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Multi-Instrumentalist MATT
MILLER Video For Progressive, Cinematic Single “The Acheron”
New Album “Monument of
Velocity” Out Now!
Akademia-Award-winning producer, engineer, and songwriter Matt Miller side-steps
these industry achievements to embark on something deeply introspective and
personal; a transcendent, reactionary and vile personage embodying soaring
progressive melodies and captivating crushing rhythms, which engulf the listener
in black clouds of desperation and shimmering hope. His latest instrumental
album “Monument
of Velocity” is the sixth out of seven in his discography,
which boasts three originals and four covers. As an instrumental artist, he
believes it allows me more freedom not only creatively but also as a performer.
He intends for his music to feel unrelenting to the audience. He comments on
the album and the single “The
Acheron”:
“Most of “Monument of Velocity” was written without a guitar.
After the initial riffs were recorded, the rest of the song was written during
the notation process. The album takes you on a journey and makes a bold
statement. I like to think of the songs on the album as scenes from a movie.
“Acheron” is a joyous expression that slowly turns into something much more
prolific.”
Miller expects “Monument of Velocity” to
go over well as it has a lot to offer metal fans of all genres and encompasses
the best elements of technical guitar playing while still having well-written
songs. Most of the album was written without a guitar. This approach forces
Miller to think outside the box creating a sound that is more melodic and
rhythmically interesting.
Soaring, crushing, ferocious, and emotive, Miller conveys
a wide range of tones throughout his instrumental music. It is recommended for
fans of Dragon Force, Racer X, and Jeff Loomis.
“Monument of Velocity” was
released on July 19, 2022 via Blood
Blast Distribution (powered by Nuclear Blast and Believe
Digital) and available on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music.
Booking - Extreme Management Group
Mark Kloeppel - emg.markkloeppel[@]gmail[.]com
About:
Akademia-Award-winning producer, engineer, and songwriter MATT MILLER
side-steps these industry achievements to embark on something deeply
introspective and personal; a transcendent, reactionary and vile personage
embodying soaring progressive melodies and captivating crushing rhythms which
engulf the listener in black clouds of desperation and shimmering hope.
Drawing upon the gut-wrenching timed-precision of European death metal
stalwarts NECROPHAGIST and SPAWN OF POSSESSION, MATT MILLER progressively blends
this approach with deep synthetic and symphonic atmospheres like that of DEVIN
TOWNSEND, often arriving at surprisingly emotive and heart-clenching metallic
passages like that of RIVERS OF NIHIL.
Calling upon other single-member death metal projects such as PUTRID PILE or
INSIDIOUS DECREPANCY, the live performance can best be described as a
reclaiming and repainting of the earth by a relentlessly sweeping and deranged
berzerker appealing to the vast minions of the extreme music. The combination
of elements within MATT MILLER distills the traditions of the international
metal realm, the progressive atmospheres of modernity, and reactions to a vile
world into a single unrelenting persona of despair and vengeance.
MATT MILLER’s first self-produced instrumental EP came in 2017, drawing on
influences from classic metal bands such as MEGADETH and IRON MAIDEN to
shredders like YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and PAUL GILBERT, while combining a technical
death metal approach to create a maximum intensity music with a frenetic and
frantic feel and ferocious atmosphere. Since then, and a few releases into this
brief career, MATT MILLER boasts 12,000 consistent monthly listeners on Spotify
before hitting the international touring circuit. This was garnered from his
2017 EP, the 2021 self-released ‘Decrepit Shed’ LP, the
‘Reekomposer/Decomposer’ covers double LP, as well as the ‘8E’s’ 1980’s themed
covers LP.
In 2022 Matt released the formidable original instrumental LP Monument of
Velocity on Blood Blast Distribution. Matt also toured supporting Rings of
Saturn on the CYBER SHRED TOUR 2022. 29 shows encompassing the continental
United States. Matt has released the cover LP Only What the Light Allows
through Blood Blast Distribution as well.
Matt Miller hails from the rain soaked northern Oregon Coast; influenced by the
natural foreboding environment. Moving into the present, MATT MILLER has joined
up with Extreme Management Group to spread a singularly relentless auditory
mind-bend.
Rockshots Records - Black
Hole Unveil First Single "Never Surrender" Off Upcoming Album
"Whirlwind of Mad Men" Out November 2022
Rockshots Records is proud to announce
their latest signing BLACK
HOLE for the release of their new album "Whirlwind of Mad
Men" due out on November 11th, 2022.
Presenting anthemic guitar riffs, powerful rhythms, frenzied
solos, and enlightening vocals, brace yourself for a power metal band that's
progressive, symphonic, and strongly influenced by masters of the genre such as
Stratovarius, Kamelot, Powerwolf, Nightwish, and Iron Maiden.
Today, in preview of the album, BLACK HOLE is unveiling the
first single "Never Surrender" off the forthcoming album. The track
offers up a Celtic atmosphere that is inspired by the character of
"Braveheart" William Wallace who fought to save his land.
"It is a message to all those who have fought, are
fighting, and will fight for their country and their freedom." adds
the band.
Formed in the East of France, BLACK HOLE is a
collective of musicians who play and perform for the pleasure and passion of
metal above all. Their new album "Whirlwind
of Mad Men" follows their two EPs "Victim
of Illusion" (2000), "Children of the Sun" (2006), and their
first full-length 2018's "Lost World" (Via Nocturna). Since their
inception BLACK
HOLE has supported bands like Nightwish, Rage, Evergrey,
John Oliva's Pain, Firewind, Circle II Circle, Jeff Scott Soto, Nightmare,
Vulcan, Killers, Shakra, Tankard along with performing on multiple festivals in
France (Foire aux Vins, Festival Fracass), Germany (Regio Jam), and Belgium
(Devil's Rock for an Angel).
Their sophomore full-length "Whirlwind of Mad Men" navigates
between heavy and power metal with melodies carried between the vocals and
guitar solos along with being supported by solid rhythmic parts and great
orchestral pieces which give intensity to the compositions. The diversity of
all the songs allows listeners to travel through various atmospheres and
contexts. The album's goal is to give feelings of power while mastering strong
emotional moments.
The new album also features new memberChristophe
(keyboards/orchestrations), adding more epic and orchestrated tracks. A
collaboration that promises to be more interesting than their previous record
"Lost World". Mixing and mastering were helmed by Roland Grapow
(ex-Helloween, Masterplan) who also added a guitar solo on the album's cover
track of Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark".
"We are very happy to be releasing this powerful symphonic
metal album. We have worked hard to deliver a high-quality product. The lyrics,
the moods, the symphonic arrangements, and the performances of each individual
give a special resonance to this record. The overall sound and the sound of
each instrument has been an essential point throughout the genesis and we are
proud of the finished product. The visual side is not to be outdone. The
high-quality artwork represents well the universe of the themes and the general
atmosphere of the album. We hope that fans will take as much pleasure to listen
to it as we did to conceive it." adds the band.
Recommended for fans of Stratovarius, Kamelot, Powerwolf,
Nightwish, and Myrath, BLACKHOLE's
"Whirlwind of Mad Men" is available on November
11th, 20222, and available for pre-order at https://bit.ly/Whirlwind_CD.
In additional news, Black
Hole will be performing this Friday, October 7th their new
album in full for fans at Le Triangle in Huningue, France. The band explains in
a video via their Facebook page here.
Track Listing:
1. Chasing The Kraken - 3:56
2. Walking With The Devil - 4:12
3. Dark Horizon - 4:19
4. Whirlwind of Mad Men - 3:51
5. Legend of Justine - 5:04
6. My Precious Dream - 4:56
7. Never Surrender - 5:24
8. Breaking The Rules - 5:43
9. Line of Sight - 5:41
10. My Friend - 4:30
11. Deliverance - 7:07
12. No Return - 3:12
13. Fear of the Dark (Iron Maiden cover) - 7:31
14. Dream On (Aerosmith cover) - 4:30
Album Length: 1:10:01
Black Hole is:
Fabio Torrisi (vocals)
Matthieu Acker (Guitar)
Patrick Umber (Bass)
Christophe Brunner (Drums)
Christophe Burghard (keyboards/orchestrations)
Here's the next promo to check out for Vancouver's heavy metallers IRON KINGDOM and their new
album "The Blood of
Creation" (their fifth release) due out on November
4th.
You might be familiar with their band from highly praised 2019
full-length "On The Hunt", which took the band to new heights
with tours across Canada, the USA, and Europe along with topping the Canadian
loud radio charts at #5 (Earshot) and garnering such reviews as "Holy Shit! Have you heard Iron
Kingdom's On the Hunt? If you haven't you are missing out on one of the coolest
albums of 2019. 10/10" (Keeper Magazine),"Classic sound, modern feel"
Powerplay Magazine (UK), "a
glorious gallop of foot on the monitor, traditional heavy metal that will have
NWOBHM fans drooling. 9/10" (Metal Gods TV) and "40 minutes of
enjoyable no-frills classic metal." (Angry Metal Guy).
"The Blood of Creation" continues the reign of
classic heavy metal that Iron Kingdom has been presenting over the years to
music lovers of the style along with keeping the flame burning for a new
generation.
"We
wanted to create music in a style of metal that seemed to have been forgotten
when we were kids. Since no one else seemed to be doing it, we decided to play
metal the way it used to be played in the 70s and 80s. That was the reason for
forming Iron Kingdom. Essentially, we wanted to give people an exciting show
like an early Iron Maiden, Scorpions, or Saxon show from the 1980s." recalls Osterman on the beginnings of the band.
Iron Kingdom has come a long way since their 2011 debut "Curse Of The
Voodoo Queen" and their next offering is a potent full force of classic
shredding heavy metal thunder and will take the fans into some unique fantastic
worlds, but will also show a dark side of storytelling.
"I
think we started as a bit more of a hard rock band on the first record, taking
a progressive metal dive for Gates Of Eternity and Ride For Glory, then for On
The Hunt, I’d say we went fully classic metal, leading into this new record
being a pretty solid mix of all those styles combined. We also came out of the
pandemic, which brought some darker emotions some people may have never
experienced previously that I think this album may parallel. In the end though,
we want people to get the chance to escape this world for a time and find
solace in the music." adds Osterman.
The new album also sees new drummer Max Friesen (ex-Ophelia Falling)
making his recording debut with the band to add another angle to their
songwriting for this release. The album was self-produced by Iron Kingdom with
mixing done by Andy Boldt and mastering by Greg Reely (Overkill, Fear Factory,
3 Inches of Blood).
Recommended for fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween, and Saxon.
Below I've included their link to their info and
album for media coverage (interview, feature, spotlight, album review, radio airplay
of single "In The Grip of Nightmares", social media share, news
share, Spotify add, etc.).
The Sacramento-based quintet GRAVESHADOW –
who deftly mixes symphonic/gothic metal with elements and influences from a
variety of styles to create something epic, progressive, melodic and powerful -
release a brand-new music video for “The Betrayer” from their recently released
comeback album, ‘The
Uncertain Hour’,which
can be seen here - https://youtu.be/fshpIWhMTbQ
The footage that comprises the clip was shot on the band’s
recent west coast headlining tour from a show at Seattle’s Funhouse venue by
Karl Whinnery, bassist from tour and labelmates Vintersea.
“’The Betrayer’ was written with the intention of continuing the
more power metal direction that was introduced with the release of [the first
single] ‘Gwynnbleidd,’” explains guitarist Aaron
Robitsch. [Guitarist]
Will also wanted to make more use of guitar harmonies, and I think this song
showcases that well. It also continues a theme we have become known for --
lyrics about World of Warcraft.”
“This song became an early favorite of mine during the recording
process. Aaron worked out the idea to have a video shot while we were on tour
and the fantastic Karl Whinnery from Vintersea helped us out by shooting it,” states
guitarist William Lloyd Walker. “Really
happy with how it came out and a huge thanks to Karl for helping us put this
together.”
GRAVESHADOW’s third album, ‘The Uncertain Hour,’ was
produced by Miss
May I guitarist Justin Aufdemkampe (Clutch, War of Ages),
mastered by Alberto De Icaza (Crobot,
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) and features artwork by Roman Ismaylov (Battle Beast, Beast In Black). It
sees a new lineup for GRAVESHADOW now augmented by the newfound energy that has
been brought into the band by the soaring melodic performance of new vocalist
Rachl “Raxx” Quinn and the rumbling rhythm section of new bassist Luci Rae and
new drummer Bones Padilla. The returning guitar duo of William Lloyd Walker and
Aaron Robitsch once again deliver a beautiful display of guitar histrionics
that tastefully mix searing shred with warm melody, while Aaron even adds some
harsh backing vocals. GRAVESHADOW are
back on the scene with a story to tell. Intertwining melodic highs and crushing
lows to sweep listeners away on a journey of self-discovery, loss and the will
to carry on.
Jewelcase CDs and limited-edition vinyl (200 copies) of ‘The
Uncertain Hour’ are available in stores or can be ordered online from www.smarturl.com/graveshadow,
as well as digital downloads/streaming.
Three digital singles and videos have been released in the
buildup for the album. The first taste of new music from the reformed lineup
came with The Witcher inspired
song “Gwynnebleidd” https://youtu.be/XrorDG70g3Q way back in
May 2020. It proved the revamped quintet could create new music and be accepted
by their existing fanbase and a new audience. Collaborating on more new music
further sessions continued and were evidenced by “Soldier Of 34” https://youtu.be/qXDzhkfRjuM and
“The Swordsman” (the latter even featuring guest vocals from Chelsea Murphy
of Dawn of
Ouroboros, Cailleach
Calling and Tegmentum) https://youtu.be/WnFOUN9S4aw.
Additionally, GRAVESHADOW will
perform two shows in Northern California next month with direct support on both
shows coming from buzzworthy So Cal band Our Dying World.
Upcoming GRAVESHADOW live
shows
10/14 Cafe Colonial – Sacramento, CA
10/15 Hotel Utah Saloon – San Francisco, CA
GRAVESHADOW's previous album, 2018's
‘Ambition's Price,’ was given accolades by Metal Utopia for being “a great
record with lots of great moments for fans of Nightwish and The Birthday
Massacre.” Metal Nation praised ‘Ambition's Price,’ declaring that “GRAVESHADOW has
taken what has become a somewhat complacent and stagnant style of metal and
breathed fresh life into it, creating something vibrant and memorable.” The
fantastical lyrical themes that were explored by the band on ‘Ambition's Price’
- their debut record for M-Theory Audio and the follow-up to the group's
incubatory 2015 debut full-length ‘Nocturnal Resurrection’ - were applauded by
critics and fans alike. The band followed the release of ‘Ambition's Price’ by
winning over new audiences with extensive touring alongside bands such as
Arkona, Sirenia, Exmortus, Night Demon, and Unleash The Archers.
Track Listing:
1. Soldier of 34 (6:04)
2. Gwynnbleidd (4:18)
3. Sea of Apparitions (3:55)
4. The Swordsman (5:28)
5. Vengeance of Envy (3:57)
6. A Beautiful End (4:54)
7. The Betrayer (4:12)
8. Shadow Battles (4:19)
9. The Two Lived (6:45)
10. Damsel’s Finesse (7:05)
Album Length: 51:04
GRAVESHADOW is:
Rachl ‘Raxx’ Quinn – vocals
William Lloyd Walker – guitars
Aaron Robitsch – guitars/keyboards
Luci Rae – bass
Bones – drums
Heavy horror punk icon WEDNESDAY 13 has climbed his way to the top of the horrendous heights of
rock, punk and metal with his electrifying solo music and as frontman of renowned horror punk
supergroup Murderdolls, amassing a colossal cult-following along the way. In 2022, the undisputed
harbinger of metal horror returns, following up on 2019’s acclaimed Necrophaze (#2 US Heatseekers)
with Horrifier – a brand new slathering of 11 terrifyingly grim and groovy anthems to get blood pumping
and brains melting! Showcasing a blend of styles from the band’s 20-year career, Horrifier manages to
weave an underlying sonic thread reminiscent of WEDNESDAY 13’s roots – a raucous blend of ballistic
metal and macabre heavy rock that’ll have new and diehard fans alike ascending from the depths. As
always, various tracks on the album are inspired by classic horror flicks, this time circling cult-favorite
slasher John Carpenter’s Halloween and the iconic Christine supernatural thrillers.
WEDNESDAY 13’s ninth full-length album kicks off with eerie introductory track “Severed” before
careening into one of the band’s heaviest songs ever recorded, the massive, slow and low “Insides Out”,
accented by hair-raising guitar leads and slithering vocals. The aggressive, industrial-edged “Exhume and
Devour” and warning sing-a-long single “You’re so Hideous” pick up the pace with danceable 90s sonic
vigor, while surefire hit “Good Day to Be a Bad Guy” aces the pure horror punk spirit of Murderdolls as a
downright blissful tongue-in-cheek earworm that’ll seep into the listener’s head on repeat. John
Carpenter’s Halloween inspired anthem “Return to Haddonfield” convinces with marching gang vocals
and a searing metallic guitar solo before the pace picks up again on fast-riffing, mosh-ready title track
“Horrifier”. Southern-fried metal tinged “Hell Is Coming” is one of the album’s best displays of stylistic
versatility, accented by an impressively commanding vocal performance while pumping out a
thrash-worthy breakdown and blues rock solo. “Halfway to the Grave” sees the band echoing 80s flavor
accented by memorable leads and imploring lyrics before leading into the charging Christine themed
album standout “Christine: Fury in the Night”, featuring pounding drums, an unforgettable hook and a
transfixing guitar lead that quite literally drives. Horrifier closes with its most heartfelt track, “The Other
Side” – a personal ode WEDNESDAY 13 penned about the sudden loss of his mother, as well as former
Murderdolls bandmate Joey Jordison – but that also shines as a vital anthem made further pertinent
after recent years of intense worldwide loss and reflection.
Horrifier was produced and recorded by WEDNESDAY 13 with mixing and mastering by Brent Clawson,
and features stunning album artwork by Jonny Bush. A dynamic journey into the 20-year career-spanning
sound of WEDNESDAY 13, Horrifier revitalizes with something for every listener to latch onto – boasting
intensely fun horror punk energy with gruesome metallic attitude!
The
combination of big riffs, driving rhythms, thick yet lithe bass lines and rich
vocal melodies has made for some of the greatest music of all time, and in the
hands of Kings Of Mercia this recipe is intoxicating. Best
known as the founding guitarist for Fates Warning, but with countless other
projects under his belt - including Arch / Matheos and most recently Tuesday
The Sky - Jim Matheos is incapable of stifling his creativity. In early 2021,
he started working on the songs that would become Kings
Of Mercia’s self-titled debut album, bringing his distinct
style yet doing something a little different. “I started writing without any
real idea of what direction I wanted to go in or what I was going to do with
the material. The first few songs came together quickly and were a bit more
straightforward than I’m used to, and I really liked that idea, kind of going back to
my early heavy/hard rock roots.” Not having any pre-conceived ideas of what the
record should or would end up sounding like, at least early on, certainly
helped, “as did the fact that it’s our first record, so there was nothing to measure it against
or expectations to live up to, even if only in my own head.”
Churning out songs, Matheos’
next concern was to find the musicians who would help him realize the material,
and his first priority was a vocalist. Putting together a list of 30-40
contenders he contacted a handful but none of them worked out for various reasons,
and it was his friend Jeff Wagner who suggested
FM’s Steve Overland, and another friend, rock journalist Dave Ling,
who put them in touch with each other. “Jim had asked Dave for my
contact details, we talked about his idea for mixing the two styles, his
heavier background, with my melodic/bluesier direction,” says Overland. “We
decided to try a collaboration on one song and see how it worked, we came up
with the track “Humankind”, and we both loved it.” The combination of Matheos’
riffs and Overland’s vocals makes for perfect bedfellows, and the evident
chemistry belies the fact they have never met. “We both wrote on our own, me
completing songs instrumentally and then sending them to Steve who wrote the
lyrics and recorded the vocals on his own. But there was never a moment where
he said, ‘I don’t really like this part, or that song’, and likewise there was
never anything that he sent me where I thought, ‘Hmm, I’m not sure about that…’ Everything I sent to him he worked on as
is and everything he sent back to me ended up being final vocals, first
time around. So there wasn’t any of the usual ‘what if you try this instead?’ that I’m so
used to. That was really refreshing.” Having already settled on this hard
rock direction, it was only once Matheos got the first couple of songs back
from Overland that it became all the way clear of the shape the record would
take, with the vocalist sending over his parts every few weeks, everything
gradually coming together. “I think “Humankind” set a precedent for the way the album would go,” says
Overland. “It’s a
heavy anthemic track, but it’s hooky and has melody. Although the songs all have their own
identity, I think they are all very powerful. Lyrically, it’s very varied, and
there is a different subject matter and story in every song, so there’s no
concept or thread that runs throughout the album.”
Behind the kit for the record
is the legendary Simon Phillips (ex-Toto, Derek Sherinian), one of Matheos’
favorite drummers. “I decided to contact him on a whim, not really expecting
that he’d be
available or interested in this project. But, to my surprise, he liked the
music and was able to fit some recording into his schedule. It’s an
honor to share a credit with him and I couldn’t be happier with what he added to the record.” Rounding out the
group is bassist Joey Vera - Matheos’ Fates Warning bandmate - who brings his
trademark style and professionalism to the table. “My old friend and co-worker
Joey Vera was a natural choice for bass. Not only did I know he would deliver
performance-wise, but it was nice to have a familiar face among the new
personalities.” With these players involved it was an easy, stress-free process
throughout, making music for the love of it, and coming up with something that
sounds familiar yet new, expanding the repertoire of all involved. This means
songs like the half-acoustic ballad, half-swaggering “Too Far Gone” or the
beautiful “Everyday Angels”, and the soaring “Wrecking Ball”, which opens the
record on a high note, all brought to life in dynamic style.
The hardest part of the whole
process was coming up with a name for the band. “We didn’t want to go with Matheos / Overland, or Overland / Matheos,
etc, and Steve and I probably batted around 50 ideas before settling on Kings
Of Mercia. It’s pretty much the only one we both liked. There’s no
specific meaning or message behind it.” It made sense to self-title the record
due to it being the band’s debut, and given how much life there is in the songs
it would not be surprising if it did not become the first of many, the
combination of those involved creating something special, and with Matheos’
permanent creative hunger you may well be hearing a lot more from Kings
Of Mercia.
LINE-UP:
Jim MATHEOS - Guitars
Steve OVERLAND - Vocals
Simon PHILLIPS - Drums
Joey VERA – Bass
Kings of
Mercia TRACK-LISTING:
Wrecking BallHumankindSweet RevengeSet the World on FireToo Far GoneLiberate
MeNowhere ManEveryday AngelsIs It Right?Your Life
For more than 20 years, BSC has been capturing and exporting the sounds of Memphis and the Delta region. It is our mission to celebrate the culture of our region by sharing our music with the world.
Beale Street Caravan, the most widely distributed blues radio program in the world, attracts more than 2.4 million listeners each week. Produced in the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock & roll, Beale Street Caravan covers the world with The Sounds of Memphis. Each week,our audience experiences the heartfelt sounds and colorful stories of Memphis music in intimate, live-in-concert performances.
Now on ROX Radio every Tuesday from 9pm to stream whenever ya like. First episode is out on 4th October 2022 at www.roxnetwork.co.uk or find us on audio streamers, ROX Radio
Donnington Monsters of Rock loved Dio. His two appearances were both iconic and awe inspiring. Therefore, it's fitting that the two concert recordings from his 83 and 87 shows be immortalised forever.
Ronnie James Dio's band were always great live (and on album!) and these two legendary concerts were no exception. It is strange, however, that we see a re-release of the shows again so soon after they were put out together by Niji as a double album in 2010. But hey, some people may be new to Dio and the shows or want a newer edition.
The original version wasn't exactly new either with some of the songs being previously released as bonus tracks on studio album re-issues. It's still great to have the gig as one album (albeit an edit of the full concerts). It was, however, damn fine!
And now it's 2022 and time for these concerts to be re-issued but this time as two seperate albums. This time the complete concets. Nice!
On September 23rd, Niji Entertainment & BMG will release two legendary live performances from DIO at the Donington Festival in the UK. DIO AT DONINGTON ‘83 captures the original DIO lineup on the HOLY DIVER TOUR and captures a young, hungry band 3 months after the release of their debut album. The set features classic tracks from Ronnie James Dio’s already amazing career as vocalist for Rainbow and Black Sabbath, alongside soon to be classics like “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow In The Dark”, and “Stand Up And Shout”.
Following three hugely successful studio albums and silver, gold, and platinum certifications around the world, DIO AT DONINGTON ’87 captures the DREAM EVIL line up, and features such classics as “The Last In Line”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Children,” and “All The Fools Sailed Away”.
Additionally, both discs contain killer renditions of both RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH classics, including “Man On The Silver Mountain”, “Neon Knights”, “Stargazer”, and “Heaven and Hell”, among others.
As the singer of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, and his own band, Ronnie James Dio is often considered to be one of rock’s all-time great vocalists, who sadly passed away in 2010, after battling stomach cancer. However, Dio’s music continues to connect with the masses – the official Ronnie James Dio Facebook page has over 2.5 million followers, his music on Spotify receives over 3 million monthly listeners, and in the most recent season of the hit Netflix series, STRANGER THINGS, the popular character Eddie Munson sports a large “DIO” patch on the back of his beloved denim jacket.
DIO AT DONINGTON ’83 & ’87 is available in both LIMITED EDITION 2LP & CD configurations.
Each features a 3D / Lenticular art print of the cover.
The LP sets feature an exclusive etching on Side D.
DIO AT DONINGTON ’83
Track Listing
1Stand Up and Shout (Live at Donington '83)
2Straight Through the Heart (Live at Donington '83)
3Children of the Sea (Live at Donington '83)
4Rainbow in the Dark (Live at Donington '83)
5Holy Diver (Live at Donington '83)
6Drum Solo (Live at Donington '83)
7Stargazer (Live at Donington '83)
8Guitar Solo (Live at Donington '83)
9Heaven and Hell (Live at Donington '83)
10Man on the Silver Mountain (Live at Donington '83)
11Starstruck (Live at Donington '83)
12Man on the Silver Mountain (Reprise) [Live at Donington '83]
Personnel:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Vivian Campbell – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
DIO AT DONINGTON ‘87
Track Listing
1Dream Evil (Live at Donington '87)
2Neon Knights (Live at Donington '87)
3Naked in the Rain (Live at Donington '87)
4Rock and Roll Children (Live at Donington '87)
5Long Live Rock and Roil (Live at Donington '87)
6The Last in Line (Live at Donington '87)
7Children of the Sea (Live at Donington '87)
8Holy Diver (Live at Donington '87)
9Heaven and Hell (Live at Donington '87)
10Man on the Silver Mountain (Live at Donington '87)
11All the Fools Sailed Away (Live at Donington '87)
12The Last in Line (Reprise) [Live at Donington '87]
13Rainbow in the Dark (Live at Donington '87)
Personnel:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Both albums are great examples of how and why Ronnie Dio and the boys were so loved by the fans. Dio gave it his all every single night. He held the audience in the palm of his tiny hand as he belted out classics one after the other. Audio quality is spot on and album designs are great too with some clever artwork and fan loving touches.
He never dissapointed. These albums will NOT dissapoint you either
Starting 28th September 2022, Dr Ducks fantastic show "Guitar Prescription" will be available on ROX Radio.
With a new edition released on ROX every Wednesday at 10pm to stream any time ya like!
Dr.Ducks Guitar Prescription Radio Show is a series of one hour celebrations of guitar players and guitar music in general - we play the most incredibly awesome guitar music in the world coming to you one right after another - with commentary, quotes, historical perspective and trivia on the evolution of guitar playing - tying it all together
Coming to you straight from out here in the desert of Las Vegas Nevada USA. - the entertainment and party capitol of the world !!
Presented by John "Dr Duck" Duck, we are excited to bring this great show to our listeners on ROX Radio.
After close to three years in the making, John (Dr. Duck) Duck, the manufacturer of the guitar polish, Dr.Ducks Ax Wax & String Lube, has announced that Dr. Ducks Guitar Prescription Radio Show is now available globally thanks to a number of radio stations carrying the show, who broadcast via conventional air waves and "stream" on the world wide web.
John Duck was 10 years old when he first heard Duane Eddy's 1958 hit "Rebel Rouser." He knew right then he'd found his calling. "It was like getting hit by a grenade," Duck recalls. "My parents had a guitar around, and I knew a few chords, but I actually sat down and made sense of that song. You've got that sax in the back while the guitarist does that growl/twang thing, and the solo is just obscene. I haven't been the same since."
Fifty years later, he remains a devoted guitar-music listener. Every Sunday night at midnight, the Vegas-based Duck bestows his instrumental adoration onto audiences in his hometown and some 15 additional markets in the form of Dr. Duck's Guitar Prescription, an hour of guitar-based music blending genres and eras most non-traditionally.
"I've just got to respect it to play it," says Duck, who began broadcasting his weekly guitar "doses" in January on his show's home station, KUNV 91.5-FM, directly after local mainstay The Lyon's Den. "There's a lot of commercial stuff that's probably not gonna make it onto the show, and there are tunes from certain artists that you won't expect."
Show No. 2, for example, placed rockers Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck and Guns N' Roses alongside old-timers Link Wray and Bo Diddley, jazzman Charlie Byrd, country player Vince Gill and flamenco/fusion maestro Ottmar Liebert. "We're all over the map," he acknowledges proudly. "A guy in Great Britain sent in a CD, and it's strong. So we're going to fit him in, right between Django Reinhardt and Herb Ellis."
Between songs, the program relies on pre-recorded sounds-background chatter, bottles clanking and the like-to provide a party atmosphere, bolstered by banter from his "Ducky Girls." "There's some shtick and some schmaltz," concedes Duck, best known for concocting Dr. Duck's Ax Wax, a popular guitar and string treatment product that has been on the market since 1992. "I just want it to seem like there's a live party going on here and we're bringing the party to you."
As a guitarist, Duck, in his words, "played with a number of people and came pretty close to making it," but that's in the past. These days, the good doctor is happiest when he's prescribing a heavy diet of guitar over the airwaves, and describing his handpicked tunes with enthusiastic gusto: "'Smoke on the Water' it's a nasty lick the way it comes on is just like Tyrannosaurus Rex just walked into the living room and he's having a bad hair day." - Las Vegas Weekly / June 12-18, 2008 / Spencer Patterson
Why syndicate Dr.Ducks Guitar Prescription ? -
We're bringing you 2 really "White Hot" topics to present to your audience at the same time -
1)- "Guitar" (check out the sales on all of the Guitar and Musician Video Games - it's done more to spark a new interest in guitar than anything else has in decades) ... and
2)- "Las Vegas" (there's now a poker game going on TV ...it seems like almost every day .. every hour)
... you can hear the party going on in the background whenever the music is not playing ...
... then you hear the Ducky Girls say either "Go Ducky Go" or "It's All About Guitar" or "What's Up Next Dr.Duck?" ...
... then the voice comes on ... it's Dr.Duck himself ... with "Welcome to Dr.Ducks Guitar Prescription ... coming to you straight from the Wild West ... Las Vegas Nevada USA ... the Entertainment and Party Capitol of the World !!"
... and now it feels like Saturday night ... and everything is happening ... the party in the background is at a mild roar now ... you hear the Ducky Girls say something again .... and now you're there ... you're at the party too ... it's warm ...
... and then the most incredibly awesome guitar music in the world ... from the very best players known ... in all different genre of music is coming to you ... one right after another ... back to back ... and the party in the background is really starting to wail ...
... you can feel it all over and hope that you don't loose that radio signal ... at least not now ...
Original Liner notes (now not included due to Waters/Gilmour dispute)
A note from Roger Waters to Pink Floyd fans:
As I am banned by Dave Gilmour from posting on Pink Floyd’s Facebook page with its 30,000,000 subscribers, I am posting this announcement here today and in full on rogerwaters.com.
First, a warm welcome back to our little band of brothers and sisters who have always kept an open mind, let’s hope some of the fans whose access to my words is suppressed by Gilmour find their way here and discover some truth.
What precipitated this note is that there are new James Guthrie Stereo and 5.1 mixes of the Pink Floyd album Animals, 1977. These mixes have languished unreleased because of a dispute over some sleeve notes that Mark Blake has written for this new release. Gilmour has vetoed the release of the album unless these liner notes are removed. He does not dispute the veracity of the history described in Mark’s notes, but he wants that history to remain secret. This is a small part of an ongoing campaign by the Gilmour/Samson camp to claim more credit for Dave on the work he did in Pink Floyd, 1967-1985, than is his due. Yes he was, and is, a jolly good guitarist and singer. But, he has for the last 35 years told a lot of whopping porky pies about who did what in Pink Floyd when I was still in charge. There’s a lot of “we did this” and “we did that,” and “I did this” and “I did that.” So, two things:
(1). I am agreeing to the release of the new Animals remix, with the sleeve notes removed. Good work James Guthrie by the way, and sorry Mark Blake. The final draft of the liner notes was fact checked and agreed as factually correct by me, Nick and Gilmour. Here they are, enjoy, there’s nothing controversial, just a few simple facts.
Mark Blake: Liner Notes
Pink Floyd: Animals
Despite being recorded in London during the long, summer heatwave of 1976, Pink Floyd’s Animals remains a dark album. Its critique of capitalism and greed caught the prevailing mood in Britain: a time of industrial strife, economic turmoil, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the race riots of Notting Hill. The album was released on January 23rd 1977, but the roots of Pink Floyd’s tenth studio album go back earlier in the decade. Following the success of 1973’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd pondered their next move. During a two-to-three week jam session in early 1974, the band worked on ideas for three new compositions. From these sessions the band developed Shine On You Crazy Diamond, (A passionate tribute to Syd Barrett, words by Roger Waters. Added by me, sorry couldn’t help it.) which became the centrepiece of Floyd’s next album, Wish You Were Here, and Raving And Drooling (composed by Roger Waters) and You Gotta Be Crazy written by Waters and David Gilmour.
Raving And Drooling was a tale of violent social disorder, while You Gotta Be Crazy told the story of a soulless businessman clawing and cheating his way to the top. Both were performed live for the first time on the Floyd’s winter tour of 1974. They were both considered for the Wish You Were Here album, but Roger insisted that neither song was relevant to the overall idea, that “Wish You Were Here” was essentially about absence, and as neither song fitted his conception of the record’s overall theme, neither song should be included. The band eventually concurred. Scroll forward two years, and Roger had an idea for the next Pink Floyd album. He borrowed from George Orwell’s allegorical story, Animal Farm, in which pigs and other farmyard animals were reimagined anthropomorphically. Waters portrays the human race as three sub-species trapped in a violent, vicious cycle, with sheep serving despotic pigs and authoritarian dogs. You Gotta be Crazy and Raving And Drooling perfectly fitted his new concept. In the meantime, a year earlier, the group had bought a set of disused church buildings in Britannia Row, Islington, which they’d converted into a studio and storage facility. Prior to this every Pink Floyd studio release had been partly or wholly recorded at Abbey Road studios. Pink Floyd had also found a new recording engineer. Brian Humphries, an engineer from Pye studios, who they had met while recording the sound track for “More”, a movie directed by Barbet Schroeder. Brian had gone on to engineer Wish You Were Here at Abbey Road, and also helped them out on the road, so they had got to know him very well. Using their own studio marked a significant change in their working methods. There were setbacks and teething problems, but also a great sense of freedom.
Following Roger’s instincts about the new songs paid off, the songs had an aggressive edge far removed from the luxuriant soundscapes on Wish You Were Here. It was a timely change of direction. At Britannia Row, he renamed Raving And Drooling, Sheep and Gotta Be Crazy became Dogs. The narrative was completed by the addition of two new Waters songs: Pigs (Three Different Ones) and Pigs On The Wing.
On Pigs (Three Different Ones), the lyrics namechecked Mary Whitehouse, the head of the National Viewers And Listeners Association. Whitehouse was an outspoken critic of sex and violence on British television and a topical target for Roger’s ire. The subject matter was bleak, but Nick Mason recalled lighter moments over dubbing songs with special effects and barnyard noises. While Sheep also made room for Roger’s blackly comic variation on Psalm 23: “He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places/ He converteth me to lamb cutlets…” The music and the performance mirrored the intensity of the lyrics. Keyboard player Richard Wright’s eerie-sounding synths and Hammond organ cranked up the unease. While David Gilmour’s shared lead vocal on Dogs and his guitar playing throughout Animals offered a striking counterpoint to Roger’s brutal lyrics. In contrast, Animals began and ended on an optimistic note. The verses of Pigs on The Wing were split in two and bookended the album. Roger’s lyrics and vocal performance of acoustic intro and outro (“You know that I care what happens to you/ And I know that you care for me too…”) suggested hope for humanity. The idea for Pink Floyd’s flying pig was also Roger’s. He had already commissioned its building as a stage device for the next tour. Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of the design company Hipgnosis, had produced a number of design ideas for an Animals sleeve and presented them to the band but none of the band, liked them, and when Roger added his disapproval someone said, ”Well why don’t you come up with something better then?” So he did, on the drive from his house in South London to Britannia Row, he regularly passed Battersea Power Station. He was drawn to the imposing brick building, and by the number four. Four in the band, four phallic chimneys, and if the power station were turned upside down then it resembled a table with four legs. He pursued his idea and had a maquette made, a small scale model of the eventual full scale inflatable pig. He then took photographs of Battersea Power station and created a photographic mock up of an album sleeve. The rest of the band loved it. Storm and Po, who had designed all of the previous Pink Floyd album covers, graciously offered to source photographers for the photo shoot, and did. On the first day of the photo shoot, the pig failed to inflate. On the second day, it broke free of its moorings and disappeared into a beautiful brooding sky, prompting a frantic call to the police and a halt to all flights in and out of Heathrow. The pig eventually crash-landed in a farmer’s field in Kent.
The following day, the shoot went ahead without a hitch, great shots of pig in situ but no brooding sky. So Storm and Po stripped Day three Pig into Day two sky, bingo! History. Animals was a hit, reaching Number 2 in the UK and Number 3 in the US. Pink Floyd’s pig, Algie, made its live debut on their subsequent “In The Flesh” tour in 1977. At stadium shows in America, it was joined by another Water’s idea, an inflatable nuclear family comprising a mother, father and 2.5 children, surrounded by the spoils of a consumerist lifestyle: an inflatable Cadillac, oversized TV and refrigerator. Roger called it Electric Theatre. Both the album and the tour signposted the way to Pink Floyd’s next release, The Wall, and to Roger’s ever more ambitious ideas, both in terms of his music, narratives, politics and stage shows. But his themes and ideas explored on Animals have endured. More than 40 years on the album has been remixed in stereo and 5.1. In troubled times and an uncertain world, Animals is as timely and relevant now as it ever was.
Mark Blake
Thanks Mark, sorry you were redacted.
(2). I am in the middle of writing my Memoirs and inevitably some of it contains references to some of the content above. For anyone with a faint heart, I suggest you sit down, but anyone who likes a good laugh, sit back and fucking howl! 😂 🤣 ✊🏼 I’m going to sit back and howl along with you.
At the beginning of this post on the subject of porky pies, I say, “There’s an awful lot of “we did this” and “we did that,” and “I did this” and “I did that.” Right? So here’s a short extract from my memoir:
“As chance would have it I was doing a bit of delving in a book of press clippings and came across an interview David Fricke of Rolling Stone Magazine did with DG in a hotel room in NY in 1982, DG’s talking about the Cash register tape for the defining 7/8 rhythm on Money. The interview was published in Musician Magazine, so even back then DG was sowing the seeds of the false narrative. I quote this bit of the article verbatim:
David Fricke: “You recorded the sounds for ‘Money’ on a loop of tape.” Gilmour explains: ”You’re trying to get the impact from the cash register, ‘the snap, crack, crsssh,” You’d mark that one and then measure how long you wanted that beat to go, and that’s the piece you’d use. And you’d chop it together. It was trial and error. You just chop the tapes together, and if it sounds good, you use it. If it doesn’t, you take one section out and put a different one in. Sometimes we’d put one in and it’d be backwards, because the diagonal cut on the tape, if you turn it around is exactly the same. We’d stick that in and instead it would go ‘chung, dum, whoosh.’ And sound great so we’d use that.”
Well! The reason everything DG is saying here to David Fricke sounds like gobbledygook is because it is fucking gobbledygook. He has no fucking idea what he’s talking about. Why? Because unless he was hiding under the fucking chair, DG wasn’t there when I made that SFX tape loop for Money in the studio I shared with my wife Judy at the bottom of our garden at 187, New North Road, Islington, next door to the North Pole Pub where I used to play darts!
THE FULL STORY OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IS IN MY MEMOIRS!
So, I hope that whets your, and David and Polly’s appetites 😂
