Friday, June 19, 2009

Music News & Notes

Prosthetic Records to re-issue Light This City debut

The meteoric six-year career arc of Northern California's LIGHT THIS CITY saw the group issue four acclaimed releases and develop a dedicated fan base through extensive touring with the likes of All That Remains, Death Angel, Darkest Hour, The Faceless and Vader, among others. Although the band disbanded in 2008 shortly before the release of what would ultimately serve as their swansong, Stormchaser, their timeless sound – a fusion of Swedish melodic death and Bay Area thrash – continues to inspire.

For that reason, Prosthetic is proud to announce the August 18 reissue of the group's first album, The Hero Cycle. Recorded in 2003 while the band's members were still in high school, the album aptly foreshadows the developments of qualities that would soon make the group a major player in modern metal: riffs that deftly mixed aggression and melody, the fiery vocals of spitfire front woman Laura Nichol, and a wholly energetic approach that attempted to forge new ground for the genre while still demonstrating reverence for its classics. Pre-orders are now available at store.prostheticrecords.com.

Produced by Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Decrepit Birth, Endwell), The Hero Cycle, according to liner notes written by the band that accompany the reissue, “reveals the innocence of a young band trying to grow and mature at a rapid pace. Many afternoons after class throughout high school and weekends in between were spent in a basement hammering out what would become this album, and those remain some of the most fun and memorable days LIGHT THIS CITY has ever seen.”

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Mos Def Releasing Album On T-Shirt




For lovers of album cover art, let's hope that this isn't a trend. Rap star Mos Def is packaging his new album in the form of an item of clothing.

Showing Radiohead how digital revolution is really done, the New York based rapper and actor will give fans the opportunity to wear his LP The Ecstatic by releasing it as a T-shirt.

Sadly, the clothing itself won't play any music. Instead, the cover art will be on the front of the shirt, the tracklisting will be on the back, and the hang tag will contain a download code for the music itself.

There's a price to pay for such fashion innovation, however: the shirt will cost roughly twice as much as the CD, vinyl or digital formats.

I wonder what is on the physical copy of the releases....see T-shirt for album cover art?

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SAVIOURS Begins Recording New Album

Rampaging Oakland, California metal quartet SAVIOURS has entered San Francisco's Lucky Cat Recording Studios with producer Phil Manley (of TRANS AM/THE FUCKING CHAMPS) to begin work on the follow-up to its critically acclaimed sophomore LP, "Into Abaddon".

Set for an October 13, 2009 release, the as-yet-untitled SAVIOURS album is said to feature "insanely dynamic" songs boasting passages containing "three-part guitar harmonies." The record will feature the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Austin Barber, bassist Cyrus Comiskey drummer Scott Batiste and guitarist Sonny Reinhardt (ex-WATCH THEM DIE), who joined the band in 2008. Fresh off a blistering performance at the 2009 Roadburn festival in Tilburg, Holland — where the band shared the stage with such like-minded acts as NEUROSIS, OM and SAINT VITUS — SAVIOURS now hit the studio to capture what will undoubtedly be its most venomous recording to date.

Commented Batiste: "We just got back from ravaging Europe, playing the whole new album every night. With Sonny joining us, the tempos and guitar work have definitely been cranked up a few notches, though the heaviness is still intact. The new jams are road toughened and more killer than we could have imagined."

Prior to the album's release, SAVIOURS will issue three new 7" records, all of which will drop on June 23. The vinyl-only EPs will be strictly limited to 500 copies each with artwork branded by Tim Lehi of San Francisco's BlackHeart Tattoo. Details on the three EPs are as follows:

* "Acid Hand" 7" EP (features the new tracks "Acid Hand" b/w "Slave to the Hex").

* "Burnin' Cross" 7" EP (features the new track "Burnin' Cross" b/w "Fire in the Sky" [SAXON cover]).

* "F.G.T." 7" EP (features the new track "F.G.T." b/w "Running Wild" [JUDAS PRIEST cover]).

"The demos we did with Scott Ecklein in Oakland this April came out so good that we thought should do something with them," Batiste explained. "So we tracked a few covers for b-sides and decided to do a limited vinyl 7" thing so people can check out some of the new songs before fall."

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Antony and the Johnsons Prep Beyonce Cover for Release


You would think jet-setting around Europe would keep Antony and the Johnsons sufficiently busy. But apparently teaming up with some of the most well-respected orchestras around the world on a multi-country tour promoting their latest album, The Crying Light, wasn't quite enough for the group. Later this summer, they will release the double A-side single "Aeon"/"Crazy in Love."

Yes, the same group who sings "Epilepsy in Dancing" has brought its ethereal breathlessness to Beyonce's "your-love's-got-me-lookin'-so-crazy-right-now" Top-40 hit. The cover has been a crowd favorite during live shows, and soon, it will be available on CD and 7" for the first time. Although the release won't hit the U.S. until Aug. 4, anyone who pre-orders the 7" will be treated to the latest copy of Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola's quarterly art-fiction-film magazine, which features Antony's artwork.

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Alice In Chains signs to EMI; release new album!


Legendary rock band ALICE IN CHAINS has signed an exclusive worldwide deal with EMI’s Virgin Records and are gearing up for the release of their first new studio album in more than 10 years. The band and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) began recording last October at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and recently finished mixing at Henson Studios in Hollywood. The highly anticipated album is scheduled for release this September.

Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez reunited in 2005 at a benefit for victims of the tsunami in Indonesia. They began touring with new guitarist/vocalist William DuVall the following year.

Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide and achieved 11 top 10 hit singles.

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Experience Hendrix Releasing Four Live Concerts

Experience Hendrix's Dagger Records is slated to release four different Jimi Hendrix concerts over the summer chronicling shows from 1967, 1968 and 1969.


•The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa contains two shows, the January 29, 1968 performance at the L. Olympia Theatre in Paris, France and the March 19, 1968 performance at the Capitol Theatre in Ottawa, Canada. The first show was recorded by RTE, the French broadcasting company and includes performances of Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary and Little Wing, among others. The second show was recorded by Hendrix himself and includes a version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

•Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris 1967 is a recording of a radio broadcast from L'Olympia on October 9, 1967. The album features performances of Stone Free, Hey Joe, and Wild Thing as well as other notable Hendrix hits.

Both of these sets are being released exclusively through Amazon as "fan packs." Materials specifically created for and exclusively included in both versions include a 'Jimi' poster, a postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, a set of badges reminiscent of the sixties era, a Hendrix iPod Skin and a "PikCARD" loaded with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters. The array of goodies is topped off with an "all access" laminated pass with an exclusive, secret code designed to unlock special Hendrix content online.

The August 11 release can be preordered with either a CD or a CD/Vinyl combo pack.

Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, the family owned company entrusted with preserving and protecting the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, commented, "The concept behind this 'Fan Pack' is to throw a spotlight on Jimi as a live performer and give a glimmer of what it might have been like to encounter 'The Experience' when Jimi had the band at its peak. Jimi never failed to stun and leave audiences breathless with his performance and guitar virtuosity and we think fans today will be no less moved by the offerings included in these packs. This release highlights Dagger's role in serving fans who want all Jimi had to offer and can't get enough of his legacy and genius."

Finally, Experience Hendrix and UME are set to rerelease Jimi Hendrxix Live at Woodstock on 180-gram audiophile grade vinyl as a 3-LP set on July 14th.

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Living Colour Return With First New Album in Five Years

Living Colour’s original lineup — Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, who joined the band in 1993 — will release their first new studio album in five years on September 15th on Megaforce Records. The band, who broke big in 1988 with “Cult of Personality,” recorded The Chair In The Doorway, their fifth LP, in the Czech Republic. The album features hard rock, soul and politically charged tracks, and Reid describes it as “the best record we’ve made yet.”

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