Djam Karet News Update

The Drive to 2014 and the DK 30th Anniversary Continues.....

Final recording for the new studio record concludes at the end of this month. Solos and sounds are hitting the both the tape and the floor. It feels like as you get older you are just as excited about recording as you were when you were young, but where you have already gone in the past hangs over you and challenges you to go deeper. It also seems that it takes longer, but there is so much more to do in life now. The 30th Anniversary of Djam Karet (2014) will be surrounded by a series of 2 CD set Re-issues of most of our out of print CD titles that will include bonus tracks and remastering as well as the release of the new studio album. We are glad to report that contrary to rumors circulating on the interweb, there will be no vocalist on this release yet again. Djam Karet will continue to talk in pictures, and not in words, as it was 30 years ago in a dark basement of an old building where the wails of feedback began.

THE FLOWER KINGS: Making Of 'Desolation Rose' Part 1

 

Swedish progressive rockers THE FLOWER KINGS have had a busy year since regrouping in 2012 for the "Banks Of Eden" album, and with a new creative vigor, the band is following that with the fantastic new CD, "Desolation Rose", due out in the USA on October 29. To be issued in a digipack, the U.S. release will also include a bonus disc. The cover artwork was once again created by Silas Toball and can be seen below.

The first in a series of video clips in which the members of THE FLOWER KINGS talk about the making of "Desolation Rose" can be seen below.

Commented THE FLOWER KINGS: "Being somewhat of a political statement, the epic theme of 'Desolation Rose' is a logical step in a time where perpetual war, famine, environmental threats, religious conflicts dominate the media and our minds.

"This is a time to wake up and the music on this album takes you on a journey where you are forced to questions what the mainstream media feed us and to rethink your whole worldview on all of the above.

"This is in many ways a typical FLOWER KINGS album, but we have also taken it into another realm where we do take chances and where you may struggle to get into the music — or the lyrics — but trust me when I say that you will be rewarded, as this may be our most involved, important and interesting album ever. "

"Desolation Rose" track listing:

01. Tower One (13:39)
02. Sleeping Bones (04:16)
03. Desolation Road (04:00)
04. White Tuxedos (06:30)
05. The Resurrected Judas (08:24)
06. Silent Masses (06:17)
07. Last Carnivore (04:22)
08. Dark Fascist Skies (06:05)
09. Blood Of Eden (03:12)
10. Silent Graveyards (02:52)

You can listen to samples of the new album by using the SoundCloud widget below.

Earlier this year, THE FLOWER KINGS embarked on a very special tour alongside Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy to celebrate InsideOut Music's 20th anniversary, playing to sold-out crowds across Europe and the U.S.

NEWS KIRK WINDSTEN On Split With DOWN: 'This Was A Mutual Decision... And An Amicable One'

 

Mascot Label Group will release FLYING COLORS "Live In Europe" on October 14 via the Music Theories Recordings label on Blu-ray, DVD, 2CD, limited-edition 3LP Vinyl and digital download (iTunes, mastered for iTunes, Amazon MP3).

A performance clip of the song "Odyssey", taken from FLYING COLORS "Live In Europe" can be seen below.

FLYING COLORS features Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals), Dave LaRue (bass), Neal Morse (keyboards, vocals), Casey McPherson (vocals, guitars) and Steve Morse (guitars).

The concert release captures the band live in Tilburg, Netherlands at 013 on September 20, 2012. Directed and edited by Bernhard Baran (GUNS 'N' ROSES, THE CURE, PORCUPINE TREE) with Bill Evans as executive producer, the concert presents the entire studio album, alongside popular favorites performed by the individual members of the band.

The limited edition vinyl set includes 3 LPs on 180-gram colored vinyl, a LP-sized booklet and an exclusive bonus track. The Blu-ray and DVD include stereo and 5.1 surround mixes. Every effort has been made to assure the highest audio quality. All Blu-ray audio being uncompressed, mastered for iTunes is prepared from a 96KHz/24-Bit master, and the vinyl edition spans three audiophile-grade LPs.

The Blu-ray and DVD includes the 45-minute documentary "First Flight" featuring exclusive interviews with the band members, meet-and-greet footage and candid moments on the road captured backstage, in the dressing rooms, the band bus, and during tour rehearsals. The documentary also features excerpts from songs recorded during the band's very first show (Los Angeles, California), first show in Europe (Hamburg, Germany) and final show (London, U.K.) of the tour.

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.

"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.

DREAM THEATER's New Album Cracks U.S. Top 10

 

The new, self-titled album from progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER sold around 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on September 24 via Roadrunner.

DREAM THEATER's previous CD, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", opened with 36,000 units to land at No. 8. The band's 2009 effort, "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", premiered with 40,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 6. This was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Systematic Chaos", which shifted 36,000 copies in 2007 to debut at No. 19. 2005's "Octavarium" premiered with 27,000 copies to land at No. 36.

Speaking to Ultimate-Guitar.com, guitarist John Petrucci stated about "Dream Theater": "I think it's building on [what we did on the "A Dramatic Turn of Events" album], but taking it to the next level. One of the things I really wanted to do on 'A Dramatic Turn of Events' was to create something that was sonically very rich and high-def and powerful and I think we accomplished that. But on this album, I wanted to take that even further…. [I wanted to] get more cinematic with it and more earthy and aggressive and bigger. I wanted a bigger, more forward in-your-face kind of sound. I think that kind of dictated the sounds we went for while we were writing and recording and then ultimately how it was mixed. So yeah, it was kind of building on that, but taking it to the next level. You always need to progress and to try and do something different and kind of have a little bit different take on it and a different perspective. But hopefully make it better as you go."

The nine-track disc was recorded at Cove City Studio in Glen Cove, Long Island, with Petrucci producing and Richard Chycki engineering and mixing. It's the band's second album with drummer Mike Mangini, and the first one on which he was a part of the writing process from Day One.

In January, Petrucci said of Mangini's work: "When people hear the drumming on this album, they're gonna be pretty freaked out. On the last album, he did a great job, but he wasn't there for the writing process and he was interpreting drum parts that I had programmed. Even though he used his creativity, of course, to change them up and do his thing, I feel like now he's just Mike Mangini unleashed. It's all him. It's all his creativity, all his decisions and ideas and man, the guy's an animal."

"Dream Theater" track listing:

01. False Awakening Suite
I. Sleep Paralysis
II. Night Terrors
III. Lucid Dream
02. The Enemy Inside
03. The Looking Glass
04. Enigma Machine
05. The Bigger Picture
06. Behind The Veil
07. Surrender To Reason
08. Along For The Ride
09. Illumination Theory
I. Paradoxe de la Lumière Noire
II. Live, Die, Kill
III. The Embracing Circle
IV. The Pursuit of Truth
V. Surrender, Trust & Passion

"Dream Theater" was made available in a wide range of distinctive versions, including standard and special edition CDs, 180-gram double LP, and a limited-edition boxed set.

The video for the song "The Enemy Inside" was directed by Bill Fishman (RAMONES, STEVE RAY VAUGHAN). The strictly conceptual clip deals with the torment of a soldier who's struggling with reintegrating into his life back home due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Regarding the song's lyrics, Petrucci told Billboard.com: "At the time that we were in the studio working on the [new DREAM THEATER] album and I was writing lyrics, the Boston Marathon bombings happened. There was a lot of discussion of terrorism and PTSD as if affects people who witness traumatic events like terrorism, so it was just very on my mind. It linked very well with the mood of the song, and as we started to get into it, I watched some documentaries and things like that. I was like, 'This is really something that needs to be written about.'"

THE WINERY DOGS: Quality Multi-Camera Footage Of Paris Show

 

Metal XS has uploaded quality multi-camera video footage of THE WINERY DOGS — the power trio featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB), legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON) — performing the song "Elevate" on September 15 La Maroquinerie in Paris, France. Check it out below.

THE WINERY DOGS' self-titled debut album sold around 10,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released in North America on July 23 via Loud & Proud Records and in Japan on May 15 via Victor Entertainment, the CD was mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, ADRENALINE MOB, STONE SOUR and STEEL PANTHER.

"Bands like [LED] ZEPPELIN and THE WHO, THE [ROLLING] STONES, and THE BEATLES, CREAM, and [Jimi] Hendrix. I mean, I grew up with that stuff," Portnoy told Voice Of America. "And, although I've been able to pay tribute to it throughout my career with tribute bands and things like that, I've never been in an all-original band that was kind of playing classic rock power trio stuff. That's how I describe this band: just a straight-up rock band."

Regarding the songwriting process for THE WINERY DOGS' album, Portnoy said: "In all cases, the music was the very first element and from there, Richie would start melodies on top of it. Sometimes the final lyrics were there, coming up on the spot, and other times he would take the melodies and write lyrics later. There were a couple of examples of Richie having something and bringing it in. In those cases, like 'Damaged' and 'Regret', we just left them. Because in those two particular cases, the songs were great as they were."

Portnoy was full of praise for his THE WINERY DOGS bandmates, telling Voice Of America: "Billy Sheehan is my favorite bass player on earth and he has been for almost 30 years now. So to work with him and make music with him for me is an honor. And Richie is someone I have the utmost respect for as an artist. I mean, he is just so underappreciated, not only as a guitarist, but as a singer and a writer as well. I think for me, the most exciting aspect of this band is for people to discover Richie that aren't aware of what a musical genius he is."