RIVERSIDE – Reveal “Wasteland” album artwork and first release details!

Polish Rock masters RIVERSIDE are pleased to announce that their upcoming seventh studio album ‘Wasteland’ will be released via their longtime label partner InsideOutMusic on September 28th, 2018.

The album will once again feature artwork designed by longtime visual partner Travis Smith (Opeth, Devin Townsend, etc.) and the record’s main track-listing reads as follows:

RIVERSIDE – “Wasteland”:
1. The Day After
2. Acid Rain
3. Vale Of Tears
4. Guardian Angel
5. Lament
6. The Struggle For Survival
7. River Down Below
8. Wasteland
9. The Night Before

RIVERSIDE’s Mariusz Duda checked in with the following comment about the album’s overall concept: “I’d been thinking about exploring “post-apocalyptic” regions for a long time. I read books, watched films, played video games, all connected by stories about an attempt to survive in a world that had just ended. But writing such a story myself didn’t make much sense until now. RIVERSIDE are starting a new chapter and after our recent experiences, a story like that has gained more meaning. “Wasteland” is mostly about what’s happening in the world these days but it also makes a reference to the tragedy that befell the band in 2016. Musically, we’ve returned to darker sounds but we have also turned a new page and recorded the album in a different style. It’s still RIVERSIDE but expressed in a much deeper and more mature way. Most artists say the same thing while promoting their new releases: that they have just created their best work to date. I won’t say that because everything we have done so far has been consistently very good and unique. But I will say that we have never had such an incredible emotional load on any of our previous releases, and it’s not likely that we will ever make such a charged album again. “Wasteland” is an epic, multidimensional, poetic and very deep album. Perhaps of the once in a lifetime kind.”

RIVERSIDE’s “Wasteland” marks the first studio album effort with newly composed music after the tragic passing of founding member and guitarist Piotr Grudziński on February 21st, 2016.

Attention: More album details, its pre-order option as well as a first single will be launched on July 27th, so stay tuned for more news soon…

After having just performed on a string of European festivals including the prestigious Night Of The Prog festival at the historic Loreley Amphitheater in Germany last weekend, RIVERSIDE are next embarking on the “Wasteland 2018 Tour” throughout October/November to support the release of their upcoming album. See an overview of all confirmed upcoming dates below:

RIVERSIDE – “Wasteland 2018 Tour”:
12.10.2018 Gdansk (Poland) – B90
13.10.2018 Poznan (Poland) – Tama
14.10.2018 Wroclaw (Poland) – A2
16.10.2018 Katowice (Poland) – Miasto Ogrodów
17.10.2018 Lódz (Poland) – Magnetofon
18.10.2018 Torun (Poland) – Od Nowa
20.10.2018 Kraków (Poland) – Studio
21.10.2018 Warszawa (Poland) – Hala Kolo
30.10.2018 Berlin (Germany) – Kesselhaus
31.10.2018 Schorndorf (Germany) – Manufaktur
03.11.2018 Lisbon (Portugal) – LAV
04.11.2018 Madrid (Spain) – MON LIVE
05.11.2018 Barcelona (Spain) – Salamandra 1
06.11.2018 Lyon (France) – CCO
07.11.2018 Paris (France) – La Machine
09.11.2018 Manchester (UK) – Academy 2
10.11.2018 London (UK) – The Electric Ballroom
11.11.2018 Sint-Niklaas (Belgium) – Casino
12.11.2018 Utrecht (The Netherlands) – TivoliVredenburg
14.11.2018 Hamburg (Germany) – Markthalle
15.11.2018 Oberhausen (Germany) – Turbinenhalle 2
16.11.2018 Pratteln (Switzerland) – Z7
17.11.2018 Neunkirchen (Germany) – Gloomaar Festival
Tickets: https://riversideband.pl/en/gigs

RIVERSIDE – Festivals 2019:
04.-09.02.2019 Tampa to Key West & Cozumel – Cruise To The Edge
More dates to follow soon…

Look out for more news on RIVERSIDE in the coming weeks…

RIVERSIDE online:
http://www.riversideband.pl
http://www.facebook.com/Riversidepl
https://www.instagram.com/riversideband.pl

INSIDEOUT MUSIC online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
www.twitter.com/InsideOutUSA
www.insideoutmusicshop.com

INSIDEOUTMUSIC Spotify Playlist:
http://spotify.com/progrockessentials

PERFECT BEINGS – VIER – INSIDE OUT MUSIC

By Kev Rowland

Between the second and third albums, there were some changes in the Perfect Beings camp, most notably the loss of the rhythm section so that the band was now operating as a trio with additional guest musicians. Ben Levin provides drums on the album which was released at the beginning of 2018, but he has since been replaced by Sein Reinart, and while Johannes Luley picked up the bass duties alongside his guitar, he has now happily put aside the four strings for Jason Lobell. This album also sees a much higher use of woodwind and brass, and since the album, they have been joined by saxophonist/ flutist Brett McDonald.  Also, they are no longer releasing their music on their own label but have signed with Inside Out, a major step forward in so many ways.

With so much happening on the personal front, it probably isn’t surprising that the band have also created a sound that is different to what has gone before. It took me a long way to come up with a way of best describing the music, but in the end, I felt that the only real description that worked for me was “Yes, distilled and concentrated”. Yes have always been an important aspect of the music, but here Perfect Beings have taken it to a whole new level, much more so than the original band. Johannes has revealed in playing fretless bass, bringing it even further to the fore than Chris Tristram had previously, while Ryan Hurtgen is as powerful, clean and melodic as he has always been, and Jesse Nason is happy to keep it all together with a modern sounding approach to keyboards.

A big musical difference between this and the other albums is the use of saxophone (particularly) and other brass and woodwind instruments. Max Kaplan (various saxophones and clarinets) has had a huge role to play on the overall sound of this album, and while the guests don’t feature on every song, where they are used they have an immediate impact. Japanese koto and erdu musicians are used alongside cello, tabla, flugelhorn, flute, bass flute, trombone and the Vienna Symphonic Library, all brought into a musical journey, divided into four movements. It is an incredibly deep album, with a breadth of thought that goes on forever, and at times moves into the modern orchestra soundscape area that is normally thought of as being the domain of Karda Estra. Yet, even with all this going on, it is still an incredibly light album in many ways, one that it is easy to get inside the heart of, which allows the listener to be swept along on an amazing musical journey. It is an album that cries out to be heard on headphones when there is enough time to sit and relax back into it.

This is easily their finest album to date, and I fully expect it to be in my Top Ten albums at the end of the year as I can’t expect to come across many more finer than this. 9/10

http://perfectbeingsband.com

 

SONY MUSIC SIGNS DREAM THEATER TO A LONG-TERM DEAL VIA ITS INSIDE OUT MUSIC IMPRINT

In a career that has spanned in excess of 30 years and during which they have sold more than eight million albums, two-time Grammy-nominated US progressive-metal band Dream Theater has never done the predictable. This was evident with the release of their ambitious 2016 concept album ‘The Astonishing’ and the elaborately-produced tour that followed.

Now Dream Theater is pleased to announce that they have signed with Sony Music Entertainment worldwide, through Sony’s leading progressive music label imprint INSIDE OUT MUSIC, for the release of the band’s forthcoming 14th studio album. They join an impressive roster of bands, many of which wouldn’t exist without Dream Theater blazing a trail before them, and inspiring young musicians since the early ‘90s.

The band comments: “We are all really excited about signing a brand-new record deal with InsideOut/Sony! We’ve known Thomas Waber for a very long time and it’s great to finally get a chance to work together. Thomas’ enthusiasm, energy, music industry expertise and positive outlook towards the future of DT’s recording career has been incredible to witness, and we have no doubt that being part of the InsideOut/Sony family will be an amazing creative and professional experience for all of us!”

InsideOutMusic Label Head / A&R Thomas Waber adds: “This is what the term ‘coming full circle’ was invented for. We’ve followed the band closely ever since they started touring in Europe in 1993, and there has been a lot of history and friendship between DT and us for close to 25 years. Stepping up to the plate to join with them for this next important chapter in their career feels like the natural and right thing to do. I can’t wait to get started!”

Sony Music Germany CFO Philip von Esebeck continues: “This is an important signing in our goal to support and grow the InsideOutMusic label as a brand, and we are very excited at Sony Music to welcome Dream Theater to our roster of top-tier artists!”

Since completing the theatrical stage presentation/fifteen-month touring cycle for ‘The Astonishing,’ Dream Theater have been circling the world in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the band’s much-loved and gold-selling record ‘Images & Words,’ their breakthrough album which spawned the Top 10 hit “Pull Me Under.”

Beginning in February 2017, the band has played in Europe, Japan, Australia, India, South East Asia, and the Middle East and just finished up their tour in North America.
For almost 25 years, InsideOutMusic has been one of the leading labels worldwide for progressive music and is part of the Century Media Label Group, a division of Sony Music.

Kansas Announces Live Album Leftoverture Live & Beyond for Release in November

KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band, will release their new live album “Leftoverture Live & Beyond” on November 3, 2017. This is the first live album since 2009 for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust in the Wind,’ to progressive epics like ‘Miracles Out of Nowhere.’

Fans can pre-order starting August 23, by visiting www.kansasband.com

“Leftoverture Live & Beyond,” produced by Jeff Glixman, features nineteen songs selected from twelve shows recorded during KANSAS’s Spring 2017 Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour. The set list includes classic hits, deep cuts, new songs from 2016’s studio album “The Prelude Implicit,” and culminates with the band’s sextuple-platinum breakthrough album, “Leftoverture,” performed in its entirety.

Coinciding with the 40th Anniversary of “Leftoverture,” and the release of “The Prelude Implicit,” KANSAS embarked on their biggest headlining tour in decades. The overwhelming success of that tour led the band, along with Inside Out Music, to release selected songs from the tour as a live album.

“When we saw how much our fans enjoyed the Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour shows, we knew we had to record a live album,” said KANSAS drummer, Phil Ehart. “When it came to finding someone to produce it, we thought the best possible person would be the guy that produced ‘Leftoverture’ forty years ago. So, we called Jeff Glixman!”

“I’m really excited with how this live album sounds,” adds producer, Jeff Glixman. “This band is on fire. Producing this live album was truly an undertaking, but I am confident that KANSAS fans will enjoy the end result.”

“Leftoverture Live & Beyond,” will be released on November 3, 2017, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by The Orchard. The album will be available as a double CD digipak, four 180 Gram Vinyl boxed set, and digitally on iTunes and Google Play.

Leftoverture Live & Beyond Track Listing:
1.) Icarus II
2.) Icarus
3.) Point of Know Return
4.) Paradox
5.) Journey from Mariabronn
6.) Lamplight Symphony
7.) Dust in the Wind
8.) Rhythm in the Spirit
9.) The Voyage of Eight Eighteen
10.) Section 60
11.) Carry On Wayward Son
12.) The Wall
13.) What’s on My Mind
14.) Miracles out of Nowhere
15.) Opus Insert
16.) Questions of My Childhood
17.) Cheyenne Anthem
18.) Magnum Opus
19.) Portrait (He Knew)

KANSAS will resume the Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour this fall. More information on the tour, including specific Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour dates, can be found at www.kansasband.com

Lonely Robot Has Big Dreams

Inside Out Music Press Release

Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by producer, guitarist and singer/songwriter John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena), has announced that its much-anticipated second studio album ‘The Big Dream’ will be released on 28th April 2017.

Following 2015’s acclaimed debut ‘Please Come Home’, ‘The Big Dream’ has a core theme running through it – one that sees The Astronaut, the central character in the Lonely Robot adventure, emerging from a long period in stasis.

Mitchell explains: “The Astronaut wakes up from a cryogenic sleep but finds he’s no longer in space, and is instead in a woodland area surrounded by a group of strange people with animal heads! It’s a little surreal, a little ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to some extent. This is something of a solipsistic haze, for want of a better description!”

‘The Big Dream’ will be available as a special edition digipak CD (including 3 bonus tracks), gatefold 2LP + CD, and digital download. The track listing is as follows:

Lonely Robot

1. Prologue (Deep Sleep)
2. Awakenings
3. Sigma
4. In Floral Green
5. Everglow
6. False Lights
7. Symbolic
8. The Divine Art Of Being
9. The Big Dream
10. Hello World Goodbye
11. Epilogue (Sea Beams)

Bonus Tracks:
12. In Floral Green (Acoustic Version)
13. The Divine Art Of Being (Acoustic Version)
14. Why Do We Stay? (feat. Kim Seviour)

Lonely Robot will be brought to life on stage with Craig Blundell on drums, Steve Vantsis on bass & Liam Holmes on keyboards. The following dates are currently confirmed:

Sun 5 March – Progdreams VI, Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Thu 27 April – Sub89, Reading, UK
Fri 28 April – Marillion Convention, Leicester, UK
Sat 27 May – Trinity Live, Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa, UK