RAT PAK RECORDS SET TO RELEASE MICHAEL SWEET "TEN" on OCT 11th.

RAT PAK RECORDS SET TO RELEASE MICHAEL SWEET "TEN"

Building upon the success of his 2016 release One Sided War, Stryper front man Michael Sweet returns with his tenth solo studio release aptly titled, “Ten”. The new album is scheduled for release on October 11th via Rat Pak Recordsand will also be available in Europe via Frontiers Music SRL. Ten features an all star guest lineup that includes appearances by, Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy, Todd La Torre of Queensryche, Andy James, Tracii Guns of LA Guns, Rich Ward of Fozzy, Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake, Gus G of Firewind, Howie Simon, Ethan Brosh, Marzi Montazeri, Will Hunt of Evanescence , John O’Boyle, Mike Kerr and Ian Raposa of Firstbourne and more.

On the subject of guest musicians Michael comments, “There is a different player appearing on every song. It started out where I was just going to have a couple of guest appearances on it, then I decided that it would be really interesting to bring in different players for every song. I started putting names out there and reaching out to people, and they started agreeing to do it. And then I had guys reaching out to me."

Regarding the musical direction of the album Michael states, “I’m very excited about this release, there are old-school, straight-ahead metal ideas in the vein of Judas Priest, Dio and Iron Maiden, all the stuff I love listening to!” 

As for the "Ten" album title, Sweet recently stated, "It's called 'Ten' cause it's my tenth album, and because there is a title track on there about the Ten Commandments — a really powerful song. There's real heavy stuff. It starts kind of smacking you in the face and it ends kicking you in the gut."

TRACK LISTING

01 Better Part of Me (featuring Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy)

02 Lay It Down (featuring Marzi Montazeri)

03 Forget, Forgive (featuring Howie Simon)

04 Now Or Never (featuring Gus G of Firewind)

05 Ten featuring (Rich Ward of Fozzy)

06 Shine (featuring Ethan Brosh)

07 Let It Be Love

08 Never Alone (featuring Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake)

09 When Love Is Hated (featuring Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake)

10 Ricochet (featuring Tracii Guns of LA Guns)

BONUS TRACKS

11 With You Till The End (featuring Mike Kerr and Ian Raposa from Firstbourne)

12 Son Of Man (featuring Todd La Torre of Queensryche and Andy James)

Head over to ratpakrecordsamerica.com/michaelsweet to get your preorder bundle

Joel Hoekstra Makes a Return Appearance on This Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 323 - 1987 With Joel Hoekstra

Joel Hoekstra has dropped by Focus on Metal in the past. Most recently to promote the last Joel Hoekstra’s 13 release. This time around he dropped by to have a bit of discussion about some of the great metal releases that came out in 1987 with us as well as a bit of chat about the latest Monsters of Rock cruise. Find out more about Joel at joelhoekstra.com/

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, EarPeeler.com or subscribe on iTunes.

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio & Metal World Radio

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

And as always

Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Michael Sweet Returns Once Again to Focus on Metal This Week

Episode 297 - Michael Sweet

Our annual summer break is upon us but before we take a few weeks off Michael Sweet returns to the show once again this week to talk about the imminent release of his latest solo album “One Sided War” due from Rat Pak on August 26th. He also talks about the upcoming Stryper 30th anniversary “To Hell With The Devil” tour and we even manage to fit in some gear talk too. Enjoy our talk with Michael and we’ll be back the week of Sept 12th with more metal goodness.

Michael can be found on the net at michaelsweet.com/ and the latest Stryper news and tour dates are at stryper.com/

And be sure to pick up your copy of "One Sided War" This Week.

Track of the week is from the new Metal Allegiance EP Fallen Heroes. Here's Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy talking about making the track

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or on iTunes.

You can hear us On Demand everyday on Platinum Rock Radio by going to this link

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio & Metal World Radio

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

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

RPR set to release Michael Sweet (Stryper) "One Sided War"

In what promises to be Stryper front-man Michael Sweet’s most intense solo release to date, “One Sided War” showcases a full plate of hard rock & classic metal riffs from start to finish. One Sided War marks Michael’s 7^th studio solo album and it clearly proves that he is still at the very top of his game! “I’ll tell you about it”, says Michael, “Musically it’s my heaviest solo album. It’s not thrash metal but there are definitely some songs on there that will pop out at you. There are some songs that have a bit of the Iron Maiden / Dio feel to them, as well as some songs that have a little bit of a Van Halen influence to them. It’s a very guitar-oriented, hard rock/metal album with lots of melodies and hooks!”

Surrounding himself in the studio with Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra, Evanescence drummer Will Hunt, bassist John O’Boyle and East Coast shred-master Ethan Brosh, Michael began creating what would soon be known as “One Sided War”. Michael states “Originally I planned on showcasing my own guitar playing; I was going to do it all myself, but once I brought Joel & Ethan into the picture, things began to take a new direction and I am very happy with what we have accomplished”. Says Ethan Brosh about working with Michael, "He's one of those guys who have always been at the top of their game and has just never lost it and for me to be a part of this is very special". Joel Hoekstra comments "Michael and I actually go back to my time in Night Ranger when we opened for him when he was playing with Boston. Ever since then we've just been kind of collaborating and this is sort of a natural evolution getting to play on a few songs on his solo album".

The fast and furious opener “Bizarre” ignites the album’s pace with it's lightning fast riffage, soaring vocals and blazing guitar solos. Tracks like “Can’t Take This Life”, “One Sided War”, "Golden Age", “I Am” and “Comfort Zone” keep the metal fires ablaze, while tracks like “Radio”, “One Way” and “You Make Me Wanna” bring the hard rock vibe to the forefront . “One Sided War” features only one ballad, “Who Am I?”, a heartfelt, passionate song that reminds us of the softer side of Michael’s talents. Closing out the disc is a bonus track; it’s a different version of the song “Can’t Take This Life”, a duet with Michael and 16 year old up-and-coming female vocalist Moriah Formica. If you are a fan of Michael Sweet / Stryper or a fan of classic Hard Rock & Metal in general “One Sided War” is an absolute must have, you won’t be disappointed! Official release date is August 26, 2016

The CD was tracked at Spirithouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts.

TRACK LISTING:

Bizarre

One Sided War

Can't Take This Life

Radio

Golden Age

Only You

I Am

Who Am I

You Make Me Wanna

Comfort Zone

One Way Up

Can't Take This Life (*bonus track* featuring  Moriah Formica)

Just posted: Nathan James from Inglorious on this weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 279 - Inglorious

Two great guest vocalists this week. First up is Nathan James from Inglorious ( inglorious.com/ ) followed by Heather Michele from Helion Prime ( helionprimemetal.com/ ). Both bands have recently released the self titled debuts and we have the full story from both.

Track of the week is from Boston based band Versa Mynor ( facebook.com/versamynor )

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or on iTunes.

You can hear us On Demand everyday on Platinum Rock Radio by going to this link

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio & Metal World Radio

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

Focus on Metal is damn proud to be part of The Blast Syndicate. You can get this show as well as many other kick ass metal podcasts by clicking the link below.

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

Joel Hoekstra Guests on Episode 253 of Focus on Metal

Episode 253 - Joel Hoekstra

Night Ranger, T.S.O., Whitesnake and now a killer new solo album guitarist Joel Hoekstra http://www.joelhoekstra.com/ continues to notch up some impressive career credits. This week Joel hooks up with Focus on Metal to talk about hie new album "Dying to Live". Which also has a solid rhythm section in the form of Vinny Appice and Tony Franklin and some vocals courtesy of Jeff Scott Soto and Russell Allen. Of course while we had him on the line Richie couldn't help throwing out some Whitesnake questions too. 

Also this week we feature a track of the week from Frontiers artist Voodoo Hill http://www.dariomollo.com/ which has the not too shabby Glenn Hughes on board. 

We round it off with a special treat from our friends in A Sound of Thunder http://www.asoundofthunderband.com/ . They gave us the green light to roll another track from "Tales of The Deadside" for you. All in all, a pretty packed episode this week.

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or on iTunes.

You can hear us Tuesdays on Platinum Rock Radio and be sure to check their schedule because we usually get a repeat run during the week.

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio & Metal World Radio

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

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

Jeff Scott Soto performing 'Here I Go Again' feat Joel. Hoekstra, Whitesnake at Lucky Strike Live

Jeff Scott Soto preforming “Here I Go Again” from Whitesnake/David Coverdale live with Joel Hoekstra, Howie Simon, David Z Rock, Steve Ferlazzo & Matt Starr last night at Lucky Strike. 

The fan filmed video can be viewed below.

https://youtu.be/J5iWs0skkK8

Started with Purple Rain: https://youtu.be/8dn0Q726qm8 with Jonathan Phillip Moffett, Spacey T & Steve Ferlazzo…then Howie Simon & David Z Rock joined for theTalisman official’s version of Crazy by Seal: https://youtu.be/Z8e7qBaE37A

SOTO recently released the new music video “Break” from the album “Inside The Vertigo“: https://youtu.be/ivgSA4V6gf0

Jeff Scott Soto – one of today’s premier Rock frontmen and vocalists – and a union of hotshot young musicians bring you a slamming blend of melody and muscle in some of the freshest power metal to surface in years present. Together they are SOTO, and their debut album “Inside The Vertigo” will blow your mind away. A neurotic blend of power metal, prog, groove-laden huge guitars, hooks and production, SOTO is a contender in today’s modern Rock arena while capturing the essence of strong songwriting simultaneously.

www.jeffscottsoto.com
www.facebook.com/JeffScottSoto 
www.sototheband.com
www.facebook.com/SOTOofficial