Kurdt Vanderhoof of Metal Church and Steelheart's Miljenko Matijevic on This Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 402 - Steel Church

Our guests this week both have albums that were released on Dec 7th. First up we have Kurdt Vanderhoof from Metal Church. Those guys just dropped “Damned If You Do” their second studio effort on Rat Pak with the returning Mike Howe. 

Here's the title track

After that we talk with Miljenko Matijevic, the voice behind Steelheart. Those guys just put out a live disc on Frontiers entitled "Rock'n Milan"

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

You can hear us every Tuesday night on Pure Rock Radio
and each Wednesday afternoon on 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.

Kurdt Vanderhoof & Jarvis Letherby on this Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 332 - Metal Demon

A double header this week as we bring you a chat with Kurdt Vanderhoof as Metal Church releases “Classic Live” via RatPak Records.

If that wasn't enough metal for ya we also we talk once again with Jarvis Letherby as Night Demon sets loose their latest “Darkness Remains”.

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 Tuesday night on Pure Rock Radio
and each Wednesday afternoon on 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.

Armored Saint announces USA tour dates with Metal Church

Starting this June, the mighty Armored Saint will head back out on the road, playing to fans across the world this summer! The first run of dates kicks off in the USA, with the band joining Metal Church for a special west coast trek. Armored Saint's Joey Vera (bass) comments: "We're super excited to go back out for some select dates this summer. The June dates with Metal Church are a fan-made match that is sure to be an amazing time!" 

As previously reported, Armored Saint will also make several European festival and club appearances this July, before concluding their world tour in Japan at Loud Park. See below for all upcoming dates! 

Armored Saint tour dates

w/ Metal Church

June 3 - Corona, CA - M15

June 4 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky-A-Go-Go

June 5 - San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick

June 6 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl

June 8 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge

June 10 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven

June 11 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater 

Armored Saint tour dates

July 14 - London, UK - Underworld

July 16 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Fest Barcelona @ Parc de Can

July 28 - Brande-Hornerkirchen, Germany - Headbangers Open Air

July 29 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Saarmageddon @ Messegelande

July 30 - Essen, Germany - Nord Open Air

Oct. 8 - Tokyo, Japan - Loud Park Festival 

Armored Saint recently revamped their merchandise store to include a slew of new and classic designs, which can be viewed here: (USA) https://www.indiemerch.com/armoredsaint or (Europe) http://goo.gl/HXCROv. For more news, current tour dates, and additional information, fans can also visit the newly updated official website: http://armoredsaint.com 

Armored Saint brings together five masters of metal (front-man John Bush, bassist Joey Vera, guitarist Phil Sandoval, drummer Gonzo Sandoval, guitarist Jeff Duncan) that combine to forge one of the genre's most criminally-unsung forces. Their latest full-length, Win Hands Down, debuted at #71 on the Billboard Top 200 Current Albums Chart during its week of release, and also earned an impressive #33 on the German Top 100 albums charts. To purchase and preview Win Hands Down, please visit: metalblade.com/armoredsaint 

Armored Saint online:

http://armoredsaint.com 

https://www.facebook.com/thearmoredsaint

https://twitter.com/thearmoredsaint

Just posted: Mike Howe guests on this weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 278 - Mike Howe Returns

Mike Howe has returned to Metal Church (metalchurchofficial.com/) after 20 years and the result is the incredible Metal Church “XI” which was released on March 26th via Rat Pak Records (ratpakrecordsamerica.com/). We were fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Mike and get his take on this momentous occasion. 

Also this week we sat down with Brian Blake of US power metal outfit Eternal Voyager (eternalvoyager.com/). Yep they are making some damn great power metal out in Minnesota.

Track of the week is from AFM artist Human Fortress (facebook.com/humanfortressofficial) off their latest “Thieves of The Night”.

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.

Just Posted: Glenn Hughes on This Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 276 - Glenn Hughes

I think the title pretty much says it all. This week we welcome Glenn Hughes to the show. We dig into several topics including the Hall of Fame induction, the upcoming tour and more Glenn Hughes music on the way. Tap into all things Glenn at http://www.glennhughes.com/

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.

Ronny Munroe on this weeks Focus on Metal

Once again Ronny Munroe has put out another excellent solo release. This week we sit down with returning guest Ronny to talk all about "Electric Wake" his best solo effort so far.

Check in with Ronny at: https://www.facebook.com/ronnymunroefb or http://www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/ronny-munroe and of course Twiter https://twitter.com/ronnymunroe

Our track of the week is from Johnny Touch who just released their debut "Inner City Wolves" on Shadow Kingdom Records http://www.johnnytouch.com/home

Grab it now from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, The Cast Iron Ring or on iTunes

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

Review - Ronny Munroe "Electric Wake" (Ratpak)

"Time is like a storm. It hits you when you least expect it. Time's like a thorn. It sticks you in the heart". These are the lines that kick off Ronny Munroe's latest solo offering "Electric Wake". For all those bitter words about time, Ronny's voice is clearly unfazed by it. HIs vocals and his lyrics are are sharp as ever. 

This is Ronny's third solo release with Ratpak and is scheduled to be released on June 24th. The preorder link is provided at the bottom of this post,

When I last spoke to Ronny after the release of his last solo disc it was clear that he was excited about his next batch of music and listening to this I can see why. If you are a fan of classic American metal this may be the best release this year for your metal dollar. Let me just add that Ronny's label Ratpak are pros at making your metal dollar go even further so I encourage you to take a look at some of their package deals for this release. You could even get a personal thank you call from Ronny. That's fucking metal!!!

Ok back to the music. Ronny is always known to have a guest or three on his albums and this one is no exception. George Lynch anyone? Yes I know George pops up everywhere and yet we never get tired of hearing him so I guess there's a damn good reason to have him on your album aside from the fact that he can play his ass off. This time George pops up in "Ghosts". Its a great driving track with all the hallmarks of Lynch and a snarling vocal from Ronny. Does it get any better? 

Check out the vid at http://youtu.be/RpZev8UrM1Y to get a taste.

Another track with guests is "The Others". With lyrics like allegiance to metal and music to die for Ronny is channelling Dio on this one and the effect is pure metal. So this one is already top notch but Ronny adds on Pamela Moore for some vocal trade offs and he's not done yet he also has a screaming solo from Tesla's Dave Rude. Nicely done Ronny. This one is also available for preview at: http://youtu.be/XKdr1YCicEo

So besides the guests I probably should mention the core players on the disc. Paul Kleff and Sean Baker on guitars. Sean's an insane player well worth checking out. On bass is David Donigan from the Sean Baker Orchestra and Tony Rossi on the drum throne. Ronny has assembled a great bunch of players that clearly know how classic American metal should sound. Of course producers have a part in that as well and this time Bruce Bouillet is manning the board. I'm actually surprised that Bruce was able to resist laying down some guitar on this too.

So hows the rest of the disc? Freaking awesome, thank you. I was thinking that the title track was going to be a doomy Sabbath knock off but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. When it started with the amp hum and feedback I was thinking my gut was right but it quickly gets down to business. It has a cool Warning era Ryche feel to it.

Another great one on here is "Turn to Stone". It has some nice time changes that always keep you engaged in the song. That seems to be a key element in a lot of Ronny's stuff. He likes to mix up tempos and layer slow vocals over fast riffs and vice versa. It's cool stuff and not a lot of people out there do it. I could methodically go through every song but I don't need to. The whole thing is great. If you are on the fence head to the YouTube links and listen to the three song previews that are up there.

There's also a preview trailer at http://youtu.be/xHMKQIK-vP8

So after spending a few days with this one do I like it? Absolutely. Will I buy it? I already preordered it the day it was announced. Should you buy it? Hell yeah!!

I give this one and 8.5 out of 10. This needed a bit more bass presence and I wish Ronny used his upper range a bit more. However the songs, the riffs and the lyrics are all great.

Top track: "The Others"

Preorder link: www.RatPakRecords.com/RonnyMunroe   

NEW YORK METALLISTS MARTYRD ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES WITH THRASH METAL TRAILBLAZERS AND METAL CHURCH

Fresh off the release of their newest single and video “Faceless,” New York

City's Martyrd has announced that they will be doing several shows with Metal

Church - a band that is often considered to be one of the trailblazers of the

thrash metal movement, and responsible for penning such headbanging classics as

"Watch the Children Pray."

"I love Metal Church!" exclaims Martyrd guitarist, Michael Andreas. "Their heavy

melodic sound has definitely had a huge influence on me as a musician, and I'm

really honored to be able to go out and share the stage with them on this tour."

And as singer Aaron Pollard adds, "F*** yeah! I can't wait to get on the road

again in 2014, what better way to do that than with Metal Church!"

Comprised of singer Pollard, guitarists Michael Andreas and Mike Kitsos, bassist

Brian Nichols, and drummer Randall Lee, Martyrd has quickly made a name for

themselves on the US east coast. And their last album, 2012's sophomore effort,

'The Mortal Coil,' saw the group on tour with six-string legend Yngwie

Malmsteen, while gaining praise from the metal press, including Guitar World

Magazine, which proclaimed Martyrd was "A melee of blistering riffs and soaring

vocal melodies sure to please fans of both Kreator and Symphony X."

'The Mortal Coil' also reached #14 nationally on the CMJ Loud Rock Charts, while

the group also completed their successful "Fall of the Faithful" fall-winter

tour; and enjoyed a strong performance of the album's single, "Pain of Reason."

Additionally, Martyrd has shared the stage with countless renowned heavy metal

acts, including Children of Bodom, Black Dahlia Murder, Sonata Arctica, God

Forbid, Testament, Death Angel, Ensiferum, and many more.

"'Faceless' is my new favorite," explains Andreas about one of the band's

standout new tracks. "We had so much fun writing, recording, and listening to

it. We've been writing a ton of new material since we released 'The Mortal

Coil,' but 'Faceless' just sort of came together on its own, very quick. Its

no-nonsense - it comes in pounding right off the bat, and then makes a statement

with that heavy verse riff. There’s definitely a lot of heaviness, in fact, I

think Aaron in particular has never sounded so heavy. But there’s also harmony

and melody - that chorus is just asking you to sing along. This song is what

Martyrd’s all about; it’s heavy and pounding and aggressive, but also melodic

and kind of catchy. It’s just really fun to play and listen to. We can’t wait to

take it out on the road and really see our friends and fans get into it!”

Fans can view the music video for Faceless on YouTube

(http://youtu.be/jsFQfmchMRM), and can purchase the song on iTunes

by following this

link: <https://itunes.apple.com/album/faceless-single/id772047179>

And from March 2nd through the 9th, Martyrd will be spreading the word

throughout the east coast of the U.S. Don't dare miss this hard-hitting evening

of metal madness!

CONFIRMED METAL CHURCH/MARTYRD TOUR DATES:

1.       03/02 - Montage Music Hall         - Rochester, NY

2.       03/04 - St Vitus                            - Brooklyn, NY

3.       03/05 - JB McGinnes                   - New Castle, DE

4.       03/06 - Revolution                       - Amityville, NY

5.       03/07 - Altar Bar                          - Pittsburgh, PA

6.       03/08 - Empire                             - Springfield, VA

7.       03/09 - Agora Ballroom                - Cleveland, OH

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:

Martyrd.com - http://martyrd.com

facebook.com/Martyrd - http://facebook.com/Martyrd

twitter.com/Martyrd13 - http://twitter.com/Martyrd13

Focus on Metal with Rex Brown and Ronny Munroe is Now Available

Week 2 of Metal Month 2013 is upon us and we briefly hop off the Strange Highway to bring you two metal legends with two great releases that you need to know about now. In round one we have the one and only Ronny Munroe talking to us about the new Metal Church release Generation Nothing and in round two we have legendary bassist Rex Brown chatting up the new Kill Devil Hill release Revolution Rise.

As usual get it on iTunes, The Cast Iron Ring and of course at the Focus on Metal site

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

Review - Metal Church- Generation Nothing (Rat Pak Records)

   I think Scott is under the impression that I don't like Metal Church. That's the bands fault because they have had too many bloody line up changes. To clarify: I don't like David Wayne's voice, think The Dark is over-rated, love The Human Factor with Mike Howe but think Blessing In Disguise is ruined by a terrible production job by none other then Terry Date. One of their guitarists is probably better known for filling in for James Hetfield and the main songwriter didn't even tour on some of their albums. Bad luck well yes, self-inflicted career damage most definitely.

   I love A Light In The Dark, just a solid slice of metal. Ronny Munroe's vocals are a bit of an acquired taste though, sometimes he can just sound a little well......off. If that makes any sense. The follow up This Present Wasteland didn't really do it for me and then they were gone. Bad management, bad label the usual same 'ol same 'ol.

   So now they are back after a little hiatus. Time to review, renew and compose. So is this a tired sounding release from a band that should have known better? Fuck no, this is stonking stuff. Kurdt Vanderhoff always had an ear for a good tune and there are belters on this like opener Bulletproof, Suiciety and the title track. He has this crunchy guitar tone that screams old school metal. Ronny Munroe sounds great on this too and a lot has to do with the quality of material presented to him. I'm glad they are back and bothered to release new material when they could have done those 70,000 tons of metal cruises playing all the golden oldies.

   The cover is shit though.

Richie.

http://www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/metal-church