Bits And Pieces…

Welcome back to the Metal Circus…

This weekend [and I’m sure many to come] we are featuring what we call “Low Exposure Weekend” on our FaceBook page “The Metal Circus”.  We both felt that the term “One Hit Wonder” really didn’t work in this arena, as some of the bands didn’t chart at all.  But if you were a fan of the genre, there are a lot of bands out there that still made an impact.  Whether it played originally on Headbanger’s Ball ® or on an MTV2 weekend in Europe or Canada, you still got to hear some great music that just didn’t get the promotion they needed to break through.  A lot of that is of course money, and given the glut of bands that were signed in the late 80’s and early 90’s before the grunge revolution, there were only so much promotional funds, and promotional space on the airwaves for all these bands.  Some of these bands may have had many records, and even many singles, but only a few really put them on the map.  We are going to give them the chance to be heard again.  And if you hear something you like, track it down.  New or not it’s new to you.  And there’s some great music out there that you may have missed, or forgotten about…

So far we’ve featured Eyes [with Jeff Scott Soto], King Of The Hill, Heavy Bones [with Joey Ellis, Frankie Banali and Gary Hoey], Baton Rouge, Silent Rage, Hericane Alice, Saints & Sinners, Blue Tears, Wildside, Banshee, and 21 Guns.  Just this morning we added Stage Dolls, Cats In Boots, and Junkyard.  They are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bands that were right on the edge, but didn’t get that final push.  You’ll here more in the coming weeks.  We hope that you enjoy it.  If there is a band that you love that really didn’t get the airplay it deserved let us know and we’ll add it.  Email us a theelectricedge@gmail.com.  Thanks…

We mentioned last time about the effects of Hurricane Irene had on Sebastian Bach, but we didn’t know that it also affected an artist who has a new collection out this week, so we would like to correct that this week… Doro Pesch, amazing solo artist and originally lead vocalist for Warlock, had her home in Long Island destroyed by the storm.  Per her press release about the incident…

"The damage is disatrous," Doro states mournfully.  "The whole ground floor was flooded.  It stinks, electricity failed and everything's wrecked inside of the house.  From the TV to the fridge to the furniture.  Everything's grime-stained, defective, unusable.

Doro continues "The worst thing is that pieces of my stage costumes an lots of my souvenirs and presents from fans from all around the world are lost forever now."

We wish her well as she prepares for her shows here in America.  Her "25 Years In Rock" streets on Tuesday...

With their new record “A Dramatic Turn Of Events” out on Tuesday Dream Theater have revamped their website… check it out at www.dreamtheater.net.  This record will be the first recording with new drummer Mike Mangini [Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie and Steve Vai]. He was at the time of his audition for the band an instructor at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, where members John Petrucci and James Myung attended, as well as former drummer Mike Portnoy.  Roadrunner records did an amazing job chronicling Dream Theater’s search for a new drummer in their web series “The Spirit Carries On”, check it out at www.roadrunnerrecords.com. Mike was chosen after DT auditioned some of the best drummers in the genre, and the world.  Check out his work when this drops on Tuesday…

Also out on Tuesday is the follow up to the original “Welcome To My Nightmare.”  Alice Cooper went into the studio with [among the many] original Alice Cooper Band members Denis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, and Neal Smith, pop artist  Ke$ha!, legendary Alice Cooper Band and Lou Reed guitarist Steve Hunter, as well as original producer/writer Bob Ezrin to create the sequel.  To quote Alice himself…"This is Alice's nightmare 35 years later," explains Alice, "Bob and I created this character and we know how to write for him. I play the part but we're not writing for me, we're writing for Alice. We kept the first 'Nightmare' album very personal to us, on this one we found more humor and we were more open. This was our world and we want to present it to the fans. The original album was my first solo album after all those huge hit records with the original band and now that nightmare is exposed, this one can be a little bit more open. The music crosses all sorts of boundaries; we went where the lyrics took us."

Cooper is out on the “No More Mr. Nice Guy” tour with Hunter on guitar as well as guitarists Damon Johnson [Brother Cane, Slave To The System] and Tommy Henriksen [writer, mixer, arranger, and producer for a myriad of artists], bassist Chuck Garric [L.A. Guns, Dio, Eric Singer Project], and drummer Glen Sobel [Beautiful Creatures, Tommy Lee]

It’s been  eight years since we’ve heard original music from one of the members of the Big 4, and one of the architects of Thrash Metal – Anthrax.   Their new release “Worship Music” will be out on the 13^th, and contains all new material.  The album marks the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose last studio work with the band was 1990's “Persistence of Time”.  Belladonna is now firmly back in the Anthrax line up with drummer Charlie Benante, guitarists Scott Ian and Robb Caggiano, and bassist Frank Bello. The 11-track Worship Music was produced by Anthrax, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston and recorded over a four year period at studios in NY, LA and Chicago.

And also out on the 13^th is the domestic single disc release of Edguy’s “Age Of The Joker”.  We can’t say enough about this German band.  Leader Tobias Sammet is also the architect of the Avantasia Project and has simultaneously put his energy into Edguy and Avantasia.  The All-Music Guide has described the new record as the following…“Germany's Edguy - hailed in the metal underground as the most entertaining live show on the planet - demonstrate their staggering combination of the power of Helloween and the glam behind The Darkness with the release of their newest album, The Age of the Joker. Edguy are not only leaders in the revival of modern traditional metal, but they've also refined power glam with talent, integrity and a sense of humor and a light-hearted approach that sets them apart”… Power metal with a tongue firmly planted in cheek… these guys have redefined the genre and are ready to take over in America.  The import 2-disc set includes a cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel The Noize” [made famous by Quiet Riot]… An American tour is in the works and when the dates are listed you will find them here…and us at the shows!...

THE PIPELINE: Some things we have coming up on The Metal Circus blog…

Concert Review: Stefan was lucky enough to catch Mr. Big on their “What If” tour.  He’ll have highlights and a setlist coming up.

With the new House Of Lords “Big Money” dropping on the 27^th, we’ve got an interview with bassist Chris McCarvill.  We’ll talk about his work with the House Of Lords, Obsession, his band Samurai Cab Company, and Stefan wants to ask him about X Factor X as well.  So stay with us…

AlSO OUT THIS WEEK [September 13, 2011]

Primus – Green Naugahyde [ATO Records]

Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance [Metal Blade]

UFO – Chrysalis Years 1973-1979 [5 Discs] [Capitol Records]

Coming Soon:

Opeth – Heritage [Roadrunner Records] [Sept. 20^th]

Gary Moore – Live At Montreax 2010 [Eagle Records] [Sept. 20^th]

Sebastian Bach – Kicking And Screaming [Frontiers Records] [Sept. 27^th]

House Of Lords – Big Money [Frontiers Records] [Sept. 27^th]

Chickenfoot  - Chickenfoot III [Redline Entertainment] [Sept. 27^th]

Uriah Heep – Live In Armenia [Frontiers Records] [Sept. 27^th]

See You Soon...

Stefan & Finster

[and we're still getting the hang of this...our apologies for any technical errors... S&F...]