GlobalProgressive Rock Weekly: 2013-03-24

Thursday, March 28, 2013

DEEP PURPLE: New Album Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed

01. Hell To Pay (radio edit)

Side B:

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)

CD Single

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)
02. Hell To Pay (radio edit)
03. Perfect Strangers (bonus track live)
04. Rapture Of The Deep (bonus track live)

DEEP PURPLE's 18th studio album, "Rapture of the Deep", was released in November 2005. It was the fourth studio CD from DEEP PURPLE since guitarist Steve Morse joined the band in 1994. It was also the second album to feature veteran keyboardist Don Airey.

"Rapture of the Deep" was produced by Mike Bradford, who also worked on the band's previous release, 2003's "Bananas".

TESSERACT: First Taste Of New Album

U.K. progressive rock band TESSERACT will release its second full-length album, "Altered State", on May 27 throughout Europe and May 28 in North America via Century Media Records. Divided into four movements — Of Matter, Of Mind, Of Reality and Of Energy — "Altered State", in its purest form, is about the transformations the band has gone through over the past few years.

A two-minute video clip promoting TESSERACT's upcoming European tour and featuring music from the "Altered State" CD can be seen below.

Comments TESSERACT: "The concept behind the presentation of 'Altered State' is very simple. It is about change, and how life is change. We have
been through a very difficult period of time over the last few years. It is a miracle that the band has survived. I feel it is the ability to
step back and see everything for what it is (hence the 'Perspective' EP) that has allowed us to get on with life and try to enjoy it. Reality is change."

"Altered State" track listing:

01. Of Matter - Proxy
02. Of Matter - Retrospect
03. Of Matter - Resist
04. Of Mind - Nocturne
05. Of Mind - Exile
06. Of Reality - Eclipse
07. Of Reality - Palingenisis
08. Of Reality - Calabi-Yau
09. Of Energy - Singularity
10. Of Energy - Embers

"Altered State" was produced, mixed, mastered and engineered by TESSERACT guitarist Acle Kahney, assisted by bassist Amos Williams at Acle's 4D Sounds studio, and marks the first full release with new vocalist Ashe O'Hara following the departure of American vocalist Elliot Coleman (OMNOM, SKY EATS AIRPLANE, ZELLIACK) in June 2012.

The band is set to head out with longtime friends PERIPHERY throughout mainland Europe and then headline dates throughout the U.K.
just prior to album release. Worldwide touring will follow throughout
the year.

ThrashHits.com recently spoke to TESSERACT bassist Amos Williams about "Altered State".

"The new album has shaped up to be something of an evolution for TESSERACT," Williams said. "Obviously, there's the new voice, which is exciting for us to work with. Ashe brings such an intense level of emotion to the table, it feels as if we have added another dimension to the music. We've also travelled so much and met so many incredible and inspiring musicians since the first
album. This has had a huge impact upon our songwriting."

He
continued: "Also, we now enjoy playing with dynamics and
instrumentation. This came from releasing an acoustic EP last year.
We're no longer afraid to mix things up or stray from the expected path,
which we feel we did with our first album. That was in the box, whilst
this album is way out there for us. Don't be afraid, though — whilst it
has evolved, our music is still somehow TESSERACT. It's like there is something just beneath the surface of everything we do, that shapes all we produce into a distinctly TESSERACT-ish form."

Hailing from Northampton, Ashe spent his early years singing in many different groups, from choirs to
musical theatre, and has more recently been involved with a number of
ambient/alternative metal projects in addition to doing session work. Ashe currently resides in Hove, East Sussex.

FLYING COLORS Working On Concert DVD, Blu-Ray

FLYING COLORS — the spectacular new virtuoso prog/pop/metal rock band formed by drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-DREAM THEATER) and guitarist Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE) — is working a concert Blu-ray and DVD from its 2012 tour. There is no release date or other information at this time.

FLYING COLORS's first-ever European tour kicked off on September 9, 2012 in Hamburg, Germany.

Fan-filmed
video footage of the September 13, 2012 show at Alcatraz in Milan,
Italy can be seen below. Photos are available from Musica Metal.

The band's setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Blue Ocean
02. Shoulda Coulda Woulda
03. Love Is What I'm Waiting For
04. Can't Find a Way (ENDOCHINE cover)
05. The Storm
06. Odyssey (DIXIE DREGS cover)
07. Forever In A Daze
08. Better Than Walking Away
09. Kayla
10. Fool In My Heart (lead vocals by Mike Portnoy)
11. Repentance (DREAM THEATER cover; lead vocals by Mike Portnoy)
12. June (SPOCK'S BEARD cover)
13. All Falls Down
14. Everything Changes
-----------
15. Infinite Fire

The self-titled debut album from FLYING COLORS sold 6,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 81 on The Billboard 200 chart.

In addition to Portnoy and Steve Morse, FLYING COLORS features Dave LaRue (bass), Neal Morse (keyboards, vocals), Casey McPherson (lead vocals, guitar).

"I
think if most people looked at this band on piece of paper, they would
think that it would be very progressive and instrumentally based music,
but I think once we started playing together, we got taken into all new
directions," Portnoy told Audio Ink Radio. "I think a lot of that had to do with Casey, because Casey comes from a more modern rock and alternative rock background, so I
think that really helped take the entire band in new directions."

He added, "The diversity element is pretty crazy. It ranges from poppy classic rock sounds like THE BEATLES and QUEEN all the way to modern rock and alternative bands like RADIOHEAD, MUSE and COLDPLAY, and everything in-between. There’s some prog stuff like YES thrown in, as well, and then there are moments that are like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or FOO FIGHTERS. So, it really runs the gamut from track to track."

The formation of FLYING COLORS began with a simple idea: virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joining
together to make new-fashioned music the old-fashioned way. Refreshing, classic, old and new, the recordings are saturated with the many
styles, tones and hues of the players who in becoming a band have
delivered a unique fusion of vintage craftsmanship and contemporary
music.

In 2008, executive producer Bill Evans brought the idea to the world-renowned musicians and producer Peter Collins. Intrigued by the idea and the prospect of working together, the four
musicians signed on to form a band and record a first album.

Steve Morse and Dave LaRue have developed magical music chemistry over the years that began early in their careers as partners in DIXIE DREGS. In 1995, Morse subsequently became a member of DEEP PURPLE, while LaRue's ongoing musical adventures include Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Steve Vai, and the aforementioned Portnoy.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Neal Morse is one of the leading figures in progressive rock, whose notoriety follows his co-founding of the seminal band, SPOCK'S BEARD in 1995, recordings as a solo artist, and contributions to the super-group TRANSATLANTIC.

Mike Portnoy is one of the most popular and respected drummers in both metal and
rock, and an accomplished writer and producer. He is the recipient of
numerous industry accolades, including 26 Modern Drummer awards, Revolver magazine's Golden God award for "Best Drummer" and Drum magazine's "Drummer Of The Year". He rose to prominence as the leader, drummer, producer, and co-writer for metal/prog juggernaut DREAM THEATER, before moving on in 2010. That same year, he worked on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's #1 album "Nightmare" and their subsequent tour.

It was Portnoy who recommended ALPHA REV's emotive singer Casey McPherson as a contender to join FLYING COLORS. McPherson, whose 2010 Hollywood/Disney album "New Morning" debuted in the Top 5 on two Billboard charts, enjoyed major success at radio with multiple hits. The track "New Morning" spent 17 weeks in the Top 10 on Triple A Radio, and enjoyed a run on VH1's Top 20 Countdown for months. Steve Morse offers, "Casey was a glorious find, because he could make anything sound fantastic, and is a multitalented like the others."

FLYING COLORS convened for just nine days in early 2011, and composed and recorded this album during a short and intense session.

DEEP PURPLE Singer: Producer BOB EZRIN 'Brought Us Back Around Into The 21st Century'

British hard rock legends DEEP PURPLE will release their 19th studio album, "Now What?!", via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group, on the following dates:

* Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Spain: April 26
* UK, France, Benelux, Poland, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark: April 29
* North America, Italy: April 30
* Sweden: May 1

After various songwriting sessions in Europe, the band recorded and mixed the album in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER, KANSAS). The CD contain 11 tracks, including "Out Of Hand", "Weirdistan", "Uncommon Man" and "Above And Beyond". The latter song references the band's late keyboard player, Jon Lord, in the lyric "Souls having touched are forever entwined."

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, DEEP PURPLE frontman Ian Gillan stated about the new CD: "The one weakness that PURPLE always had, to me, was the sound of the records. Generally, I've always been slightly disappointed in sound and this new album wipes away
everything we've ever done ever. I'm thrilled and delighted with what Bob was able to do. The first monitor mixes I ever heard from these
sessions I just sat back and said 'oh my God, what he has done it's
perfect.' Everything was so clearly defined from the guitars to the
Hammond organ. The definition is just remarkable. We always had a sort
of delightful sound, don't get me wrong. But I felt we were always kind
of lacking a power thing that we finally have now."

He continued:
"We never used to do much more than just turn up at the studio, plug in
our amps and play. We were literally a garage band back then. We
disliked all the discipline of studios and all the engineers and all
that, so we ended up recording bars and garages in the early days. And
so Bob really brought us back around into the 21st century. We're not normally very good at planning. The band turns up a rehearsal with
no songs that's always been now we are. We just jam and by about the
third or fourth day, we start to have ideas for songs and start
developing from there. Back then and today, just like that."

"Now What?!" track listing:

01. A Simple Song
02. Weirdistan
03. Out Of Hand
04. Hell To Pay
05. Body Line
06. Above And Beyond
07. Blood From A Stone
08. Uncommon Man
09. Après Vous
10. All The Time In The World
11. Vincent Price

"Now What?!" will also be released in a limited quantity with a bonus track and a bonus DVD featuring DEEP PURPLE in conversation plus additional audio material. This edition will be available in a digipak with a cut out front cover. "Now What?!" will also be released as double vinyl LP containing a bonus track, as in the limited-edition CD.

The official lyric video for the song "All The Time In The World" can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Now What?!" was recorded with no musical rules… and it shows a modern and fresh production… to the point that DEEP PURPLE have never sounded so close to the spirit of the '70s in the last 20
years as they do now. The CD has the excellence and elegance of "Perfect Strangers" and the wild freedom of "Made In Japan".

The first taste of "Now What?!" will be the release of a double A-side single on March 29 (as a limited and numbered vinyl seven-inch, CD single and digital download).

Seven-inch vinyl (limited to 1000 numbered copies)

Side A:

01. Hell To Pay (radio edit)

Side B:

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)

CD Single

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)
02. Hell To Pay (radio edit)
03. Perfect Strangers (bonus track live)
04. Rapture Of The Deep (bonus track live)

DEEP PURPLE 'Doesn't Really Care' About Being Inducted Into ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

British rock legends DEEP PURPLE were denied entry to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year — losing out to such artists as American pop singer-songwriter Randy Newman and R&B singer Donna Summer.

The members of PURPLE, who will release a new album titled "Now What?!" on April 30 in North America via earMUSIC, say it is no big loss.

"I don't think the band really care, actually," keyboardist Don Airey tells The Straits Times. "It'd be nice but there's been no 'awwwww', no disappointment."

"The gig's the thing with this band, the next concert. That's what it's all about and we're looking forward to Singapore.

"Newman's fantastic but he's not really a rock act, is he? Neither is Donna Summer, although she made one of the greatest records I've ever heard. If you're going to have a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, let's have some rock and rollers in there."

He added, laughing: "There was a kind of ripple of excitement, like 'Oh, we've been nominated!'. Then [lead singer] Ian [Gillan] said, 'Don't worry, we won't get in'."

Gillan echoed those sentiments, telling AOL's Noisecreep: "I fought against, all my life, becoming institutionalized. So it
really does not affect me. But on the other hand, my family and friends
and everyone that has stuck with us all these years, it means something
to them. They love that recognition.

"To analyze it, and I'll try not to sound cocky or anything, I will say it as respectfully as I can, it's sort of like the Oscars and Grammys and the other awards like that — in the States, just like it is in
England, and other places — these awards and honors are usually not
decided by the fans, but by a cartel of influential people. These are
the same people that decided THE MONKEES were America's answer to THE BEATLES. [laughs]

"So
I'm not too concerned about it. Maybe it will happen one day, bit if
not, my diary is full and I'm very happy. It hasn't affected our career
but it does concern the fans — that's who I feel for."

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