Europe Doing the UK With Diamond Head

Best known for their 1986 smash anthem "The Final Countdown," the Swedish rockers have returned with a heavier bluesy, hip-shaking metal sound, and recently headlined the UK's Bloodstock Festival to rave reviews. - more on this story

Golem Dreamweaver Reissue

PR reports: Golem is perhaps one of the most underrated contemporary metal bands out there. Their extraordinary combination of death metal with progressive elements brought a truly amazing metal masterpiece – "Dreamweaver". This exclusive re-release brings back an album that managed to reinvent classic death metal and introduce o new quality in extreme music!

"Dreamweaver" was released on April 19th, 2004, by the acclaimed Nuclear Blast Records. The album delivered a brutal portion of classic death metal with hints of black metal, thrash metal, grindcore and even… progressive jazz! The label tried to promote Golem as a German response to Carcass, but in reality the group's music was more similar to such acts as Morbid Angel, Autopsy and Pestilence. But Golem's influences reached even further. The track "Starchild" is delivered with the same intensity that one could hear from Hate Eternal or Nile, and the epic "The Tower" bears some resemblance to Immortal or Dimmu Borgir, thanks to the keyboard intro and the vocals. Other highlights include the slower-paced "Breeder" and the surprising, nine-minute hidden track called "La Sacre du Printemps", which is a bizarre metal interpretation of a classical piece by Igor Stravinsky. "Dreamweaver" offered an hour of intelligent, modernly produced death metal, in the same time paying respects to the classic school of extreme music.

Metal Mind Productions will re-release "Dreamweaver" on 5th October in Europe and 1st December in USA (via MVD). New digipak edition includes bonus tracks (1 audio & 1 video) and is limited to 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on a golden disc. - more on this story

Sweet Jam Planned

antiMusic reports: Sweet guitarist Stuart Smith sent over this update about an upcoming jam: My jam band Pandora's Electric Box will be playing at the Rockin Steak House in Agoura Hills this Saturday, September 19th.

For those of you that have been there before you'll know the Rockin Steak House is an amazing restaurant owned by Howard Leese, (Heart/Paul Rodgers) and Bobby Kimball, (Toto) which also features some great music at the weekends.

Pandora's Electric Box features Keith St. John, (Montrose) on vocals, Stevie Stewart, (Sweet/World Class Rockers) on keyboards and vocals, Richie Onori, (Sweet/Heaven & Earth/Keith Emerson Band) on drums, Marvin Sperling, (Heaven & Earth/Keith Emerson Band) on bass and vocals and myself on guitar. - more on this story

Mr. Big Reunion Release

Mazur reports: Frontiers Records is honored to announce the release of Mr. Big's reunion Live CD and DVD entitled "Back to Budokan" on October 16 in Europe and October 27 in the USA.

Mr. Big is a Rock super-group that formed in 1988. The band is a quartet composed of Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey (drums). The band is noted especially for their "shred guitar" musicianship, intense live performances, and well-crafted songs.

Identified early on as a "musicians' band," Mr. Big produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres, be it ballad, heavy metal, or blues rock. Prior to the formation of the group, each of the members already had a reputation of being virtuosos as well as established song-writers/composers. Their songs were often marked with Eric Martin's strong lead vocals, four part band vocal harmonies, and a technical proficiency in all instruments. Their hits include "To Be With You" (Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 15 countries for weeks, in 1991), "Wild World," "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind," "Just Take My Heart," other ballads, and a host of heavy metal songs that were played mostly during their live performances, such as "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy," "Addicted to that Rush," "Colorado Bulldog," and "Take Cover," among others. - more on this story

Mike Packer's New Gig

PR reports: LA Music Academy today announced that author, drummer and teacher Mike Packer, who also teaches Applied Sight Reading and private lessons for the school's drummers, was appointed Vice President, effective immediately. A University of Northern Colorado graduate, Packer, who upon moving to Los Angeles studied under industry veterans Ralph Humphrey and Jeff Hamilton, joined the school in 1996 and has since played extensively throughout the Los Angeles area. Packer has quickly helped grow what was originally a vocational school into one of the top music colleges in the country. Recently the National Association of Schools of Music accredited the Academy to offer Associate of Arts degrees in music performance.

"It is really an honor to be a part of the growth of the LA Music Academy. I have a vision for where I'd like the school to be and adding the AA Degrees is the first step. We are working on exciting new programs that will be launched in the very near future," says Packer. "The students are our number one priority, and I look forward to expanding and advancing the curriculum across all departments."

Packer's resume is extensive with performance credits including clinics and concerts with the jazz classical quartet Free Flight, Wilson Phillips, Steve Allen, Carl Anderson, Nils Lofgren, Lorna Luft, Regis Philbin, Susan Lucci and Ben Vereen. Television credits include Grounded for Life (WB), Mad TV (Fox), the People's Choice Awards (CBS), the CableAce Awards (TNT) and an Easter Seal Telethon. He has written for Modern Drummer and Drum! Magazine and released an instructional book, Feet Don't Fail Me Now, and a DVD, Bass Drum and Hi Hat Technique, which are available through Hal Leonard publishing. - lamusicacademy.edu

New Live DVD From Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin

MVD reports: Rock & Roll hall of famer Marty Balin, formerly of The Jefferson Airplane and The Jefferson Starship, is one of the key personalities of the San Francisco sound that also launched The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Band and Janis Joplin.

This DVD, the first solo effort from Balin, was recorded on June 14, 2008 at the beautiful Hatch Shell in Boston. It features the tracks "Volunteers", "3/5ths of a Mile In Ten Seconds", "White Rabbit", "Somebody To Love" (with Didi Stewart on vocals for those Grace Slick classics), a version of Marty Balin singing "Somebody To Love" - the first time ever on a commercial release, "Today", "Summer Of Love" and his Jefferson Starship hits "Miracles", "Count On Me", "Runaway" as well as his 1980 solo hit "Hearts" and a cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Rocket Launcher".

It's the ultimate fan package featuring interview footage with original Jefferson Airplane lead singer Signe Anderson as well as the two authorities on all things Airplane/Starship, rock journalists Jeff Tamarkin and Craig Fenton. - more on this story

Lucky Valentine Teams Up With 8mm For US Live Debut

PR reports: The Viper Room is host to a double industry showcase which promises to be one of the sexiest shows of the year. 8mm and Lucky Valentine will perform on Wednesday, September 16, kicking off at 6:45.

Australian-based Lucky Valentine will be making his U.S. debut performing tracks from his debut album, "King Of The Kerb", which is attracting major label attention.

Produced by Ben Rosen (Marilyn Manson, Unwritten Law, 8mm), the album is a fresh blend of infectious electronica, pop and rock with insane beats - 12 tracks of everything from street anthems, to angst-ridden love rants, to blush-worthy coming-of-age eargasms that speak to underdogs with big plans everywhere. - more on this story

Ninjaspy Set Album Release

PR reports: Ninjaspy announced today that they have signed with Zestone Records to release Pi Nature, their debut album. Written by Ninjaspy, Produced by Garth "GGGarth" Richardson and Ben Kaplan, and mixed by Bill Kennedy, Pi Nature is due for release on October 14th across Japan.

"People kept telling me we needed to go to Japan," says guitarist/ vocalist Joel Parent, "so I went there to do some martial arts training. I ended up meeting a ton of awesome, open-minded people. I heard bands like SIM doing ska and breakdowns, stuff that you would rarely hear in North America. I walked into record stores and actually found a 'Mixture' section on the shelves. On that trip I realized that we really belonged over there. Then I met a friend of a friend in Osaka, Tag from Zestone, and the world seemed a whole lot smaller."

The band is currently preparing to embark on their 3rd Canada wide headlining club tour called the Throw It Down Fall Tour '09. - more on this story

Medeski Martin & Wood Box Set

PR reports: Medeski Martin & Wood culminate their 2-year Radiolarian Series with a comprehensive box set of material entitled Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set, which Indirecto Records will release on November 24th. The box set will include: Radiolarians I, II and III complete with bonus tracks, a 10 track disc of remixed music, a previously unreleased 70 minute live album, a double vinyl LP set consisting of highlights from the three Radiolarians albums, plus a DVD feature film entitled Fly In A Bottle directed by Billy Martin. All of the material contained in the box was written and performed by MMW specifically for The Radiolarian Series.

The Radiolarian Series, named after a type of single-celled organism with a dazzlingly intricate exoskeleton, was designed to subvert the age-old music industry cycle of write>record>tour. The trio, consisting of keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood, convened for brief writing retreats, performed only that new material on tour and recorded the material immediately after getting off the road. The band repeated this processes three times while touring in different regions of the US and South America. MMW and Indirecto Records released this music on three records that came out over the course of the past year.

"As a child, I was always interested in oceanography and marine biology. I was especially interested in plankton, phytoplankton, diatoms, all of those microorganisms in the sea. John and Chris share my passion and interest in biology and science as well" drummer Billy Martin states. It's not surprising then that the trio instantly gravitated towards the dazzling drawings and in-depth studies of German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel's beautiful Radiolarians drawings graced the covers of all three Radiolarians records and served as a visual inspiration for the trio's music. Ernst Haeckel is credited with discovering and naming thousands of new species and popularizing the studies of Charles Darwin in Germany during the late 1800s. - more on this story

Another Week, Another Live Nation Promotion

Live Nation reports: This Wednesday's No Fee, All-In concert ticket deals include hundreds of shows by an enormous variety of artists from every genre of music.

Beginning on September 16th at 12:01 a.m., live music fans can purchase concert tickets at the All-In, No Fee Prices of $10, $20 and $30 to shows by such artists as Blink 182, Creed, Toby Keith, Tech N9ne,The Psychedelic Furs, Blues Traveler, Gov't Mule, Snow Patrol, Mika, and many others. A complete list of shows included in this week's promotion can be found at www.LiveNation.com beginning on Wednesday.

The great deals on tickets begin on September 16th at 12:01 a.m. and run for 24 hours only at LiveNation.com. - more on this story

. Pearl Jam Month: No Code

Pearl Jam continued to record albums that were beyond their time. Not ahead or behind. An album that had to find you when you were ready for it. Most people were not ready for it in 1996. Whether you come late, or not at all, it will be here for you. - Read the full Pearl Jam Month: No Code review

. Ana Kefr - Volume 1

Most CDs are of the light snack variety. You know the type- pick at a track here and there. Stop and start. Kid with your friends while intermittently banging your head. This is not one of those records (4.5 stars) - Read the full Ana Kefr - Volume 1 review

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