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Flying Colors will be releasing their brand new album ‘Third Degree‘ on 4th October via Music Theories Recordings, a division of Mascot Label Group.

The third video released from the album is ‘Love Letter‘ on which Neil Morse says; “Love Letter was definitely a labor of love by all of us. I love the shared lead and background vocals and Steve’s guitar solo is great of course. It’s a really nice lighter side of the band especially when compared to some of the heavier things that are on the Third Degree record. Very happy with this one! Kudos to Christian Rios for a great psychedelic lyric video!”

Adding, Mike Portnoy says, “Love Letter shows the pop side of Flying Colors that we always try to incorporate. I love that all 3 of us share the lead vocals on this one: Casey on verse 1, Neal on verse 2, myself on the bridge and all three of us on the Choruses… The animated video really captures the old psychedelic technicolor pop 60’s & 70’s vibe of the song and is absolutely one my favorite videos I’ve ever been a part of!”

The first sessions for ‘Third Degree‘ took place at Steve Morse‘s studio in Florida in December 2016, wherein seven songs were written. From there, the band members had to scatter back to their other personal and professional obligations, eventually reconvening two full years later in December 2018.

The future of Flying Colors looks bright as Portnoy adds. “Our mission statement when we came together is still the same now,” he affirms. “It’s the same five guys with extremely different musical personalities and backgrounds coming together into a giant melting pot where it all comes out on the other end with music that’s accessible, melodic, deep, and colorful. That’s always been the goal of this band, and so far, I think we’re three for three.”

With ‘Third Degree‘, Flying Colors continue to fire on all cylinders — and, in the process, they also handily prove the third time’s an unquestionable sonic charm.

You can pre-order the album here: https://smarturl.it/Flying-Colors.

Track Listing
1. The Loss Inside
2. More
3. Cadence
4. Guardian
5. Last Train Home
6. Geronimo
7. You Are Not Alone
8. Love Letter
9. Crawl

Deluxe CD Bonus Disc
1. Waiting For The Sun (Unreleased Bonus Studio Track)
2. Geronimo (Alternate Instrumental Arrangement & Mix)
3. You Are Not Alone (Alternate Instrumental Arrangement & Mix)
4. Love Letter (Alternate Instrumental Arrangement & Mix)
5. Last Train Home (Alternate Instrumental Arrangement & Mix)
6. Crawl (Alternate Instrumental Arrangement & Mix)

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Anathama @ Science Museum with Mascot Label

Mascot Label Group are thrilled to announce the signing of Anathema, ahead of their performance at Space Rocks, London on 21st September.

The Award winning Alternative Rock masters have released 11 studio albums of fearless and uncompromising beauty. Ever since their debut ‘Serenades‘ in 1993, they’ve refused to be pigeonholed and have continuously evolved;  all the way up to their most recent studio album, 2017s conceptual masterstroke ‘The Optimist‘,  which revealed some of the darkest, most challenging music they ever put their name to, as well as a series of live albums and compilations.

Led by brothers’ Daniel (Vocals, Guitar, Keys) and Vincent Cavanagh (Guitar, Keys, Vocals) along with John Douglas (Percussion), Lee Douglas (Vocals) and Daniel Cardoso (Drums), they will be heading into the studio in 2020 to work on a new album.

The band will be performing a special one-off set at Space Rocks at the Indigo at the O2, London on Saturday 21st September entitled The Space Between Us. They will be using unique visual imagery from the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with multimedia artists Kristina Pulejkova. The set promises to be a musical and visual extravaganza. The event will also feature Tim Peake (ESA Astronaut), Shahrzad Timman (Robot Engineer), Suzie Imber (Solar System Explorer) and Lucy Hawking (Author) amongst others as well as music from Anathema, Amplifier, Voyager and Anna Phoebe. You can get tickets and find out more here

To mark this occasion the band descended on the Science Museum, London to sign the contract with Mascot Label Group CEO, Ed van Zijl in front of ESA’s Structural Thermal Model of the BepiColombi; which is currently on a seven year journey to Mercury, in one of the most challenging planetary missions ever launched. You can find out more about the BepiColombo and the Science Museum’s exhibition here.

Talking about the signing to the label, Ed van Zijl says; “One of the great innovative British rock bands! Over the years they have been able to progress musically, artistically and naturally into the future as only the strong ones can. I am very excited to have the band now join the MLG family and taking the next step together with us.”

The bands’ manager, Andy Farrow of Northern Music Company said; “After 9 years and 4 albums with Kscope whom I would like to personally thank for all their work on the band, when the band came on to the market again I received quite a lot of offers, of which we whittled down to labels we were going to take a meeting with. I found that Ed and his team at Mascot had a very refreshing outlook to releasing albums and building bands. I had previously met the people in the UK, Dutch and NYC offices when they were pitching for another of my acts and remember being very impressed by them and I’m delighted to be working with them on Anathema’s next release in 2020.”

Danny Cavanagh also said; “We are all extremely excited to announce our new contract with Mascot Label Group. This is the beginning of a new adventure for us and we are looking forward to a wonderful partnership with Mascot in the coming years. I would particularly like to pay tribute to Kscope for their unwavering support and great work over more than a decade. They’ve been a big part of our lives and we say thank you very much to all the staff there. Of course we owe a debt of gratitude to Andy Farrow, Jasper at Northern Music Company for excellence in management and guidance. Last but not least a huge thanks to the fans, without whom, none of this is possible.”

Vincent Cavanagh also spoke about the signing, saying; “I’d like to give my thanks and respect to everyone at Kscope who we have had the pleasure of working with for the last 9 years. They always gave us complete creative freedom and always supported everything we wanted to do as a band. They’re great people and a lot of fun to work with. Looking forward to the next adventures with the guys at Mascot.”

The Mascot Label Group is an independently owned Record Company with a roster that includes; Joe Bonamassa, Black Stone Cherry, Black Country Communion, Beth Hart, Von Hertzen Brothers, Ayreon, Paul Gilbert, VOLA, Crobot, Monster Truck, Flying Colors, The Magpie Salute, Kris Barras Band, Bootsy Collins, Stray Cats, George Benson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Jordan Rudess, Michael Romeo, Walter Trout, Gov’t Mule and many more.

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Mascot Label Group and Gary Hoey have announced a March 15 global release date for ‘Neon Highway Blues‘ via Provogue.

The album’s eleven tracks display Hoey’s confidence and assuredness alongside the freshness of someone who’s still in the process of discovery and refinement. Hoey self-produced the album at his New Hampshire based home studio, while also enlisting friends Eric Gales, Lance Lopez. Josh Smith and his 17-year-old son Ian for guest appearances.  He shares, “I really wanted to make sure this album had a lot of Blues on it.  I kept sticking to the Blues and listening to the classic players, all the Kings, Albert King, Freddie King, BB King, and finish with some Burger King (laughing)…tried to get that to be a focus of this record — and still put some songs for that my long-time, die-hard fans expect; instrumentals and some rockin’ Zeppelin type stuff. There’s definitely a variety here.”

‘Neon Highway Blues‘ “wasn’t a quick record to make,” nor was it easy, according to Hoey, and displays the care that came with the time spent on it. “I always say that’s why they call it the blues, because it ain’t easy,” he notes. The album took about a year and a half, he estimates, much of it done during gaps in his heavy touring schedule. “I just kept going in and trying to come up with the right licks or the right lyrics, and some days it just wouldn’t come,” Hoey recalls. “It was really about staying in there and trying things, abandoning some ideas, going on to new ideas. There was a lot of that on this record. I’m kind of a stickler for making sure I’m happy with it — even though I had people breathing down my neck to get it done.”

‘Neon Highway Blues‘ will, of course, take Hoey back on the highways and byways for plenty of touring and playing, well, the blues — and more. He can’t yet predict where the next road will take him, but Hoey is confident it will be an adventure. “My son and I were talking about new music, some new technique I just found on guitar, and he said dad, ‘You’ve been playing 44 years and still get excited.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man, that’s the amazing thing about music — you never really get there. If you think you’re there, that’s when you’re in trouble because it’s all about the journey.”

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All revved up and red hot, The Stray Cats are back.

Brian Setzer (guitar, vocals), Lee Rocker (bass, vocals) and Slim Jim Phantom (drums, vocals)–original founding members of the iconic and acclaimed American rock and roll trio–are celebrating their 40thanniversary in 2019 with a new album and tour (*see tour dates below).

The Stray Cats have titled the album 40. Marking their first new album in 26 years, it will be released May 24 via Surfdog Records and distributed by Mascot Label Group (CD, LP, Digital) in Europe and the UK (CD, vinyl, digital). The song titles alone–including ‘Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me),’ ‘Rock It Off,’ ‘Mean Pickin’ Mama,’ and ‘Devil Train‘—instantly let listeners know they’re in for a non-stop rocking time.

The first instant grat track, “Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me),” is available now with a pre-order of the album.  The song is also streaming on Spotify and on YouTube.  A Limited Box with CD including 2 bonus tracks and the Stray Cats-themed coasters (2x), postcard and 2 stickers will arrive on May 24. As well as limited LP on 180 grams silver vinyl: http://smarturl.it/StrayCats

The STRAY CATS recorded 40 at Blackbird Studios in Nashville in late 2018 following their first North American shows in 10 years, with four concerts including sold-out headlining shows in Las Vegas and thePacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, CA before wildly enthusiastic audiences. Still buzzing from the thrill of playing together again and crowd response, they went into the studio with producer Peter Collins(Rush, Bon Jovi, The Brian Setzer Orchestra) and engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Arctic Monkeys). There are a dozen original songs that comprise the album.

Here’s what the guys have to say:

Brian Setzer: “You have to understand how unique The Stray Cats are. It’s me playing an old hollow body guitar, Slim Jim playing two or three drums, and Lee Rocker slapping a stand-up acoustic bass.  I get to write new songs and then play them with my buddies.  Somehow we created a new and exciting sound with this simple idea.  And you know what? A lot of people agree!”

Lee Rocker: “This new album really feels like the first record we did, it’s really natural and comfortable. For the recording, we went live–like doing a gig, we recorded in a real, organic way.  We were all in one room standing next to each other recording live, with the amps turned up to 10, it captured the undefinable things that happen when a band is great, it captured the magic that takes place and an undefined spark.”

Slim Jim Phantom: “We’re very, very focused when we get into the studio, it didn’t feel like a long time had passed since we had done this, it felt very natural and familiar.  We were all in a row with everyone watching each other, so it felt like a gig in the set-up.  We really embraced that a little bit for the album, it’s like an old way of making records.  The modern is meeting the vintage, which has always been our inspiration.”

‘40’ Tracklisting

  1. Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me)
  2. Rock It Off
  3. I’ve Got Love If You Want It
  4. Cry Danger
  5. I Attract Trouble
  6. Three Time’s A Charm
  7. That’s Messed Up
  8. When Nothing’s Going Right
  9. Desperado
  10. Mean Pickin’ Mama
  11. I’ll Be Looking Out For You
  12. Devil Train

+Bonus tracks – Box Set ONLY
CRY BABY (LIVE in Orange County, CA 2018)
DOUBLE TALKIN’ BABY (LIVE in Orange County, CA 2018)

European/UK Tour 2019
Fri 21 Jun – Azkena Rock Festival, Spain
Sun 23 Jun – 02 Academy, Birmingham
Tues 25 Jun – 02 Apollo, Manchester
Wed 26 June – Hammersmith Apollo, London
Thurs 27 June – Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sat 29 June – Retro C Trop, France
Mon 01 July – AFAS Live, Netherlands
Wed 03 July – Columbiahalle, Germany
Thurs 04 July – Palladium, Germany
Sat 06 July – American Tours Festival, France
Sun 07 July – Les Eurockeennes, France
Tues 09 July – Killesberg, Germany
Thurs 11 July – Zenith, Germany
Fri 12 July – X-Tra, Switzerland
Sat 13 July – Musilac Festival, France
Thurs 18 July – Pori Jazz Festival, Finland
Sat 20 July – Summer Jamboree, Sweden

About The Stray Cats:
The Stray Cats, the band that put Rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early ’80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950’s style brought “up to date” with exaggerated pompadours and colourful tattoos and as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly’s original heyday. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for Rockabilly music.  After banging around New York for a few months, in the summer of 1980, and seeing a pompadoured kid on the cover of UK magazine NME, they hopped a plane to London where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge. Their massive hits and videos include “Runaway Boys,” “Rock This Town,” “Stray Cat Strut” “(She’s) Sexy + 17,” and “I Won’t Stand in Your Way.”

Official Website 

 

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Walter Trout will release his new album ‘Survivor’s Blues‘ globally on January 25, 2019.

The album is available to Pre-order on CD, Black 2LP or Limited edition Orange 2LP. A
free poster included with MLG store pre-orders, while stocks last!

Trout is no ordinary artist and this is no ordinary covers album. From the day he conceived the project to the moment he counted off the first song in the studio, he had a bolder plan for this release.  Trout shares. “I’m riding in my car sometimes, and I’ve got a blues station on – and here’s another band doing Got My Mojo Workin’. And there’s a little voice in me that says, ‘Does The World need another version of that song?’ So I came up with an idea. I didn’t want to do ‘Stormy Monday’ or ‘Messin’ With The Kid.’ I didn’t want to do the Blues greatest hits. I wanted to do old, obscure songs that have hardly been covered. And that’s how Survivor Blues started…”

Official Website

Facebook

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Following a hugely successful 2018 tour, the Mascot Label Group/Provogue ROCKIN’ THE BLUES tour returns in 2019 with an incredible line-up featuring the platinum selling international star Jonny Lang, blues-rock royalty Walter Trout, and the fast-rising blues-rock hero Kris Barras. The tour will be calling through Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK and will see them all come together for a final jam at the end of each night.

To add to the show experience there will be the opportunity to exclusively hear upcoming unreleased Mascot Label Group releases on a listening stand with high end headphones provided by Bowers & Wilkins. There will be an extensive merchandise area with great deals that aren’t available in stores, on selections of Mascot back catalogue. All Early Bird tickets bought before November 30 will be automatically entered into a competition with the chance to win a guitar signed by all 3 artists or one of the 10 vinyl or 15 cd packages.*

Official Website

 

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Review: Michael Romeo- War Of The Worlds / Pt. 1

Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group (July 27th 2018)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

I’m sure most of your are familiar with the name Michael Romeo, founding member of progressive metal band Symphony X. Well in this release Michael delves into the depths of symphonic metal.

I’ll say from the start, if your not a fan of widdly widdly guitar then this release is probably not for you. Having said that, those guitar connoisseurs among you will absolutely love it!

Kicking off with an intro that wouldn’t be out of place in a Star Wars film, Mr Romeo soon makes it obvious where his roots lie.

I’ll be honest and say I have to be in the mood for symphonic metal, but catch me at the right time and there is an increase in volume shall we say. Those increases were quite frequent during the various playbacks of ‘War Of The Worlds / Pt. 1‘, the production leading to a decent sound full of depth and atmosphere.

Listening to the robot effects at the beginning of ‘F*cking Robots‘ is an experience on headphones, even more so up-scaled through a home cinema system, making it one of my favorites out of the ten tracks on offer. The current single ‘Djinn‘ is shall we say a little daring as a single coming in as it does at a nearly seven and a half minutes long. But it so highlights the vocal talents of Rick Castellano. Boy can he hit notes most of us could only almost manage in tight trousers.

With a run time of some 50 minutes, this album certainly doesn’t short change you, leading you as it does through the mind of H.G. Wells. There are influences aplenty with more than a nod to my favorite classical composer Holst. It’s almost the Planets Suite meets Conception meets Savatage.

To sum up, this is an album I discovered I enjoyed far more than I expected. It is without doubt a labour of love by Romeo and here’s looking forward to Pt 2.

 

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After being out of print for quite some time, Gov’t Mule‘s ‘Dark Side of the Mule‘ and ‘Shout!‘ will be repressed on vinyl. Each limited to only 2000 copies, they will be available from June 29, 2018.

‘Dark Side of the Mule‘ features 90 minutes of Pink Floyd covers recorded during the band’s Halloween 2008 show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA. Now available again on limited transparent/green marble and brown/yellow marble vinyl.

‘Shout!‘ features 11 tracks recorded by the band plus a bonus album featuring an all-star lineup of vocalists interpreting The Mule songs. Special guests Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Ben Harper, Toots Hibbert, Glenn Hughes, Jim James, Myles Kennedy, Dave Matthews, Grace Potter, Vintage Trouble’s Ty Taylor and Steve Winwood. Now available again on limited colored marble vinyl 4LP Boxset.

Both albums will have a download card for a complimentary MP3 download

Doom Side Of The Moon Tracklisting:

A1. Speak To Me
A2. Breathe (In The Air)
A3. On The Run
A4. Time
A5. Great Gig In The Sky
B1. Money
B2. Us And Them
B3. Any Colour You Like
B4. Brain Damage
B5. Eclipse

Shout!  Tracklisting:

A1. World Boss
A2. No Reward
A3. Captured
B1. Done Got Wise
B2. Whisper In Your Soul
B3. Scared To Live
C1. Stoop So Low
C2. Forsaken Savior
C3. Funny Little Tragedy
D1. When The World Gets Small
D2. Bring On The Music

E1. World Boss (with Ben Harper)
E2. Funny Little Tragedy (with Elvis Costello)
E3. Bring On The Music (withTy Taylor)
F1. No Reward (with Glenn Hughes)
F2. Captured (with Jim James)
F3. Scared To Live (with Toots Hibbert)
G1. Done Got Wise (with Myles Kennedy)
G2. Whisper In Your Soul (with Grace Potter)
G3. Forsaken Savior (with Dave Matthews)
H1. Stoop So Low (with Dr. John)
H2. When The World Gets Small (with Steve Winwood)

 

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Internationally acclaimed guitar hero Michael Romeo has announced the release of his solo album, ‘War of the Worlds / Pt. 1’, on July 27th via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group.

The wildly ambitious 10-song disc sees the founder, chief songwriter and prime mover of the progressive titans Symphony X furthering his reputation as one of the world’s preeminent axe slingers and composers of adventurous, multi-faceted orchestral metal.

“It’s me putting all the things I love about music in a blender,” says Romeo. “Somebody might listen to it and say, ‘What is this guy thinking?’ But it’s all about being creative and having a good time with it.”

No doubt there will rapturous responses from Romeo’s longtime fans. While ‘War of the Worlds / Pt. 1‘ brims with the kind of thrill-seeking guitar chops that have placed the Garden State shredder in numerous “all-time greats” lists, it also offers some unconventional twists: Along with classic metal textures, Romeo pays homage to film score giants Bernard Hermann and John Williams, and there’s even some surprising EDM/dubstep elements guaranteed to turn heads – all of which makes for an enthralling and immersive journey.

Recalling the forbidding tone of the notorious H.G. Wells novel that inspired its name, Romeo casts the lead track, ‘Introduction‘ as a precursor for what is to follow. The dark, symphonic instrumental (equal parts Bernard Herman and Gustav Holst) gives way to the pummeling metal double-header of ‘Fear the Unknown‘ and ‘Black,’ on which Romeo’s rifftastic twists and turns are ably assisted by Rick Castellano’s soaring vocals.

A startling change-up occurs with ‘F*cking Robots‘, a striking mash-up of digital blurps, bleeps, DJ-like scratches and ace guitar madness. “My fans might think I’ve lost my mind on this one,” the axeman jokes. But just as quickly, he floors the six-string goodness on ‘Djinn‘, an epic, theatrical rock roller coaster on which the rhythm section of John “JD” DeServio (bass) and John Macaluso (drums) provide a muscular backdrop for the guitarist’s elastic soloing and Castellano’s full-throated vocal chops.

The lush balladry of ‘Believe‘ is a big-hearted respite from the shards of molten metal, but Romeo whips out the doomsday riffage on ‘Differences‘ and ‘Oblivion‘, both chock full of widescreen hooks and synapse-altering solos.

Closing out the set is the cinematic musical odyssey ‘Constellations‘, which sees guitars and keyboards majestically taking flight into a kind of heretofore unseen otherworld. “That one probably took the longest to create of all the songs on the record,” Romeo recalls. “It wasn’t just the recording – it was the writing and scoring. I had to break out the pencil and paper on that one. But I couldn’t be happier with the results. It really ends the album on a powerful note.”

Romeo recorded the bulk of ‘War of the Worlds / Pt. 1‘ over a year-and-a-half period in the comfort of his home studio (nicknamed “the Dungeon” by his wife) in Hazlet, New Jersey. The project gave him the perfect opportunity to work with the rising Long Island star Castellano, a singer he’s had his eye on for some time, as well as fellow Jerseyans Macaluso and Black Label Society member DeServio. “JD and I went to high school together,” Romeo notes. “We always wanted to do something together, so this was the perfect opportunity. The planets finally aligned, and we were able to work together. It was great to have him play on it.”

Symphony X fans have been waiting two decades for an honest to goodness Michael Romeo solo album (not counting his 1994 demo recording, The Dark Chapter, which was released in several countries), and the arrival of ‘War of the Worlds / Pt. 1‘ will be no doubt be cause for celebration. And the guitarist promises a sequel – “Most of Part II is already finished,” he says, “It just needs a few vocals, a couple solos, a few tweaks here and there. I want people to absorb the first one for a while, and then we’ll put out the second record. They’ll complement each other, but they’ll also be a bit different.”