Valor joins Pitch Black Records

Pitch Black Records is pleased to announce the newest addition to its roster - Greek epic heavy metal band VALOR.

VALOR were formed in 2002 and two years later released their first mini-CD (“The Nameless One”) which received high praises from international underground media. In 2008 came the band’s first full length album (“Destiny’s Path”) which was again greatly received by fans and media while at the same time it laid strong foundations for a solid bond between band members both as friends and musicians.

Their forthcoming new album, “The Yonder Answer” is the result of an intensive collaborative effort between all band members the result of which is an album full of melody and passion and pure epic heaviness!  

“The Yonder Answer” is scheduled for release on March 5^th and it will be available through Pitch Black Records and its distribution partners as well as through all major mp3 stores.

The song “The Answer’s Yonder” is already available for streaming and free download from www.pitchblackrecords.com.

Album track list:

1. Intro - The Journey Begins

2. The Answer's Yonder

3. Crossroads

4. The Guides

5. Follow me

6. The Bravest of them All

7. Choices

8. One Hand Red

9. H.U.M.A.N.

10. Inner Nature

VALOR is:

Vaggelis Krouskas: vocals

Chris Remoundos: bass

Spyros Soldatos: guitars

Vasilis Kourkoutas: guitars

Thanasis Lois: keyboards

Andritsos Thodoris: drums

Review - Steel Raiser - Regeneration

Holy Shit
Let me repeat that, Ho-Lee Shit

If you are a fan of Painkiller era Priest and you can afford to buy just one album this month then this is the one to buy.
Released on January 25th of Pure Steel, Steel Raiser's second full length release Regeneration is pure metal amazement. What the hell is in the water in Italy? It's like these guys have been basking in the purest metal energy direct from Birmingham.
Vocalist Alfonso Giordano has channeled the styles of both Rob Halford and Metal Church's David Wayne to dramatic effect. Every song on here is a no holds barred vocal performance. The guy has got a great range. In fact the vocal on Love is Unfair (the closest thing to a ballad and it ain't that close) could almost be mistaken for Kingdom Come's Lenny Wolf.

Guitars? Gian Luca Rossi and Giuseppe Seminara pull off some tight and tasty riffing that nicely propel every track on here and the rythmn section of Salvo Pizzimento on bass and Antonio Portale on the skins put in a flawless performance. There's a real Scott Travis influence on the drums and I'm talking classic Racer-X era Travis.

Every song on this puppy is sure to satisfy those metal fans looking for metal with firm roots in the early to mid eighties. If you crave the sound of a Marshall JCM800 you'll like this disc. 9 songs coming in under 45 minutes. This disc is just the right amount of metal in a single package. There's no complex arrangements just straight out classic metal. Sometimes that's all ya need.

And the artwork? Again classic. Look at this thing. Flames, destruction, and a great logo.

Do yourself a favor and grab this one. This one ranks a 10 out of 10.

CEREBRAL BORE KICK OFF UK/EUROPEAN TOUR

Scottish death metallers CEREBRAL BORE are due to kick off a European tonight - Thursday, 24th January - in Glasgow.

The "Survivors of the Great Apocalypse" tour begins with a string of dates in the UK, before heading on to France, the Netherlands and Germany.  Also featured on the tour are WARPATH, CEMTEX and ACRANIA.

CEREBRAL BORE drummer ALLAN MACDONALD comments:

"This will be our last tour before we get the new album done, and the last time we will play some songs that we won't be playing for a long time to make way for the new set list.  Winter tours are always tough because of the cold, but hopefully the snow won't get in the way of the metal on this one!"

See CEREBRAL BORE live on tour at the following shows:

Jan. 24 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo

Jan. 25 - Wakefield, UK - The Snooty Fox

Jan. 26 - London, UK - Boston Music Rooms

Jan. 27 - Bristol, UK - The Croft

Jan. 28 - Birmingham, UK - Scruffy Murphy's

Jan. 29 - Oxford, UK - Wheatsheaf

Jan. 30 - Kent, UK - The Ivy Leaf

Jan. 31 - Tours, France - Les 3 Orfèvres

Feb. 01 - Arnhem, Netherlands - Willemeen

Feb. 02 - Kassel, Germany - K19

Feb. 03 - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Baroeg

CEREBRAL BORE recently released a limited edition coloured vinyl version of their debut album, MANIACAL MISCREATION.  Get the album now on CD and vinyl in Europe at http://bit.ly/eO2FYH or in North America at http://bit.ly/jOTneO

MANIACAL MISCREATION is also available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/10Nvr2H

Watch CEREBRAL BORE's music video for the track "Maniacal Miscreation" at http://youtu.be/tG46oJBGhNg

Get more CEREBRAL BORE news and info at:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cerebralboreofficial

Twitter - http://twitter.com/cerebral_bore

COLDSTEEL Releases Title Track Off Forthcoming EP "America Idle"

Breaking a 20-year silence, NYC underground thrashers COLDSTEEL have released the title track off of their forthcoming EP, America Idle, as a digital single. The song is now available for purchase through Amazon.com, CD Baby and iTunes. 

COLDSTEEL vocalist Troy Norr had this to say about the track, "'America Idle' is a song written by the people for the people and has a close tie in to the anguish experienced by many people in current day society."

America Idle will be released on February 20th through Stormspell Records. The EP will be available as a digital download through iTunes, Amazon.com, CD Baby and other online music retailers. The CD version and 12" Vinyl LP (Limited to 1,000 units) will be available through Stormspell Records, www.coldsteelny.com, and CD Baby. A 12" Vinyl Picture Disc (Limited to 200 units) will also be available exclusively through www.coldsteelny.com. Conceptually, America Idle expresses current societal anxiety and proclaims an anthem to rouse the unbreakable spirit of America.    

On the live performance front, COLDSTEEL's first show in 20 years will be on April 9th as direct support for UDO at Revolution & Bar Music Hall in Amityville, NY. Advance tickets can be purchased at  coldsteelny.com/merchandise. 

Direct purchase links for "America Idle" digital single:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/America-Idle/dp/B00AQKQ1PC/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1358821968&sr=8-16&keywords=america+idle

Cdbaby.com: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/coldsteel33

"Grab this release whether you are an American fearing for your country's future or whether you are an old fan waiting years for a sign or plainly you wish to listen to something made by veteran hands." - Metal Temple

"Five tracks that are filled to the brim with meaty guitar tones, solos, grooves and just sheer power." - With Guitars

www.coldsteelny.com

www.facebook.com/coldsteelny 

twitter.com/coldsteelny 

www.stormspell.com

CAULDRON CONFIRM CANADIAN SHOWS WITH DIAMOND HEAD

Canadian heavy metal trio CAULDRON have confirmed a short string of shows in their homeland with DIAMOND HEAD.

CAULDRON will be joining the British heavy metal legends for three shows, beginning on April 15th in Montreal, Quebec.

CAULDRON vocalist and bassist JASON DECAY comments:

"It's an honour to be supporting the great Diamond Head on their upcoming Canadian shows; one of the true cornerstones of what our music is and what it's about.  Getting full pump going for this - it's going to be a great little batch of gigs!"

See CAULDRON live at the following shows:

CAULDRON w/ AXXION

Feb. 01 - Toronto, ON - Hard Luck

CAULDRON w/ DIAMOND HEAD

Apr. 15 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Électrique

Apr. 16 - Quebec, QC - Coop l'Agitée

Apr. 19 - Toronto, ON - Hard Luck

CAULDRON's new album, TOMORROW'S LOST, is out now in Europe on jewel case CD, digi-sleeve CD with a bonus disc featuring three cover tracks, and limited edition coloured vinyl with a bonus 7".

Get the album now in Europe at http://bit.ly/e1A5Fs or get the European import in North America at http://bit.ly/eNZgeq

TOMORROW'S LOST is also available now on iTunes, including three bonus tracks, at http://bit.ly/MFZT9G

Watch CAULDRON's new music video for the track "Nitebreaker" at http://youtu.be/_ZYrPR5cr5o

Get more CAULDRON news and info at:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/CAULDRONmetal

Tumblr - http://cauldronmetal.tumblr.com

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/cauldronmetal

Twitter - http://twitter.com/cauldronmetal

Episode 114

Tales From The Focus vol 1

Get/Stream Episode 114 here

As everyone knows at this point Richie and I read a metric shit ton of metal books. One of the coolest to come out recently is Michael Toney's "Tales From The Stage volume 1"

Besides a discussion of the book, this week we are also joined by Michael Toney and he gives us the whole scoop on the book. Order the book for yourself or just find out more and enjoy some great vids and pics at:

http://talesfromthestage.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/talesfromthestage

Our track of the week is from Kasomos from their self titled EP. Check out more about the band at 

https://www.facebook.com/KaosmosOfficialFanPage

http://www.myspace.com/kaosmos

or follow them at twitter.com/KaosmosMetal

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

Treat celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Swedish melodic rock legends Treat are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2013 and announce some mouthwatering news for all their fans. Treat will release a special 30th anniversary edition package, containg a best of-album with two brand new songs and two previously unreleased songs, and their latest album “Coup de Grace”, regarded as a "masterpiece" by Classic Rock Magazine and voted “Melodic rock album of the year 2010” with an extra track.

Treat also plans a big tour, that will kick off with some major festival gigs in  the summer, and will see them rockin´on the road in to the autumn. Then it´s over.  For good.   

”We have a saying in Sweden: You should always leave the party when you have the most fun”, says guitarist and songwriter Anders Wikström who formed the band back in 1983 together with singer Robert Ernlund. Say what? Treat is breaking up!  Treat has never been a more tight knit rock’n’roll unit than now, and the band is brimming with creativity and excitement. That´s why the band now chooses to call it a day; they want to, as they put it, ”end on a high note”. 

”We´re doin’ it out of love and respect for our fans”, Anders Wikström says. ”We quit before they ask us to get the hell out. We want Treat´s legacy  to be pure rock´n´roll happiness!” 

The decision to close down operation is most amicable, and kind of grew upon the five in the band, but when the decision was made, the band almost immediately started making plans for the farewell party next year. 

”We´re going out with a bang and will give our fans a ride they didn´t even knew they wanted.”, says Anders Wikström. 

Treat, who released their classic debut album ”Scratch and Bite” back in 1985, now also introduces the new bass player Fredrik Thomander, who’s for years been close to The Band Of Brothers that Treat are: Fredrik has been co-writing songs with the band, mixed ”Coup de Grace” and has already done some gigs as a Treat Brother. 

Anders Wikström (guitar and vocals), Robert Ernlund (lead vocals), Jamie Borger (drums), Patrick Appelgren (keyboards and vocals) and Fredrik Thomander (bass and vocals) take Sweden on a turbo charged rock´n´roll journey in 2013.  There’s many ways to say goodbye. 

”We wanna party with our fans”, says Robert Ernlund and adds: "The Treat´s on us"!     

EARACHE RECORDS LAUNCHES "EARACHE METALIZER" SPOTIFY APP

The Earache Metalizer app from Earache Records has launched on Spotify, bringing the greatest metal music discovery tool to over 20 million users around the world.

Everybody, including The Times, seems to be declaring that heavy music is "back" for 2013 - but true metalheads know that it never went away!  Having had both ears to the ground for the past 25 years, Earache Records knows a thing or two about uncovering new music - and now they've created a Spotify app that will help you do exactly that for yourself.

The Earache Metalizer is the first-of-its-kind Spotify app dedicated purely to metal music, helping you navigate the myriad metal sub-genres like a pro and allowing fans to create personalised playlists suited specifically to their tastes.

The gritty-looking playlist generator is simple to use; using the sliding bars on the mixing desk to choose whether you want your playlist to emphasise Metal, Thrash, Death or Grind - or any mixture of the four - the Earache Metalizer then generates your dream playlist within Spotify.  The songs fed into the Metalizer are not restricted to Earache tracks - you'll find everything from Spotify's newest big-name sign-ups, METALLICA, all the way through to PIG DESTROYER, BRING ME THE HORIZON and GUNS N' ROSES; all metal bands, all labels, all around the world.  And of course, once you've tweaked and perfected your heavy metal playlist, you can share it with your friends via Facebook and Twitter, before doing it all over again.

This unique and fun tool allows you to create an unlimited number of killer playlists whilst discovering great new music and listening to your favourite bands, all in one place.

Start creating your own personalised playlists now with the Earache Metalizer app by downloading Spotify for free at http://www.spotify.com

Get more Earache news and info at:

Official site - http://www.earache.com

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/earacherecords

Twitter - http://twitter.com/EaracheRecords

Tumblr - http://earache.tumblr.com

Danish Dynamite Rockers PRETTY MAIDS to release their new Album "MOTHERLAND" on Frontiers in March

Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of PRETTY MAIDS anticipated new album entitled « Motherland » on March 22nd in Europe and March 26th in North America.

After their successful and highly acclaimed 2010 album “Pandemonium”, Danish melodic Hard Rockers, Pretty Maids celebrated their 30th anniversary with their debut visual release “It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” in 2012. “Pandemonium” showed the world that Pretty Maids were in a creative spring again, with the band in their finest moment. The melodic approach brought a return to the “Future World / Red Hot and Heavy” era of the eighties, but with an updated sound and freshness that consolidated Pretty Maids as strong as ever.

In late spring 2012, the band gathered to finally write the follow up album. Singer Ronnie Atkins tells: “We knew it was going to be a tough one to follow ! I remember back in the day when we had to follow up albums like “Future World”, we tried more or less to copy the songs from the previous album to keep the same kind of balance. But this time we just wrote what came natural to us and that’s what became “Motherland”.

The band teamed up again with producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe) for the new album. Ronnie says: “Jacob was a natural choice since we had a great experience with him producing the “Pandemonium” album. The recordings went smooth to begin with, but then we had to start touring again during the weekends and this created some stress. Though I really feel strongly about “Motherland”. In my view it has all the ingredients of a good Pretty Maids album, maybe even more melodic than “Pandemonium” and absolutely, as far as I’m concerned a worthy follow up”.

Founded in early 1982 by guitarist Ken Hammer and singer Ronnie Atkins, Pretty Maids soon established themselves as a band to be taken seriously in the early eighties, having their breakthrough with the release - in April 1987 - of the album “Future World”. This record soon gathered a universal recognition as a “Classic”, which endures to date, and allowed the band to perform in from of large audiences thanks to their tour with Deep Purple and their appearances in the “Monsters of Rock” festival. The following album “Jump The Gun” kept the momentum for the band, particularly in Europe and Japan.

Throughout the nineties Pretty Maids continued to release albums, usually followed by European and Japanese tours with the band still maintaining a very high songwriting and production standards. The release of “Wake up to the Real World” in 2006 started the band’s relationship with Frontiers Records.

“Motherland”  will include the following tracks:

Mother Of All Lies; To Fool A Nation; Confession; The Iceman; Sad To See You Suffer; Hooligan; Infinity; Why So Serious; Motherland; I See Ghosts; Bullet For You; Who What Where When Why; Wasted.

The release of the new album will be preceded by the release of the single / video “Mother of All Lies” which will hit the streets on January 22nd 2013.  A sample of the single can be heard following this link: http://youtu.be/KuqCwrdojho

Pretty Maids will play numerous festivals this summer such as Wacken Open Air and Bang Your Head !!!, followed by an extensive world tour in support of “ Motherland”.

Pretty Maids are stronger than ever – don’t miss them on tour !!!

PRETTY MAIDS

    Ronnie Atkins - vocals

    Ken Hammer - guitars

    Morten Sandager - keyboards

    Allan Tschicaja - drums

    Rene Shades - bass

SACRED STEEL Posts New Song Off "The Bloodshed Summoning"

German heavy metal brigade SACRED STEEL has posted another track off their forthcoming album, The Bloodshed Summoning. 

This newest song to be offered off of the album is titled "When the Siren Calls" and can be heard at cruzdelsurmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-bloodshed-summoning-2. 

The Bloodshed Summoning comes out on February 16th via Cruz Del Sur Music. The record will be offered as a compact disc with three bonus tracks (including one Misfits cover), as well as on limited edition vinyl and digital formats.

  

For a complete history on SACRED STEEL visit www.sacredsteel.eu/html/history.html 

"Sacred Steel always had more melodic elements than a lot of their peers, and with The Bloodshed Summoning, they continue their melodic ways, but make no mistake about it, Sacred Steel is all about the riffs."  - Wicked Channel

"SS have created a solid and effective album that won't disappoint those of you out there that feed from many stylistic troughs." - Worm Gear Zine

"In a nutshell, SACRED STEEL became fiercer and unrelenting with a cracking production on this charming orchestrated horror show. Fusing elements of Thrash Metal into their old pattern made this release a cause of interest and there are examples to prove that, yet even so, the Thrash elements remained under the same level." - Metal-Temple.com

Kai Schindelar /Bass 

Jens Sonnenberg / Guitars 

Mathias Straub / Drums 

Jonas Khalil / Guitars 

Gerrit P. Mutz  / Vocals

www.sacredsteel.eu

www.facebook.com/sacredsteelofficial

www.cruzdelsurmusic.com 

www.facebook.com/cruzdelsurmusic

EVILE CONFIRM UK & IRELAND SHOWS WITH KREATOR

EVILE have confirmed a short string of shows in the UK and Ireland with German thrash metal legends KREATOR.

The band's will be teaming up for three shows this April in Dublin, Manchester and London.  The shows take place shortly after EVILE are scheduled to finish recording their new album, the follow-up to 2011's FIVE SERPENT'S TEETH.

EVILE bassist JOEL GRAHAM comments:

"We are really looking forward to playing a few shows with the mighty Kreator this April; we really enjoyed touring the US with them for two months back in 2010.  We'll be fresh out of the studio too around this time, so who knows, it's possible these shows could see us playing some new stuff for the first time..."

See EVILE live with KREATOR at the following shows:

Apr. 26 - Dublin, Ireland - The Academy

Apr. 27 - Manchester, UK - HMV Ritz

Apr. 28 - London, UK - HMV Forum

EVILE's latest album, FIVE SERPENT'S TEETH, is available now on CD and limited edition coloured vinyl, and is also available from the Earache Webstore in a range of exclusive "Serpent Cult" fan packs.

Get the album now in Europe at http://bit.ly/c7wbbN or in North America at http://bit.ly/9aOHhw

FIVE SERPENT'S TEETH is also available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/nMSZGC

Watch EVILE's latest music video for the track "In Dreams of Terror" at http://youtu.be/sSllmP3FLCE

Get more EVILE news and info at:

Official website - http://www.evile.co.uk

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/evileuk

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

Twitter - http://twitter.com/evileuk

GREAT WHITE to celebrate the band’s XXXth Anniversary with the release of a new live album out in February on Frontiers

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of GREAT WHITE’s celebrative live album « 30 Years – Live From the Sunset Strip » on February 22nd in Europe and February 26th in North America.

To mark its 30th Anniversary LIVE on March 22, 2012, GREAT WHITE celebrated the only logical way – on stage. In a nod to its early days, GREAT WHITE returned to the infamous Sunset Strip, where a storied past of music’s biggest fans are fused into the walls of the Key Club. GREAT WHITE delivered its entire repertoire to a packed house, pining for the band’s raw energy and cheering its illustrious history track after track.

The Southern California blues hard rock band debuted with a Don Dokken / Michael Wagener produced EP in 1983 and later on were signed by EMI for 1984’s self-titled debut album. Since then GREAT WHITE has achieved worldwide success, encompassing sales of over six million records. They received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and earned a double platinum certification for the album “…Twice Shy”.

It’s the soulful, blues-based signature sound that turned songs like "Face The Day", "Rock Me" and "Save Your Love" into international hits. The late 80's were boom years for the band, marked by non-stop touring with some of the biggest bands of the era including stints in Europe and Japan. GREAT WHITE recorded two more albums for Capitol — “Hooked”, which was certified gold and “Psycho City”.

With a line up featuring Co- Founder Mark Kendall, Audie Desbrow, Michael Lardie Scott Snyder and  new singer Terry Ilous (former XYZ), a natural frontman blessed with bluesy-heritage rock tone, Ilous fits the band like a glove. GREAT WHITE’s biting guitar riffs, contagious rhythm section and newfound energy is ready to honor its past and create the next chapter.  30th Anniversary Live is just one night – but the music is timeless.

« 30 Years – Live From the Sunset Strip » tracklisting includes:

Desert Moon; Lady Red Light; Face The Day; House Of Broken Love; Save Your Love; Mista Bone; The Big Goodbye; Back To The Rhythm; Rock Me; Can’t Shake It; Once Bitten Twice Shy.

GREAT WHITE

Terry Ilous – vocals

Mark Kendall – lead guitar

Michael Lardie – guitar, keyboards

Scott Snyder – bass

Audie Desbrow – drums

Weblink: www.greatwhiterocks.com

BONDED BY BLOOD KICK OFF EUROPEAN TOUR WITH VADER TOMORROW

BONDED BY BLOOD are gearing up for a European tour with Polish death metal legends VADER.

The "Back to the Black" tour kicks off tomorrow - Thursday, January 17th - at K17 in Berlin, Germany.  The tour also features Belgian death metallers ABORTED, and will be BONDED BY BLOOD's first visit to Europe since the release of their new album, THE AFTERMATH.

BONDED BY BLOOD vocalist MAURO GONZALEZ comments:

"We're flying to Europe Wednesday and we are honored and excited to be joining forces with death metal legends Vader and Aborted.  It has been about two years since Bonded By Blood last came overseas.  We will be coming back with more intensity and new material.  Cheers and hope to see all you metal maniacs at an upcoming date."

See BONDED BY BLOOD on tour in Europe at the following shows:

Jan. 17 - Berlin, Germany - K17

Jan. 18 - Jena, Germany - F-Haus

Jan. 19 - Essen, Germany - Turock

Jan. 20 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera

Jan. 21 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle

Jan. 22 - Helmond, Netherlands - Lakei

Jan. 23 - Kassel, Germany - The Fiasko

Jan. 24 - Leffinge, Belgium - Devil's Corner

Jan. 25 - Reims, France - La Cartonnerie

Jan. 26 - Zurich, Switzerland - Alte Kaserne

Jan. 27 - Travagliato, Italy - Circolo Colony

Jan. 29 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Gala Hala

Jan. 30 - Vienna, Austria - Escape Metalcorner

Jan. 31 - Ingolstadt, Germany - Eventhalle Wespark

Feb. 01 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Dock

Feb. 02 - Paris, France - Le Forum

Feb. 03 - Plymouth, UK - White Rabbit

Feb. 04 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece

Feb. 05 - Glasgow, UK - Ivory Blacks

Feb. 06 - Dublin, Ireland - Button Factory

Feb. 07 - Manchester, UK - NQ Live

Feb. 08 - London, UK - Underworld

Feb. 09 - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Baroeg

Feb. 10 - Alkmaar, Netherlands - Victorie

BONDED BY BLOOD's latest album, THE AFTERMATH, was recorded with producer and former MACHINE HEAD/SOULFLY guitarist LOGAN MADER (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, GOJIRA) and is out now worldwide.

Get THE AFTERMATH now on CD in Europe at http://bit.ly/c1m9ex or in North America at http://bit.ly/98sIL9

THE AFTERMATH is also available now on iTunes at http://bit.ly/LObJrg

Watch BONDED BY BLOOD's new music video for the track "Crawling in the Shadows" at http://youtu.be/asWFtC_lttM

Get more BONDED BY BLOOD news and info at:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/officialbondedbyblood

Twitter - http://twitter.com/bondedbybloodLA

STEEL RAISER - "REGENERATION" – RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2013

STEEL RAISER from Italy finished her second album called “Regeneration”. The official release date will be the 25th of January 2013. The album is available as CD and as digital download.

STEEL RAISER released their debut album “Race of Steel” on Pure Steel Records in 2008. With this album, they demonstrated their passion for classic, powerful heavy metal, and thus were offered to be the opener at Swordbrothers Festival in 2009.
With their second album, “Regeneration”, they now have even more to offer: A fat and powerful double-bass, 80s riffs, and rough high-pitch-vocals which sound like a mixture of Rob Halford, Udo Dirkschneider and David Wayne, sometimes reminding a bit of PRIEST’s “Painkiller”. The straight songs (track 4 & 6) are probably the ones that are ideal for metalheads: Concise riffs, a tight grooving rhythm and a simple-structured, yet effective songwriting.
What more do you need? Fans of conventional metal will discover an interesting new-comer-band, which can give them all the need!
Raise the steel!

Tracklist:

1 Cyber Laser 

2 Finalizer 

3 Regeneration 

4 Magic Circle  

5 Wings of the Abyss  

6 Metal Maniac  

7 Love is unfair  

8 Executioner  

9 Chains of Hate  

total playtime:: 43:08 min

Line-Up:
vocals - Alfonso Giordano (ex-Noble Savage)
bass, guitars - Gianluca Rossi (ex-Valkija)
guitars - Giuseppe Seminara (Noble Savage)
bass - Salvo Pizzimento
drums - Antonio Portale

http://www.facebook.com/SteelRaiserOfficial

http://www.reverbnation.com/steelraiser

http://www.lastfm.de/music/Steel+Raiser

http://www.myspace.com/steelraiser

Episode 113 - Focus on Shok Paris

Get/Stream Episode 113 Here

This one's a very strange tale. Who would think that when two knuckleheads call out a legendary vocalist on some podcast that they would ever hear a peep. Imagine our surprise when an email from legendary Shok Paris/Aftershok vocalist Vic Hix rolled in and he wanted to come on Focus on Metal and let the world know what they've been up to. The timing couldn't have been better as the band is getting ready to release some new music upon the metal world. So get ready for a hearty dose of Vic

Our track of the week is from Arctic Flame. They just released their fourth full length album "Shake The Earth" and we want you to hear a bit of it. Check out more about the band at 

http://arcticflamemetal.com/

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

ICONIC CHRISTIAN ROCKERS STRYPER SIGN TO FRONTIERS RECORDS FOR MULTI-ALBUM DEAL

RE-RECORDED COLLECTION “SECOND COMING” DUE OUT IN MARCH

Frontiers Records is proud to announce the signing of iconic Christian rockers Stryper to a multi-album deal.  The first release due out will be a new re-recorded collection; SECOND COMING will hit streets on March 22^nd in Europe and March 26^th in North America. 

The album features sixteen tracks, including new recordings of fourteen songs from the band’s early years as well as two brand new songs recorded especially for SECOND COMING, and is produced by Stryper frontman Michael Sweet. 

Sweet commented, “We're really excited about this record. The re-recorded songs are sounding awesome…better than the originals in many ways!  One word to describe the record? Heavier. We've hooked up with some great people - we've got new management, a great album, a great label. We just feel like everything is coming together, and hopefully some big things are to follow."  Please see below for the complete track listing.

Stryper is one of the top Christian rock bands of all time.  Comprised of the original line-up of Michael Sweet (vocals/guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Tim Gaines (bass), and Robert Sweet (drums), Stryper has been rocking since 1984, and is responsible for such '80s metal classic albums as SOLDIERS UNDER COMMAND, TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL, IN GOD WE TRUST and such MTV hit singles/videos as "Calling on You," "Free," and "Honestly."

After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, Stryper returned strong in the early 21st century.  To date, the band has sold upwards of 8 million records worldwide and is a Dove Award-winner and Grammy nominee.  Stryper is the first band to have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously.

SECOND COMING track listing: Loud N’ Clear; Loving You; Soldiers Under Command; Makes Me Wanna Sing; First Love; The Rock That Makes Me Roll; Reach Out; Surrender; To Hell With The Devil; Calling On You; Free; The Way; Sing Along Song; More Than A Man; Bleeding From Inside Out (New song); Blackened (New song)

Weblinks: www.stryper.com / www.frontiers.it

AMON RA "IN THE COMPANY OF THE GODS" - COVER, TRACK LIST, RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 08, 2013

First time on vinyl: The release date for the strictly limited and exclusive vinyl edition of AMON RA´s - "in The Company Of the Gods" will be February 08, 2013.

After a short musical lifetime the US/Cleveland Metallians SACRED HEART had in the 80s (one album rereleased by Pure Steel), the 1992 follow up from Byron Nemeth's band AMON RA was finished titled "In The Company Of The Gods". Now this fine album is rereleased in viny format limited to 333 copies in a killer gatefold outfit with a fantastic artwork and 4 bonus tracks. Even 20 years later this album hasn't lost anything from its charm. Melodic Metal -sometimes straight forward- sometimes dreamy. 80s influences with some keys, clean vocals and a unique athmosphere make this album a must have for US-Metal fans! Underground as it has to be. Sadly also this band was only around for 2 years and this is their testament! Traditional US Metal for open minds!

Artwork by TIMO WUERZ

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Intro Into Infinity

2. Graveyard of the Dragon

3. Forever

4. Middleground

5. Seasons of May

6. When the Glitter fades away

7. As the Mirror cracks

Side B

1. Cloak & Dagger

2. Garden of Eden

3. On the Shore

4. She’s my Lady

5. Long Overdue

Total Playtime: 53:32 min