Music News & Notes

Led Zeppelin son Jason Bonham releases debut album with Black Country Communion

As the 30th anniversary of his father's death approaches, drummer Jason Bonham is going back to his roots.  On Monday, Jason - the son of Led Zeppelin legend John 'Bonzo' Bonham, who died on September 25, 1980 - will release the debut album by his new band Black Country Communion.

The supergroup includes ace blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa and is named after the Midlands area from where Jason and the group's bassist Glenn Hughes originate.

"I'm celebrating my 10th year clean and sober," admits Jason, 44. "For many years I was emulating the wrong John - Bonzo the party guy."

It follows on from Zeppelin's stalled comeback at the memorable 2007 Ahmet Ertegun tribute gig in London. Perhaps the new show is one way of filling a void.

"Much as I wanted it to carry on - and I did - that gig was a chapter where I could close the book on the past," Jason says. "I wanted reassurance from the band that I could do it, because my dad wasn't there to tell me."

Black Country Communion is out on Monday.

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DARK MOOR: New Album Cover Artwork And Track Listing Revealed

Madrid, Spain-based power metallers DARK MOOR have set "Ancestral Romance" as the title of their eighth album, which is due to be released in November.The follow-up to 2009's "Autumnal" was recorded at New Sin Studios in Italy with producer Luigi Stefanini and features cover artwork (see below) by artist Samuel Araya (CRADLE OF FILTH, ELVENKING).

"Ancestral Romance" track listing:

01. Gadir
02. Love From The Stone
03. Alaric De Marnac
04. Mio Cid
05. Just Rock
06. Tilt At Windmills
07. Canción Del Pirata
08. Ritual Fire Dance
09. Ah! Wretched Me
10. A Music In My Soul

The new album features a special guest appearance by soprano singer Berenice Musa.

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ALLEN / LANDE: 'The Showdown' Release Date, Artwork Revealed

Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X) are set to release the third ALLEN / LANDE collaborative album on November 5 via Frontiers Records.  Entitled "The Showdown", the CD was mixed by Achim Köhler (PRIMAL FEAR, SINNER, SILENT FORCE) and once again features material written by Swedish guitar sensation Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR, STARBREAKER, LAST TRIBE).

According to a press release, "The Showdown" "shows again that the musical direction will be epic, grandiose and very melodic hard-rocking music. The cover art was designed specifically for the project once again by the amazing Rodney Matthews."

Cool cover art!




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BLACK SABBATH: More Remastered Deluxe Expanded-Edition Reissues Detailed

Universal Music has scheduled a November 1st U.K. release date for the deluxe-edition reissues of the BLACK SABBATH albums "Seventh Star", "The Eternal Idol", "Live At Last" and "Past Lives".

After the departure of BLACK SABBATH's third vocalist Ian Gillan following the "Born Again" album (released in 1983) the band effectively split up and the remaining members embarked upon their own solo ventures. However, pressure from record companies and management would dictate the name BLACK SABBATH should forge-ahead and even though guitarist Tony Iommi would by now be the sole remaining original member, his unmistakable musicality and signature guitar sound would prove more than sufficient to keep the heart of BLACK SABBATH alive and beating deep into the 1980s and beyond.

"Seventh Star" (originally released in 1986) saw Iommi recruiting the skills of Dave "The Beast" Spitz and drummer Eric Singer (later of KISS) and for the first time the position of a keyboardist became a visible credit and long-serving back-room operator Geoff Nicholls was finally brought to the foreground as an official member. However, it would be the position of lead vocalist that would have the greatest impact upon the new SABBATH sound and the appointment of ex-TRAPEZE and DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes set interest and expectations high. "Seventh Star" would be somewhat of a departure from what was expected from the BLACK SABBATH name, and the songs on "Seventh Star" are more blues inclined and in the case of the single release, "No Stranger To Love", an altogether more AOR- and radio-friendly breeze is adopted.

This remastered deluxe expanded edition of the album adds the U.S. remix of the "No Stranger To Love" single and also for the very first time on CD, a live performance from London's Hammersmith Odeon in June '86 which features then-unknown American singer Ray Gillen who was brought-in to complete the tour following the departure of Glenn Hughes due to illness.

"The Eternal Idol" (BLACK SABBATH's thirteenth studio album released in 1987) was an altogether harder-sounding record and brought back an "edge" that had been missing from "Seventh Star". Although the album was originally recorded with unknown American singer Ray Gillen, by the time it came to the album release Tony Martin had joined the band and subsequently replaced all the vocal work for the final album.

"The Eternal Idol" remastered deluxe expanded edition adds two single B-sides from "The Shining" — "Black Moon" and "Some Kind Of Woman" — while the second disc brings to CD for the very first time the complete album session originally recorded by the late Ray Gillen.

"Seventh Star" remastered deluxe expanded edition:

Disc One (Original Album):

01. In For The Kill
02. No Stranger To Love
03. Turn To Stone
04. Sphinx (The Guardian)
05. Seventh Star
06. Danger Zone
07. Heart Like A Wheel
08. Angry Heart
09. In Memory...

Bonus Tracks:

10. No Stranger To Love (single remix)

Disc Two (Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London, England - June 2, 1986):

01. Mob Rules
02. Danger Zone
03. War Pigs
04. Seventh Star
05. Die Young
06. Black Sabbath
07. N.I.B.
08. Neon Knights
09. Paranoid
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THE BURNING: Second Studio Webisode Released

Hard-hitting Danish four-piece THE BURNING is set to release their new album, "Hail The Horde", in Europe on October 25 via Massacre Records. The cover art was created by Brent Elliot White, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, DEATH ANGEL and WHITECHAPEL.

"Hail The Horde" was produced by Jacob Bredahl (HATESPHERE, PURIFIED IN BLOOD), while the drum recordings and mastering were handled by Tue Madsen (SUICIDE SILENCE, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, SICK OF IT ALL). The album features guest vocals by Scott and Bjørn Jensen (DAWN OF DEMISE) and Søren "Nico" Adamsen (ARTILLERY).

"Hail The Horde" track listing:

01. Godless
02. Bait The Hook
03. Flames Be Your FriendNihilist Life
04. Nihilist Life
05. Swing The Pendulum
06. Wolf Moon (feat. Søren "Nico" Adamsen)
07. Hail The Horde (feat. Scott and Bjørn Jensen)
08. Inverted Cross Syndrome
09. Metamorphosis
10. Baptized In Bong Water
11. Turn Or Burn
12. Disownment


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Miles Davis' 'Bitches Brew' Turns 40 and Gets the Box Set Treatment

by Tad Hendrickson

I've gone on record more than once saying I lean more toward John Coltrane than Miles Davis. Yet such is the magnitude of Davis' legacy that it is impossible for either jazz fan or jazz critic to avoid spending considerable time listening to the trumpeter. No jazz musician I can think of was recorded more often. No leader I can think of had more of his sidemen go on to become stars in their own right. No jazz artist moved the music forward so many times, either dictating a change in music and/or simply being present as magic happened among his many talented sidemen. This was the case with the landmark 'Kind of Blue' in 1959. This was the case for 'Bitches Brew' in 1970.

Such is the stature of 'Bitches Brew' that it is generally regarded as Davis' top-selling album, moving a half million units (mostly into college dorms and suburban bedrooms), making the album his most successful crossover effort. It's hard to believe that, considering it's a 94-minute double album with only one track under 10 minutes; but it nonetheless is a perfect mix of jazz musicianship and rock dynamics.

Ostensibly, this album was Davis' reaction to the youth culture and music of the times, particularly the music of Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix, but 'BB' is a whole lot more unwieldy than most popular '60s rock, including Hendrix.

Read the rest here: http://www.spinner.com/2010/09/16/bitches-brew-miles-davis/