September 2005 News

September 2005 News Archive

28th September	Greg Lake Signs DVD Deal
From “In the Court of The Crimson King” to “Lucky Man”, “Pictures at an Exhibition” and beyond, Classic Pictures Entertainment is proud to present the music of Greg Lake on DVD. Audiences will soon experience the vicious-romanticism of Greg Lake’s music as Autumn 2005 sees one of the most long-awaited events of modern times as Greg Lake, founding member and the voice of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer takes to the UK stage for the first time in more than a decade. As rehearsals for the tour commenced, Lake also announced the signing of a deal with music DVD label Classic Pictures, based at Shepperton Film Studios, UK. The band moved in their entire tour production set to Classic T Stage and used the location as base for rehearsals. The title for Greg Lake’s debut solo DVD is yet to be confirmed. However, Classic Pictures can confirm its release is set for early 2006. The release will feature a full length concert performance recorded during the UK leg of the tour PLUS an exclusive live session recorded in 5.1 as the cameras roll at Classic T Stage, providing the opportunity for fans to see the man, and hear the voice, that defined the world of rock music! The DVD package is expected to include an insight into the pre-tour studio rehearsals plus interviews with Greg Lake and his band. The DVD is likely to include the following track listing, although it should be noted that this is only provisional and is subject to change throughout the production: The Court of the Crimson King , Touch and Go, Hang on to a Dream, From the Beginning, Epitaph, Farewell to Arms, Fanfare for the Common Man, Black Moon, Lucky Man, Footprints in the Snow, 21st Century Schizoid Man, Pictures at an Exhibition, Karn Evil 9 and Pirates Greg’s fabulous new band comprises four of the finest musicians in the world today – David Arch (on Keyboards), Brett Morgan (Drums), Trevor Barry (Bass) and Florian Opahle (Guitar) Plus backing singers Rachael Moran and Rachael Golding. Lake said of the band, at the outset of the UK 2005 tour: "The musicians I have worked with in the past from King Crimson to ELP to The Who, and in 2001, with Ringo Starr & His New All Starr Band, have always been among the very best in the business. Having my own band consisting of musicians of the same musical calibre has inspired me to put together what I truly believe will be the most comprehensive and best live show of my entire career. I am both very lucky and very excited to be working with such talented musicians.” The Greg Lake Band plays the following UK shows during October & November Oct 22nd - Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Oct 23rd - Worthing Assembly Hall Oct 24ht - Southend Cliffs Pavilion Oct 27th - High Wycombe Wycombe Swan Oct 28th - Truro Hall for Cornwall Oct 29th - Weymouth Pavilion Theatre Oct 30th - Swansea Grand Theatre Nov 1st - Edinburgh Festival Theatre Nov 2nd - Newcastle City Hall Nov 3rd - Nottingham Royal Centre Nov 4th - Peterborough Broadway Theatre Nov 6th - Birmingham Alexandra Theatre Nov 7th - Manchester Opera House Nov 9th - Skegness Embassy Theatre Nov 11th - Stevenage Concert Hall Nov 12th - Dartford Orchard Theatre Nov 14th - Preston Guildhall Nov 16th - Croydon Fairfield Halls Nov 17th - Chesterfield Winding Wheel Nov 18th - Llandudno North Wales Theatre

28th September	Short Updates
In a follow up to yesterday's update on Paul Hodson, he has now been confirmed to play keyboards for Blue Tears during that bands performance at Firefest II taking place at Nottingham Rock City on November 26th. Talking of bands appearing at Firefest II, Sanctuary Records are to release a career retrospective from UK band Shy. With songs spanning the whole of Shy's career. the album, which will be entitled 'Reflections - The Anthology 1983-2005, is currently scheduled for release on November 21st. As wel as playing Firefest II. SHy also play Queen's Hall Nuneaton with Statetrooper on Oct 16th, Stourbridge Rock Cafe on October 28th, Manchester Jilly's Rockworld on November 2nd and London Camden Underworld on December 3rd alongside Vaughn. For further information check out www.shyonline.co.uk HIM have added a further two dates to their already announced UK tour during January. The new shows take place at Manchester Apollo on Saturday 21st January and Birmingham Carling Academy on Wednesday 25th January

27th September	Saracen Sign With Escape Music
Escape Music are pleased to announce the signing of British epic rock merchants Saracen to the label. As Khalil Turk puts it, "This signing adds one of NWOBHM's best loved bands to an already impressive roster here at Escape. Saracen also bring with them their unique brand of heavy symphonic rock music - complimenting our present line-up of primarily 'Heavy melodic Rock & AOR' specialists. Saracen's initial reign was in the late 70s and early 80s, which saw the release of their now legendary debut album 'Heroes, Saints & Fools'. Some twenty years later, in 2003, they then surprised & delighted fans with the release of 'Red Sky'. Both albums plus 4 bonus tracks, will in fact feature in a special 'boxed set' with a new artwork, and new mastering!!, due to be released on the Escape Music later this year! The main focus of the signing, however, is Saracen's eagerly awaited new album - Vox In Excelso. A concept album, based around the very same story that underpins Dan Brown's best seller 'The Da Vinci Code', this promises to be a 'must have' for every fan of epic rock. According to Khalil, "Rob, from the band, played me the album demo recently, and it sounds awesome. I can't wait to help see it through to the finished product. We're lining up some impressive names to work on the production front, so it's all systems go".

27th September	Frontiers Records Update
Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of Bad Habit's’s come back album “Hear-Say” on December 5th 2005. “It´s a great feeling to be back again... after 7 years” says guitar player and main songwriter Hal Marabel, “if you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that another BAD HABIT album was out of question. All band members were busy with other projects and it was uncertain if there was even enough interest to record something new. However, after making a guest appearance at a local gig, discussions got going on what it would be like to record another album. Surprisingly, everyone in the band was very positive to the concept and discussion immediately focused on what type of direction the new album would take”. The lineup featured on “Hear-say” includes: Bax Fehling on lead vocals, Hal Marabel on guitars and keyboards, Sven Cirnski on lead guitar, Patrik Södergren on bass and Jaime Salazar on drums. When asked to introduce the new songs to the fans, Marabel indulges “To achieve a balance between melodic and heavy rock that BAD HABIT have come to represent over the years, we arrived at the following conclusion: all songs should have heavy guitars and a recurring melodic part such as the verse or bridge, regardless of how heavy or melodic they were. Also, all songs should, regardless of style, have a heavy and groovy drum beat”. The final track listing of the album will include the following songs: To Love You ; Swear; All That I Want; Walk Of Life; Reason; Alive; I Want To Know; Take Control; Tell Me Why; I’ll Be The One; I Can’t Help Myself; The Air That I Breathe and the video for Walk Of Life Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the signing of Soul Doctor for the release of their third studio opus “For A Fistful of Dollars” due out on December, 5th 2005. Born in 2001 as a hard rockin’ union featuring singer Tommy Heart (Fair Warning) together with Chris Lyne on guitar, ex-Bonfire man Joerg Deisinger and drummer Zacky, Soul Doctor have earned their reputation thanks to two solid studio albums and tours with the likes of Kingdon Come, Alice Cooper, Dio and Axel Rudi Pell. With a renewed line-up featuring a new rhythm section comprising of Jogy Rautenberg on bass and Mario B. on drums (both ex Skew Siskin), Soul Doctor are now back with a new long player entitled “For a Fistful Of Dollars”. Following the great acclaim of the Japanese release, the new album is simply a Hard Rock must. Every song is a solid, melodic, groovy and ready to will blow away the listener with the force of a hurricane. The track listing of “For A Fistful of Dollars” includes the following tracks: Eatin’ On Me ; Best Way To Fade; Under Your Skin; Remember; Where Do We Go; Ten Seconds Of Love; She’s Mine; The Trigger (Goin’ Downhill); Give Me A Ride (The Ride); Cheap Down ‘n’ Nasty.

27th September	XYZ/Terry Ilous To Release 'Forbidden Demoes 1985/1991
XYZ fromtman Terry Ilous has gone back into his archives and discovered eighteen songs that the public has never had a chance to hear. "Some of these songs should have ended up on the first or second CD," relates Ilous. "It's about time they made it out to the public because they bring back such great memories of that whole time period." Arriving in Los Angeles from Europe in 1985, Ilous and XYZ bassist, Patt Fontaine set about finding compatible band members to help make their "rock star dreams" a reality. "It was very hard to form a band iat the time," recalls Terry. "I only spoke Spanish and French - not so rock ' n 'roll, you know - finally destiny sent me 2 winners Marc Diglio and Paul Monroe. It took a while to find them but it was definitely worth it." The band slugged it out on Hollywood's famed Sunset Strip for four years alongside the likes of Warrant, Bang Tango, Guns 'N Roses and others who, like XYZ, went on to see various degees of success in the music world. While playing the club circuit, XYZ also spent a lot of time demo-ing their material and presenting those demos to every label that would accept a package. Terry: "I always loved the song "Cant Get Over You", which I wrote for my wife. We spent every dime we had demo-ing those songs. still today they mean a lot to me and I know the fans will love them as much as I do!" 'Forbidden Demos 1985 / 1991' will be released on Sept 26 through FYCO Records. The track listing is:: "Can't Get Over You" (1990 - previously unreleased), "Inside Out" (Demo - 1988), "High Life" (with Marc Diglio - 1988), "Follow the Night" "You Got Me Wrong" (Live - 1988), "After the Rain" (Demo - 1987), "Souvenirs" (Demo with Marc Diglio - 1988), "Made For Love" (1986), "It Could Be You" (1986), "Seventeen" (1986), "Just A Friend" (1985), "Lonely Without You" (with Marc Diglio), "Missin You" (with Marc Diglio), "Rainy Days" (with Bobby Pieper), "Lonely Without You" (with Bobby Pieper), "Never Too Late", "Souvenirs" (with Bobby Pieper), "High Life" (with Bobby Pieper).

27th September	Short Updates
Lost Weekend and www.lostweekend.org.uk is proud to announce that their long overdue 'Best Of' CD is finally available to buy via this site. Customers can purchase the CD from today using PAYPAL. To order the CD today go to the online store at www.lostweekend.org.uk and follow the purchase process. Lost Weekend's 'Best Of' CD contains 16 classic tracks taken from the band's first three studio albums. The track listing was chosen by the fans via their mailing list and compiled by the band during the summer of 2005. Lost Weekend will follow up the 'Best Of' CD with a brand new studio album in 2006. Currently titled "Forever Moving On", the album will be produced by Vince O'Regan from Pulse / Bob Catley's band. The band will enter Vince's studio in October to record new material. Once the album is completed the band will be looking for a new label to release the CD - any interested parties should email ail@lostweekend.org.uk. Paul Hodson (Ten/Bob Catley) will be appearing at the Frontiers Rock Night at Maymies Nightclub, Hemlock Way, Hawks Green, Cannock on Friday 28th October 2005. As well as his 45 minute acoustic set, there will be a Questions & Answers session with Paul. For those of you unable to attend, you can submit a question to be asked by e-mailing questions@hodson.uk.com. All questions need to be submitted by Thursday 13th October. The plan is for the session to be transcribed and to appear on the Hodson website shortly after. The club will be open from 8.30pm with Paul scheduled to appear at about 9:45pm. Admission prices for the evening as follows :- £3 before 10.00pm, £4 before 11.30pm, & £5 after 11.30pm Paul Hodson is also appearing at the Melodic Rock Xmas Bash '05 on Sunday 4th December at the world famous RUSKIN ARMS, 386 High Street North, Manor Park, London, E12 6PH.

20th September

Bon Jovi - UK Tour Dates

Bon Jovi will be returning to the UK for a series of stadium shows in June 2006. The dates confirmed for the trek are:

June 3rd - Glasgow Hampden Park
June 4th - Manchester Commonwealth Stadium
June 7th - Coventry Ricoh Arena
June 9th - Southampton, England St Mary's Stadium
June 11th - London, England Wembley Stadium

Bon Jovi, who were the last band to play at the old Wembley Stadium in London before it was demolished are also first band confirmed to play a show at the new Stadium, which is due for completion next year.

UK fans who have purchased a copy of the band's new album 'Have A Nice Day' will find an insert advising people on how to purchase Golden Circle tickets for the shows in advance of tickets going on general sale.

20th September

Tony Mills Re-Signs With Z Records

Z Records are proud to announce the return of Tony Mills [Shy, Siam] to the label. An agreement has been made for the release of Tony's new solo album "Freeway to the Afterlife" , A special ltd edition format will include a bonus disc namely "Cruiser" Tony's 2001 release with the label, and will be available from From 0ctober 10th.

Tony made the following comment concerning his return to the Z Records roster: "After five years, the opportunity to reunite with Z Records crossed my path with a combination of products that are quite different, but equally able to stand up in their own right. After the success of 'Cruiser' , especially in Germany, Shy achieved even greater acclaim with Z Records' release 'Unfinished Business'. Great press around the world proved that the team had a winning combination when it came to great songs and proper support and distribution.

With the private release of 'Freeway to The Afterlife' on the net, the response has been proportional to what you would expect from the absence of a credible record company. Having stayed in touch with Mark Alger from Z Records, the offer of a double solo release package with both 'Cruiser' and 'Freeway to The Afterlife' was unmissable. 'Cruiser' , being a combination of songs, written through the 90's to certain ideals, mainly AOR, was an important time in my career for realising personal abilities and turning ideas into sounds that worked for me. 'Freeway' is a radical, yet necessary move away from mainstream rock to free the need for a still more personal expression. Soul & sax based, it explores one of our great questions, 'What comes next ?'. This combination of material sums up the major part of ten years writing but is not wholly encompassing. Further solo projects are planned, of which I have no doubt Z Records will keep you posted !"

Further information about Tony Mills & Shy is available online at www.aorock.co.uk

20th September

Win Tickets To The Melodic Rock Xmas Bash

Sacred Heart & The Ruskin Arms are giving readers the chance to get into the Melodic Rock Xmas Bash for free. The show, which feature Pride, Double Cross, Lost Weekend & Sacred Heart amongst others takes place on Sunday 4th November 2005 at the Ruskin Arms in London.

In order to win places for you and a guest on the guest list for show you must both be based in the UK and be over 18 years of age. To enter simply email info@sacredheartband.com with the answer to the following question:

WHAT IS THE FULL NAME OF SACRED HEART'S NEW BASSIST?

For further details on the show and how to purchase tickets (should you not win the competition that is) then check out this link

15th September	Shy To Play Firefest II
Following the unfortunate withdrawal of Saracen we are delighted to announce that Birmingham’s finest SHY will now be appearing at the Firefest 2 show at Nottingham Rock City on Saturday November 26th. Shy are best remembered for their classic albums 'Brave the Storm', 'Excess all Areas' and 'Misspent Youth' all of which generated massive plaudits from fans and critics alike upon release. After a long period of inactivity by the band, SHY returned to the studio and released the excellent comeback album 'Unfinished Business' in 2002 followed by the equally magnificent 'Sunset and Vine' earlier this year. With Tony Mills and Steve Harris firing on all cylinders, SHY will no doubt be one of the attractions of the day. Firefest are delighted to have SHY on board and we are sure that they will prove to be a massive addition for all those attending. Shy's bassist Roy Daivs had the following to say" We are truly delighted to be part of Firefest 2. I was at the first FIREFEST show in Bradford and was extremely impressed with the top class line up on the day. The only problem was I really wanted to be up there playing. Anyway we are now going to be part of FIREFEST 2 and Steve, Tony and I as well as the rest of the gang are really looking forward to it". A full list of running times will be posted next week and please also make a note of the FIREFEST web site www.fire-fest.co.uk which should also be live in the early part of next week. Pre Show Party Friday Nov 25th. The Friday night pre show party is now fully sold out. Thanks so much for your support. It will be a great evening’s entertainment with Crimes of Passion, Double Cross, Nexx and Blue Tears all appearing and with many of the acts performing on Sat Nov.26th in attendance letting the hair down with a beer or six!! Look forward to seeing everybody at Via Fossa , Canal Street, Nottingham early on Friday night. Remember doors open at 7pm with Crimes of Passion on stage at 7.30pm.

15th September

Frontiers Records Update

Pride of Lions

Following the successful Pride of Lions first full band show in Europe held at the Lokerse Feesten, in Lokeren, Belgium on August 9th, Frontiers Records is pleased to announce that a a full live CD / DVD will be released off of that show.

Jim Peterik Toby Hitchcock

With 11 cameras recording the amazing performance of the band led by Jim Peterik (ex SURVIVOR) and Toby Hitchcock, the DVD promises to be one of the events of the forthcoming season. At the moment the production company is busy in editing the images and the audio mix is set to start up in late September. The release is tentatively planned for early 2006.

Ambition

The studio project featuring the return of the long lost former Trillion vocalist Thom Griffin has been finally completed. The final track listing will include the following songs, written by the likes of Joey Carbone (Vertigo), Terje Eide (On The Rise), Christian Wolff (new songwriting partner of Terje Eide of ON THE RISE) and brothers Brian and Robby LaBlanc of Blanc Faces:, Hold On Hypocrites; Alone I Cry; Shaping Fate And Destiny; All I Need; Make It Alright; No Wasted Moments; Together; Too Much; Hunger; The Promise and Waiting In My Dreams

Producer Jon Smith with Thom Griffin in studio

Tommy Denander was added at the last minute to the recording and offered his unmistakeable guitar skills to this great recording, which is set to please all the fans of TOTO, MR. MISTER and MECCA. Release is scheduled for January 2006.

Stan Bush

Stan Bush has started working on the follow-up album to the successful “Shine”, released on Frontiers in June 2004. According to Stan the new stuff is “killer” and he is very excited to start up again the work, under the direction of producer Tommy Denander. The recording is set to take place during the fall ‘05 for a release tentatively scheduled for summer 2006.

Genius

Daniele Liverani has started the work for the third and final chapter of the Genius Rock Opera. This time around the vocal guests will include: Mark Boals, Genius; Daniel Gildenlow as Twinspirit32, Jorn Lande as Apikor; Toby Hitchcock as Senator Jeramus; Eric Martin as Mr.Niko; Andrea Dätwyler as Kokeshi as well as Oliver Hartmann on all choirs and Philip Bynoe as the Storyteller. Daniele hopes to finish up all recording by the end of November 2005, with a release tentatively set for the spring 2006.

15th September

Arch Enemy Re-Schedule Tour

Arch Enemy have postponed their upcoming UK tour that was schedule to start on 26th September in Manchester. A full list of the dates affected are:

Sept 26th - Manchester University
Sept 27th - Cardiff Coal Exchange
Sept 28th - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Sept 29th - Glasgow QMU
Sept 30th - London Forum

The reason given for this cancellation is down to the fact that the band couldn't find two suitable international acts to support them, and provide fans with a top class package. The tour has been re-scheduled to take place in December encompassing the following shows:

Dec. 12 - Cardiff, Coal Exchange
Dec. 13- Manchester Academy 2
Dec. 14 - Glasgow, QMU
Dec. 15 - London, ASTORIA
Dec. 16 - Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall

15th September

HIM

Him have confirmed all details of their new album due for release on September 26th through Sire records. Entitled Dark Light the album will feature the following track listing:

Vampire Heart, Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly, Under The Rose, Killing Loneliness, Dark Light, Behind The Crimson Door, Face Of God, Drunk On Shadows, Play Dead, In The Night Side Of Eden and Cage

The album will be available both in a regular CD format and also in a limited edition format that comes covered in a 'heartagram' band. As previously announced Him play the following UK & irish shows in January:

Jan 16th - Dublin Ambassador
Jan 19th - Glasgow Carling Academy
Jan 22nd - Manchester Apollo
Jan 24th - Birmingham Carling Academy
Jan 26th - London Brixton Academy

15th September

Nickleback

Canadian band Nickleback release their latest album, 'All The Right Reasons' through Roadrunner Records on October 3rd. Written and produced by the band, All The Right Reasons is said to set a modified tone for Nickelback's future by showing off a great range of musical styles and incorporating new musical elements into the mix, like piano and strings (on "Savin Me"). Taking us back to Nickelback's trademark raucous rock are "Fight For All The Wrong Reasons" and "Animals." Tracks like "Side of a Bullet" and "Follow You Home" feature a tribute to slain Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and the work of ZZ-Top maestro, Billy Gibbons, respectively.

The full track listing for 'All The Right Reasons' is as follows:

Follow You Home, Fight For All The Wrong Reasons, Photograph, Animals, Savin' Me, Far Away, Next Contestant , Side Of A Bullet, If Everyone Cared, Someone That You're With and Rockstar

15th September

Short Updates

LA Guns play three British shows during October. The dates are as follows:

Oct 11th - London Camden Underworld
Oct 12th - Dudley JBs
Oct 13th Bradford Rios

Royal Hunt have confirmed a UK gig which will take place at London's Camden Underworld on November 8th

Cathedral have been confirmed as support to Cradle of Filth on their upcoming December UK tour. Check Gig Guide for all the dates. Cathedral release their new album, 'the Garden of Unearthly Delights' through Nuclear Blast Records on Sept 26th.

14th September

Tony Martin Signs With MTM

Former Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin has inked a deal with MTM for the release of his second solo album, entitled 'Scream' which is scheduled to be released in November.

As a singer, Tony Martin has worked on many projects, the most famous being of course Black Sabbth where he sang on albums such as “Headless Cross” and “Eternal Idol”. Now, he has ventured out on his own once again to become a solo artist after 10 years of laying low.

Scream” features legendary drummer Cozy Powell on “Raising Hell” as well as song writing contributions from another Sabbath member, Geoff Nicholls. Tony has 4 children, all of them are musical in some way, and his youngest son Joe Harford, has also joined him on his new album and contributed most of the guitars. The album was recorded at Tony’s house in - believe it or not - Headless Cross! He actually lives in Headless Cross in Worcestershire England, and he has driven the neighbours insane with his music - now it’s your turn!

Martin says about “Scream”: “For me, it’s been a huge journey to put this album together, and I’m really pleased to have MTM Music and Avalon / Marquee in Japan on the team to get it released. They are among the few that I trust to give you the full Tony Martin story. In almost every interview I am asked what my influences have been that make my music work. It’s all here in Scream, and it starts here and it starts now! “

The final tracklist for 'Scream' is as follows:
Raising Hell, Bitter Sweet, Faith In Madness, I'm Gonna Live Forever, Scream, Surely Love Is Dead, The Kids Of Today Don't Understand The Blues, Wherever You Go and Field Of Lies

14th September

Staind Re-Arrange UK Tour

Following on from the recent announcemtn that Staind had cancelled their UK tour due to take place in September, the band have reschedule the dates for march of next year. The new confirmed dates for this trek are:

03-Mar-06 - Glasgow Garage
04-Mar-06 - Manchester University
06-Mar-06 - Nottingham Rock City
07-Mar-06 - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
08-Mar-06 - London Astoria

12th September

Thunder - All Guns Firing

Thunder will release a new six track EP, entitled 'Six Shooter' on October 17th which will feature the following track listing:

Fade Into The Sun (Live 2005)
Amy's On The Run (Live 2005)
The Gods Of Love (Live 2005)
Stay With Me Baby (Live Xmas Show 2004)
Fade Into The Sun (The Spaghetti Mix)
I'm A Lucky Man

The opening three tracks from the EP were recorded live on the bands March 2005 UK tour whilst Stay With Me Baby was recorded at the 2004 Christmas show held at Nottingham Rock City The final two tracks on the release feature a new mix of Fade Into The Sun that clocks in at over seven minutes in length and amongst other things features vocalist Danny Bowes in whistling mode and I'm A Lucky Man, a track recorded during the 'Magnificent Seventh' sessions and previously only available as a digital download.

As previously announced ( dates shown in the HardRockHouse Gig Guide) Thunder headline another UK tour during January and February 2006. The band have also announced that they will be playing the Bolsover Castle Rock & Blues Festival on October 28th. Tickets for this event are available from www.seetickets.com

12th September

Seventh Key - Live CD/DVD On The Way

Frontiers Records will release a live album and DVD from Seventh Key on November 7th entitled “Live In Atlanta”

Seventh key is the successful band / project put together by Kansas bass player and singer Billy Greer together with his former Streets bandmate Mike Slamer.

The idea of a live album and of a DVD came when Frontiers Records President, Serafino Perugino, got a look on the band's videos for the songs “An Ocean Away“ and “Love Train“; songs originally included on the Seventh Key second album “The Raging Fire”. He thenapproached director Nicole Slamer, Mike’s daughter, to shoot a live DVD for Seventh Key. On May 23rd the recording for the live concert DVD/CD was completed. For the first time in almost 22 years Mike Slamer performed live again. The recording was undertaken at Crossover Entertainment Group Inc. in Atlanta, in front of selected friends, invited guests and families.

Joining the duo Greer/Slamer live on stage are former Strangeways singer Terry Brock on guitars and background vocals, David Manion on keyboards and drummer Pat McDonald. Guest appearances came from Kansas violinist Robby Steinhardt and Billy’s brother Johnny Greer, both joining the band for a breathtaking acoustic version of the song “Forsaken“.

Featuring rousing live performances of songs from the band's previous two studio albums, Seventh Key's's first ever live concert DVD/CD is a true enrichment for any Melodic Rock collection. Also included is bonus studio material for the CD, including the only collaboration between Billy Greer and former Kansas mastermind Kerry Livgren on “Remember You Well”, and three bonus videos and exclusive interviews and behind the scenes footage on the DVD.

The live CD track listing is as follows:
The Sun Will Rise; An Ocean Away; It Should Have Been You; Sin City; Always from the Heart; Forsaken; You Cross the Line; The Kid Could Play; Only the Brave; When Love is Dying; Winds of War; Cold Hearted Woman; The Storm Rages On (bonus studio track); Remember You Well (bonus studio track) and Love Train (bonus studio track).

The DVD, apart from the entire concert footage, includes bonus music video for “Always From The Heart”, “An Ocean Away”, “Love Train” , interviews with band members and a photo gallery. The DVD will exclusively be release in NTSC Region free format.

12th September

Ten Change Drummers

Drummer Greg Morgan has left 'Ten', the band fronted by Gary Hughes. Commenting on the loss of the drummer Hughes stated 'I can confirm that Greg Morgan has indeed left the ranks of TEN. His replacement is ex-Paradise Lost/Marshall Law drummer Lee Morris. I can also confirm that the studio work ( "Best Of" and the next TEN album ) is still very much on track and all live commitments remain unaffected'

Ten's next live shows will be at the Fleetwoodstock event to be held at Fleetwood Marine Hall on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October. Tickets for each of the days, priced at £8, are available through the Marine Hall itself (Tel 01253 770547) and further details on the line up for both days can be found via www.fleetwoodstock.info

12th September

Saracen Cancel Firefest Appearance

In a news item on www.melodicrock.com it has been confirmed that Saracen have been forced to withdraw from November's Firefest II show scheduled to take place at Nottingham Rock City on November 26th. The cancellation is due to a health problem currently being experienced by guitarist Rob Bendelow. Rob explains: "In 2004 I was struck down by a serious illness that dominated pretty much all of the year for me. The subsequent weight loss has left me with a painful muscle problem in my upper arms and shoulders. Whilst this has had no impact whatsoever on the recording of our next album Vox In Excelso, when we started rehearsing for Firefest 2 it became apparent that I still have someway to go. Wearing my trusty Gibson SG for song-after-song is presently a 'bridge too far'. I feel so sorry for those fans who have already committed, but we were only one of an impressive line-up of bands on the bill and Firefest will be undoubtedly be a super event, come what may."

Of course, Firefest organisers wish Rob well with his recovery and have penciled Saracen in for possible future events.

Following Saracen's unfortunate withdrawal the promoters of Firefest are currently looking at a replacement act and an announcement will be made as soon as we have definite news. Thanks again for all you support thus far.

12th September

Sonic X Prepare For Second Album

For the last couple of months Sonic X have been writing and arranging material as they gear up to record their second album for UK label Z Records. At present, as they are going through arrangements and re writes to get their new songs just right, early indications from those that have heard the new material, point to a very strong follow-up CD to their debut which was released last year.

Recording time for the second release from Sonic X has been booked for the early part of November, finishing around the holidays for an early 2006 release and possible appearance in the UK. The Band has been negotiating with a couple of agencies about playing some live shows in the spring/ summer of 06' and have also started talking to Video Production Companies about ideas for a couple of videos.

The band is currently in the middle of a major re-design of their entire web-site to coincide with the release of the new CD so keep checking back to their web site - www.thesonicx.com - for updates. The Band will also be posting a few samples of the new material from time to time

A list of some of the new tracks that will be featured on the second, as yet to be titled CD are likely to be as follows: 'My Condition', 'Crawl', 'Wicked', 'Shine', 'Carried Away', 'Signs', 'I Am', 'Cut To Pieces' and 'Breathe'.

9th September

Graham Bonnet

Graham Bonnet, the former voice of Rainbow, Alcatrazz & MSG has confirmed details of his autumn UK tour. Backed by the band 'Rockstar' Bonnet plays the following shows:

21st Oct - Queens Hall Nuneaton
22nd Oct - Rock Cafe 2000 Stourbridge
23rd Oct - Rock Cafe 2000 Stourbridge
25th Oct - The Underworld London
26th Oct - Princess Pavilion Falmouth
27th Oct - The Half Moon Paignton
29th Oct - Baths Hall Scunthorpe
30th Oct - LA Rock Cafe Cannock
31st Oct - The Limelight Crewe
02nd Nov - Trillians Newcastle

9th September

Corrosion Of Conformity Cancel Tour

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hitting New orleans, Corrosion Of Conformity have been forced to cancel their upcming European tour. COC guitarist Pepper Keenan is a resident of New Orleans has been heavily affected by events and is currently displaced and looking after family members as they await word on when or if they will be able to return to the city.

The UK dates affected by the cancellation are:

25-Sep-05 Stoke Sugarmill
26-Sep-05 Oxford Zodiac
27-Sep-05 Brighton Concorde 2
28-Sep-05 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
29-Sep-05 Nottingham Rock City
30-Sep-05 Glasgow King Tuts
01-Oct-05 Birmingham Academy 2
03-Oct-05 Liverpool University
04-Oct-05 Manchester University
06-Oct-05 London Islington Academy

9th September

The Mob

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the details of the European release of The Mob's self titled debut album which is scheduled to hit shops on November 7th. The Mob is the new incredible band featuring Doug Pinnick of King's X on bass & vocals, reb Beach of Wnger, Dokken and Whitesnake fame on guitar, Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy and current Whitesnake keyboard player Timothy Drury.

Think the classic sound of Winger & Dokken, metal with huge riffs, mindblowing solos, huge choruses and manly vocals! Produced by none other than Kip Winger, this is shaping up to be one of the most incredible releases of the year!

The final track listing of the album will include the following tracks:
One Track Mind, Wait, The Magic, I Will Follow; Guitar Solo; Never Get Enough; Love Will Carry On; Turn To Stone No Reason Why; Spaghetti Western and I Want To Live Forever.

Sample from the album can currently be found on the Frontiers website at www.frontiers.it

Reb Beach says "The Mob are going to shake the world with a vengeance, as they hone this new band into the perfect Hard Rock band for the twenty first century..." and you can be sure he's right!

9th September

Short Updates

The Quireboys will once again be hitting the road in the UK during November & December. Dates so far confirmed for the trek are:

Nov 19th - Nottingham Rock City
Dec 2nd - London Mean Fiddler
Dec 4th - Wolves Robin 2

The Almighty are to reform for two shows in January which will take place at Glasgow Garage on January 5th & London Mean Fiddler on January 6th. The shows, which will be in aid of Leukaemia Research, will feature the following line up of the band: Ricky Warwick (guitar/vocals), Floyd London (bass), Pete Friesen (guitar) and Stumpy Munroe (drums).

LA Guns are returning to the UK for three shows in October. The confirmed dates are: London Camden Underworld October 11, Dudley JB's Oct 12th and Bradford Rio's Oct 13th

Sheffield based neo glamsters S.W.O.N have the following dates lined up over the coming weeks: 9th Sept – Sheffield The Nelson, 10th Sept - Leeds The Brudenell, 23rd Sept - Sheffield The Grapes (with Neu Vogue) & Nov 7th - Sheffield The Grapes (with Ecanasia)

7th September

Staind Cancel European Tour

In a posting on their official website, American post grunge outfit Staind have announced that they have been forced to cancel all of the upcoming dates of their proposed European Tour that was scheduled to have started in Dublin on 19th September. The other UK dates affected by this cancellation are:

Sept 21st - Glasgow Barrowlands
Sept 22nd - Manchester University
Sept 24th - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Sept 25th - London Astoria

The reason given for this cancellation is down to U.S. promotional commitments. The European dates will be rescheduled for March 2006.

In a joint statement, Staind vocalist Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki said, “We love touring overseas and are incredibly thankful to our European fans. Unfortunately at this time, circumstances prevent us from coming over to perform live. We apologize for this inconvenience to our fans and look forward to seeing everyone in the future.”

7th September

HIM

Him have lined up a batch of UK & Irish shows during early 2006. The confirmed dates are as follows:

Jan 16th - Dublin Ambassador
Jan 19th - Glasgow Carling Academy
Jan 22nd - Manchester Apollo
Jan 24th - Birmingham Carling Academy
Jan 26th - London Brixton Academy

7th September

Bloodstock 2006

No sooner is one Bloddstock Festival out of the way, then another is already in the planning process. Bloodstock 2006 will take place on September 29th & 30th and once again be held at the Assemble Rooms in Derby.

Bloodstock will also be running another open air edition of the festival in 2006, this show will take place on the 14th & 15th July and as per this year's inaugural event will be held at Catton Hall in Derbyshire.

7th September	Powerzone Promotions Press Release
Powerzone Promotions in association with Frontiers Rock Night Proudly Presents:- Leeks' Biggest & Best Rock Night - No Cheap Imitations! You've seen the rest - Now come and sample the very best in classic and melodic rock! Music by former Highwayman/Maximes; DJ Shaun and the Powerzone Team! The Last Saturday of every month. Saturday 24th September 2005 - 8.30pm till 1am at:- The V Bar, Market Square, Leek Featuring music by such bands as Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Danger Danger, Tyketto, Harem Scarem, Firehouse, Guns & Roses, and much much more.... Featuring all your favourite classic/melodic rock videos played on big screen throughout the evening! Many Ex-Highwayman videos plus some great additional extras! Admission price £1 after 9.30pm For more information Contact:- 01538 370201 Or E-Mail rock.powerzone@fsmail.net Frontiers Rock Night, the Midlands top premier rock night is back on Friday 30th September, from 9.30pm - 2.00am followed by the last Friday Of Every Month). At Maymies nightclub, Hemlock Way, Cannock - All the very best in Classic/Melodic Rock Music provided by the legendary ex Highwayman, Cheadle/Maximes DJ Shaun together with the Powerzone team Price range for the evening £3 before 10pm, £4 between 10/11.30pm, £5 after 11.30pm. RPM Records scheduled to have a CD Stall in September/October at Maymies (Subject to Confirmation) Ooctober Update – Friday 28th October 2005 45 minute acoustic set (9.45pm – 10.30pm) by guest star Paul Hodson formerly of Ten, Hard Rain and Bob Catley, plus an informal questions and answers session at the bar in the smaller room! Visit www.hodson.uk.com for more details Support for the evning comes form Tara's Secret who will be preforming a thirty minute acoustic set between 9.00pm and 9.30pm. Visit www.taras-secret.com for more information. Frontiers Rock Night begins at 10.30pm with DJ'S Shaun & Stevie E sharing the decks in the main room, delivering a great package of good quality classic/melodic rock music from 10.30pm onwards. For those who want to hit the dance floor in the main room! The club will be open as a one off in October from 8.30pm with admission prices for the evening are as follows:- Before 10.00pm - £3, Before 11.30pm - £4 , After 11.30pm - £5 All enquiries to be E Mailed directly to rock.powerzone@fsmail.net . Powerzone Promotions can also assist you with travel and accommodation arrangements, Or alternatively contact the club directly on 01543 466467.

7th September	Short Updates
Gareth 'Gaf' Franks, the bass player with UK band Double Cross, has recently joined acclaimed UK metal band Balance of Silence (www.balanceofsilence.com www.myspace.com/balanceofsilence). Gaf has this to day about his joining Balance of Silence; "This is no way affects my involvement with Double Cross, who remain my No.1 priority, and who enjoyed their recent support tour with Styx and are currently locked away working hard on the new album, which we know people are getting impatient for, but its that all important 2nd album and we don't wanna disappoint! Nick Workman, vocalist with UK melodic rockers 'Kick' has announced details of a new project with which he is invloved. In a press release Workman had the following comments about his new, as yet unnamed outfit: "Firstly, let me apologise for the delay in letting you guys know what is going on, and secondly let me assure you that I am still a member of KICK. As you are all aware there has not been any activity from KICK since we released “New Horizon”, but for very good reasons that I am not going to go in to. So I have been kicking my heels for a while desperate to do something, and I am now able to tell you what I have been putting together for a few months. I am very pleased to have formed a new band with Vince O’Reagan (Pulse, Bob Catley Band) and Al Barrow (Magnum). It is in very early stages at this moment (we don’t have a name yet!), however we have recorded 4 tracks so far and are now knocking ‘em out 1 a week!! I can’t express to you how excited this stuff has got me. All I am gonna say, is that it ROCKS!!!!! One thing I can assure you is that we will be bringing it to you live. That was one of the first things we talked about. So what now? Well, once we have decided upon a band name (over the next couple of weeks) we are going to launch a website, which will be updated on a weekly basis with what we have been doing.. Info such as how many songs recorded, maybe a few song titles, studio pictures etc etc. I’m not going to put my head on the block and give you dates of this and that, but I hope the website will give you all a clear picture of what stage we are at. We are working really hard to get this done as quickly as we can without sacrificing the quality that I am sure you all expect (believe me, you wont be disappointed). Sorry if you were waiting for a KICK tour or new album (I am sure that will happen at some point in 2006) but I hope this will go some way to bridge the gap. The next update I hope will be on a shiny new website. Until then, take care and turn it up!!!" The UK Kiss Expo takes place on November 19th at Nottingham's Rock City. Bands scheduled to make an appearance at the event include Z Record artists Jesse Damon & Adam Bomb as well as Double Cross and Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Further details can be found via www.kissexpo.co.uk Moonstone will be playing Camden's underworld, alongside Gotthard, on October 9th Nickelback play a one off UK show at London Shepherd's Bush Empire on September 20th