Chickenfoot, featuring guitar hero Joe Satriani, frontman Sammy Hagar, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and world renowned drummer Chad Smith, have confirmed multiple UK release dates and formats for their highly anticipated second album Chickenfoot III, the follow-up to 2009′s award-winning eponymous debut album.

The album will initially be released in the UK as an exclusive Limited Edition Fan Pack, and will coincide with the international album release date of Tuesday September 27th. Produced by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica), the album will come in specially designed 3D packaging.

The Fan Pack includes two exclusive bonus tracks - Down The Drain (Live in Phoenix) and Oh Yeah! (Live in Phoenix) – and a 132-page magazine dedicated to the band. 100% Chickenfoot-approved, the fan pack magazine contains exclusive interviews with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith, talking about the new album and their respective careers.

The Fan Pack details the making of the band’s new video, how they created the 3D album cover, an overview of their solo careers and the story behind each song on the new album. The magazine is also packed with rare photos of the band, an exclusive muso section, a Guitar Pick Pack, 3D glasses, and a 3D CD digital book pack with postcards.

On Monday October 24^th, Chickenfoot III will be released in the UK on CD, Deluxe Edition CD & DVD, and 12″ vinyl. The Deluxe Edition CD & DVD will include a Chickenfoot III EPK, Big Foot promotional video, Turning Left (live in Phoenix) and the Sexy Little Thing promotional video.

Today, Chickenfoot posted the official promotional video for the Big Foot single on YouTube. Details of the band’s September 27^th worldwide web simulcast concert, will be announced shortly.

Ralf Scheepers of German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR has finished laying down vocals for the band’s forthcoming studio album, “Unbreakable”, which is scheduled for a January 2012 release on Frontiers Records. He states, “I know that every musician will always praise his new work as his best so far, but what the whole team have created here is simply outstanding! I am sure you guys will love what you hear.”

“Unbreakable” is being recorded at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany. The CD, which is being produced by Mat Sinner and engineered by Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN), will feature the following songs:

* Blaze Of Glory
* Marching Again
* And There Was Silence
* Night Of The Jumps
* Give ‘Em Hell
* Born Again
* Where Angels Die
* Bad Guys Wear Black
* Strike
* Metal Nation
* Conviction
* Raise Some Hell

Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIMAL FEAR album, Scheepers recently stated in an interview, “You can really expect an album which is somehow skipping back again to the very basics of PRIMAL FEAR, with very rough metal riffs and screaming vocals and good melodies on it. So people can really expect a pure PRIMAL FEAR album with melody and beating drums and very harsh guitars.” He added, “Of course, every musician will somehow advertise his own album, but I’m really convinced that people will like this one, because it’s got very catchy hooklines and it’s a really ‘bang-your-head’ metal album.

“When you look back on the [PRIMAL FEAR] back catalog, from the very first album to this album now, I think there were quite some changes — on ‘Seven Seals’, for instance, and also when we came [out with] ‘New Religion’. We somehow now have a combination in between a good, bombastic sound with more back-to-the-basics guitar riffing stuff. Also we have two ballads on it, which are not [really] ballads. There’s one mid-tempo song with some acoustic guitars in it and one song which has a little bit more keyboards. It’s still not an acoustic-guitar ballad— it’s still with drums and stuff — so I think it’s a pretty tough album [overall].”

Merthyr Rock is offering some lucky band the chance to play on the main stage at Merthyr Rock on Saturday 3 September. The winners will also get a Schecter guitar worth £500.

They are teaming up with CLIC & Promo Cymru to give unsigned talent the chance to share a stage with their heroes by winning the MERTHYR ROCK / CLIC BATTLE OF THE BANDS.

The winning band will open the main stage at Merthyr Rock on Saturday 3 September, and receive a Schecter guitar worth around £500. Two runners-up will play the second stage – one on Saturday, one on Sunday. We will be holding regional heats around Wales at the end of July, with the grand final in Cardiff in August.

HEATS

EVI, Ebbw Vale – 29 July

Pop Factory, Porth – 30 July

Sin City, Swansea – 13 August

Bridgend Hobos – 14 August

FINAL

Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff – 18 August

HOW TO ENTER

Please send your music via MySpace, Bandcamp, Facebook or Soundcloud link to botb@cliconline.co.uk. Make sure you specify which regional heat you’d like to compete in.

Closing date for applications is 12 July 2011.

Good luck!

Please note that the Merthyr Rock / CLIC Battle Of The Bands is only open to young people aged 14 to 25 living in Wales. All band members must be aged 14 on or before 3 September 2011.

Sebastian Bach’s full-length album, KICKING & SCREAMING, will be released on September 27th via Frontiers Records in North America and September 23rd in Europe and is produced by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Shinedown, Atreyu, Filter). The recording features young virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and drum pro Bobby Jarzombek (Halford, Riot, Iced Earth), as well a guest appearance by noted guitarist John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie). Bach and company will take to the road this month with select dates nationwide. Fans can expect Bach classics, as well as a sneak preview of material from the forthcoming album.

Sebastian Bach has sold in excess of 20 million records worldwide as lead singer with his former band, Skid Row and as a solo artist. Far from just being a multi-platinum recording artist, the singer/songwriter/actor/entertainer has expanded his career over the past decade to include episodic television with a 5-season recurring role on the CW’s hit series “Gilmore Girls”, starring roles on Broadway (“Jekyll & Hyde”, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”) and national touring companies (“Jesus Chris Superstar”), and has appeared regularly on MTV and VH1.

Bach recently appeared at Revolver’s Golden God Awards as host of the black carpet, as well as a guest performer/presenter. Check out Revolver’s upcoming September/October issue on stands August 16th for a multi-page feature on Sebastian Bach.

Sebastian Bach on tour:
AUGUST
23 Asbury Park, NJ Summer Stage At The Stone Pony
24 Wantagh, NY Nikon At Jones Beach Theater 25 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance
27 Grand Junction, CO RockJam

In October 2009, Uriah Heep released their 40th Anniversary ‘Celebration’ album, containing new studio recordings of 12 of their most successful, classic tracks, plus two brand new songs. This recording heralded an exciting new phase for the band, taking their classic sound right into the future.

The band hit the road to celebrate 40 years at the top and opened new frontiers in Eastern Europe, Australia, South Africa, Japan and America. The band has played 53 different countries in total. The band’s motto has always been “if the people cannot come to see and hear Heep music, we will take it to them” and based on that when the band was invited to play for the first time in Armenia, they did not think twice and went for it. So when the band agreed they were approached by TV and film crews to document this concert which shows an epic performance and an incredibly strong and powerful audience reaction.

“It was unique because it was a first for us, and the fact that our music meant so much to so many people, was just wonderful” says Mick Box. “It cannot get any better than that. There were some technical problems to overcome, as we played on hired equipment, but the emotion of the night won through, and if asked, we would indeed go back and play again“.

Uriah Heep, who indisputably invented Hard Rock in conjunction with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, have sold in excess of 30 million albums since their inception in 1969. From their early incarnation as The Gods and Spice, through record breaking tours, gold and platinum selling albums, timeless chart scaling anthems and a fiercely dedicated fan base of worldwide proportions, Uriah Heep can rightly claim to be one of the greatest U.K. Progressive Heavy Rock bands of both the 20th and 21st centuries.

“Live in Armenia” will be exclusively released in a glossy digipak 2CD+DVD package and on a limited 2LP gatefold sleeve version (including only the audio portion). Full tracklisting is below:

CD1: Wake the Sleeper; Overload; Tears of the World; Stealin’; Book of Lies; Gypsy; Look at Yourself; What Kind of God; Angels Walk With You; Shadow.
CD2: July Morning; Easy Livin’; Sunrise; Sympathy; Lady In Black.
DVD: Wake the Sleeper; Overload; Tears of the World; Stealin’; Book of Lies; Gypsy; Look at Yourself; What Kind of God; Angels Walk With You; Shadow; July Morning; Easy Livin’; Sunrise; Sympathy; Lady In Black.
Dvd Stereo mix 2.0 – Screen 16:9; format: NTSC Region Free / Length 100 mins.

Frontiers Records have announced the release of JORN’s ultimate Live experience “Live in Black” a 2 CD / DVD recorded focusing on his original repertoire recorded live at the Sweden Rock Festival 201o on August 23rd 2011 in North America and August 26th in Europe.

2010 was a significant year in Jorn’s career. Besides releasing a tribute album to his hero Ronnie James Dio, Jorn was invited to perform, together with Glenn Hughes, with Heaven & Hell on their final concert, at the High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park, London.

Just a few weeks earlier Jorn appeared at the Sweden Rock Festival, in Sölvesborg and blew the crowd of more than 25,000 fans away. “The special thing with “Live in Black” is that it captures a very rough, uncut and spontaneous moment in the bands history” tells Jorn Lande. “It was a hectic day with many interviews and several tv appearances and I also had to do a short speech and statement regarding the great Ronnie James Dio’s untimely passing a few weeks earlier. The whole festival became in the spirit of Ronnie, and it was very moving to see everyone there, including the artists honoring his memory” recalls the Norwegian singer.

A new original Jorn album is already in the works and scheduled for an early 2012 release, but till then Jorn fans can enjoy the pure and epic concert performance of "Live in Black". You want Jorn and with ”Live In Black” they bring it to you: nothing compromised, modernized or fiddled with!

“Live in Black” will be exclusively released in a special luxury digipak 2CD / DVD only and will include:

CD 1: Road of the Cross, Shadow People, Below, We Brought The Angels Down, Stormcrow, Spirit Black, The Inner Road, Man of the Dark.

CD 2: Blacksong, Guitar Solo (Tore Moren), Tungur Knivur, Guitar Solo (Tor Erik Myhre), Rock and Roll Angel, Drum Solo, Soul of the Wind, Are You Ready, War of the World.

DVD Contents: Road of the Cross, Shadow People, Below, We Brought The Angels Down, Stormcrow, Spirit Black, The Inner Road, Man of the Dark, Blacksong, Guitar Solo (Tore Moren), Tungur Knivur, Guitar Solo (Tor Erik Myhre), Rock and Roll Angel, Drum Solo, Soul of the Wind, Are You Ready, War of the World. Bonus Material: Song for Ronnie James (videoclip), Man of the Dark (videoclip).

DVD format: NTSC Region Free – Stereo mix 2.0 / 5.1 – Screen 16:9

Hailing from Scandinavia, XorigiN is the newest addition to the Frontiers Records ever expanding roster of artists and will release their debut album entitled “State of the Art” on August 23rd in North America and August 26th in Europe.

The band was originally named Orange Crush and was formed in Los Angeles in 1999, while the members where studying music at the Musicians Institute. The founding members Johannes Stole (vocals) and Daniel Palmqvist (guitar) later returned to their home countries of Norway and Sweden and continued collaborating on various projects in between their other engagements. Johannes is currently a sought after session singer/artist in Oslo, Norway and has released 2 critically acclaimed albums with progressive rock band Slaves To Fashion. Daniel has released a well received instrumental solo album, appeared as a session guitarist on a number of albums and is the former guitarist for the band The Murder Of My Sweet

Melodic hard rock with a modern edge would be a fitting description of XorigiN’s music. Musically they draw on influences such as Toto, Giant, Journey and Yes (“90125”/”Big Generator” era) to name a few, but still keeping their own personal sound and musical identity intact. Strong melodies, well crafted songs and catchy vocal arrangements are their trademark. “It is our version of what AOR should sound like, catchy melodic tunes with rocking guitars and big hooks!”, says Johannes, “Our musical influences definitely shine through, but there’s also something uniquely ours mixed in there as well” adds Daniel.

“State of the Art” was produced by Daniel Flores (Mind’s Eye, The Murder of My Sweet) and promises to put the band on the radar of all the classic Melodic Rock fans! You will certainly hear more from these guys “We’re in this for the long run and are already writing for the next album” says Stole while Palmqvist adds “Hopefully the album will be well received and we certainly have a wish to take these songs to the stage”.

“State of the Art” includes the following songs

Can´t Keep Running; Crying For You; In The Blink Of An Eye; Too Late; Gina; This Is It; The One For Me; Said And Done; Matters To The Heart; What Love Is All About; Mend My Heart. Includes bonus videoclip Can’t Keep Running.

You can enjoy the album trailer following this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdGgf7DfEDw

“Can’t Keep Running” can be streamed and listened to in full on the Frontiers Records web radio: www.frontiers.it/webradio

Ruby Electric is a unique album that features a collection of songs divided into two different volumes. All the songs were recorded with some of Sayce’s favourite musicians and friends. The album is currently #2 in Amazon UK’s official Blues pre-sale chart.

Volume 1, recorded at Sunset Sound and Lion’s Share, Hollywood, was produced by Dave Cobb and mixed by Mark Rains. The songs were recorded live in the studio through a collection of vintage equipment and musical instruments, utilizing Cobb’s signature recording and production techniques.

Volume 2, recorded on tour in France, Germany, and Holland in 2010, was mixed by the legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin) in April 2011.

“I’d been looking for the right circumstances to release all of these songs,” says Sayce.  “The studio tracks on Volume 1 remained unavailable internationally. We remixed and re-mastered the tracks, picked some alternate takes, and included a live version of Daydream Tonight (the latter originally appeared on Sayce’s 2010 album Innerevolution). As soon as we paired the songs up with the recent live recordings from last year’s European tour, the album became Ruby Electric.

Ruby Electric features Kenny Aronoff (drums), Joel Gottschalk (bass), Fritz Lewak (drums), and Fred Mandel (piano, organ), and as previously mentioned, Melissa Etheridge signs a duet with Sayce on the first single Let The Love In. The album was produced and recorded by Eddie Kramer, Dave Cobb, and Mark Rains.

Says Sayce – “I hope you feel the passion, joy, excitement and honesty that went into each of these performances, both in the studio and live in concert.”

Philip Sayce was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, and grew up in Toronto, Canada, where his family moved to when he was two years old. He grew up in a musical household and was exposed to his parents’ eclectic record collection that included Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Dire Straits. When his parents took him to an Eric Clapton concert, he was awestruck. He was instantly drawn to the guitar.

At the age of 15 he was playing guitar in his first band. He soon became a regular fixture on the Toronto club scene, where his fluid soloing and guitar skills won him many fans. With an insatiable appetite for jam sessions at the likes of Grossman’s Tavern in Toronto, Sayce began rapidly distilling his own guitar style and tonal palette from a melting pot of influences that included Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Cray, and in particular Stevie Ray Vaughan, to whom he is most often compared.

As a teenager, Sayce was held in such high regard that, after jamming on stage with one of his heroes, guitar player and fellow Canadian Jeff Healey, he was invited to join Healey’s band. After three-and-a-half years with Healey, playing gigs at the Montreux Jazz Festival and around the world, Sayce felt it was time to move on.

In 2001 he moved to LA and joined Uncle Kracker, and was with the band when they had their massive US No.1 Drift Away. He starred in and wrote the music for the short film Cockroach Blue, directed by the award-winning Robert Crossman, which received high acclaim when it was shown at the Woodstock Film Festival. Then, in 2003, Grammy and Oscar winner Melissa Etheridge came calling (“very talented – like Stevie Ray Vaughan,” she enthused), and he enjoyed an “awesome” time playing and recording with her band until 2008.

During his stint with Melissa, in 2005 Sayce released his debut solo album, Peace Machine, using what he describes as Etheridge’s “shit-hot” band. Recorded live in the studio, it’s full of raw, high-energy, low-maintenance retro-blues delivered with startling punch and real style, and showcases Sayce as soulful, powerfully expressive vocalist as well as a supremely talented guitarist. The album includes a stunning version of the Neil Young classic Cinnamon Girl, the song that always makes an appearance in Sayce’s live shows.

With his jam-club years in his pocket, live is where Sayce shines brightest.  His band performs with a potent mixture of power and finesse, and as the focal point he regularly pulls the trigger and unleashes visceral, unforgettable guitar solos.

April 2010 saw the release of, Innerevolution, Philip Sayce’s most recent studio album recorded with keyboardist Fred Mandel (Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, Alice Cooper), bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Ryan MacMillan (Matchbox 20). Some of the songs co-written with Richard Marx, Mike Bradford, Dave Cobb and Marti Frederiksen, establishes Philip Sayce not only as one of the finest blues guitarists, but also as a musician, singer and songwriter with tremendous talent.

There’s the driving, exhilarating opener Changes, with its guitar-motif nods to Hendrix and The Beatles; the broken-heart questioning of Are You Ready, and the thrown-it-all-away regret of the pulsing Bitter Monday. The funked-up, get-down Little Miss America, on which Sayce pushes his voice to the edge, and at the other end of the intensity scale is a diamond among other gems on the album: Daydream Tonight, a mid-tempo, slow-burning ballad delivered with passion.
More varied than Peace Machine, and overall more sophisticated and more polished in terms of songwriting, sonics and performance, Innerevoltion is a stylish, engaging and thrilling album which brought Sayce to the attention of a lot of new fans of guitar music.

In July 2011, Sayce will release the album Ruby Electric, featuring a duet with Melissa Etheridge on the song Let The Love In.

The album is a combination of studio and live recordings (the latter were recorded in France, Germany and Holland during Sayce’s 2011 Innerevolution European tour).  Sayce is currently in Nashville recording his next studio album which is set for March 2012 release.

Super group Black Country Communion (Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian) have launched their office video for “Man in the Middle” taken from their much anticipated forthcoming album “2”, released in the UK on Monday June 13^th.

The band is set to tour the UK in July 2011. Dates include: Llandudno Cymru Arena (July 23), High Voltage Festival, London (July 24), Leeds o2 Academy (July 26), Newcastle o2 Academy (July 27), Glasgow o2 Academy (July 29), Manchester Academy (July 30).

Rock Rebels will be at the gigs to give you the lowdown. Watch this space, but meanwhile – watch this vid.

Rock Rebels is Now City News Ltd web presence.

This is the new Rock Rebels site. We will be launching on 1st Nov 2009