Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by producer, guitarist and singer/songwriter John Mitchell (Kino, Frost*, Arena, It Bites), is currently finishing work on their fourth full-length album due out later this Summer.
During the campaign for their acclaimed last album ‘Under Stars’, a full animated film was created by Crystal Spotlight and screened at two very special cinema events in the UK. Now the full visual accompaniment is available to stream, and you can watch it now here: https://youtu.be/slyM9ZUzr6U
John comments: “It has always been an ambition of mine to have a full-length visual accompaniment alongside an album of music I have written. With Under Stars and the help of Miles at Crystal Spotlight, this dream was finally realized last year. I’m very proud of the results and I’d like to thank Miles for all his hard work and patience in bringing this to fruition. I hope you enjoy it.”
‘Under Stars’ featured drums by long-time collaborator Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett), plus bass contributions from Steve Vantsis (Fish). All other instrumentation on the album was performed by Mitchell himself.
John comments on the album: “It is the final part in the astronaut trilogy, and was recorded over an intensive month and a half period. This time I wanted to reference my love of 80s synthwave pop a little more – so beware the 808! The title is derived from the belief that we as humans spend far too much time not noticing the beauty around us and far too much time tethered to technology.”
1. Terminal Earth (1:56)2. Ancient Ascendant (5:47)3. Icarus (5:21)4. Under Stars (5:16)5. Authorship Of Our Lives (5:39)6. The Signal (3:20)7. The Only Time I Don’t Belong Is Now (5:16)8. When Gravity Fails (5:03)9. How Bright Is The Sun? (6:03)10. Inside This Machine (3:28)11. An Ending (2:40) 12. How Bright Is The Sun? (Cosmic Mix) (5:59) * bonus track13. Under Stars (Cosmic Mix) (5:16) * bonus track14. Lonely Robot – Chapter One – Airlock (7:00) * bonus track
‘Under Stars’ was released as a limited edition digipak CD (featuring 3 bonus tracks), gatefold 2LP + CD & as digital album. Order now here: https://lonelyrobot.lnk.to/UnderStars/
Under Stars is the final part in Lonely Robot’s ‘astronaut trilogy’. Musically, the album expands upon its two predecessors and finds a balance between heavy edges and lush choruses (which have been John Mitchell’s trademark since day one). Mitchell says, “This time I wanted to reference my love of 1980s synthwave pop a little more, so beware the 808!”, Mitchell
‘Under Stars’ is the final album in a trilogy for Lonely Robot, John Mitchell’s visionary project. This began in 2015 with the ‘Please Come Home’ album and continued two years later with ”The Big Dream’. “I always saw this as a trilogy, and it feels like the third part of the Lonely Robot master plan has reached a natural conclusion.” As with the two previous albums, there is a theme running across the songs here, as Mitchell explains. “On ‘Please Come Home’, the theme was about the idea that life on Earth didn’t originate from this planet, while for ‘The Big Dream’, I was really giving everyone the benefit of Zen musings according to John Mitchell. This time things are a little more down to earth. What I am doing is looking at the millennial generation, and the fact that kids today are so tied to their phones and to technology. They really have no clue what is actually going on around them, and I find that worrying.”
John Mitchell is a man with a rich musical heritage and history – from musician and vocalist to songwriter and producer. With bands like Arena, Frost*, Kino, It Bites and Lonely Robot, to name but a few, Mitchell has left his mark on the current progressive rock scene and has been involved in dozens of recordings. He is also a respected producer & mixer, running Outhouse Studios in the UK and working with artists as diverse as You Me At Six, Enter Shikari, Alter Bridge, Asia, Don Broco, Funeral For A Friend, McFly & much more.
Caligula’s Horse had previously announced their first ever North American tour, which has unfortunately had to be postponed to January-February 2021. Look out for more details on that soon.
Caligula’s Horse had previously announced their first-ever North American tour, which has, unfortunately, had to be postponed to January-February 2021. Look out for more details on that soon.
Progressive rockers Haken are excited to reveal their new studio album ‘Virus’, the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed album ‘Vector’, will be released June 5th, 2020. By way of introduction, the band have recorded a special video message to give some background to the record:
Today also sees the launch of the album’s first single and opening track ‘Prosthetic’, with a video directed by Vicente Cordero. Watch & listen to this punchy opening salvo here:
The band comments: “Prosthetic was the first song we completed during the ‘Virus’ writing sessions and we always felt it would be the perfect opener for the album. It’s a very guitar heavy track with its roots in 80s thrash riffing, but with the unconventional rhythmic twists and turns we often like to explore in Haken. We sadly never had a Jeff Hanneman and Robert Fripp collaboration, but this song at least draws on inspiration from them both!
Lyrically the song is a bridge between our two albums Vector and Virus. The message was brilliantly brought to life by video director Vicente Cordero, who also beautifully captured the live energy of the band in a way that both enhances the song, and perfectly sets the scene for what’s to come.”
Since releasing ‘Vector’ in October 2018, Haken have completed headline tours the world over, played sold-out shows across Europe and North America as support for Devin Townsend and picked up a Prog award for their efforts too! All the while, they have been quietly, secretly working on the follow-up album, entitled ‘Virus’.
Drummer Ray Hearne reveals, “since releasing ‘The Mountain’ in 2013, one question has been asked of us time and time again, ‘who is the Cockroach King?’. This is something we were interested in exploring more deeply too, so we essentially did that through our music; elaborating and expanding upon the intervallic, harmonic, rhythmic and lyrical themes of that song. The end result is in an arc which spans across two albums: ‘Vector’ and ‘Virus’”.
Once again, Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood has mixed what is perhaps the most eclectic Haken album to date, with the 7 tracks revealing hints of influences from multiple genres, all intertwined with Haken’s own recognisable sound. Guitarist Richard Henshall had this to say about the production, “Using Nolly again was a no-brainer, as we wanted the two albums to be sonically connected. But having just spent a day mixing with him in his studio, it’s obvious that this album will be an evolution of the ‘Vector’ sound. These songs seem to allow a lot more freedom of creativity with the production, so we’re excited to see where it leads”.
The track-listing is as follows:
1. Prosthetic 2. Invasion 3. Carousel 4. The Strain 5. Canary Yellow 6. Messiah Complex i: Ivory Tower 7. Messiah Complex ii: A Glutton for Punishment 8. Messiah Complex iii: Marigold 9. Messiah Complex iv: The Sect 10. Messiah Complex v: Ectobius Rex 11. Only Stars
Longtime Haken collaborators, Blacklake, have designed the visuals and artwork and the album will be available as a Limited 2CD, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as Digital Album. Pre-order now here: https://haken.lnk.to/Virus
‘Virus’ is the culmination of a musical thought experiment which started with the ‘Vector’ writing sessions in 2017 and holds intriguing potential for the band’s future, as vocalist Ross Jennings explains, “whilst ‘Virus’ can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone work, it is thematically and conceptually linked with ‘Vector’, so our intention is to perform both albums back to back for a special performance someday”.
HAKEN IS Ross Jenning Richard Henshall Charlie Griffiths Diego Tejeida Conner Green Ray Hearne
Devin Townsend is pleased to announce the release of ‘Empath – The Ultimate Edition’ on June 5th, 2020. This comprehensive version of 2019’s acclaimed album contains the original record and bonus disc across 2 CD’s, plus 2 Blu-Ray discs. The first blu-ray contains the 5.1 Surround Sound mix by Devin, with visuals for the full record, plus a stereo visualiser. The second blu-ray contains a raft of bonus material, including ‘Acoustically Inclined – Live in Leeds’, a recording from his April 2019 acoustic tour where he performed tracks including ‘Love?’, ‘Deadhead’, ‘Thing Beyond Things’ & more.
It also features the full Empath Documentary, a ‘Genesis 5.1 Mixing Lesson’, a full album commentary & more. The four discs sit inside a beautiful art-book that contains new liner notes and images from the making of the album.
Devin comments of the new 5.1 surround sound mix: “On a technical level, I guess I have always been dissatisfied with the basic ‘stereo’ format in which the type of music I make gets presented in. Whether its headphones, computer speakers, stereos (or basically anything currently), I have had to figure out ways to get the work to function through TWO speakers. I hear things in a particularly orchestrated way, and with the amount of information that typically gets recorded per song, the result has been the dubious ‘wall of sound’ that I keep ending up with. But my intention has never been to make an oppressive experience, but rather something that is immersive and vast.
Making it work in two speakers just simply doesn’t quite work for the vision. Although I’ve managed to get the point across, (to varying degrees), things always have to compromise to make it all fit. Making the drums speak at the same time as orchestra, cymbals, guitars, choirs, synths etc.…all with my voice on top, ends up with every conceivable frequency fighting for breathing space between those two speakers.
Therefore, I asked the powers that be in my business world, to tolerate one more ‘kick at the can’ when it came to Empath. I wanted to attempt a surround mix and follow the original vision of it being an immersive, multimedia experience for people in the ways I could best achieve at this stage. And although it’s still pretty ‘dense’, with four more sources for the sound to come from, I feel its significantly closer to the original vision here.”
Tracklisting
CD1: 01 – Castaway 02 – Genesis 03 – Spirits Will Collide 04 – Evermore 05 – Sprite 06 – Hear Me 07 – Why? 08 – Borderlands 09 – Requiem 10 – Singularity: Adrift 11 – Singularity: I Am I 12 – Singularity: There Be Monsters 13 – Singularity: Curious Gods 14 – Singularity: Silicone Scientists 15 – Singularity: Here Comes The Sun!
CD2: 01 – The Contrarian (Demo) 02 – King (Demo) 03 – The Waiting Kind (Demo) 04 – Empath (Demo) 05 – Methuselah (Demo) 06 – This Is Your Life (Demo) 07 – Gulag (Demo) 08 – Middle Aged Man (Demo) 09 – Total Collapse (Demo) 10 – Summer (Demo)
Devin will head out on a Summer festival run mixed with club shows in Europe, which includes a headline appearance at Bloodstock Festival in the UK.
04.06.2020 Sweden Rock Festival – Solvesborg (SE) 05.-07.06.2020 Rock Im Park – Nürnberg (DE) 05.-07.06.2020 Rock Am Ring – Mendig (DE) 10.06.2020 Majestic Music Club – Bratislava (SVK) 10.06.2020 Mystic Festival – Krakow (PL) 11.06.2020 Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, (AT) 13.06.2020 The Roman Arenas -Bucharest (ROU) 14.06.2020 Mixtape 5 -Sofia (BGR) 15.06.2020 A38 – Budapest (HU) 18.06.2020 Copenhell – Copenhagen (DK) 20.06.2020 Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel (BE) 21.06.2020 Hellfest – Clisson (FR) 23.06.2020 Rockhal – Esch-sur-alzette (LUX) Co-Headline with Meshuggah 24.06.2020 Xtra – Zurich (CHE) Co-Headline with Meshuggah 26.06.2020 Rock The Night Festival – Rivas-Vaciamadrid (ES) – CANCELLED 28.06.2020 Tuska – Helsinki (FI) 29.07.2020 MetalDays, Tolmin (SLO) 30.07.2020 Wacken Open Air – Wacken (DE) 05.08.2020 Brutal Assault Festival – Jaromer (CZE) 07.08.2020 Bloodstock Open Air – Walton-On-Trent (UK) 09.08.2020 Into The Grave – Leeuwarden (NL) 12.08.2020 Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbuhl (DE)
“We are really excited for our fans to be able to get a taste of what is to come from ‘The Absence of Presence,'” says KANSAS lead vocalist Ronnie Platt. “I think people will really be surprised by the album. ‘The Absence of Presence’ shows the band firing on all cylinders.”
March 30, 2020 – KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band, will release their highly anticipated new studio album “The Absence of Presence” on June 26, 2020.
The Absence of Presence Track Listing: 1.) The Absence of Presence2.) Throwing Mountains3.) Jets Overhead4.) Propulsion 15.) Memories Down the Line6.) Circus of Illusion7.) Animals on the Roof8.) Never9.) The Song the River Sang
Billboard.com first announced the new album during an exclusive interview with KANSAS drummer and “The Absence of Presence” co-producer Phil Ehart: http://bit.ly/KansasBillboardTAoP. “The Absence of Presence” will be available for pre-order on April 17.
“The Absence of Presence” follows-up 2016’s “The Prelude Implicit,” which debuted at #14 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart. KANSAS 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 the progressive epic ‘Song for America.’
“The Absence of Presence,” released by Inside Out Music, features nine all new tracks written by the band, produced by Zak Rizvi, and co-produced by Phil Ehart and Richard Williams. KANSAS’s signature sound is unmistakable throughout. The album showcases Ronnie Platt’s towering vocals, David Ragsdale’s searing violin, Tom Brislin’s dazzling keyboards, Williams and Rizvi’s electrifying guitar riffs, Ehart’s powerful drums, and Billy Greer’s rocking bass.
“We are really proud of the album ‘The Absence of Presence,'” comments KANSAS guitarist, producer, and songwriter Zak Rizvi. “Making a new KANSAS album sets a very high musical standard that is expected from our fans. From rockers, to progressive epics, to ballads, there is something on this recording for everybody.”
“The Absence of Presence” will be released June 26, 2020, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by The Orchard. The album will be available on CD, Double LP 180 Gram Vinyl, Limited Edition Deluxe CD + 5.1 Blu-Ray Artbook, and digitally on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all other streaming services. Pre-order opportunities will be available starting later this spring at KansasBand.com and Amazon.com
KANSAS will debut a song off “The Absence of Presence” this summer during Foreigner’s Juke Box Heroes 2020 Tour. More songs off the album will be performed during this fall’s Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour. For more information on KANSAS, “The Absence of Presence,” The Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour, The Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour, or the Juke Box Heroes 2020 tour, please visit: www.kansasband.com
In 2019, PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS, the California-based band featuring Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and John Boegehold (keyboards), presented its much-lauded eponymous debut. Just a year later, the group releases its second opus, “Prehensile Tales”, to be released through InsideOutMusic on May 15th, 2020.
As a first track from the forthcoming new album, PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALSnow reveal ‘Here In My Autumn’, John Boegehold comments: “The tale of a man clinging to a chapter in his life that’s become impossible to return to yet impossible to forget. Of course that describes much of life itself, doesn’t it?”
For the six songs on the album (the longest clocking in at over 17 minutes), the band introduced violin, flute, trumpet, cello, sax and pedal steel to the sound palette that was once again recorded & mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House.
The track-listing reads as follows: 1. Raining Hard In Heaven 2. Here In My Autumn 3. Elegant Vampires 4. Why Don’t We Run 5. Lifeboat 6. Soon But Not Today
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