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Thursday, March 14, 2013

LEPROUS completes work on new album; reveals title and release dates


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LEPROUS completes work on new album; reveals title and release dates

                                    
After finishing off a very eventful past year of promotions for their previous album release, Bilateral, acclaimed Norwegian progsters LEPROUS entered the studio to start recording their next album after wrapping up their "European Progressive Assault" headlining tour in September/October 2012.
This new album is entitled Coal, and it will be released on May 20th in Europe and on May 28th in North America via InsideOut Music.
LEPROUS singer/synth-player Einar Solberg comments about the release:
"With our upcoming album 'Coal,' I feel we are one step closer to a personal expression. Heidi Solberg Tveitan and Vegard Tveitan of Mnemosyne were the producers of this album, together with LEPROUS. They helped us a lot with reaching the full potential of the songs, and the album would not be equally good without their expertise.  
Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren @ Fascination Street Studios mixed the material and have made this album shine like nobody else could.  
 I see less interest in defining music than in creating music, but I will give a short overview on what to expect... 
'Coal' is a more melancholic and darker album than the more playful 'Bilateral'. By darker I don't mean more aggressive, but more severe. There is still a big range in the dynamics, but no jumping between different moods within a song. We cannot wait to show this album to the world!"
Check out a studio-video from the drum recording sessions for
Coal here:
 
In support of this upcoming release, LEPROUS has already confirmed a string of prominent summer festival appearances (Wacken, Hellfest, Tuska, etc.):
LEPROUS live: 
16.03.2013 - Porsgrunn (Norway) - Folkets Hus / Break The Ice '13 
21.04.2013 - Tilburg (The Netherlands) - 013 / Roadburn Festival - Afterburner (http://www.roadburn.com
27.04.2013 - Amstelveen (The Netherlands) - Headway Festival (http://www.headwayfestival.com)  
08.06.2013 - Sölvesborg (Sweden) - Sweden Rock Festival (http://www.swedenrock.com)  
21.06.2013 - Clisson (France) - Hellfest (http://www.hellfest.fr
28.06.2013 - Helsinki (Finland) - Tuska Open Air (http://www.tuska-festival.fi
21.07.2013 - Tolmin (Slovenia) - Metal Dayz Festival (http://www.metaldays.net
01.-03.08.2013 - Wacken (Germany) - Wacken Open Air (http://www.wacken.com
09.08.2013 - Josefov (Czech Republic) - Brutal Assault Festival (http://www.brutalassault.cz
16.-17.08.2013 - Saint Palais Sur Mer (France) - Crescendo Festival (http://www.festival-crescendo.com)
LEPROUS line-up: 
(pictured from left to right) 
Tor Oddmund Suhrke - guitar 
Øystein Landsverk - guitar  
Einar Solberg - synth/vocals 
Tobias Ørnes Andersen - drums



MASTODON's BRENT HINDS Added To 'Mad Monster Party'


Brent Hinds of MASTODON will make an appearance at Mad Monster Party 2013 on March 22-24 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Also scheduled to appear are METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, original KISS drummer Peter Criss and '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford.

Mad Monster Party is a three-day monster convention with celebrity guests, horror
memorabilia vendors, monster exhibits (this year features the world's
biggest collection of "Jaws" original screen used props and memorabilia), the Crypt Critter exhibit with live snakes, arachnids and insects (with a rare photo op with wrestling superstar Jake "The Snake" Roberts with a live Burmese python sponsored by Cold Blooded Encounters), a vintage Midnight Spook Show, macabre magic acts and more!

For more information, visit TheMadMonsterParty.com.

JOE BONAMASSA Says He's 'Pretty Much Done' With BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION




BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION released its third album, "Afterglow", last October amid a public feud between singer Glenn Hughes and guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

The war of words goes back to early September, when Hughes began telling journalists that Bonamassa's solo touring schedule was preventing BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION from touring and fulfilling its potential. He stated that if the situation didn't change, "Afterglow" could be the group's last recording project.

Asked about the current status of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, Bonamassa tells PremierGuitar.com: "As far as I'm concerned, my involvement is pretty much done, and I'll
tell you why: Originally, I did it for the same reasons I did the stuff
with Beth Hart and ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY — it was an excuse to play a different kind of music that I don't get to play normally.

"The
first two records were a blast — the band is fantastic when the Ritalin
kicks in, the ADD goes away, and everyone's focused. It's a
devastatingly good rock band of the early-1970s type, and Glenn is a fantastic singer — just one of the best ever. So I did it and did a nine-week tour in 2011 that really, by the end of it, wasn't fun for
me. It wasn't because I didn't like the cats in the band, but it was
just too much — too much involved in getting people from place to place
and getting the band onstage. Everybody seemed to be very tense, and it
made my crew very tense, and it's not the way I like to tour. I run a
family — I have 21 people who go on the road with me all the time, and
if you asked them who was the cause of the least of their problems, they would say me. Unless there was no Diet Coke — then it's a huge
[expletive] problem, and either I'm going to the supermarket or somebody else is. [laughs]

"But it just wasn't fun for me anymore. All the stuff that Glenn says in the media, essentially pinning it on me — that I was the reason for the band's lack of touring and the band's lack of future. It became rapidly not fun at all. It would be dishonest of me to get onstage and
pretend like I'm having fun to please the band. I'm just not the guitar
player for that band, but, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any
out-of-work guitar players in L.A. that they can get. There are so many
guys that can fill that role and I would be the first guy to queue up
and buy a ticket. So that's my story with it. I'm happily not involved
anymore, but I'm happy with the legacy that I left with that band and
happy with the records we made. It was a great three years for me."

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS premieres video for "Wise As A Serpent" on Decibel Magazine.com



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SPIRITUAL BEGGARS premieres video for "Wise As A Serpent" on Decibel Magazine.com

                                        
Sweden's classic rock heavyweights SPIRITUAL BEGGARS are now premiering the video clip for "Wise As A Serpent," the opening track of the band's stunning new album Earth
Blues, on Decibel Magazine.com. Please click the link below to watch the video:


The band's guitarist and main songwriter, Michael Amott, checked in to comment on the clip:   

"We chose this particular song as the first video off 'Earth Blues' 'cos it's an explosive track and also the shortest song on the album! I filmed and directed the video myself and Anders Björler (AT THE GATES) did a great job on the edit. We're more than pleased with the end result, it's done in true DIY spirit...raw and authentic."     

Earth Blues is the band's 8th studio release and marks SPIRITUAL BEGGARS' 20th anniversary as a band. The album will be released on April 15th in Europe and April 16th in North America via InsideOut Music. For another preview of Earth Blues, please check out the previously released album track, "Turn the Tide," here. See below for the track-listing of the album:

Earth Blues track-listing
1. Wise As A Serpent
2. Turn The Tide
3. Sweet Magic Pain
4. Hello Sorrow
5. One Man's Curse
6. Dreamer
7. Too Old To Die Young
8. Kingmaker
9. Road To Madness
10. Dead End Town
11. Freedom Song
12. Legends Collapse

In order to promote this upcoming release as well as the band's anniversary, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS have confirmed a European tour for April with support by German rockers ZODIAC, in addition to some summer festivals around the world. See below for all upcoming tour dates:

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS - "Earth Blues Tour" w. special guest ZODIAC + more
Presented in G/S/A by Metal Hammer, Guitar, Eclipsed & powermetal.de
15.04.2013 - Hamburg (Germany) - Logo
16.04.2013 - Köln (Germany) - Underground
17.04.2013 - Ludwigsburg (Germany) - Rockfabrik
18.04.2013 - München (Germany) - Backstage
19.04.2013 - Pratteln (Switzerland) - Galery
20.04.2013 - Nürnberg (Germany) - Rockfabrik / Rock'n'Roll Overdose Festival
21.04.2013 - Tilburg (The Netherlands) - 013 / Roadburn Festival
22.04.2013 - Paris (France) - La Scene Bastille
25.04.2013 - Madrid (Spain) - Caracol
26.04.2013 - Barcelona (Spain) - Sala Music Hall
27.04.2013 - Erandio / Bilbao (Spain) - Sonora
28.04.2013 - Toulouse (France) - Le Saint Des Seins

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS @ Festivals 2013:
20.04.2013 - Nürnberg (Germany) - Rockfabrik / Rock'n'Roll Overdose Festival
21.04.2013 - Tilburg (The Netherlands) - 013 / Roadburn Festival / www.roadburn.com  
25.05.2013 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Circo Volador
23.06.2013 - Clisson (France) - Hellfest / www.hellfest.fr

Earth Blues is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed Return To Zero, and it promises to be another milestone in the band's fertile and challenging musical evolution so far. 

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS discography:   
Spiritual Beggars - CD 1994
Another Way To Shine - CD 1996
Violet Karma - 10" EP 1998
Mantra III - CD 1998
Ad Astra - CD/2LP 2000
It's Over - Split 7" EP with GRAND MAGUS 2001
On Fire - CD 2002
Demons - CD 2005
Live Fire! - DVD 2006
Return To Zero - CD/LP 2010
Earth Blues - CD/LP 2013

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS line-up:
Michael Amott (Guitars | ARCH ENEMY, ex CARCASS)
Ludwig Witt (Drums | GRAND MAGUS, ex FIREBIRD)
Per Wiberg (Keys | ex OPETH)
Sharlee D'Angelo (Bass | ARCH ENEMY, WITCHERY)
Apollo Papathanasio (Vocals | ex FIREWIND)