A roundup of the latest news from earMusic including updates on Loudness, Al Di Meola and We Sell The Dead featuring members of Him, In Flames, Spiritual Beggars.
Japanese Heavy Metal legends Loudness have once again displayed their blind determination and unchallenged fighting power on their brand new video for “Soul on Fire”.
It is an anthem that is celebrating the band’s unique identity – an anthem which does not merely describe their intention to rock the world but that, with its power and drive, simply does so.
“We’re gonna rock on”, it says, “gonna burn you up now, get your soul on fire.” And so they do.
“Soul on Fire” is a testament to their fans, ensuring them that with a career spanning over three decades, Loudness have not lost the young burning passion which has earned them worldwide praise and two albums in the US charts. This intention is translating well through the moving images of the video. Viewers are presented with the setting of an empty basement parking garage, which is populated by the band. The gloomy atmosphere is being dispersed by flashing lights mellow colours which is explored by flowing camera angles and movement. In essence, it is a well-crafted video supporting a powerful song.
Rise Of Glory is out now
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“What if Jack the Ripper had played in a band? A heavy metal band?”
This is the question that formed and influenced WE SELL THE DEAD, this is the question that made the band.
Revolving around Niclas Engelin (In Flames, Engel), Drömriket’s Jonas Slättung, Gas Lipstick (former HIM) and the voice of Apollo Papathanasio (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind), WE SELL THE DEAD go beyond the strains of conventional storytelling and create a multi-media experience of premium quality heavy metal music embedded in visually stimulating and atmospheric visuals.
The band comment on the video for Pale And Perfect
Niclas Engelins’ challenge when writing the music to “Pale and Perfect” was mostly the tempo and to keep it interesting through 5 min 22 sec, which was new to him as a songwriter.
”I love how the brutal riffage in the beginning morphs into a clear melodic verse! Apollo is shining like the star he is and he makes the chorus big and epic, and then we have the pounding of Gas and Jonas who are the solid rocks on slow phased songs. Brilliant in my world! ”
Jonas Slättung explains: ”Lyrically, ‘Pale and Perfect’ is about a guy who refuses to accept that his beloved is gone. He looses touch with reality and decides to preserve her body and cares for it like a precious doll. Somehow he realises that something is missing, her soul is gone, but he can’t let go.”
To Dan Lind, the creator of the video, “Pale and Perfect” became something else.
”In a time when people sell themselves cheap, they sometimes attract evil deities. Three Horned Demons of a Dark Dimensiona open a portal to the mortal realm when it’s time to collect. Only someone who has refused to bow down to any God can destroy these evil beings. But who in this day and age can say they haven’t sold out and accepted a life on the knees?”
Heavy, yet melodic sounds transport the listener into a Victorian inspired world that is defined by pompous manors and daunting luxury standing in deep contrast to the harshness and cruelty of the gutter.
It is a world that reeks of hysteria, but above all a sense of mysticism and dark romanticism. WE SELL THE DEAD’s music rises above this, not merely pointing out this injustice,
but expanding the narrative into the extreme, playing with themes of ghosts, death or religion.
But not only…
Despite a reference to Victorian times, We Sell The Dead maintains a very modern and ever-so-current approach that translates to the world we live in today.
Explains Jonas Slättung: “From the late 1800, an era that has inspired our band enormously, comes one of the greatest and darkest crime mysteries of them all: Jack the Ripper.
We don’t know 100% who he was but we know his horrendous deeds. All the visuals we had in our mind, combined with the sometimes slightly morbid lyrics, made us think that this is what music would have sounded like if heavy metal had existed in the 19th century, or if Jack the Ripper had travelled forward in time to join a metal band. We Sell the Dead would have been his natural choice for a backing band. He probably would have felt right at home with us.
But, at the same time, the world hasn’t exactly evolved into a beautiful place since the 1880’s.In the 1979 movie, ‘Time After Time’, Jack the Ripper escapes justice by, indeed, fleeing in a time machine to 1979. After getting caught by his followers, The Ripper utters this line of wisdom:
– back in 1893, I was a monster. Today…I’m an amateur.”
Tracklist
1. The Body Market
2. Echoes Of An Ugly Past
3. Leave Me Alone
4. Imagine
5. Turn It Over
6. Too Cold To Touch
7. Trust
8. Pale And Perfect
9. Silent Scream
Available now
CD: http://smarturl.it/WSTD_CD
LP: http://smarturl.it/WSTD_LP
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/WSTD_iTunes
www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/metal-hard-rock/heaven-doesnt-want-you-and-hell-is-full/576858
www.wesellthedead.com
www.facebook.com/wesellthedead
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earMUSIC is proud to announce the worldwide signing of Al Di Meola – the brilliant, virtuosic multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, who is considered to be one of the most innovative musicians and a living legend. His brand new studio album “OPUS” will be released on February 23rd, 2018.
Watch the video for Ava’s Dream Sequence Lullaby and previous video for Broken Heart, watch it here
Al Di Meola is a pioneer of blending world music, rock and jazz. His ongoing fascination for complex rhythmic syncopation, combined with provocative lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmony, has been the heart of his music throughout a celebrated career that has spanned over four decades.
The Grammy award winner achieved worldwide fame for both, being a solo artist and for his collaborations with Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Santana, Steve Winwood, Herbie Hancock, and many more. Al Di Meola holds the highest amount of Guitar awards in different categories from Guitar Player magazine (US).
With a curriculum vitae rich of exciting musical moments and incredible works, Al Di Meola is still challenging himself pushing his music towards new boundaries but with a more relaxed way to see things. Over the last few years he has in fact literally started all over, reinventing himself in both, his private life and music.
“With OPUS I wanted to further my compositional skills as I think that the evolution of this part of my persona has labelled me more composer/guitarist than guitarist/composer” – says Di Meola – “at the same time this record also marks a new era in my life. For the first time in my life, I have written music being happy, I’m in a wonderful relationship with my wife, I have a baby girl and a beautiful family that inspires me every day. I believe it shows in the music.”
Al Di Meola – the brilliant, virtuosic multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, who is considered to be one of the most innovative musicians and a living legend – is a pioneer of blending world music and jazz.
His ongoing fascination for complex rhythmic syncopation combined with provocative lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmony has been the heart of his music throughout a celebrated career that has spanned over four decades. The Grammy award winner achieved worldwide fame for both, being a solo artist and for his collaborations with Chick Corea, Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin, Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley Clark, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Santana, Steve Winwood, Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder and many more.
With a curriculum vitae rich of exciting musical moments and incredible works, Al Di Meola is still challenging himself and his music but with a more relaxed way to see things. Over the last few years he has literally started all over, reinventing himself in both, his private life and music, and his brand new studio album “OPUS” truly reflects all of this. “With OPUS I wanted to further my compositional skills as I think that the evolution of this part of my persona has labelled me more composer/guitarist than guitarist/composer”, says Al. “At the same time this record also marks a new era in my life. For the first time in my life, I have written music being happy, I’m in a wonderful relationship with my wife, I have a baby girl and a beautiful family that inspires me every day. I believe it shows in the music.” “OPUS” will be released as a CD Digipak, Heavyweight Vinyl and Digital on February 23rd, 2018.
Tracklisting
1. Milonga Noctiva
2. Broken Heart
3. Ava’s Dream Sequence Lullaby
4. Cerreto Sannita
5. Notorious
6. Frozen In Time
7. Escapado
8. Pomp
9. Left unsaid
10. Insieme
11. Rebels
Al Di Meola’s commentary on the songs:
Milonga Noctiva: Wandering in the Dark
“The inspiration derived from the more emotional side of Nuevo Tango.”
Broken Heart
“A piece I had originally written for orchestra in a less rhythmic way. This new version represents a more lyrical approach with electric guitar as its main voice combining the original feeling with enhanced rhythm.”
Ava’s Dream Sequence Lullaby
“As I watched my baby daughter moving to music, I naturally came up with this very lullaby-like melody. And what started out as a simple lullaby turned into a suite-like composition.”
Cerreto Sannita
“Named after my grandfather’s village in the region of Campania, Italy. Last year in June, my wife surprised me with a trip to the village and the places my grandfather had frequented. I also received the honorary citizenship of the town. It was one of the most emotional moments in my life. I hadn’t expected such a warm welcome and meeting so many “Di Meolas” I had never known before.”
Notorious
“When I was writing this piece, I was thinking of Led Zeppelin meets Al Di Meola.”
Frozen in Time
“This song I wrote at 5 AM and it just poured out of me so effortlessly that I realized I shouldn’t lose the opportunity to write it down. The offset lyrical melody against the 5/4 arpeggiated harmonic movement makes this piece for me very special.”
Escapado
“Here’s a piece that was directly influenced by the Tango movement. During the recording, this piece went through the most changes of all. The end result is just something I can’t describe in words. I think each listener will come back with a different vibe from this particular piece.”
Pomp
“Pomp is a duet that reminds me of an avantgarde procession featuring Moroccan master percussionist Rhani Krija.”
Left unsaid
“This is a piece that I wrote late at night in Miami where I do a lot of my writing while my wife and baby daughter were asleep in the next room. It represents a very peaceful and happy time that cannot be put into words.”
Insieme
“A more complex, highly syncopated multi-part composition with more intricate counterpoint.”
Rebels
“Walking from the Hippie era incense vibe of St. Marks Place over to the Fillmore East, changing to a Motor Cycle on Fourth Street in the East Village where the Hells Angels held court, arriving in Little Havanna in Miami.”
