Rush Sign Roadrunner Deal.

NEW YORK, NY (AUGUST 31, 2011) – Roadrunner Records is pleased to announce a new worldwide partnership with Anthem Records and rock trio Rush. The band will remain on Anthem/Universal Music in Canada only.

“We have tremendous respect for Roadrunner Records, and what Cees Wessels and Jonas Nachsin have built on a worldwide level. After years of Roadrunner pursuing the band, Tom Lipsky presented a deal that worked and the timing was right. We wanted to be at a label focused on the rock genre – and that’s Roadrunner,” said Ray Danniels, manager of Rush.

“In another life I worked with Rush and their great management team more than 30 years ago and to have Rush finally on the Roadrunner label is a dream come true. I am grateful for Ray Danniels’ confidence in this new partnership,” said Cees Wessels, Roadrunner Records Chairman.

“Rush has a tradition of excellence and independence, both in the studio and on the live stage, and they remain as prolific today as at any point in their career. We are excited to be their label partners,” said Tom Lipsky, President of Lipsky Music, LLC, who brokered the significant deal for Roadrunner.

The first release from Rush through this deal will be various live configurations, recorded during their highly successful Time Machine tour that wrapped earlier this summer. Details of the release will be revealed in the coming weeks.

(source Roadrunner Records)

Cauda Pavonis Announce Charity Single

Bristol 'darkwave' nobility Cauda Pavonis have announced they are all set to record and release a charity single in aid of The Forgotten Heroes.

Earlier today the band issued the following statement...

"Cauda Pavonis are pleased to announce that in October of 2011 they will be going back into the studio. Not for the new album but for a special 1 day recording session. They are going to be recording a new single, the proceeds from which, will go to The Forgotten Heroes charity. The charity is dedicated to assisting our wounded or injured Servicemen and women together with their families and carers whose lives have changed dramatically in the service of their country.

The download only single will be released on Armistice Day 2011 and every time it is downloaded or streamed it will earn money for the charity. As well as the band giving up 100% of its royalties and funding the studio session at Attic Attack studios in Portland Square, Bristol; the crew at the studio are giving up their time for free to help produce the single and reduce costs".


The title of the new single has not been announced, but we will bring you updates when we get them.

www.caudapavonis.com
www.theforgottenheroes.co.uk

Awake - Return with new studio album

Back 4 years after their label debut, UK progressive metal act Awake return with their brand new opus ‘Forever More’ via Lion Music on 14^th October 2011.

Taking a step onwards from their debut ‘Illumination’, Awake have delivered a heavier grittier sound second time round that retains the melodies and depth of its critically acclaimed predecessor. ‘Forever More’ also marks the first album recorded with new guitar duo, the brothers Andy and Steven Coles who have brought stability to the band not to mention bringing a new dimension to heavier sound heard on the new album.

With a score of live dates including tours with Evergrey and Magnum under their belts, not to mention live sessions on BBC Radio, Awake have been going from strength to strength in the run up to the new albums creation.

The journey for this album started around a year after ‘Illumination’ was released. The bands former guitarist left (Richard Hall) and the group were keen to move on with new members when writing the new album. After thorough and extensive auditioning Andy Coles joined around June 2008 and the early ideas for the new album were formed. ‘Release Me’ was the first song written and came from a keyboard ‘riff’ that Craig came in with. Steven Coles joined the band by February 2009 and a break in writing was taken for the band to go out on the road with Magnum again. After this writing resumed and the album took shape over the next year or so. Pre-production took place in February 2010, final adjustments were made (including the inclusion of female backing vocals-Jennifer Hardy), and full recording took place April/May 2010.

On ‘Forever More’ lyrical slant the band state, “we wanted to convey our own personal experiences with love and loss and the hardships you face when you lose someone close to you. We hope that this is something people in general can relate to and we hope they can find meaning within the songs”.

Forever More is an emotional album written by musicians that are fully dedicated to Awake and pushing the boundaries of what they do.  It can on one hand be perceived as a very sad album and there are moments that will touch the heart strings, but at the same time its extremely powerful and meaningful. It’s an album we all can relate to and interpret for our own situation, not just in the words but also in the use of keys and guitar. ‘Forever More’ packs a sonic punch musically and emotionally and it’s a package that will be warmly welcomed by music fans worldwide on 14^th October 2011.

(source - Awake management)

PALLAS MONSTER SONG GIVE-AWAY

Scottish Progressive rock legends Pallas, who have recently roared back to form with the excellent XXV album are re-issuing their single 'Monster' as a free download. With a brand new video to accompany the release, this is the bands way of thanking all the fans and followers who have helped relaunch the band following the departure of vocalist Alan Reed last year and his replacement with new boy Paul Mackie. In addition to the monster single Pallas are making another track available for free download. This is the instrumental Atlantean, a non album number than links the current XXV album with its 1983 predecessor The Sentinel. 


A spokesman for the band said - 'GOD ALL THIS FREE STUFF, YOU WOULD HARDLY BELIEVE WE WERE SCOTTISH!!!!!!!!'

Download the freebies from here - 
http://www.pallasxxv.com/page5/page5.html

The Video for Monster by Pallas

Warrent Vocalist Jani Lane Dead at 47

 Jani Lane who fronted the glossy rock band Warrent during the salad days of hair metal, was found dead in a motel room in Woodland Hills, Calif. Thursday evening of undetermined causes, police have confirmed. He was 47.

Details are scarce, but Lane was reportedly discovered at a Comfort Inn near Los Angeles. A message on his website reads, "Jani will be missed by all. Very unexpected and tragic news of his untimely death."

Known for his golden boy looks and a voice that hearkened back to the 1970s era of arena rock wailers, Lane penned many of Warrant's huge hits, including "Down Boys," "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and the band's biggest charter, the 1989 ballad "Heaven."


He also preened and grinned in the band's most memorable contribution to popular culture, the brazenly sexist video for the 1990 camp hit, "Cherry Pie."
 
He left Warrant in 2004 and a year later a bloated Lane surfaced to clean up his act during the 2005 season of VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club." A healthier Lane rejoined the group in 2008 only to leave it again months later, this time for good, over business matters. In recent years he has worked on a solo career and has acted as a hired gun as recently as 2010 for "Once Bitten Twice Shy" band Great White.

Lane was born John Kennedy Oswald in Akron, Ohio on Feb. 1 1964  -- the name a nod to the president who had been assassinated the year before. His parents soon changed his middle name to Patrick. Throughout his youth he played the drums but his good looks and huge voice pushed him to the microphone.


He adopted his stage name around 1983 and a couple years later moved to Los Angeles searching for fame which he found after teaming up with core members of Warrant.

From 1989 to 2001 Lane appeared and was the primary songwriter for six studio albums. Two of them -- 1989's "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" and 1990's "Cherry Pie" -- went on to go double platinum. Like so many other hair metal bands, though, Warrant couldn't overcome the grunge juggernaut and they were never able to replicate their early chart success.

(source - Billboard)

RED ENEMY ANNOUNCE UK TOUR DATES

 

Fast becoming Ireland's best kept secret, Red Enemy are a force to be reckoned with on their home turf with their blend of hardcore / technical metal, and are set to unleash their pummelling EP, ‘What We Are Contained In, Is What We Are Worth’, on the UK on 10 October. 

Check out the EP's killer openner 'Where We Call Home' here :
http://soundcloud.com/holdtightpr/red-enemy-where-we-call-home

This month sees the band tour the UK for the first time playing dates with Save Your Grace, Once A Wolf , Visions and TesseracT, and promise to destroy every room here as they have done at home. catch them on the following dates:

Aug 13 - Basement 20, Liverpool w/ Save Your Grace

Aug 15 - Actress & Bishop, Birmingham

Aug 17 - The Hydrant, Brighton w/ Once A Wolf

Aug 18 - Backline Live, Guildford w/ Once A Wolf

Aug 19 - Wheatsheaf, Banbury w/ Once A Wolf

Aug 20 - Crawford Arms, Milton Keynes w/ TesseracT, Visions

Since forming in 2008 they have rapidly climbed the ranks with their powerful live shows, earning them support slots with Architects, Suffocation and Despised Icon and many more. Word spread and it wasn't long before they were packing out venues in Ireland themselves. This year has seen them tour their homeland with TesseracT and most recently Parkway Drive on both bands' Irish tour dates, as well as their own hugely successful headline tour.

(source - Hold Tight PR)

HELLISH OUTCAST SIGN TO TRANSCEND

Norwegian death/thrash ensemble HELLISH OUTCAST are pleased to announce that they have signed to UK label Transcend Music.

"I must say it's an honour to finally be able to spread our wings with this beast!" says Mads Lilletvedt of the signing. As a result, their new album YOUR GOD WILL BLEED will be released later this year.

YOUR GOD WILL BLEED is the next installment from Bergen's own; looming menacingly ahead, the sheer brutality, aggression and expansive approach to music displayed by the band on this release is perhaps only matched by a handful of fellow countrymen such as Blood Red Throne and Grimfist.

"Musically, we've stayed true to our nature for ten years - always trying to push the limits of what is healthy aggression. To combine pure Norwegian brutality with the fine British steel of Transcend Music is a venture we've been looking forward to!" Mads continues.

Transcend Music head honcho Rob Ferguson said: "it's great to welcome Hellish Outcast to our roster and they represent our most brutal signing to date adding significant strength and depth to the label as we continue to grow.  Can't wait to see them lay waste to Bloodstock following which we will light the pyre under this explosive release!"

Said release, YOUR GOD WILL BLEED, follows in the lyrical footsteps of their debut EP 'Raping - Killing - Murder' which launched an attack on modern warfare, politics and religious martyrdom. However, this time round, the aggression - the passion and frustration - will take you right to the edge, and right when it reaches the point of cataclysm, that is what HELLISH OUTCAST have captured. YOUR GOD WILL BLEED will take you on an exploration of the world as it is today.  The sight is not pretty.  In fact, it’s disgusting.  But the sound is breathtaking.

Hellish Outcast was first introduced as one of the underground’s unsigned rising stars, via the Terrorizer Fear Candy CD March '09 but this year, Hellish Outcast kick off a new phase, ten times stronger and with an album that will rip your face clean off with its sheer aggression and unique sound.

And they've already attracted media attention and secured themselves a slot performing at this years Blooodstock Festival, right here in the UK: "It's an honour to bring this monster of a band to Bloodstock, and I know its gonna be a killer crowd as always in the UK. Hellish Outcast will for sure show a new and fresh side of the Norwegian music scene!

    "...Your ears will bleed" promises vocalist and frontman Thebon.



(Source - Smash It PR)

ALEXISONFIRE SPLIT

After more than a decade, Alexisonfire has announced that the band will be going their separate ways. In a statement written by George Pettit and posted by the band on their website http://www.theonlybandever.com on August 5th, Pettit gets right to the point.  “There is no good way to put it so I’m just going to say it.  After 10 years, Alexisonfire has decided to part ways.”

 Hailing from St. Catharines, Alexisonfire rose up out of the Southern Ontario underground in late 2001.  With two members of the band still in high school, the band released their self-titled 2002 debut album and in the year that followed, the band had 4 videos reach Heavy rotation on MuchMusic and won an MMVA and a CIMA (Canadian Independent Music Awards).  With unwavering support from the band’s diehard fanbase, their debut managed to crack the Top 200 Soundscan chart and in 2004, Alexisonfire won New Group of the Year at the 2004 JUNO Awards.

 Alexisonfire went on to release three more hugely successful studio albums, Watch Out (2004), Crisis (2006), and Old Crows / Young Cardinals (2009), yet admirably maintained their “indie” status throughout their career, remaining loyal to the team of people that worked alongside them from their modest beginnings. Crisis debuted at an incredible #1 on the Top 200 Soundscan chart (Canada), and Old Crows / Young Cardinals debuted at #2, selling an impressive 15,500 copies in its first week and charting at #9 on the US Billboard Independent Album chart.  In fact, all four of the band’s studio albums achieved Platinum certification in Canada.  Furthermore, Alexisonfire’s success reached way beyond Canada’s borders.  The band topped charts, graced magazine covers, and sold out tours in Canada, US, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

 To commemorate the band’s incredible 10-year career, theonlybandever.com will be transformed into a place for fans to share photos and videos they have taken with, or of the band over the years. Fans will be able to upload content directly to the site.  Alexisonfire will also be posting their own personal photos from tours around the world.  In addition, the band plans several special re-issues, releases and limited print vinyl around their 10-year anniversary.  Details will be announced as soon as they are available.

 “In closing, I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to the fans of Alexisonfire around the world,” writes Pettit. “I’m forever grateful to anyone who has ever taken any interest in what we did. You were the coal that stoked our engines. You have given us a spectacular decade, rich with experience and joy. We love you all.”

(source - Roadrunner Records)