Amplifier Launch Lyric Video for "Open Up"

Amplifier are set to release their new album Mystoria on the September 8 in Europe and September 30 in the US, and with just a couple of weeks left till it drops the band have launched a lyric video for the track Open Up.

The band had this to say about the song: "Open Up is a song about surprise. And that's a handy word to use when we talk about Mystoria".

You can view the video here:

 

Early last week the band invited fans further into the world of Mystoria by taking an 8-bit Magic Carpet ride complete with super, high-definition retro soundtrack. You can check that out here:
http://www.superballmusic.com/specials/amplifier/

Pre-orders for the album are also now available, with formats including a Mediabook CD including 2 bonus tracks and extended artwork & a gatefold vinyl LP version including the album on CD. You can pre-order the album physically and digitally at the links below: 

Superball Music store: http://smarturl.it/amplifierSBM
OMerch: http://www.omerch.eu/shop/Amplifier
Burning Shed: http://www.smarturl.it/mystoria_bshed
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Amplifier-iTunes
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/mystoriaAMAZON
Amazon MP3: http://smarturl.it/mystoriaAMAZONMP3

The band also recently revealed European dates for the Mystoria tour, and they can be found below:
Aug 23 Zamba Loca Wohlen, Switzerland  
Oct 06 LA PENICHE Lille, France  
Oct 07 Schuur Luzern, Switzerland  
Oct 08 strom Munich, Germany 
Oct 09 Keller Club Stuttgart, Germany  
Oct 10 Raucherkrammer Wiesbaden, Germany  
Oct 11 Luxor Cologne, Germany  
Oct 12 Beatpol Dresden, Germany  
Oct 13 Kleine Freiheit Osnabruck, Germany  
Oct 14 Knust Hamburg, Germany  
Oct 15 Privatclub Berlin, Germany  
Oct 16 Patronaat Haarlem, Netherlands  
Oct 17 Cacaofabriek Helmond, Netherlands  
Oct 18 Le Batofar Paris, France  
Nov 15 The Ritz w/ Kerbdog, Nine Black Alps, Hawk Eyes, Manchester, United Kingdom
Nov 16 The Forum w/ Kerbdog, Jamie Lenman Hawk Eyes, London, United Kingdom

Check out the video for Named After Rocky, the first single from Mystoria here: http://youtu.be/RblO4B6h2tc
Short by Amplifier's standards at eleven songs and 45 minutes, the band have focused their dexterities into brief bursts of genre-spinning sound. "Mystoria doesn't aspire to emulate any of its predecessors," Balamir says,  "but I suppose like Echo Street the approach to making it is a lot simpler - it's just about the songs,  pure and simple. We'd gone back to just trying to write great songs and melodies, and that's where we've decided to stay."
 
With a career that spans almost 1000 gigs of every conceivable size over 14 years and 8 releases,  including the behemoth double album The Octopus,  which has come to be regarded as a modern classic, Amplifier have by this point progressed past being simply a band and have become a zen-like state of being.
 
Amplifier online:
http://www.amplifierband.com
https://www.facebook.com/amplifierband
https://twitter.com/amplifierband

United Progressive Fraternity Sign to InsideOutMusic

InsideOutMusic are very pleased to announce the signing of United Progressive Fraternity for the release of their debut album Fall In Love With The World this November. Formed from the ashes of respected Australian progressive rockers Unitopia, the band sees Matt Williams, Dave Hopgood, Tim Irrgang & Mark 'Truey' Trueack joined by Guy Manning (Manning, The The Tangent), Daniel Mash (Maschine, The Tangent), & Marek Arnold. The forthcoming album also features guest appearances from Jon Anderson of Yes, as well as Steve Hackett of Genesis.

The band had this to say about the signing & tour:

'We are absolutely thrilled to be signed to such a prestigious label as InsideOut and look forward to a long & fruitful partnership in the future. We are very proud of what we have achieved with the making of this, the debut album from UPF.   Everyone has worked incredibly hard to bring it together, and while the road we travelled to get here was a real challenge, the journey has been worth every step.   We have strived to create a richer, bolder, grittier sound trying to evolve a little more, and we truly believe we have succeeded in this. But none of it would have been possible without the commitment, passion and belief in the vision of the Fraternity, of every member of the band and the newly formed UPF family so now....we really are, all parts of the whole!!

We are very excited to be taking UPF to the road with our Promotional UK/European tour in Autumn, kicking off at the 2014 Summers End X Festival where we have the prime Saturday night spot on 27th September. We will be playing tracks from the new album and Unitopia fans will not be disappointed as we will be playing selected favourites from the Unitopia back catalogue. We are very much looking forward to all playing live together for the very first time! We intend to give our audience a musical journey they will not forget and hope that they too, will not just fall in love with our music but fall in love with the world!'

The band will embark on their first live dates later this year, starting with Summer's End Festival in the UK and continuing into Europe in October. The full list of dates can be found below:

27 Sept 2014 - Summer's End Festival, Chepstow - England
02 Oct 2014 - The Barge Antipode, Paris - France
03 Oct 2014 - Poppodium Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen - Netherlands
04 Oct 2014 - Chez Paulette, Nancy - France
05 Oct 2014 - T Blok, Nieuwekerk Aan Deijsel - Netherlands
07 Oct 2014 - Blues Café Nieuwstraat 74A, Apeldoorn - Netherlands
10 Oct 2014 - The Bedford Balham, London - England
11 Oct 2014 - The Wesley Arts Centre, Maltby - England
12 Oct 2014 - Cathouse, Glasgow - Scotland

Fall In Love with the World track list:
1. We Only Get One World (Overture)
2. Choices
3. Intersection
4. The Water
5. Don't Look Back
6. Travelling Man (The Story of Eshu)
7. Fall in Love with the World
8. Religions of War

Look out for more information in the coming weeks!

United Progressive Fraternity online:
www.facebook.com/UPFrat
http://www.unitedprogressivefraternity.com/

Genesis R'Kive: Been There, Heard That

The big news yesterday on the intertubes was an announcement on the Genesis Facebook page asking us to: "stay tuned for some exciting Genesis news here tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s our new logo."

OK, so the new "logo", which is really a new record cover, is visually interesting in that the letters of the band's name are used to make a face appear in the shadows. Speculation abounded on what this great news would be: a new studio record? (could be), a new tour? (less likely), a series of shows with the classic line-up? (dream on!).

This morning when the news finally came to light, that the "exciting news" was the release of a 3-CD compilation titled R-Kive, the disappointment was palpable, and so was the sarcasm. What are we to make of this?

First off, the good news:

Spanning an incredible 42 years, R-Kive is a new 3-CD, 37-track set that documents the band’s history in the most comprehensive way yet. Compiled by the band themselves via a process of collaboration and elimination, R-Kive takes an in-depth, chronological journey through the catalogue and - for the first time ever for a Genesis collection - includes three personally chosen selections from the solo careers of Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherford / Mike + The Mechanics.

So, the songs were chosen by the band members themselves, which explains some interesting choices. Each member chose three songs from their solo career to add to this compilation. Peter Gabriel selected Solsbury Hill, Biko,... and Signal to Noise from Up, but not Sledgehammer. Phil Collins, who's had a lot of singles,  chose the obligatory In the Air Tonight, Easy Lover, and... Wake-Up Call from Testify, not his most successful album. As for Mike Rutherford, he eschewed his own solo work, especially the excellent Smallcreep's Day for songs from Mike + The Mechanics: Silent Running, The Living Years, and Over My Shoulder. Do you see a pattern?

Next up Tony Banks chose For a While from A Curious Feeling, Red Day on Blue Street from Still and Siren from Six. And last but not least, Steve Hackett, who is the only member who is still going strong both releasing new music and touring, chose A Tower Struck Down, for Voyage of the Acolyte, Every Day from Spectral Mornings, and Nomads from Out of the Tunnel's Mouth.

What these choices all have in common is that they all follow the same pattern: 1st song from 1st album, 2nd song from middle period or second hit, and 3rd song from last studio album of original material to come out.

In a sense it is their first career-spanning compilation ever, and is a perfect complement to the anticipated TV documentary that will be seen early next year.

But...

But it is completely useless to most fans, who already have all the albums including the other compilations (the die-hard fans), or have the important albums (most fans). The big let-down is that no new material (live or otherwise) is included. I know a lot of people, myself included, who would have bought it just to get Compression, the B-Side to Mike Rutherford's Working In Line single, on CD.

At least the press release had this good news:

The release of R-Kive will be followed by the accompanying reunion documentary Genesis: Together and Apart which will be broadcast by the BBC in early October. An accompanying DVD, Sum of the Parts will also be issued by Eagle Rock on November 17th (November 18th in North America).

Now THAT's the news I wanted to hear. But we'll have to wait for more about the Sum of the Parts DVD.

Roger Water's The Wall to Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival

Sean Evans, graphic designer and co-developer of The Wall's live stage show reboot of 2010, makes his directorial debut with this concert film shot in three cities across two continents. But it isn't only a concert film, as the film follows Roger Waters' journey through France and Italy where he visits WWI sites where his own family left indelible marks fighting for the Allies.

Roger Waters The Wall will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6th at the Elgin/Winter Garden Theatres Visa Screening Room (Elgin) at 9:15 PM, and will replay on the 7th at the Ryerson Theatre at 2:45 PM.

Roger Waters The Wall will then play on the 14th at 8:30 at the Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank 12.

The Toronto International Film Festival opens September 4th and ends on the 14th.

TIFF website: http://www.tiff.net/

AudioPlastik Signed to BEM

Bad Elephant Music is delighted to announce that In the Head of a Maniac, the debut album from AudioPlastik, will be released on BEM in early 2015.

AudioPlastik, previously known as Alpha Flood/Brave New Sky, is a collaboration between respected guitarist and vocalist Dec Burke (Darwin's Radio, Frost* and solo artist of this parish), guitarist/bassist Simon Andersson (Darkwater, ex-Pain of Salvation) and Richard West, keyboard player with Threshold. In the Head of a Maniac consists of thirteen anthemic songs with soaring melodies and which aren't afraid to pack a punch - emphasising the 'rock' in progressive rock.

Dec Burke: "Really happy and excited to reveal that we have been signed and are working with BEM for the release of our debut album, and will soon be coming 'atcha like Cleopatra"

David Elliott (BEM): "It's great to be working with Dec, Simon and Richard on what we feel will be one of THE releases of 2015. This one is really going to blow your socks off - presuming you're wearing them in the first place, of course!"

In the Head of a Maniac will be released very early in 2015. The release will be preceded by a digital single, entitled Now, in November.

District 97's Reveal Plan for 3rd Album

District 97 have just released a video of a new song, performed live at Martyr's Night Club this past June. The new track is titled Takeover and was co-written by vocalist Leslie Hunt and drummer Jonathan Schang. There's only one catch...

They don't have enough money to record it!

So they are starting a Kickstarter campaign on August 25, next Monday. If you want to hear their 3rd album, please consider helping to bring this project to fruition by contributing to their campaign. Links to the Kickstarter campaign will be available here next Monday.

Also check out their Midwest Kickstarter Launch Tour! Dates can be found at http://www.district97.net/shows. In the meantime, enjoy the new song!

Orphaned Land Premieres New Video

Orphaned Land, one of Israel's most successful musical exports and "Global Metal Band of the Year 2014" Metal Hammer Award Winner, are now set to premiere their new video for Let The Truce Be Known taken from their 2013 album All Is One.

 
The video was directed and edited by Vadim Mechona and produced by Yan Lubin. Let The Truce Be Known is one Orphaned Land's favorite songs ever. The lyrics and the story are based on the World War 1's Christmas Truce. However, the story seems to resonate these days more than ever.


Singer Kobi Farhi has shared these thoughts:

"The tragedies we see in the Middle East are down to the fact that no negotiations, nor peace conventions, will ever help us achieve peace as long as hate, revenge, and self- victimisation are used as excuses for war.

The majority of the Middle East's population suffers from a terrible education system; it's actually a worldwide phenomenon. Our first childhood toys are always toy guns. These childhood moments are the most important, when our personality is shaped, and we are subconsciously preparing ourselves for the use of weapons, for wars, for enemies. Add politics and media systems to the equation and you'll get a chaotic loop that never ends. Is it in our nature to fight? Yeah it is, but we can educate ourselves to hold different values.

- Imagine a world where we have more education and less economical conventions.

- Imagine a world where all the religious leaders, the ones who claim they are Ambassadors of God, will gather as one and not leave the room, until as one unified voice they declare that war is the most hated act in the eyes of God. Why aren't they doing this already?

- Imagine a new education system, a one that way before teaching us about the bloody history of humanity, we will learn about the value of life, we will learn that life is sacred and that killing is a worldwide taboo. We will also learn about how to have a dialogue, how to talk, how to listen to each other. It seems to be more important than Mathematics for the moment.

-Imagine if we were brought up believing that going to war and killing someone is forbidden, the same way that it's wrong to have sex with someone in our family. That's a deliberately extreme example, but just imagine the same first reaction every human will have to the idea of sex with a sibling, and imagine them reacting the same way for killing someone or going to war.

- Children of the Middle East should play football, play in bands, grow up in a safe city. They shouldn't run away from rockets, bombs and all the irresponsible wars that we, the adult ones, bring to them from their birth up until the moment they become warriors themselves.

Janusz Korczak, the founder of a Jewish orphanage in World War II, said once, before being sent to his death with all of his children: "If you want to change the world, change the education system".

Therefore, until we will do so, until we will understand it, until then, as tragic as it may sound - we are doomed for an eternal loop of wars.

"We shall overcome someday"

Peace.

Kobi Farhi on Behalf of Orphaned Land.

Orphaned Land "Mabool" 10th Anniversary Tour 2014
30.10. F Colmar, Le Grillen
31.10. GER Frankfurt, Nachtleben
01.11. GER Gera, Sächsischer Bahnhof
02.11. CH Pratteln, Z7 Mini
03.11. F Paris, Le Divan Du Monde
04.11. UK Leicester, Firebug
05.11. UK Manchester, Academy 3
06.11. IRE Dublin, Voodoo
07.11. UK London, The Dome
08.11. NL Apeldoorn, Gigant Brainstorm Festival

Orphaned Land online:
http://www.orphaned-land.com 
http://www.facebook.com/OrphanedLandOfficial 
http://www.myspace.com/orphanedmyspace 

North Atlantic Oscillation Announce Details of New Album

Edinburgh trio North Atlantic Oscillation are delighted to announce news of their new album The Third Day as they share the first track online from the upcoming record. The album is due Oct 6th via Kscope & the band will embark on a UK tour in late October.

NAO have an organic & unique take on rock electronica, which is clear to see from their new track. August flows seamlessly offering a glimpse of what to expect from the forthcoming album. It’s an effortless listen from a group with an incredibly pure sound.

With their new album The Third Day, Edinburgh’s North Atlantic Oscillation have created a flow of energy deserving of their meteorological namesake. At a time when music is increasingly cut down into single segments for easy digestion, the record – the first they’ve produced entirely themselves – is woven together as a whole, beautiful body of work, the tracks entwined around each other with no dead space in between.

The band, Sam Healy on guitars, keyboards and vocals, completed by Ben Martin (drums, programming) and Chris Howard (bass), formed in 2005, and quickly became known for their intricate, progressive take on rock and electronica, their 2010 debut Grappling Hooks and follow-up Fog Electric gaining them critical praise and plenty of fans with a taste for delicately intelligent music. And while The Third Day is not a concept album like its predecessor, that continuous flow is something Healy intended. He compares it to a shortwave radio sweeping from one station to the next.









NAO’s power is in their uniqueness – they genuinely sound like no one else. And yet the sound is organic and natural. Their position outside of musical cliques is one they’re more than happy with.


Tracklist
1. Great Plains II
2. Elsewhere
3. August
4. A Nice Little Place
5. Penrose
6. Do Something Useful
7. Wires
8. Pines of Eden
9. Dust
10 When To Stop

CD Sleevepac Edition PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

LP Edition with download code
180g black vinyl LP in a poly lined anti-static inner bag ORDER YOUR COPY

See North Atlantic Oscillation live:
21st Oct Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle
22nd Oct Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London
23rd Oct Soup Kitchen, Manchester
24th Oct Oobleck, Birmingham

Tickets for all shows, including new album bundles on sale NOW from:www.musicglue.com/northatlanticoscillation/
https://www.burningshed.com/store/kscope/product/272/6007/

The Enid Ready First Light

The Enid will release a new CD on 6th October, titled First Light.

This intermediate release will include 2 tracks previewing brand new material from the Invicta sequel (name still secret) and Robert John Godfrey and Joe Payne's new album, The Bridge.

Extra tracks include new interpretations of current material as performed during the summer 2014 shows, including the vocal arrangement of Mockingbird and the new and improved version of Dark Hydraulic with vocoder from Max Read and vocals from Joe Payne.

There's also a recording of Mayday Galliard recorded live at The Met in Bury featuring Max Read and Joe Payne on EWIs (Electronic Wind Instruments).

The CD will be packaged in digipack feature stunning artwork by Dominic Tofield.

Bonus: People who pre-order First Light by 21st September will also be credited in the sleeve notes.

Pre-order First Light here: www.theenid.co.uk/shop/cds/first-light-details.html

Devin Townsend Joins Animals As Leaders On Tour

As previously announced, guitar virtuoso and musical genius Devin Townsend has been hard at work on the new Devin Townsend Project and Ziltoid2 records for the past few months, preparing the world for Ziltoid The Omniscient's triumphant return and the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Epicloud! In support of this forthcoming epic double album due out in October, Hevy Devy will join Animals As Leaders for a co-headlining tour in November/December with Monuments as support.

See below for all tour dates, and stay tuned for more news about Ziltoid2 / the Devin Townsend Project coming soon!

Devin Townsend Project, Animals As Leaders, Monuments North American tour dates:
Nov. 17 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
Nov. 18 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom *
Nov. 19 - Kelowna, BC - Level Nightclub *
Nov. 21 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall
Nov. 22 - Calgary, AB - The Gateway *
Nov. 23 - Saskatoon, SK - O'Brians Event Centre
Nov. 24 - Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick Centre *
Nov. 25 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Nov. 26 - Chicago, IL - Metro *
Nov. 28 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall *
Nov. 29 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
Nov. 30 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre *
Dec. 1 - Montreal, QC - Club Soda
Dec. 3 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live *
Dec. 4 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Dec. 5 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium *
Dec. 6 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
Dec. 8 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage *
Dec. 10 - San Antonio, TX - Backstage Live
Dec. 11 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar N Grill *
Dec. 13 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
Dec. 14 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater *
Dec. 15 - Mesa, AZ - The Nile Theatre
Dec. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Mayan *
Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
*=DTP closes show

Devin Townsend live in Europe
Aug. 5 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
Aug. 6 - Cologne, Germany - Luxor
Aug. 7 - Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu
Aug. 8 - Jaromer, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault Festival
Aug. 9 - Frankfurt, Germany - Nachtleben
Aug. 11 - Cervia Ra, Italy - Rock Planet
Aug. 13 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
Aug. 14 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm
Aug. 15 - Dinkelsbuhl, Germany - Summerbreeze Festival
Aug. 17 - Devon, UK - Beautiful Days Festival
Sept. 4 - London, UK - Union Chapel
Sept. 6 - Helsinki, Finland - Savoy Teatteri

Following the success of 2012's Epicloud, Devin Townsend released a special CD/DVD set, The Retinal Circus, in 2013, which featured a full choir and theatrical cast, visual and aural enhancements unlike any show Hevy Devy has done to date, several guest appearances, circus performances and more. This past May, Devin also self-released Casualties of Cool, an album that was crowd-funded by his hardcore fan-base, who pledged over 500% of the project's goal.

Devin Townsend online: http://www.hevydevy.com http://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend http://www.omerch.com 

New Lunatic Soul Out in October

We already know the title and the cover of the fourth album of Lunatic Soul, the solo project of Mariusz Duda, the lead singer and creative force behind Riverside. The new release will be called Walking on a Flashlight Beam and will comprise almost 64 minutes of brand new music.

"These are very dark and intense compositions but very melodious too. I think it's one of the best things I've ever written, if not the best one", said Mariusz.

The album is scheduled to be released on 13th October 2014 on Kscope worldwide and on Mystic Production in Poland.

Walking on a Flashlight Beam tracklist:
1. Shutting Out the Sun - 8:40
2. Cold - 6:58
3. Gutter - 8:42
4. Stars Sellotaped - 1:34
5. The Fear Within - 7:10
6. Treehouse - 5:31
7. Pygmalion’s Ladder - 12:02
8. Sky Drawn in Crayon - 4:58
9. Walking on a Flashlight Beam - 8:11