product: Alicate - Butterfly
release date: 07.10.2022
formats: CD & digital
territory: world
Alicate was formed in the late eighties by Lead vocalist Jonas Erixon and bass player Fredrik Ekberg. In the early years they played mostly local venues but were able to release a 7” single called “The End/Too Shy To Take It” which is a collectors piece today.
Fast forward to 2006 where the band reformed and started to work on new material that resulted in their first full length album called “World Of Anger” that was released in 2009. The success of this album and the popularity of their concerts, led to the release of their second album, “Free Falling” in 2013. Their third full length album, “Unforgiven To Be Forgiven”, followed in 2018 together with a Live EP called “Live At Forum”.
The creativity was reaching soaring levels when Covid sadly hit the world and put the progress on hold for the band. However, Jonas Erixon still wrote songs and collaborated with some high profile artists and wrote/co-wrote songs for Giant, Skills (with Billy Sheehan and Brad Gillis) and Sweet Oblivion (Geoff Tate)
During the Pandemic, work also started on new material for Alicate. The band looked for a natural progression from their last album that would result in a more “distilled” version of the band, adding even more hooks to the songs.
Four years after the release of their last album, ALICATE returns to form with a brand new album called “Butterfly”!! This new record consists of 10 hi-octane tracks that can be categorized as Hard Rock with a large dose of melodies in them.
product: Pearls & Flames - Reliance
release date: 07.10.2022
formats: CD & digital
territory: world
Pearls & Flames consists of a couple of friends from Sundsvall and Söderhamn who have been active in the Melodic Rock scene since decades. Markus Nordenberg is the main-man and driving force behind this AOR and Westcoast project. He has been the lead singer in an early version of Swedish hard rock masters Lion´s Share and continued as the lead singer and one of the songwriters in Big Price before moving on as one of the members of Coastland Ride that have released three much appreciated albums in the vein of AOR and Westcoast.
Nordenberg is joined by guitarist Sven Larsson (Street Talk, Coastland Ride, Groundbreaker, Fergie Frederiksen and many more) who also has two solo albums under his belt where he was the main songwriter delivering songs in an exciting blend of AOR, Westcoast and Fusion. Tomas Coox, who is a much-appreciated session keyboardist playing live with among others Coastland Ride Live band and Roulette SWE, completes the line-up.
In 2019 when Coastland Ride made the decision to stop making music together it was a natural step for Markus to ask Tomas and Sven Larsson to join in as they both were in the Coastland Ride live band. It also felt natural to pick up the band name Pearls & Flames again. The guys started up recording some songs but due to different circumstances it nearly stopped there. During the Covid Pandemic Markus got in touch with well-known Swedish guitarist, songwriter and producer Tommy Denander (Prisoner, Radioactive, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley, Tina Arena, House of Lords and many more). The two songwriters connected, and the recording process really got a boost. Since then, a very creative collaboration started which now has resulted in “Reliance”.
“Reliance” is the debut album of Pearls & Flames, and the album title is a reminder of that all the things in the world are linked together. It´s all about different kind of relations and that we all need each other in different ways. The songs were recorded at various studios in Sweden and produced by Pearls & Flames, Tommy Denander and Anders Rybank (Can We Find The Love, Temple Of Lust, It Never Took Away Your Smile and (I Don’t Know Who I Am) Anymore); Wires And Frames was produced by Sven Larsson and all other songs by Pearls & Flames and Tommy Denander. Artwork by Tomas Coox, mixed by Tommy Denander at Holliewood studios and mastered by Mike Lind at Masterplant.
product: Mentalist - Empires Falling
release date: 16.09.2022
formats: CD, LP, Box & digital
territory: world excl. Japan
MENTALIST, the Saarbrücken Germany based Melodic Metal group, like maybe no other recently new band has managed to left big, positive marks in the Power Metal scene!
After the big success of the debut album „Freedom Of Speech“ (2020), the German/ Swedish foursome consisting of Peter Moog (guitars), Thomen Stauch (dr., ex BLIND GUARDIAN), Kai Stringer (guitars) and Swedish exceptional singer Rob Lundgren just slighty scraped past of the German official media control album charts with their 2021 effort „A Journey Into The Unknown“ (trend charts: #63)! On iTunes, MENTALIST reached an impressive #2 as highest position at the Metal charts, and the fans of the Facebook group „power Metal“ with 110K followers voted „A Journey Into The Unknown“ as best Power Metal release of the year 2021!
„Empires Falling“, the third full length by the German/Swedish outfit, now continues where its predecessors have stopped! Oliver Palotai (keys, Kamelot) und Mike LePond (b., Symphony X) again joined MENTALIST as energetic guests on keyboards and bass. On this release, outstanding musicianship teams up with fabulous melodies and fine, subtle arrangements as parts of epic, stirring and enery-driven songs which reinforce the high quality of MENTALIST!
The front cover artwork again was designed by Andreas Marschall (u.a. Blind Guardian, Running Wild), the mix & the mastering once more was handled by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Pretty Maids etc.).
„Empires Falling“ will be released on September 16th, 2022 on CD, digital, and as golden-coloured 2-LP. A tour for autumn 2022 is currently in preparation.
product: Hartmann - Get Over It
release date: 16.09.2022
formats: CD, Lp & digital
territory: world
Oliver Hartmann is considered with his band HARTMANN since their debut ’Out in the cold’ (2005) as one of the best modern German Rock-/Hardrock acts. Besides that he’s well known as highly respected singer, guitarist and sideman of the metal megaseller Avantasia, projects as Rock Meets Classic, as ex-At Vance singer and as front man of the successful German Pink Floyd tribute Echoes, Since then the band has released 9 successful albums, has toured with well known acts as Toto, Uriah Heep, The Hooters, House of Lords and celebrated their 15th anniversary in spring 2020!
After the release of their anniversary album ’15 Pearls & Gems’ in April 2020 which again received great reviews world wide and followed by a special acoustic tour in summer / autumn 2021, now the band will release their new and tenth album ’Get over it’ on Sept 16th! Again co-produced by Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Beyond The Black, Kamelot) and with the guest musicians Jimmy Kresic on keys (Rock Meets Classic) and Ina Morgan on additional choirs (Avantasia) it can be called the most homogeneous album so far. It contains eleven new tracks in the bands’ typical genre of modern AOR- and Melodic-Rock and is aimed at fans of Foreigner, Gary Moore, Thunder or even Bryan Adams.
Besides a few summer festivals the band will be on tour again this autumn with 12-15 shows in Germany and Switzerland and supplemented by 4-5 shows in Spain. All tour dates will be presented by Guitar-Magazin, Eclipsed, FGN-Guitars and ROCKANTENNE, Germany’s No 1 Rock-Radio station!
product: Terra Atlantica - Beyond The Borders
release date: 16.09.2022
formats: CD & digital
territory: world
“Beyond the Borders” is the next milestone in the history of Terra Atlantica, pushing the boundaries of the genre by adding stage musical elements and creating a new world full of magic and adventures.
Set in the year 1848, the story takes place two decades after the predecessor “Age of Steam”!
With the British Empire being defeated, the vacuum of power in Europe has led to the uprising of the Prussian dynasty, ruling over the continent with a fist of steel. A group of young people set out on a quest to fight against this oppression with the aid of a magical stone which supposedly will guide them the way to Atlantica. But they are being followed! A pursuit across land and sea begins…
Guest performances by Anders Sköld (Veonity), Alex Hunzinger (Ex-Aeternitas) and Joan Pabon (Tragedian). The album was mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Pretty Maids etc.)
product: Bad Baron - Ace Of Hearts
release date: 26.08.2022
formats: CD & digital
territory: world
You might be tempted to assume that you’ve come across yet another Scandinavian sleaze rock band, following a path well-trodden over the past few years by bands like Crashdïet, Santa Cruz and Reckless Love. But you’d be wrong. Bad Baron, hailing from the metal mecca of Finland, do things a little differently.
From their breakout debut ‘Sweet Talker,’ that hit the airwaves of national station Radio Rock in February 2021, to their latest ballad ‘Lost In The Night,’ Bad Baron have proved again and again that they can take all the best parts from the golden age of rock music, wrap them up in an exhilarating hook filled package, and fearlessly cast it out into a world that never truly stopped loving yesteryear’s rock titans.
Leading the band on vocals and bass is 2020 Voice of Finland contestant Lauri Huovinen, who cut his teeth playing in bands in the wintry northern city of Oulu. Guitarist Tommy Widdow and British keyboardist Alex Kron bring the pulsating riffs, vintage synths, and facemelting solos, while Sammy South keeps the beat with the (very) occasional drum solo. ‘I’m a massive fan of the AOR and glam metal that came out of the 80s,’ says Lauri ’Whitesnake, Journey, Mötley Crüe and so on, so it was amazing to find people who want to keep that flame burning in a time where rock musicians have to try harder than ever to cut through.’
With big looks, even bigger hooks, and more gratuitous key changes than you ever thought possible, Bad Baron set the bar just a little bit higher.
product: Lugnet - Tales From The Great Beyond
release date: 26.08.2022
formats: CD, LP & digital
territory: world-JP
There’s no escaping the motherlode - that eternal continuum of high drama and overheated ampstacks fit to raise the pulse and revivify the spirits. It’s merely an unmistakable band chemistry that transforms base hard rock into gemstones, and this process is an increasingly rare phenomenon in the here and now. Luckily for Stockholm’s alchemists LUGNET, they are one of the few.
Here in these steamrollering grooves and strident anthems is just the kind of swagger and bravado on which rock built its foundations in the ‘70s, yet without any of the cliches or the bloated self-importance. The roots of LUGNET may be visible to see, and the primal stomp of early Deep Purple, the apocalyptic sermonising of Black Sabbath and the cinematic majesty of Rainbow can easily be detected in the almighty sturm-und-drang. Yet this sound is delivered with charisma and maverick energy that effortlessly summons fresh vibrant life to a classic form.
The spark that lit LUGNET originates in 2009, when Fredrik Jansson-Punkka (also drummer of Angel Witch, and whose storied history includes stints in Witchcraft, Abramis Brama and Count Raven) met bassist Lennart ‘Z’ Zethzon at Sweden Rock Festival and the two first discussed getting together to jam. Three years later this finally came to fruition and guitarists Bonden Jansson and Mackan Holten joined the fray, alongside vocalist Roger Solander. An original plan to play ‘70s blues-rock with Swedish lyrics was ultimately warped and transformed into the monumental attack of 2016’s self-titled debut proper on Pride & Joy Music.
The road to ‘Nightwalker’ saw changes afoot in the band, as Solander was replaced by the soulful pipes of Johan Fahlberg, who matches the swashbuckling charm of the Dio/Coverdale tradition with flourishes and personality all his own, whilst Bonden Jansson made way for wunderkind new guitarist Matti Norlin. This was a quantum leap on from the debut, replete with fiery interplay and incisive songwriting, from the slow Zeppelin-esque catharsis of ‘Death Laughs At You’ to the monstrous ‘Stargazer’-esque grandeur of the mellotron-assisted finale ‘Kill Us All’.
The aftermath saw Lugnet traverse from strength to strength, a notable highlight being packing out their tent at Sweden Rock Festival in 2018 even whilst a certain Birmingham-birthed Prince Of Darkness himself occupied the main stage across the field. Michael Linder (formerly of Troubled Horse) soon replaced Mackan Holten, and this line-up has subsequently amassed enough material for two albums, with all members throwing their hat into the ring songwriting-wise.
One of these ‘Tales From The Great Beyond’ has already been recorded at SolnaSound Recording with the dream-team of Simon Johansson (Wolf/ Soilwork) and Mike Wead (King Diamond/ Mercyful Fate) at the helm / mixed by Marcus Jidell (Avatarium/ Candlemass). Just like for the debut album, the front cover artwork was designed by Vance Kelly.
Whatever the future holds for Lugnet, only a fool would bet on the result not being a spectacular explosion of righteousness. This machine is firing on all cylinders, and rockers of all persuasions would be well advised to get on board or get out of the way.
“Tales From The Great Beyond” will be released on CD, LP and digitally on August 26th, 2022 via Pride & Joy Music.
