Here’s some album news to start your week right…
Haken
Progressive rockers Haken are excited to reveal their new studio album Virus, the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed album Vector, will be released 5th June 2020. The band comments:
“Prosthetic was the first song we completed during the ‘Virus’ writing sessions and we always felt it would be the perfect opener for the album. It’s a very guitar heavy track with its roots in 80s thrash riffing, but with the unconventional rhythmic twists and turns we often like to explore in Haken. We sadly never had a Jeff Hanneman and Robert Fripp collaboration, but this song at least draws on inspiration from them both! Lyrically the song is a bridge between our two albums Vector and Virus. The message was brilliantly brought to life by video director Vicente Cordero, who also beautifully captured the live energy of the band in a way that both enhances the song, and perfectly sets the scene for what’s to come.”
The band has also released a video for the first single and opening track “Prosthetic” which can be viewed below along with a special video message which can be viewed here.
The Quireboys
We may be at home, it may be dark times, but that hard working quartet are back in the studio re-recording their iconic first album with the current Gypsy Rock n Roll sound of The Quireboys. The new recording will prove to be powerful, inspirational and full of all the quality a modern day recording can anticipate. This is a must for all Quireboys fans worldwide and while this will be available on CD & Vinyl, both will be on limited runs, with a new modern cover and a couple of live bonus tracks on the CD. Quireboys frontman Spike commented,
“It’s where it all began, it was an incredible album that launched our careers, but the way we sound n play now doesn’t give it the justice it needs. Henceforth, it’s been a pleasure updating it to our modern day Gypsy Rock n Roll Sound. I’m sure everyone will enjoy this new version in all its glory, marking its 30th Anniversary.”
Unconditional Arms
Oakland, CA post-rock band Unconditional Arms has released the new album Formation via Bay Area indie label Sell The Heart Records – run by Andy Pohl of Tsunami Bomb. Unconditional Arms is a brainchild of musician Jeff Wright (The American Scene, Compltr). The band also consists of drummer Ross Traver and features musicians Randy Staat, Christopher Sturm, Tyler Thalken, Julie Lydell (who plays piano on “Westbrae Sunrise”), and Scott Goodrich. Comments Jeff Wright:
For years, I had every intention of making a second full-length record for Unconditional Arms. As time went on, the band progressed in ways the made me loose sight of my original vision for the project. In addition, when I wrote and recorded Kinship I was twenty-two years old, living in a slumlord- owned loft in West Oakland that I paid cash under the table for, working roughly 3-4 days a week until the wee hours of the morning. I did not carry 10% of the responsibilities that I do today. Time, madness, logistics and honestly a seed of hopelessness for the project set in and I was unable to move forward in the way I wanted to. I felt lost. I developed some other projects to explore those feelings in the interim, of which I still participate in, but I could never shake the feeling that I did something to Unconditional Arms that I never wanted to do: I turned it into a regular band, rather than a meaningful project.
Formation is the culmination of many things, but more so a reflection of my flawed ideation of compassion. An auditory exploration of my constant grapple with time, relationships and responsibility. It is a gift that I have wanted but did not have the knowledge to receive. A love letter to my growth.
The full album can be streamed via youtube below:
Jupiter Hollow
One of Toronto’s favourite ambient progressive metal/rock duo Jupiter Hollow will be releasing their new album Bereavement on June 12th, 2020 to follow their two highly praised recordings AHDOMN (2018) and Odyssey (2016). Bereavement is the continuation of the storyline from both previous releases. The band further explains:
A man with unimaginable global power sends important members of his family and society away to a habitable world outside of our solar system in order to salvage humanity. As capable as this man is of salvaging humanity’s dying society on Earth, he finds more solace in the greed and power he has inherited. Victim of his lifelong internal battle with mental instability, he leaves humanity to extinction on Earth. Struggling with this outcome, he sends himself and his ship aimlessly into space, attempts suicide and crashes on a planet in another solar system. Upon awakening, he realises where he is, and that he will soon meet the remaining faces that have abandoned him, just as he abandoned them, and they’re hungry.
The duo of Grant MacKenzie (Guitar, Bass, Synth) and Kenny Parry (Vocals, Drums, Piano, Synth) that form Jupiter Hollow are here to create an artistic experience unlike anything else in the industry. Inspired from the art of storytelling and adventure, they intend on taking you through an in-depth journey through their discography and encourage listeners to join them for every step along the way. Get ready as Jupiter Hollow will take you on a musical tour, from the studio to the stage, and every place in between. They are your tour guides.
The first single, “The Rosedale” can be viewed below:
