Blindside Returns With New Album
They have been seen on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” have collaborated with music icons including Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan and heard around the world on World Wrestling Entertainment. Now, after four years since the release of their last project, rock band Blindside is partnering with INO Records/Sony RED to unveil their sixth album, With Shivering Hearts We Wait, on June 7. “When we decided it was time to make another record, everyone’s perspective was really renewed and we’re super pumped right now to be doing the band again,” front man Christian Lindskog said. “We just needed to break away from music for a bit because it starts to define who you are when you should be finding it in a higher purpose.” After taking time to be with their families and reenergize after over a decade of touring the world and releasing material, the Swedish natives reconnected with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, Flyleaf) to deliver an evolved artistic sound that still harkens back to band’s signature styles. Benson helmed the Elektra Records collections Silence (2002) and About a Burning Fire (2004) and helped create what is said to be their most compelling collection to date.
“The similarities between With Shivering Hearts We Wait and past projects is that we’re always striving to get the right songs for a project and the spirit is still Blindside,” assures Lindskog. “But this album is very different in the sense that it took us a lot longer to write and record it. We used to get everyone in a room and start jamming, but this time we started with an acoustic framework that was eventually translated into rock n’ roll songs.” “There are definitely some new elements, such as putting strings or an electronic sound over a really bombastic song,” adds guitarist Simon Grenehed. “We wanted to make the record sound big and didn’t feel like there were any boundaries.” Introducing strings and electronic elements, Blindside’s rock n’ roll styling turns epic and bombastic on many of the songs. One such song, “Our Love Saves Us” will act as the albums debut single, impacting Christian radio this Friday. In addition to introducing America to their new single, Blindside recently launched their new website withshiveringheartswewait.com, where mini documentary videos are being posted leading up to the album release while also leaking all 10 songs off their new record before it becomes available to the public. Those who get involved with the band’s pre-order will receive a unique special edition With Shivering Hearts We Wait album.
Mychildren Mybride To Co-headline With Impending Doom
Solid State Records are proud to announce the upcoming tour for MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE. The tour playfully entitled, ‘THE NOCTURNAL ALLIANCE TOUR,’ features co-headliners IMPENDING DOOM along with support from A BULLET FOR A PRETTY BOY, THIS OR THE APOCALPYSE, and THE CRIMSON ARMADA. The five-week trek across the U.S. and Canada begins in San Diego, California on June 24th and ends in Cleveland, Ohio on July 29th. “I’m so glad this tour is finally happening,” comments Matthew Hasting. “MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE and IMPENDING DOOM have been talking about doing a co-headliner since we toured on the first SCREAM THE PRAYER together back in 2008!”
Tour Dates:
6/24 – San Diego, CA
6/25 – Anaheim, CA
6/26 – Fresno, CA
6/27 – Roseville, CA
6/28 – Sparks, NV
6/30 – Portland, OR
7/1 – Seattle, WA
7/3 – Calgary, AB
7/4 – Edmonton, AB
7/5 – Saskatoon, SK
7/7 – Winnipeg, MB
7/9 – Sudbury, ON
7/10 – Cambridge, ON
7/11 – Windsor, ON
7/12 – Toronto, ON
7/13 – Ottawa, ON
7/14 – Quebec City, QC
7/15 – Montreal, QC
7/16 – Manchester, NH
7/18 – Clinton, NJ
7/19 – New York, NY
7/20 – Crofton, MD
7/21 – Richmond, VA
7/22 – Lynchburg, VA
My Epic Release New EP
My Epic are back with Broken Voice, an acoustic-based EP filled with beautiful misfit songs written during the creation of 2010’s Yet that didn’t quite fit with the sound of that album. Now the band has made a home for those songs, simply written then fleshed out in the studio, on Broken Voice. According to Aaron Stone: “More than anything else Broken Voice is about joy. The last year of my life has been about finally learning that I don’t have to fight G-d to get what I need. I don’t have to prove myself to Him either. Jesus came precisely because none of my own methods would ever work. I had been striving so hard for perfection when all I ever had to do was surrender to it. I never knew where I was headed until G-d broke my will and gave me His. I never sung a song worth hearing until He broke my voice and made it His.”
Broken Voice was recorded in March and April in Winston Salem, NC with Sid Mennon at Sleepwalker Studios. Sid and My Epic go back a long way, all the way to the days of recording demos, and the band wanted to pair up with him again for this EP so they could feel free to experiment with the sound. Most of Broken Voice was written at Machina House, a Christian mission house founded by the band in a poor neighborhood on Charlotte’s north side four years ago. “The seeds of these songs, musically and lyrically were planted firmly in the soil of our home community,” says Aaron. The band did spend a week in seclusion, locked away in a barn, “trying to make sense of all the parts, but overall it was a very smooth process. The songs had already taken their basic form in the living room and around the burn barrel at Machina House.” Broken Voice will be released July 5th, and although it is an altogether different sound for My Epic, Aaron notes “This record is not a permanent departure from where we have been headed in the past but simply another focused aspect of what the Lord has placed within us.Normally it would not be possible for us to put out two records one year apart but since these songs were so different it allowed us to keep creating in a vein that hadn’t recently been depleted.”
The Chariot To Perform At Bled Fest
Georgia’s THE CHARIOT recently announced that they will appear at this year’s BLED FEST 2011. New details about the festival have just been released! The 7th annual BLED FEST will take place on Saturday, May 28th with doors opening at 11:30am. BLED FEST is held at the Hartland Performing Arts Center in Howell, Michigan. Other bands performing at the fest include Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, I Am The Avalanche, La Dispute, Eisley, Defeater, This Is Hell, After The Burial, and many more. This year’s BLED FEST features a staggering 71 bands on six stages. Ticket prices for this year’s fest are $18 in advance/$22 day-of-show and BLED FEST is an all ages event! Tickets can be purchased online with no service fees at BledFest.com, and in person with cash at Discs and Tapes in Howell, Hartland Community Education, Music Manor in Lansing, Flat Black and Circular in East Lansing, and Vertigo Music in Grand Rapids. VIP ticket packages are also available exclusively online at BledFest.com. VIP packages include an exclusively designed T-shirt or hooded sweatshirt, a screen-printed event poster, and a drawstring backpack.
TFK To Release Live CD/DVD
After 15 years of bringing fist-pumping, in-your-face rock music to their fans, Thousand Foot Krutch has recorded their first live CD/DVD, Live at the Masquerade, which will release June 7th on Tooth & Nail Records. Recorded on May 28, 2010, the CD/DVD was shot inside the historical Rexall Place arena in Edmonton – the home of the hockey great Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. Fans can view a clip from the forthcoming CD/DVD at TFK’s Facebook by “Like”ing their page now. Diehard TFK fans need to check out two of the pre-order options that include the signature white TFK mask and the option to be a part of the Fan Edition release of Welcome To the Masquerade. Fans can take photos of themselves with the TFK mask and upload the images for use in TFK’s Fan Edition. This new Fan Edition releases in the Fall 2011 and will feature 3 brand new songs along with exclusive packaging. Recording Live at the Masquerade, TFK performed in front of 20,000 fans after Canada’s largest youth event “YC,” which boasted record-breaking attendance for this conference. Live at the Masquerade captures all that TFK fans have come to love from their latest release, Welcome To The Masquerade, songs like: “Bring Me to Life,” “Forward Motion,” “Fire it Up,” and “Already Home” plus fan-favorites and TFK classics like “Rawkfist,” “Move,” “Falls Apart” and “Puppet.” Over a year-and-a-half after the release of their critically acclaimed project Welcome to the Masquerade, Thousand Foot Krutch is still sharing hits from this album that has produced three No. 1 Rock singles and three Top 20 CHR singles. TFK also celebrated their 11th career Rock single with “E For Extinction” this past fall. They also were a part of the hit spring tour “Rock & Worship Roadshow” with MercyMe, Jars of Clay, Matt Maher and The Afters.
A Sequence Of Ghosts Release Hostage(s)
Rarely do EPs make such a meaningful and impactful mark on a music scene ripe with rip-offs and the same old same old. While A Sequence of Ghosts have drawn comparisons ranging from As Cities Burn to Bring Me the Horizon, the Kansas City five piece has no intentions of being anyone but themselves. Hostage(s) is a crushing second effort in which ASOG truly shows their developed colors. The record is miles ahead of their previous self-titled effort and being only a year into their careers, ASOG are poised to become giants. The record includes guest vocals from Poema’s Elle Puckett, A Bullet for Pretty Boy’s Danon Saylor and solo artist Jake Germany. The guest spots only serve to emphasize the power and heart of these tracks as they drift from the soothing ambient to the bone shattering breakdowns that carry the listener to a different world.
Farewell Flight Signs With Mono Vs. Stereo
Farewell Flight is a melodic indie-pop rock band from the heart of Central Pennsylvania, where sometimes country kids and preachers’ sons abandon college degrees and steady jobs to chase down the dream of rock stardom, a goal they hope to accomplish with their debut CD for Mono vs. Stereo ‘Out For Blood’ produced and mixed by Grammy-winners Mitch Dane and Vance Powell, available digitally and at tour stops starting July 12. Farewell Flight’s ‘Out For Blood’ is the fourth release from Mono vs. Stereo, a partnership between Gotee Records and Relient K. Watch what Matthew Thiessen and Matthew Hoopes of Relient K (also A&R for Mono Vs Stereo) have to say at youtube.com/farewellflightmusic. “We’re very excited about this relationship with MVS. Matt Thiessen and Matt Hoopes first showed an interest over two years ago, at which time we were somewhat wary after being independent for so long. But the continued belief they showed in us and our music, coupled with our observation of how hard they’ve worked for their bands won us over completely.” – Luke Foley Comprised of singer Luke Foley, bassist Robbe Reddinger, lead guitarist Brian Campbell, and drummer Marc Prokopchak Farewell Flight embodies the spirit of true traveling musicians, having played nearly 700 shows from coast to coast over the last five years of their existence. Through their music and lyrics, the band seeks to bring accessible pop songs that highlight the ups and downs of life in general, drawing from personal experiences to which many people can relate, but especially those going through a quarter-life crisis.
David Crowder Band Announces Massive Tour
The GRAMMY ® nominated David Crowder*Band will headline the highly anticipated “The 7 Tour” with acclaimed artists Gungor, who is doing an acoustic set, Chris August and John Mark McMillan. The shows will span from September through November and hit over 30 clubs and theaters across the U.S. including key markets such as: Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., Portland, Ore., Seattle, Wash., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Atlanta, Ga. and Orlando, Fla. Known for their fan-centric focus, David Crowder*Band unveiled a fan-exclusive pre-sale in order to give their core group of supporters the opportunity to purchase tickets before everyone else without high ticket fees and with the incentive of being the first ticket-holders into the venue each night. The pre-sale was such a success that in addition to the website initially crashing due to high traffic, nearly half of the dates sold out of their limited presale quantities seven months early. “We’re really excited about this tour,” comments David Crowder. “The line up is ridiculous! We’re pretty sure this is going to be a really special outing.” David Crowder*Band is currently working on their new album slated for release later this year or early 2012, this will be the follow-up to their GRAMMY ® nominated Church Music which released in the fall of 09.
Eisley Debuts New Video
EISLEY’s music video for “Smarter,” the first single from their new album THE VALLEY, premieres today on mtvU and online at mtvU.com. The video was filmed near the band’s hometown of Tyler, Texas, and directed by photographer Chris Phelps, who shot all of Eisley’s packaging and publicity photos for THE VALLEY as well as other artists including MGMT, Panic! At The Disco, B.o.B. and Travie McCoy. “Smarter” has received nationwide radio support while spending nine consecutive weeks on the FMQB Triple A top 200 radio charts. “Smarter” also spent six weeks on the FMQB Submodern top 200 chart, peaking at #25, with spins and support from KROQ/Los Angeles, KDGE/Dallas, WEDG/Buffalo, KBZT/San Diego, KFMA/Tucson, WRMR/Wilimington, WCNR/Charlottesville, WCYY/Portland and more. Says Josh Venable of KYSR/Los Angeles and KDGE/Dallas, “Comparisons to Kate Bush and her 2000’s counterpart Florence and The Machine are fine by me. This is the Eisley album we’ve been waiting for since the beginning. Don’t wait. This is the future.” Eisley are in the midst of a six-week headlining tour in support of THE VALLEY, with dates continuing through June 4. In a review of last week’s show at Boston’s Brighton Music Hall, the Boston Globe wrote, “They worked up a muscular guitar power that somehow maintained a sundressy feel…. By the time the band performed the romantic eulogy ‘Ambulance’ and the ghostly ‘Marvelous Things’ an observer might have found himself at a loss for words.”
Romero To Drop New EP On May 20
“The Awakening” – a 6-song EP by Romero is set to drop on 05/20/11. However, it is NOW available for PRE-ORDER! This is the debut release from the death metal/deathcore group from Shawnee, OK! Having taken their name from world-renowned film director/producer, George Romero – famous for the cult classic and original zombie flick, “Night of the Living Dead”, they have openly admitted that they have a deep interest in God and zombies, of all things. Their debut release, “The Awakening” is sure to bring the zombies to your door, to your windows, to your locked car with you in it, or busting into your basement where you hide, or anywhere else where “the living” wait in fear and trembling, as the undead will attempt to eat your… er, actually to RENEW your brain with the truth and redemptive power of the Gospel of Christ, in as brutal a way as they possibly can!
Track listing:
1. Defiance
2. Ophelia
3. Postmortem Ritual
4. La Petite Mort
5. Godless
6. Sovereign Dialogue
The Great Transparency To Release New EP
Power Pop Rock band The Great Transparency (Razzbarry) is happy to announce their new EP Rebuild Your Love along with the release date, April 29, of the title track to national radio. Through the release of their EP Rebuild Your Love, Columbus, Ohio’s own The Great Transparency seeks out those who understand that this world needs a redefinition of love. Singer Miah Wagner says, “The kind of love that this world clings to in today’s culture is what is portrayed in movies, magazines, love songs on the radio, etc. It’s fiction, and it will fade away when stacked up against eternity. This world needs to know what true love is, as there is hope. People need to be brave enough to share love, and to live it out loud.” Love. This word is universally used more than any other. It describes a powerful force that affects us all. The meaning, however, is losing its power as the frivolousness of the word grows. With all the violence, stress, and frustration that surrounds our world, there are only two options left: give up on love, or set out to make it stronger—rebuild it. Rebuild Your Love is already gaining attention from stations such as The Effect, M88 and Christianrock.net. Though the upcoming radio release date is not until Friday, April 29, there is an exclusive listening party for the EP at Jesusfreakhideout.com and Razzbarry.com for previewing and pre-ordering .
Rebecca St. James Gets Married
Christian GRAMMY Award winning singer, Rebecca St. James, whose voice and personal story of dedication to purity behind her self-written signature song “Wait For Me”, encouraged millions of young people worldwide since its release a decade ago, said “I Do” this past weekend to the man she’s been waiting for. Rebecca married Jacob Fink on Saturday (4/23), in a ceremony held at the picturesque Junipero Serra Museum in San Diego, California. The noon wedding vows, including self-written commitment vows the couple wrote to each other, were set as the centerpiece of an intimate ceremony attended by 150 of their closest relatives and friends. Both Rebecca’s long time pastor, Rick White of the People’s Church in Franklin, Tennessee and Chris Schmaltz, the youth pastor who influenced Jacob’s decision for Christ as a teen and later provided ongoing spiritual guidance including marriage counseling for the couple, both officiated at the marriage. The glowing bride was given in marriage by her parents, David & Helen Smallbone. Included in the ceremony were special moments that included the couple’s exchange of the purity rings each had worn prior to their marriage, and a very personal spiritual exchange of their commitment to serve each other which included the bride and groom washing each other’s feet before their wedding guests. Special music included Rebecca & Jacob’s inclusion of the song You Make Everything Beautiful co-written by St. James and included on her recently released praise & worship album I Will Praise You. (Reunion Records/Provident Label Group). It was sung for the bridal couple and their assembled guests by the bride’s brothers, Joel & Luke. Rebecca’s long time spiritual mentor and close personal friend, Evie Tornquist Karlsson, following the wedding noted: “This was a glorious day of celebration! A marriage ceremony where from beginning to ending Jesus was the absolute focus and the special guest of honor of the bride and groom.”
©2011 HM Magazine All Rights Reserved
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