Displaying items by tag: rock music

Images and information about Jerry Garcia exhibition are courtesy of Arete Gallery

Jerry Garcia is one of a few defining figures who reshaped American culture and rock history in the second half of the Twentieth Century, a cornerstone of anti-war and human rights movements of the late ’60s through early ’70s, whose heritage and legacy, both as a musician and as an artist, continues to resonate, embodying a spirit of innovation, nonconformity, and creative exploration that has influenced generations.

On August 1st, 2024, the Arete Gallery opened a ravishing exhibition celebrating Jerry Garcia's art. This exhibition brought music and visual art fans into the dynamic creative world of the iconic Grateful Dead frontman. Though Garcia is best known for his extraordinary musical legacy, he was also an accomplished artist, creating a remarkable collection of paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works throughout his life.

All-female rock sensation Plush recently wrapped up their first headlining Find The Beautiful Tour, following an epic, 23-show arena series with Disturbed and Falling In Reverse earlier this year. Plush closed the touring year by heading over the ocean to shake up Japan, where they played a special show in Okinawa on October 5, 2024, at the Futenma Flight Line Fair. 

Right before leaving for The Land Of The Rising Sun, Plush has dropped a new music video for their smashing hit "Run," directed by Chase Warren. The song held a spot on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream Rock Chart for several weeks and is featured on their latest EP, Find the Beautiful, which was released in January under Pavement Entertainment.

Punk rock band Tarah Who? is back with their latest album, The Last Chase, released through Pavement Entertainment on September 20th, 2024. Produced by renowned musician Alain Johannes and frontwoman Tarah Carpenter, this album delivers the raw energy and unapologetic intensity the band is known for while pushing the boundaries of their sound. Known for Tarah’s gritty vocals and the band’s fierce guitar riffs, The Last Chase explores themes of perseverance, rebellion, and self-discovery, encapsulating the spirit of punk rock with a modern edge.

Working alongside Johannes, a founding member of the alternative rock group Eleven and whose production credits include Queens of the Stone Age, Chris Cornell, No Doubt,  and Them Crooked Vultures, The Last Chase channels both the urgency of classic punk and the experimental flair of alternative rock. Carpenter’s powerful performance, backed by relentless rhythms and hard-hitting melodies, makes this release a defining moment for the band, cementing their place in the punk rock scene while drawing in a broader audience.

In the dynamic world of rock and metal, there are a few names that demonstrate an unparalleled synergy of technical mastery and raw passion as Nick Z Marino, a powerhouse vocalist and keyboardist known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen and his solo project NZM, and John Ivan Belousov, an internationally acclaimed progressive and thrash metal guitarist and songwriter, a member of the Michael Vescera Project, and co-founder of The Voices of Metal Project. 

In this exclusive interview, we explore their musical journeys, their life experiences and stories, and what drives them to continue evolving. Nick and John talk about the roots of their friendship, the commonality of their backgrounds and fate, and share the history of their collaboration, offering a rare glimpse into the minds of two artists who live and breathe music of the highest level of creativity, drive, and multi-layered complexity.

© 2017 Pavement Entertainment PVMT 6070 | 21 track = 68'35"

The first official, a non-promo compilation of Chicago modern metallers SOiL features the piece “The Hate Song,” among others. Originally it was released on the studio album Whole (2013), the band's reunion with vocalist Ryan McCombs. And it is very surprising that the harsh musicians did not dare to call the collection Hate Songs: such a title (or, Songs of Hate) would suit this quite monumental collection much more than the somewhat vague and neutral name of Scream. 

You probably already think that this introduction will be followed by about 2,000 characters of reasoning about why the author of this review does not like SOiL as well as all modern metal, as in terms of the 90s?

It has been five years since a conceptual album, “Kiwanuka,” received Grammy and Brit nominations and won the Mercury Prize for English singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, and now the 37-year-old artist returns with his fourth album that reflects on changes in his personal life. The 11-track record “Small Changes” has been announced to be released on November 15th, 2024, via Geffen Records, following Kiwanuka’s US tour co-headlining with Brittany Howard.

For the making of “Small Changes,” Michael Kiwanuka reunited with co-producers Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton (Gorillaz, Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley) and Inflo (Sault, Adele, Cleo Sol), continuing the creative streak that began with his critically acclaimed 2016 UK number-one album, “Love & Hate.”

JOHN IVAN, GuitarSlinger

© 2024 John Ivan Belousov / Bestia Records (number n/a), 9 tracks = 59'05"

Hope you remember the days of triumph of the mighty US label Shrapnel Records — not only the first American metal label but, far more importantly, a kind of springboard for quite a number of guitar talents all over the US and the world. With a string of albums of such great players as Tony MacAlpine and Paul Gilbert (as a member of Racer X), that label and its boss Mike Varney, a good guitar player himself, wrote the modern rock formula of what an instrumental album of the 80s and 90s should be.

Sadly, such kinds of albums of little-known or even unknown guitar virtuosos are nowadays extremely rare, but a debut solo CD by Ukrainian musician and producer John Ivan Belousov has all the generic traits of those Shrapnel Records of old. Raised on a heavy diet of Yngwie Malmsteen and, eh, aforementioned US shredders, John was once a candidate for one of the last “true” line-ups of the legendary Russian thrash metal institution Master, although his own band Bestia, based in the city of Nikolaev in Ukraine, played a pure US power/speed metal and drew many comparisons with Racer X (again!) even back in the 90s.

In the modern guitar world, few names resonate as profoundly as Grammy-winning producer, engineer, virtuoso guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Larry Mitchell. Renowned for his spellbinding techniques, soulful compositions, and eponymous signature sound, Mitchell has carved out a niche that defies genre boundaries, seamlessly blending rock, jazz, blues, and world music influences.

During his star-studded journey, Larry recorded and toured with icons such as Tracy Chapman, Ric Ocasek, Billy Squier, Miguel Bosé, and Nile Rodgers. He collaborates with Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, George Lynch, and Doug Doppler, among many others, produced award-winning records for a variety of artists, and released several solo albums since emerging on the scene in the late 1980s.

For Chicago heavyweights SOiL, 2024 became an exciting and busy year of touring. They started in March by headlining in The Back To The 2000’s Tour along with their counterparts from Texas, nu-metal pioneers The Union Underground, playing exclusive material from their most popular albums that were released in the early 2000’s.

In August, SOiL takes off to Europe for a two-week European tour, The tour kicks off at the legendary Wacken Open Air Festival on August 2 and concludes on August 16 in Sulingen, Germany at the ReLoad Festival. In November 2024, the band returns to the UK for another headlining round for the first time since 2019.

With the February 20, 2024 release of their fourth original hit single "Defenseless," alternative metal and modern hard rock powerhouse NOAPOLOGY have entered the undeviating pathway to make a worldwide breakthrough with over 900,000 subscribers and staggering 200 million views on YouTube, and their eagerly anticipated upcoming full-length debut, finalizing their transition from a cover project, formerly known as Sershen&Zaritskaya.

"Defenseless" stands as the newest testament to NOAPOLOGY's unwavering dedication to crafting genuine, heartfelt music. It is a contemplation of Ukrainian rockers in their artistic development, following their previous highly successful originals, “Deadhearted” of 2023, and a debut single “Ashes,” which was produced in two versions - acoustic and a power-charged arrangement.