVDs.

"My principal interest is in telling stories with words and music,"
explains Judge. "Some of my CDs are collections of songs, the usual
format for an album, although people say that my songs are unusual and
idiosyncratic. However, three of my projects are in a different
category. Over many years, I have developed a new way of making
extended musical narratives that I call 'Songstories', which are more
complex than song-cycles or 'rock operas'. They are not 'musicals'
either, since they are pretty well un-stageable, and are each intended
to be being complete as an 'audio experience'. The three Songstories
are all very different. The first, 'Curly's Airships', a double CD
with a running time of two hours and twenty minutes, was completed in
2000 after six years full-time work, and tells the story of the 1930
R-101 Airship disaster. It is probably one the largest and most
ambitious pieces of rock music ever recorded. The second, 'The
Climber', released in 2009, in complete contrast, is performed by me
with an unaccompanied Norwegian male voice choir, and a double bass.
The third Songstory is 'Orfeas', my own interpretation of the
Classical myth."

This Songstory uses wildly contrasting styles of music to tell its
story, including instrumental Rock, Mediterranean guitar music, modern
classical string sextet music, classical Trance dance music and Death
Metal. 'Orfeas' also features a radical, and little-known, technique
for transforming recorded speech into melody. "As far as I am aware, I
am the only person making work like this, and I think it would be
probably fair to say that no one else does what I do," says Judge.

"Best known for his role in the formation of Van de Graaf Generator,
Judge Smith is clearly not an artist with much interest in toeing the
line. 'Orfeas', a three-act 'songstory' in which Smith and a host of
guest performers re-imagine the titular Greek legend as he headlines
at Wembley Arena, is effectively an exercise in schizophrenic musical
theatre, replete with rambling soliloquies and plot-revealing dialogue
set to avant-garde chamber music, that takes in everything from Jaunty
rock radio-jingles and ethereal pop." Dom Lawson – Classic Rock
Presents Prog

In recent news, on November 6, 2011 a performance of Judge Smith's
'The House That Cried' was held in Como, Italy. The show also took
place on November 20, 2011 in Chiasso, Switzerland.

For more information visit
http://www.Judge-Smith.com

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Fabio Zuffanti present: L'ombra Della Sera!

Maurizio Di Tollo, Agostino Macor and Fabio Zuffanti are three musicians active for some years - respectively in the role of drummer, keyboardist and bassist - in the Italian prog band la Maschera Di Cera. This group, active since 2001, has produced four studio albums and is rapidly become one of the most qualified and followed Italian band of the new school of progressive rock. Maurizio, Agostino and Fabio are versatile musicians active in various other musical projects ranging from prog to jazz, pop and songwriting.

In 2011 the three musicians decided to create a project based on re-proposition of the soundtracks of some of the dark and mysterious Italian TV fictions of the seventies made by master like Simonetti, Ortolani or Pisano. To do this they close in the studio using only original and vintage instruments as Mellotron, Minimoog, Hammond, Theremin, Fender Rhodes...

The result is the album 'L'ombra della sera' (which gave also the name of the project), published in February 2012 by AMS/BTF label.

To make this work, the three musicians have used the collaboration of two other components of la Maschera Di Cera (Alessandro Corvaglia on vocals and Andrea Monetti on flute), Paul Furio Marrasso on double bass, Roberto Calcagno and Francesco Nappi Mascardi on trumpet and sax).

Everything was recorded and artistically co-produced by Rox Villa at Hilary studios in Genoa.

The sound of the record goes back to the dark and gothic school of Van Der Graaf Generator, to some experimental pages of King Crimson and mix chamber music, psychedelic and funky flavours with the modern taste and original of which the three musicians are equipped which have allowed them to make these musics very personal. As if they had composed them.

'L'ombra della sera' comes out on papersleeve vynil replica gatefold CD and limited edition LP (scheduled for next months) and contains:

01. GAMMA (Enrico Simonetti) 11'12''
02. RITRATTO DI DONNA VELATA (Riz Ortolani) 03'51''
03. LA TRACCIA VERDE (Berto Pisano) 06'35''
04. IL SEGNO DEL COMANDO (Cento campane) (Romeo Grano) 05'03''
05. HO INCONTRATO UN'OMBRA (A blue shadow) (Berto Pisano) 17'51'' 

Info: www.zuffantiprojects.con/l'ombra della sera
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God Is An Astronaut news and tour dates

Just a reminder that we will be starting our March tour a week from now in Madrid. Here is a list of the dates, if you are nearby we hope you can make one of the shows. We are all looking forward to be back on the road.

Thu 01 Mar 2012 - ARENA - Calle de la Princesa 1, 28008 Madrid, Spain

Fri 02 Mar 2012 - MUSIC HALL - Rambla Catalunya 2-4, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

Sun 04 Mar 2012 - SALZHAUS - Untere Vogelsangstrasse 6, 8401 Winterthur, Switzerland

Mon 05 Mar 2012 - ROCKHOUSE - Schallmooser Haupstraße 46, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Tue 06 Mar 2012 - TUNNEL - Via Battista Sammartini 30, 20100 Milano, Italy

Wed 07 Mar 2012 - CIRCOLO DEGLI ARTISTI - Via Casilina Vecchia 42, 00182 Rome, Italy

Fri 09 Mar 2012 - MOCHVARA CLUB - Trnjanski Nasip bb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Sat 10 Mar 2012 - KLUB FEST - Gradski Park 2, 11080 Zemun (Belgrade), Serbia - SOLD OUT

Sun 11 Mar 2012 - MIXTAPE 5 - Bulgaria Blvd. 1 ("Gallery" underpass), 1414 Sofia, Bulgaria

Mon 12 Mar 2012 - SILVER CHURCH - Calea Plevnei Nr. 61, Bucharest, Romania

Tue 13 Mar 2012 - BOILER CLUB - Henri Barbusse 59-61, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Wed 14 Mar 2012 - DURER KERT - Ajtósi Dürer sor 19-21, Budapest 1146, Hungary

Thu 15 Mar 2012 - KC DUNAJ - Nedbalova 3, 81101 Bratislava, Slovakia

Fri 16 Mar 2012 - KINO SINSKA - Trg Prekomorskih Brigad 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Lloyd will be joining us on drums for the first 8 shows with the very talented Stephen Whelan taking care of drumming duties for the last 6.
Check out Stephens website - http://www.stephenwhelanmusic.com

All the upcoming tourdates and tickets can be found here:
http://www.godisanastronaut.com/tourdates.html

Digital Remasters (MP3, WAV) and CD's available and shipping now.
http://www.godisanastronaut.com/shop.html

Also if you haven't already liked us on facebook visit us here:
http://www.facebook.com/godiaa
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Locanda Delle Fate new album will be released in February.

It will be released February 4, 2012, during the concert at the Teatro Alfieri of Asti, the new CD "The Missing Fireflies", in addition, the album contains some live tracks taken from a concert in 1977, again at the Teatro Alfieri. More about please visit Locanda Delle Fate Home Page.

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"RECKON WITH ONE" NEWS

Things have been rolling in terms of work on the new RWO album "Tornadic". I've completed all the acoustic guitar and clean guitar tracks for the record and now I will be working on various guitar and keyboard parts. The next major step will have me flying out to Vancouver sometime in March to start work on bass guitar and some lead vocal parts. Things are really starting to take shape now and I look forward to hearing how the songs develop even more once all the music is tracked.

"I'm also pleased to announce that I have worked out a distribution deal with Retrospect Records to carry our whole back catalogue (1998-Shock to the System, 2001-The Purpose of Existence, and 2004-In Human Need) for the USA. More details will be posted shortly once the label updates their info and our band page on their website. I'm very happy this has happened as this will make purchasing those CD's a lot easier and quicker than ever before."

Well that's all for now…Be sure to check out our website, Facebook group page and fan page for more info.

 

"RECKON WITH ONE"

http://www.myspace.com/reckonwithone

 

FACEBOOK

http://www.facebook.com/reckonwithone?sk=app_2405167945

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JEBO Gigs inc. Hammersmit​h Apollo

The band are pleased to announce that they have been asked to once again support the official Genesis Tribute act The Musical Box on two dates on their upcoming UK Tour.

The dates are:
March 13th - The Colston Hall, Bristol

March 16th  - The HMV Apollo, Hammersmith, London

Also check the bands website for other gigs booked so far this year. Look forward to seeing you at one of them.

JEBO
www.jebomusic.co.uk
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Modest Midget: Concert Dates

Back on the road

In the past few weeks Modest Midget have regrouped to rehearse for a new tour. The first five dates are already confirmed, the first of which taking place in Melody-Line, Amsterdam. This is merely a beginning of course, and the band is as eager as ever to give you a great time. We are definitely expecting to see you there!

 The next album

Several recording sessions have already taken place, as new music is already finding its way to the tapes. Missing the concerts and the live audience (that's you!) has driven us to hault the recordings for a while. Some of the new material will also be played during these concerts. The album is in any case slowly being cooked in the background as new music is being written and prepared for it.

 

A nostalgic video

Here's a small reminder from the cd presentation, May 9th 2010 with Artis Orubs on drums and Richard Zoer on bass guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDyNIzIRFUs&utm_source=Modest+Midget+for+English+speakers&utm_campaign=849c5b0aa3-Concert_Tour2_14_2012&utm_medium

 

Concert Dates

26 Feb 2012

16:00

Melody-Line. Willem Fenengastraat 12, Amsterdam

8 Mar 2012

21:00

JJ Music House. Van der Hagenstraat 34, Zoetermeer

 

7 Apr 2012

21:00

Cafe de Flierefluiter. Marktstraat 22, Apeldoorn

 

21 Apr 2012

21:00

Cafe de Muzikant. Dorpsstraat 14, Neerkant. Entrance fee: 5 euro's

 

6 May 2012

18:00

Café ´t Spektakel. Prins Bernhardstraat 44, Asten

 

Modest Midget

http://www.modestmidget.com/
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PAUL WARDINGHAM: “Fields of Utopia” In-Studio Video Available

Australian shred guitarist shredder and producer, Paul Wardingham, has uploaded an in-studio performance video of "Fields of Utopia" as part of the 1 year anniversary of his debut album "Assimilate Regenerate". You can now watch the video below.

 

Paul Wardingham released his instrumental cyber album "Assimilate Regenerate" on February 21st 2011 through Enigmatic Records. He is also known as one half of the Collins/Wardingham Project, a collaboration with Australian drum phenomenon Grant Collins. Their critically acclaimed progressive metal fusion album "Interactive" was released in 2006.

Paul Wardingham is currently recording his new concept album "The Human Affliction", set to be released mid-2012.

For more information, go to:

www.paulwardingham.com,
www.facebook.com/paulwardinghamofficial,

and www.enigmaticrecords.com

YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DJldOEoeKA
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UK Prog Legends Wally Reunite and Release New Album 'Montpellier'

Much to the excitement of progressive rock fans across the globe, UK '70s prog legends Wally have reunited and recorded a new CD titled 'Montpellier'. Comprising of reworked demos from the band's earlier incarnation, along with new material written by founding members Roy Webber and Paul Middleton, the CD is scheduled for release on February 10, 2012 in the UK on Gonzo MultiMedia.

Wally, led by singer/songwriter Roy Webber, originated in Harrogate, Yorkshire in England in the early '70s. In 1973, after playing the northern UK pub rock circuit, the group entered a new act competition organized by English music paper Melody Maker. The band made it to the finals held at London's Roundhouse Theatre, but did not win. They did however catch the eye of one of the judges, "Whispering" Bob Harris, legendary DJ of The Old Grey Whistle Test. The runners-up prize was the opportunity to record a session for Harris's BBC radio show The Monday Program. Taking Wally under his wing, Harris secured a recording contract with Atlantic Records. "I really liked them," recalls Bob Harris. "I liked the swirling sound they made...acoustic guitar, electric guitar, fiddle, Fender Rhodes piano and pedal steel guitar. I liked their harmonies, the way their voices matched. I liked their influences...David Crosby, Jackson Browne and Neil Young. But most of all I liked Roy Webber's songs."

The group's eponymous debut album, recorded at Morgan Recording Studios in London, home of Black Sabbath and YES, was released in 1974. It was co-produced by Bob Harris and legendary YES keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had seen Wally perform at the Roundhouse. "I will never forget the first time I heard Wally," Rick Wakeman relates. "I was completely bowled over by both the music and enthusiasm of the guys in the band for what they were doing. Whilst singing their praises to all the music industry I came across over the next few weeks, which included my management at the time, and Phil Carson, who was the head of Atlantic Records, was discovering that my great friend Bob Harris was also a massive fan and this culminated in the pair of us having the privilege of producing their first album together."

After Wally's debut release, now managed by Brian Lane, best known as the manager of YES, embarked on a series of tours through the UK, Japan and US. They even opened for YES at a concert in London at the Alexandra Palace and also made an appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. "The band recorded sessions for my 'Sounds of the '70s' show on Radio 1 and played on Whistle Test," says Bob Harris. "They slept on the floor of my London flat, we did big tours together, bought one-legged pedal steel guitars and broke the bar-bill record at Morgan as half of Harrogate arrived to put a drink on our tab, or a tab on our drink...we didn't care. We were having far too much of a good time." "The great thing about Wally for me was the fact that they were as tremendous on stage as they were in the studio," adds Rick Wakeman, "so I had no qualms whatsoever when inviting them onto the bill at my 'Journey To The Centre of the Earth' concert at Crystal Palace in the summer of 1974, and as expected, they were tremendous." Wally released a second album titled 'Valley Gardens', but by that time continual touring had taken its toll and the band eventually parted after Atlantic ended their contract. Wally's members would go their separate ways, only to reunite after a 30 year hiatus!

In 2009, the surviving members of Wally's original line-up (Roy Webber, Paul Middleton, Pete Sage, Roger Narraway and Nick Glennie-Smith, augmented by Frank Mizen on pedal steel and Will Jackson on guitar) reunited and performed to a sell out crowd in their hometown of Harrogate. A DVD of the concert titled 'The Urban Man' was released later that year. Which brings us to the release of the bands first studio release in decades 'Montpellier'. "I've always believed that if music is placed above individuals as regards to importance, then it will live on forever," says Rick Wakeman about Wally's reunion. "It's a relief to report it still has all the qualities that made this instrumental band special all those years ago," says Graham Chalmers of the Harrogate Advertiser about Wally's new CD. "Emotional but not sentimental, epic but grounded, warmly melodic but with the emphasis on harmonies and the overall feel than the central riff." Along with playing another reunion show in April 2011, Wally's track "Your Own Way" from their debut album has been included on the latest The Old Grey Whistle Test country compilation album to be released later this year.

For more information: www.wallymusic.co.uk

To purchase Wally – Montpellier CD: www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15413
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Michael Davis bassist for the MC5 band passed away

Michael Davis, the bassist of influential late 1960s rock band MC5, has died of liver failure, his wife said Saturday. He was 68.

Davis died at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Calif., on Friday afternoon after a month-long hospitalization for liver disease, said Angela Davis.

Born on June 5, 1943, the bassist gained attention in the revolutionary Detroit band MC5 and later played in a version of the group called DKT-MC5 with former MC5 members Wayne Kramer on guitar and Dennis Thompson on drums. The original MC5 rose to prominence from 1964 to 1972, making waves with incendiary anti-establishment lyrics and a blistering early-punk sound, starting with their first album "Kick Out the Jams," released in 1969.

A sought-after bassist and also producer, Davis was planning to be in Belgium this week recording with punk rock musician Sonny Vincent, said Davis' wife.
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Strawberry Fields – live version of “River’s Gone Dry” available on YouTube

As previously announced Strawberry Fields, a rock band formed by a highly acclaimed musician Wojtek Szadkowski (Collage, Satellite, Peter Pan), return with their first live DVD. The material included on "Live Strawberry Fields" DVD was recorded on the 20th of April 2011, at Silesian Theatre in Katowice, Poland, were the band presented very own, unique, subtly simple, magic and, at times, trip-hop-like brand of prog music, crowned with Robin's – the band's lead singer's – mesmerizing, sensual voice. The band in the line-up: Wojtek Szadkowski (drums), Robin (vocal), Sarhan Kubeisi (guitars), Jarek Michalski (bass), Krzysztof Palczewski (keys) and Michał Kirmuć (guitar) presented their fans with a musical feast by performing songs from Strawberry Fields' debut album "Rivers Gone Dry" as well as one previously unreleased song – "Problem" . Also, the band surprised the audience by playing new versions of two memorable songs from Satellite's repertoire – "Don't Walk Away in Silence" and "Is It Over" – as also a classic Collage song "Living in the Moonlight".
 
You can find a preview of "Live Strawberry Fields" DVD on Metal Mind's official profile on YouTube. Track "River's Gone Dry" is available in THIS location.

 

Tracklist:
1. Open Your Eyes
2. Close
3. Fool
4. Maybe
5. River's Gone Dry
6. Problem*
7. Beautiful
8. Flow
9. Your Story
10. Don't Walk Away in Silence (Satellite cover)
11. Living in the Moonlight (Collage cover)
12. Is It Over (Satellite cover)
 
* previously unreleased
 
Bonus video:
Interview with Wojtek Szadkowski
Interview with Robin
 
Also includes:
Biography
Photo gallery
Desktop images
 
Metal Mind Productions

www.metalmind.com.pl

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PINK FLOYD lifts the curtain on The WALL ‘InTheStudio’

North American syndicated Rock radio show

InThe Studio totally deconstructs Pink Floyd's The Wall , the second highest-selling original album in U.S. history, with exclusive interviews with composer Roger Waters, singer/ guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason in the first of two hour-long shows featuring the new Pink Floyd "Immersion" seven-disc box set. As a musical bookend to the '70s, The Wall became the top-selling Pink Floyd album, eventually becoming a movie and a hailed concert production, first in 1980, then at the fall of the notorious Berlin Wall in 1990 and now in the twenty-first century with Roger Waters taking The Wall around the world with its most extensive production yet. The theme of The Wall, using the device of a music superstar's plunge into the dark side of success which eventually results in absolute isolation both emotionally and physically from the audience he or she purports to attract sadly is as current as last week's headlines.

Show producer and host Redbeard gets a very candid admission from Roger Waters as to how

The Wall became real in his own life. " During a show in Montreal I finally got so angry that I spat at this child, he was 14 or 15 I suppose. When I got off stage afterwards I thought, ' What have I been reduced to?

And what has happened to the relationship between the band and the audience?' So, The Wall was something that I had experienced very powerfully through most of that (Animals) tour, but specifically on that day."

InTheStudio can be heard on over 50 radio stations across North America. PINK

FLOYD The Wall -Immersion/ InThe Studio programs will air the weeks of Feb 20th & To STREAM it online, visit:

HYPERLINK

http://www.inthestudio.net/this-week-in-the-studio/pink-floyd-4

Direct Link to InTheStudio affiliate station list and broadcast schedule

HYPERLINK 

http://www.inthestudio.net/radio-stations/

http://www.inthestudio.net/radiostations

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New Riders Of The Purple Sage to release "17 Pine Avenue" on March 6th

Featuring original members David Nelson and Buddy Cage along with Michael Falzarano, Ronnie Penque and Johnny Markowski
12 brand new songs from the originators of Americana... Tour starting in March

 

17 PINE AVENUE is the follow-up to Where I Come From which was released by the New Riders of the Purple Sage in 2009. This CD features 12 new songs, 7 of which were written by David Nelson and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Also included are Just The Way It Goes and Truth Is Dead, written by Michael Falzarano (formerly of Hot Tuna), a live show favorite Down For The Ride, penned by Johnny Markowski, and Shake That Thing by Ronnie Penque. This legendary band's renaissance began seven years ago and continues to grow today with over 100 shows annually to audiences throughout the United States and Canada. 17 PINE AVENUE is psychedelic Americana at its finest.

The New Riders of the Purple Sage, signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis, released its eponymous first album in September 1971 to widespread acclaim. In the next 11 years the band toured and released over 12 albums, selling over 4 million records. 
 
David Nelson has managed the seemingly impossible. He has remained true to his musical vision and integrity without becoming outdated or archaic in the process. Nelson, an important figure in the musical vanguard of the influential Haight-Ashbury music scene, spawned the Grateful Dead.

 

For the complete biography of the band, click at:

http://thenewriders.com/bio/?utm_source=New+Riders+Of+The+Purple+Sage+new+album+and+tour+dates&utm_campaign=New+Riders+of+the+Purple+Sage&utm_medium=email

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Kruk - "In Reverie" video now on YouTube!

Kruk, a Polish Hard Rock band, finally revealed their "In Reverie" video. The song is taken from their second studio album "It Will Not Come Back" (released by Metal Mind Productions in 2011) and features guest appearance by Doogie White. This charismatic singer is best known to the wide audience for his cooperation with such bands as Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Rata Blanca and most recently Tank or La Paz.

 

Piotr Brzychcy, Kruk's guitarist, describes the band's work with Doogie White:

"Doogie isn't only a great singer, but also a wonderful man. On the set of the video for 'In Reverie' he created a friendly atmosphere, which influenced everyone so much that soon we all forgot about the stress that took hold of us at first. He motivated us to forget about all our inhibitions and to feel the rock 'n' roll madness. We also heard lots of various stories from White's colorful history, usually full of vivid details of the kind that you would never find in a interview. On that day, however, what was the most important for us was the words of acknowledgment and praise which he expressed on several occasions with reference to Kruk."

 

"In Reverie" video is available:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XlP5846eek&feature=youtu.be.
 
Kruk's album "It Will Not Come Back" is out now. Full details can be find on Metal Mind's website.
 
Metal Mind Productions

www.metalmind.com.pl

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Nauticus and "The Wait" released

Two and a half years after the first full length effort "A Wave to Carry Us Out", Nauticus has finally released their self-financed second album. Just like it's predecessor, the new album titled "The Wait" paints an experimental musical image with all genre boundaries broken.

Driven by the vision of drummer Tuomas Rajala, Nauticus has thus far released a virtual demo and in 2009 with the current line-up already involved a full lenght debut album. After the bands first efforts on stage and a good response to the debut from the finnish media, the second album started to take form with five equal members of the band all involved in the composing process of the upcoming release. With all the musicians in the band bearing long and complex musical backgrounds from years past, the albums musical extremeties seemed even further apart, but a strong unified vision of the Nauticus sounds was now present.

"The Wait" is a seven song concept album with eight tracks on it, that was furiously written, composed, practiced and recorded within a period of two and a half years. An apocalyptic lyrical theme flows through an hour of experimental, psychedelic and visionary landscape of rock, metal and alternative. From the beginning the objective has been to make music that will stand the test of time and an album that takes the listener to a complete journey through out the whole release, not something you listen song by song on shuffle with your MP3-player. The band feels there is no need for over the top individual musical showmanship, as the aim is to bring forth a strong vision as a single unit.

The biggest leap from the debut has been made through the technological aspects as a true talent was brought in to record, mix and even at some parts produce the album. Antti Loponen is the visionare behind alternative metal band Consciousness Removal Project, in which he composes, arranges, plays, records, mixes and masters all of the material himself. After playing a few gigs together and obviously sharing a musical vision with Loponen, Nauticus retreated to record the sophomore album with Antti leading the way in the summer of 2011. The mastering process was again handled by Sami Sarhamaa at Perfect Sound Studios and all of the art was accuired from the band's trusted cover artist Matador Gigante.

 

Recorded and mixed by Antti Loponen
Drums recorded by Artturi Laukkanen at Redhouse Studios
Mastered by Sami Sarhamaa at Perfect Sound Studios
Produced by Tuomas Rajala, Antti Loponen & Nauticus

 

Additional instruments:
Antti Loponen: Backing vocals, keyboard & 12-string acoustic guitar
Kari Mäkiranta: Piano & organ
Satu Kastell: Violin & viola
Teemu Mastovaara: Cello
Tuomas Rajala: Percussion & programming
Rämö, Loponen & Rajala: Chants

 

Nauticus:
Tuomas Rajala : Drums
Juuso Jalava : Bass
Juho Matilainen : Guitar
Markku Kastell : Guitar
Jani Rämö : Vocals
 

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Legendary Flower Kings Vocalist Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion To Release Second Album 'Powerplay'

Much to the excitement of the progressive rock community around the world, legendary Flower Kings vocalist Hasse Fröberg and his group Musical Companion are releasing a new album. 'Powerplay' is the second album by Swedish progrockers Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion. About a year after the release of their critically highly acclaimed debut 'Futurepast' (Sept. 2010), the band entered the studio to cut the backing tracks for 'Powerplay' (April 2012). The line-up of the band is still the same, Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion:
 
Hasse Fröberg: Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Anton Lindsjö: Lead guitar, backing vocals
Kjell Haraldsson: Keyboards, backing vocals
Thomsson: Bass, backing vocals
Ola Strandberg: Drums, backing vocals
 
The debut CD generated gigs in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland and Belgium. With the release of 'Powerplay', the band is now confirmed for festivals ("RoSfest", Gettysburg in USA and "Night of the prog", Loreley in Germany) as well as gigs on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
As sound engineer on 'Powerplay', the band has chosen to work with Tomas Bodin. He's a collegue with Hasse in the established and influential prog band The Flower Kings. The collaboration proved to work out just fine and even if Hasse likes to be in the studio, he prefers the live scene: "Playing live is definitely the right element for us. I really can't wait to take The Musical Companion and and the songs on 'Powerplay' on the road".

Release date 23rd of April, 2012
Pre-orders from www.reingoldrecords.com 13th of April, 2012

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Sebastian Hardie is back with a new amazing album titled as BLUEPRINT

After going their separate ways in the late '70's Sebastian Hardie reformed in 1994 and performed a one off concert in Los Angeles at Progfest '94. The show was recorded featuring tracks from their two classic albums 'Four Moments' and 'Windchase'and the cd 'Live in LA' was released.

In March 2003 sebastian Hardie again reformed for a performance at The Metro Theatre, Sydney followed by a concert tour of Japan. Returning home to Australia, enthused and inspired, the band decided to record their third studio album.

What followed were six new tracks and the album 'BLUEPRINT'.

Guitars and Vocals: Mario Millo

Drums: Alex Plavsic

Keyboards: Toivo Pilt

Bass: Peter Plavsic

Special Guest Vocals: Dave Wilkins

Produced by Mario Millo

Recorded and Mixed at Windchase Studio

Engineered and Mixed at Mario Millo

Final Mixes and Mastered by Michael Morgan

Sebastian Hardie

http://www.mariomillo.com/

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Devin Townsend: confirmed his apperance at the legendary Download Festival (UK) 2012!

After a busy year 2011 in which he played his great and sold out shows in London presenting his 4 different albums on 4 evenings in a row, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT now will return to Great Britain in the summer of 2012 for his just recently announced performance at the legendary DOWNLOAD festival 2012, which is happening between June 08th and June 10th at the Donington Park!

Devin´s statement: "Hey everyone, Devin here. Things as always are intense and very busy, just finishing the DVDs if the London shows for a new box set, as well as preparing to leave for Australia on Tuesday to play Soundwave and some cool offshows. We begin recording Epicloud (the next album) in Perth and there are many interesting and fun things afloat...more soon!

I found out that we are headlining the 3rd stage at Download this year as well, and I couldn't be more excited... Well, maybe I could...but that figure of speech seems appropriate, so yeah!

Also got nominated for a Juno, which is very rewarding in itself. I'm not holding my breath, but the thought is appreciated.
Hope you're all ok and finding happiness.
See you on tour!"

The extravagant conceptual quadrilogy (Ki, Addicted, Deconstruction, Ghost) as one box set that includes all four albums, two additional discs with unreleased songs and demos and 2 DVDs with over 10 hours playing time (video and audio material) is still available at the Insideout shop. The special packaging includes 64-page, perfect bound book featuring a charcoal linen hardcover housed in an uncoated, charcoal linen, hardcover slipcase. It is a 6CD+2DVD Ltd. Edition Box Set + 10 inch DINOSAURS in clear vinyl + Litho drawn by Devin Townsend + patch and limited to 2.500 box sets in Europe (5.000 worldwide!)

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Six Elements Releases “Primary Elements” a new name around Progressive Rock Symphoni

Atlanta-based progressive rock band Six Elements was founded in 2007 by keyboardist Michael (Misha) Shengaout, whose dream was to create conceptual music combining meaningful, inspiring lyrics (like Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If") with arrangements in the tradition of Russian Romantic composers (think Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky). Misha spent the next two years developing material for the band's first album.

He met guitarist Jeff McGahren in 2009. They hit it off, co-wrote two songs for the album, and spent the next year developing arrangements for their first CD. In mid-2010 bassist Dave DeMarco (Crack The Sky, Oblivion Sun) and drummer Marc Norgaard signed on for the recording sessions. It was Dave who introduced Misha to vocalist Stanley Whitaker (Happy the Man, Oblivion Sun), ultimately completing the three-member band.

Six Elements took the next year to lay down their inaugural album, Primary Elements, after finding Brandt Fincher, a top-tier sound engineer who could mix their ambitious, polyphonic arrangements into crisp, clear, compelling tracks, many of which flow seamlessly into the other. By the end of 2011 the album was perfected, and the release date for Six Elements' debut album, Primary Elements was set for March 5, 2012 under the Tower of Harmony label.

Critics compare the band's vocals to early Genesis with Peter Gabriel with solo guitars reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Whatever their influences, Six Elements' vocals and guitars are harmonic gift wrap for the band's message, which Victorian novelist George Eliot summed up well: "It's never too late to be what you might have been". Not surprisingly, the album's break-out single is the song "If", which channels the inspirational words of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If". The song is featured prominently on the first page of the semi-monthly webzine "All Things If", which is devoted to the ideals of this poem.

Progressive Rock meets Rudyard Kipling's "If"

Six Elements Releases "Primary Elements"
To Help Bring Emotional Order to Life's Chaos

Atlanta, GA, February 10, 2012—Kipling's poem "If" is more than just a collection of sentences that rhyme; it inspires an idea–the idea of being all you were born to be. You see this idea embodied in the lives of Socrates and Joan of Arc, expressed in the words of Kipling's "If" and Henley's "Invictus", visualized in films like "Forrest Gump" and "The Shawshank Redemption". In their new album, Primary Elements, Atlanta-based symphonic rock group Six Elements imparts this idea through music, including an arrangement of Kipling's "If".

Six Elements' founder Michael (Misha) Shengaout, who fused the idea with his passion for progressive rock, says, "If our bodies are what we eat, then our souls are what we read and listen to. Our society, so obsessed with the diet for the body, utterly overlooks the diet for the mind. Some ideas deserve to be on the daily menu and shouted from every rooftop. The idea of Kipling's poem "If" is definitely one of them. Our album takes this idea and applies it to the different "elements" of life. We want our music to remind us the ups and downs of our existence can culminate in a triumphant, meaningful "final chord."

Music is the harmony of the human soul expressed in sound. An effort to appreciate the complex harmonies of music can lead to an appreciation of hidden harmonies in life. An appreciation of seemingly disconnected chords coalescing into a majestic musical creation can help us recognize the triumphs of tomorrow behind the difficulties of today.

Six Elements has earned the right to create this kind of music by living it first. Stanley Whitaker (vocals) has experienced life's ups and downs both in music (performing with cult bands like Happy The Man and Oblivion Sun) and in life (fighting off cancer). Jeffrey McGahren (guitars) has had his share of existential frustrations. Misha Shengaout (keyboards) has been tested by immigration and raising a son with autism. Their brand of progressive rock reflects their life experiences and the attitude that makes it all worthwhile. Primary Elements (released on March 5, 2012) takes the idea expressed in Kipling's "If" and weaves the perfect musical clothing for it.

Six Elements Web Site

http://www.sixelementsmusic.com/

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Osada Vida reveal the title and cover artwork of their live DVD

Osada Vida, one of the most interesting Polish bands on the prog-rock scene, reveal the title and cover artwork of their first live DVD. The material entitled "Where The Devils Live" includes the recording of their live appearance at the Wyspianski Theater in Katowice, Poland in November 2011. Selected photos from the show are available at THIS location.
 
The cover artwork was prepared by Osada Vida's keyboardist, Rafał Paluszek.

"I wanted the cover to be a summary of a certain period in Osada Vida's history (at the same time, I didn't want it to be a typical live album cover). This DVD is such a summary, it is the climax, the finale. We played a selection of the best songs from our albums. That's why the artwork features elements taken from all of our three releases. I've also added into the mix the pensiveness of an incompletely dressed winged woman with an evident defect of her upper limb, the anxiety of a crying kid, and a pinch of disturbing colors." - that's how Rafał describes his project.

Osada Vida's discography includes three demos and three well received official releases - "Three Seats Behind a Triangle" (2006/2007), "The Body Parts Party" (2008), "Uninvited Dreams" (2009). Their albums feature music that draws from the tradition of ambitious rock in the vein of Yes, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, and Riverside.

Metal Mind Productions set the release date of "Where The Devils Live" DVD for April/May. Full details to be announced soon.

Metal Mind Productions
www.metalmind.com.pl
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Iron Maiden announce "Maiden England World Tour" with extensive dates in North America this summer

Very Special Guest Alice Cooper to July 21, Coheed and Cambria after July 21.

Following the massively successful Final Frontier World Tour 2010-11,
IRON MAIDEN are back on the road this summer with a series of Arena,
Amphitheatre and Festival shows in the U.S.A. and Canada, opening in
Charlotte, NC, U.S.A. on June 21, and finishing in Houston, TX, on Aug
18 (dates listed below), to be followed by further dates around the
World in 2013. The MAIDEN ENGLAND WORLD TOUR will closely mirror, in
terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of
the same name, shot on the "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour". This
opening section of the World Tour is the band's most extensive visit
to North America for many years and includes a number of cities the
band have not played in a very long time, such as Charlotte, Atlanta,
Buffalo, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.

In most venues, tickets will go on sale on March 2 and 3 but watch
this site or check local venue information for fuller details. Fan
Club members should check out ironmaiden.com for exclusive first day
ticket presales and contest to be 'First To The Barrier'.

MAIDEN ENGLAND marks the third chapter in the History of Iron Maiden,
a journey which began in 2004 with The Early Days DVD and subsequent
2005 Early Days Tour. Part Two followed in 2008 with the Live After
Death DVD - the seminal 1984 concert recorded at Long Beach Arena
(L.A) during the World Slavery Tour - and the band embarking on their
groundbreaking Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008/9, which saw
them play to over two million fans in almost 40 countries.

Comments vocalist Bruce Dickinson, "We have great fun playing the
History of Maiden Tours because it gives us an opportunity between new
albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue. It's
always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of
fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live
before, and of course we know our longstanding fans will enjoy seeing
the original Seventh Son Tour re-visited - with many other surprises!
Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list
of Maiden England (shown below*), including some songs we have not
played live in a very,very long time, plus other favourites we just
know the fans are going to want to hear! We always try to give our
fans a great show musically, but we have always tried to make it as
entertaining and memorable an experience as we can visually. And we
all feel this show is going to do that splendidly! We can't wait to
get started in Charlotte".

Iron Maiden are delighted to announce that the extraordinary and
legendary Alice Cooper will be their Very Special Guest on all shows
up to July 21. After that date, Special Guest will be Coheed and
Cambria, the inspiring, cutting edge band from New York.

Iron Maiden continue to be actively dedicated to ensuring their fans
always have full access to the best possible tickets in the fairest
possible way. Manager Rod Smallwood comments:

"We are trying to ensure that our fans get the tickets they want in
the prime positions without paying over the odds to ticket scalpers.
Maiden get infuriated with the way fans sometimes have to pay more
than the ticket price to get good positions at our shows. So we will,
wherever possible (Festivals excluded), with the assistance of the
Promoters, arrange a paperless ticketing system at least for the front
sections to try to eliminate as much of the ticket scalping and
exchanges as we can. We put this into practice on our North American
Tour in 2010; it worked well and we received many positive comments
back from our fans, so we intend to increase this where feasible. With
paperless ticketing, only those who actually pay initially for the
tickets will get into the show so scalping is generally avoided
(please see the comments from Ticketmaster below).

We are also doing everything we can to avoid any drain of prime
tickets going to the Secondary Ticketing sites which we feel make
unfair profits from music fans.

As we consider all our fans to be VIPs, no tickets will be held
specifically for VIP use. At some venues, the Promoter may provide the
option for fans to pay extra for "VIP Parking", early access, access
to "VIP Bar" etc. But these will be purely optional for
ticket holders only and will not be tied to ticket locations – the
ability to get the best tickets should be the same for everybody
outside of the usual presales.

Finally, we are of course once again arranging exclusive ticket
pre-sales for our fan club members so they can be quick off the mark
for great tickets and will also continue to run the contest
appropriate venues for fan club members so they can be 'First To The
Barrier' prior to the show. We hope that these measures will help our
fans as much as possible and ask that they keep checking for details
on our website."

TICKETMASTER comments:

Where possible the North American Iron Maiden shows will operate a
paperless ticket policy. Select tickets will be sold via
Ticketmaster's Paperless Ticket delivery, which means fans will not
receive a physical concert ticket for their entry into the event.
Buying paperless helps ensure fans have secure and convenient access
to event tickets at the intended original sale price. On the day of
show, concert goers just need to bring the credit card they used for
the ticket purchase and a government-issued photo ID to the concert.

All members of the ticket purchaser's party must be present at the
same time to enter the venue. The venue's ticket usher will swipe
their credit card upon entry and present each person in their party
with seat locator slips for quick access into the show. To purchase
paperless tickets or for more information, fans should visit
http://www.ticketmaster.com/paperless or call the Ticketmaster
charge-by-phone number at 1-800-745-3000.

*Maiden England 1988 Longform Video VHS Tracklisting

Moonchild, The Evil That Men Do, The Prisoner, Still Life, Die With
Your Boots On, Infinite Dreams, Killers, Can I Play With Madness,
Heaven Can Wait, Wasted Years, The Clairvoyant, Seventh Son Of A
Seventh Son, The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron
Maiden.

MAIDEN ENGLAND 2012 TOUR DATES:

Thur 21st June Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Sat 23rd June Atlanta, GA Aarons Amphitheatre

Tue 26th June Boston, MA Comcast Center

Wed 27th June Wantagh, NY Jones Beach

Fri 29th June Philadelphia, PI Susquehanna Bank Center

Sat 30th June Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live

Mon 2nd July Newark, NJ Prudential Center

Thur 5th July Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank

Sun 8th July Quebec, QC Colisee Pepsi Arena

Wed 11th July Montreal, QC Bell Center

Fri 13th July Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre

Sat 14th July Sarnia, ON Bayfest

Mon 16th July Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Wed 18th July Detroit, MI DTE Music Theatre

Thur 19th July Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Centre

Tues 24th July Winnipeg, MB MTS Center

Thur 26th July Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome

Fri 27th July Edmonton, AB Rexall Place

Sun 29th July Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum

Mon 30th July Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre

Wed 1st August Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre

Fri 3rd August San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

Mon 6th August Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion

Thur 9th August Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Sun 12th August Albuquerque. NM Hard Rock Pavilion

Mon 13th August Denver, CO Comfort Dental Amphitheatre

Wed 15th August San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

Fri 17th August Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion

Sat 18th August Houston, TX The Woodlands
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Wishbone Ash Drummer Joe Crabtree Develops Innovative New Drum and Music Software

Best known for his drumming with UK classic rock legend Wishbone Ash, Joe Crabtree has developed new and exciting software for the drummer and musician. Crabtree, who has been creating music software for a number of years, is excited to introduce the RhythMachine, OctopuSequencer, Pyramid and PolyNome.

RhythMachine is a tool for generating rhythms and melodies and orchestrating them on the drum kit or pitched instruments. It can be used for ear training, creating vamps to solo over or generating grooves and fills.

"I began work on my first piece of software, the RhythMachine, back in 2008," Joe explains. "It was inspired by some lessons I took in New York with Robby Ameen. In my lesson with Robby we were playing double drums – both playing a songo groove with a left foot clave. We'd play 3 bars of groove, then Robby would keep the clave going and play a 1 bar melodic fill on the toms. We'd go around the 4 bars again and my challenge was to mimic what he had played. It was challenging and I wanted to develop some software that would replicate that scenario. I wrote RhythMachine to do exactly this."

OctopuSequencer is a tool for creating multi-layered grooves consisting of overlapping time signatures. Its core feature set allows you to easily program and manipulate grooves in order to discover new ones.

"To play the songo groove in RhythMachine I had to build a step sequencer," says Joe. "I built in the ability to chose any subdivision rate between 1 and 32, and to loop at any point in the sequence. Once I'd written the step sequencer I realized that I could stack them, and that having four independent step sequencers would allow me to program some of the kind of grooves that Virgil Donato, Marco Minnemann and Mike Mangini were playing - grooves which are essentially combinations of different time signatures layered over each other. That concept evolved into the OctopuSequencer."

Pyramid is an advanced metronome which allows you to easily program polyrhythms and the rhythmic scale. It includes features which make it easy to learn how unfamiliar rates and polyrhythms sound.

"Someone who'd bought OctopuSequencer asked me how they would use it to program in the rhythmic scale where you work your way up through all the subdivisions between 1 and 16," Joe explains. "OctopuSequencer wasn't designed to do this, so I spent a few weeks working with that idea and developed The Pyramid. It's much simpler than OctopuSequencer but is an invaluable tool for all musicians (not just drummers) who want to become more familiar with unconventional subdivisions."

PolyNome is the ultimate metronome for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.

"Soon after writing Pyramid I met Lucas Ives, a New York-based drummer who used to work for Pixar," says Joe. "He had experience coding for the iPhone so we worked together to develop PolyNome, which is basically the metronome that I wanted to own. It has all the functionality of Pyramid and more. We built in the option to program clicks with bars of rest so you can use it to improve your internal clock which is proving to be a very popular feature among all musicians. So far we've had great feedback from Dave Weckl, Jon Riley, Peter Erskine, Will Lee and others. In the words of Dennis Chambers - it's the s**t!!!"

"Wow! Polynome is a brilliant tool for drummers and any musician! It allows you to understand precisely what subdivisions among bars of time feel like, teaches you the drum rudiments, and so much more. I love 'time check' where it'll leave bars of silence in between bars of click to see if your groove stays in time. One of the best apps for your toolkit, right up there with a good tuner!" - Will Lee - session bass legend (Late Show, Brecker Bros, Bette Midler...)

Joe Crabtree has been teaching drums for 16 years. He has recorded and toured with UK prog-rock ensembles Pendragon and the David Cross Band and has been a member of legendary UK classic rock band Wishbone Ash for the past 5 years. Joe's website features many free lessons and software for drummers. "Joe is a drummer who has it all, he has an unbelievable ability to learn complex songs fast with an accuracy and power that makes it feel as though he has been in the band for years," says Nick Barrett of Pendragon. "He has an astonishing flair for playing odd time signatures and straight fours with easy flowing technique," adds David Cross, formerly of King Crimson.

Along with the marketing of his new software, Joe is preparing for a world tour with Wishbone Ash on the heels of their critically acclaimed new CD release 'Elegant Stealth'. For more information visit the official website at www.WishboneAsh.com. Joe also has a regular column in Drumhead Magazine in the US. Finally Joe has this to impart to drummers around the world: "Never forget why you started playing drums in the first place. I've seen so many drummers get caught up in the business side of things and end up hating the instrument. I've always said that if it gets to the stage where I'm not enjoying it I'll get a regular job and keep drumming for fun."

For more information on RhythMachine, OctopuSequencer, Pyramid and PolyNome visit www.JoeCrabtree.com
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X-UFO sign with TSM

Two Side Moon Promotions are very excited to welcome to the family UFO members Laurence Archer, Danny Peyronel and Clive Edwards, with Rocky Newton for their brand new project and album X-UFO.

X-UFO features card-carrying UFO members Laurence Archer, Danny Peyronel and Clive Edwards, with Rocky Newton, from UFO spin-off MSG.

 

With their highly original versions, they breathe new life into classic UFO repertory, including many songs written by themselves during their time in the band, in albums like "No Heavy Petting", "On With The Action", "High Stakes & Dangerous Men" and "Lights Out In Tokyo":

 

These guys have played with some of the biggest names in rock history:

Laurence (Guitar & Vox), PHIL LYNOTT's GRANDSLAM, STAMPEDE and TARZEN; Danny (Lead Vox), the original UFO keyboardsman/vocalist, with  HEAVY METAL KIDS and TARZEN; Clive (drums), WILD HORSES, PAT TRAVERS, ULI JON ROTH and LIONHEART and Rocky (Bass & Vox), MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP and  LIONHEART. Between them, these boys' track records range from writing hits for UFO, THIN LIZZY, MSG, MEATLOAF and even NICK MASON and DAVID GILMOUR, to singing vocal harmonies on DEF LEPPARD's mega-classics "Pyromania" and "Hysteria".

X-UFO's debut appearance saw them headline the "Hard Rock Hell Road Trip" Festival in Ibiza in April, followed by a string of shows and festivals throughout Europe. Their first CD is the product of their 2011 touring schedule.

 

The totally live "Vol.1: The LIVE Files!", released early 2012, was compiled and produced by Steve Mann, yet another UFO/MSG family member, at Frida Park Studios in Hannover. 

 

The album captures in stunning, raw realism, the high-octane X-UFO set, as well as the equally fervent reaction of their ever-growing, tenaciously loyal audience.

 

The band plan to go in the studio to record their first studio album early in 2012, with new material, always in the UFO mould they helped develop, and more re-works of some less-performed classics which so many fans believe deserve another sporting chance.

 

X-UFO are an alternate version of UFO...a spin-off of the classic rock band with a frenzied roller-coaster of a live show and the right pedigree...no smoke and mirrors, just raw rock power from some of England's best.

 

And that's only the beginning...X-UFO are here to stay.
 

Band Line Up:
Lead Vocals – Danny Peyronel
Guitar/Vocals – Laurence Archer
Bass/Vocals – Rocky Newton
Drums – Clive Edwards

Tracklisting:

1- Intro: Let It Roll
2- Natural Thing
3- Highway Lady
4- Backdoor Man
5- Can You Roll Her
6- Love Deadly Love
7- Armed And Ready
8- She's The One
9- Love To Love
10- Only You Can Rock Me
11- Rock Bottom
12- Encore 1: Lights Out
13- Encore 2: Doctor Doctor

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PALLAS Live at Loreley DVD and MP3 Download album available now.

LIVE AT LORELEY DVD AND MP3 DOWNLOADS - 2012 TOUR DATES - FREE XXV MEGAMIX DOWNLOAD - !

Great news from Pallas! We've just released the Live at Loreley II DVD, along with the complete set as an MP3 Download plus a free XXVMegaMix all in time for the forthcoming tour!

LIVE AT LORELEY II DVD

We released some of the tracks as the bonus disc for the XXV special edition and thus this release is 'part 2' or II using the roman numerals as we have been with XXV ! The track listing is:-

The Cross and The Crucible, For the Greater Glory, Executioner, Rat Racing, Ghostdancers, Midas Touch, Rise and Fall, East West, March on Atlantis Atlantis, Sanctuary and Cut and Run. With a slide show extra to an instrumental version of Something in The Deep. More details at the website. Also have a look at the special trailer on YouTube and spread the word !

LIVE AT LORELEY MP3 DOWNLOAD ALBUM / MP3CD

Available for download now is the full set from the Loreley gig, along with the XXV MegaMix and for a limited time only a wee mystery track ! The track listing is:

The Cross and The Crucible, For the Greater Glory, Executioner, Rat Racing, Ghostdancers, Midas Touch, Falling Down, Monster, Young God, Violet Sky, The Atlantis Suite, Sanctuary, Cut and Run, XXV MegaMix and "?" More details at the website.

Free XXVMegaMix

Just what it says on the tin - a special MegaMix of three tracks from the XXV album in time to tie in with the forthcoming dates and is also available on the cover disc special editions of the CRS magazine, Fireworks and IO Pages. More details at the website.

Don't forget to catch the band at one of the venues on the forthcoming tour, more details at the website.

24/02 GLASGOW UK: CLASSIC GRAND

25/02 KINGSTON UK: THE PEEL

26/02 BILSTON UK: ROBIN 2

28/02: PRATTELN CH: GALERY

29/02: RüSSELSHEIM D: DAS RIND 

01/03: DEN BOSCH NL: W2

02/03: ZOETERMEER NL: DE BOERDERIJ

03/03: VERVIERS B: SPIRIT OF 66

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