product: Lioncage - The Second Strike

release date: 24.03.2017

label: Pride & Joy Music

format: CD

PR: world

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The band LIONCAGE was founded in 2013 by Thorsten Bertermann (vocals), Torsten Landsberger (drums) and Lars König (guitar & mix). All three musicians had known each other for many years performing in professional tribute bands, and impulsively started a band with original songs after having a couple of beers at a festival, well, a rock festival…

After two years of song-writing and recording demos, the LIONCAGE debut release "Done At Last“ successfully saw the light of day in Europe and Japan.

Even though the trio has a big variety of individual musical influences they have one passion in common: Melodic Rock and Rock bands such as Toto, Foreigner, Journey, Huey Lewis, Genesis, Yes, Paul Carrack, Chicago and many more. Besides these influences, LIONCAGE’s sound also showcases a contemporary, own sound on their second album “The Second Strike” which now is presented with even more finesse, power and versatility.

Some fantastic and talented musicians and friends helped the German three-piece to complete their new record. The bass guitar was handled by Lars Slowak, Sven Zimmermann, Andreas Laude-Schwedewsky and Dirk Meyer, keyboards by Mitch Knauer and Shanger Ohl, and backing vocals by Madeleine Lang, Anja Bublitz, Olaf Senkbeil and Billy King. Last but not least, one of the finest studio guitarists, Tim Pierce, (Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Joe Cocker, Rick Springfield, Elton John etc.) took over some guitar parts on the track “Secrets”. 

On “The Second Strike”, Lioncage impressively prove that Germany is able to offer great productions in the Westcoast, AOR and Melodic Rock genre. 

product: Sammy Berell - Passion Dreams

release date: 17.03.2017

label: Dark Force/ Sound Pollution

format: CD

PR territory: Europe & Japan

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Dream passionately. Dedicate your life to your craft. Work hard and aim for the stars! That is the story of Sammy Berell.

It all started back in the early 80’s when as a kid Sammy walked into a church and heard the angelic sound of the organ and someone playing a classical composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. Mesmerized by the sound and bewildered by how someone could play so many different tones, classical music would have a great impact on his life from this day.

          Sammy Berell was so inspired by the old composers and started practicing different instruments, including the piano at the age of six as well as the flute, drums and violin to name a few.  As an early teenager he was given an electrical guitar by his father and at the same time he had grown tired of his acoustic one.  He was instantly hooked because it was so easy to play and learn it. It felt all so natural.

          Encouraged by his parents, most importantly his mother to pursue his dreams about music, he practiced day in and day out. But people never seemed to understand his extraordinary talent and few people took him seriously. Even though he knew he was good, Sammy Berell wanted to shine above all the others. He sacrificed a lot for years as he recorded himself and practiced even more. He knew that he had to aim high and never compromise if he wanted to reach his dream.

          Sammy Berell’s debut “Passion Dreams” is set for release in March 2017 on Dark Force Records / Sound Pollution. The album, born out of dream-fueled passion was recorded in Sound VS Science Studio with producer Daniel Flores (The Murder Of My Sweet, Mind’s Eye, Saviour) together with Sammy Berell as a co-producer.

          The album features some of the greatest voices in hard rock; Michael Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, Loudness, Obsession) as well as Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum, Kharma).

product: Jimi Anderson Group - Longtime Comin'

release date: 24.02.2017

label: Pride & Joy Music

format: CD

territory: world excl. Japan

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Born in Rigside, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Jimis first Rock band was in 1978, singing mainly Rush & Deep Purple songs & so his passion for 'Classic Rock' had begun.  The next few years brought many hours of practise & to Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale & Ronnie James Dio for inspiration.

He began writing songs and formed the rock band Sahara whilst spending any spare time attending a gazzillion gigs at the Legendary 'Glasgow Apollo' till it closed in 1985. Various incarnations of the band ensued including a name change to "The Hardline" until they were picked up by Wet Wet Wet's manager Elliott Davis and offered a management contract on the strength of a demo tape.

Showcasing his phenomenal voice, five years of recording demo's, touring, notable sell out gigs at Glasgow's King Tut's, London's 'Borderline Club' and a support to Wet Wet Wet in front of 30,000 people at Glasgow Green. Jimi continued writing, performing and recording, appearing on Michael Barrymore's shows ' My Kind of People' & 'Barrymore' in 1997/98 and went on to sing at concerts & festivals in Romania, Turkey and Holland. Living now in York, Jimi has continued writing.

The vocalist moved on to spend two years as lead vocalist with Tribute Band 'A Foreigners Journey ' he toured extensively in the UK and Rhodes. Meeting new friends along the way, and his voice just got better and better so a decision was made to leave "A Foreigners Journey" and  the next adventure started. His latest project is a tribute to great American Melodic Rock with some great musicians and friends "Legends of AOR" debut gig was in Spain in front of a crowd of Rhodes Rockers, safe to say it was so emotional that tears were shed.

After recently recording an album of original songs at FML studios in Scotland with Sandy Jones and Greame Duffin he is now starting a new challenge to take his music on the road, and so the Jimi Anderson Group was born. The new album “Longtime Comin’” is fusion of  Classic Melodic Rock and  AOR, and the original tunes showcase Jimi’s voice perfectly.

product: Empire - Hypnotica+3

release date: 24.02.2017

label: Pride & Joy Music

format: CD (re-issue with 3 bonus tracks)

territory: world

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EMPIRE is the Hard Rock band of German guitarist Rolf Munkes (ex Majesty, ex Razorback, Crematory) which has released four exceptional albums in between the years of 2001 and 2007. On these releases, Munkes was accompanied by numerous high-class musicians.

The history of EMPIRE began in the year 2001 with the release of the album “Hypnotica” (Lion Music) which featured both the American singers Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) and Lance King (ex Nightmare) on vocals. Guitarist Rolf Munkesb today says: “When I first had the idea of Empire which was born after my first solo album, I wasn’t sure where this road may lead me to, musically. I was open minded but never thought I would have the chance to be able to work with so many great talented players along this way.”  

The line-up at the time was completed by Neil Murray (bass, ex Whitesnake, Brian May Band, Black Sabbath etc.), Gerald Klos (drums), Anders Johansson (drums, ex Stratovarius) and Don Airey (keyboards, ex Rainbow, Deep Purple). “I remember that I was in contact with Lance King and we were talking on the phone. There was this initial sentence he said to me that changed my complete way of looking at it that time and opened all those doors for Empire. I told him that I was not sure how to be able to work together with more international musicians that time. He just replied with that one line: ‘Ship ‘em in’. Oh boy this is so easy but I had never thought of it that way. This is exactly how we did it”, he adds.

Rolf Munkes produced „Hypnotica“ himself; the mix was handled by Stefan Kaufmann (ex Accept, ex U.D.O.).

Only one year later, “Trading Souls”, the band’s second album came out on Lion Music. The CD once again was produced by Munkes with the mix being handled by Kaufmann. On this release, singer extraordinare Tony Martin (ex Black Sabbath) replaced King and Martin on the vocal spot.

Tony Martin also sang on the – up until now – most successful CD from EMPIRE, “The Rave Ride”, which was released in 2006 on German label Metal Heaven. Besides of Munkes, who, for the first also produced and mixed this release himself at his own  Empire Studios in Bensheim, Germany, Neil Murray took again care of the bass work whilst the drums this time were handled by ex-Rage/ex-Axxis drummer André Hilgers.   

In 2007, the so far last album of EMPIRE saw the light of day. “Chasing Shadows” was once again released on Metal Heaven and the first record feat. former Rainbow singer Doogie White in the line-up. Mike Terrana (ex Rage, ex Axel Rudi Pell, Tarja Turunen) joined the group on drums.

In 2017, German label Pride & Joy Music will re-issue all four releases in a revised version. First up will be “Hypnotica” which will be released on February 24^th, 2017 and include the three bonus tracks „Take A Look Around“, „Dogtown Shuffle“ and „Spread My Wings“ (acoustic version). One other album will follow every three months.  

product: Stamina - System Of Power

release date: 24.02.2017

label: Pride & Joy Music

format: CD

territory: world

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Italian melodic/progressive metal band STAMINA is the brainchild of guitarist, songwriter and producer Luca Sellitto. Since the beginning, the band’s aim has been to create a personal style of music, combining a wide range of influences ranging from melodic power metal to progressive rock, to hard-rock and fusion.

During the years the band has released three full-length albums feat. many guest musicians including Henrik Brockmann (ex Royal Hunt, Evil Masquerade), Kenny Lubcke (ex Narita, André Andersen, backing vocalist of Royal Hunt), Göran Edman (ex Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum, Brazen Abbot, etc.) and Nils Molin (Dynazty).

In April/May 2012, STAMINA embarked on their first European Tour, including shows in Germany, Austria, Holland, Spain and north of Italy. During the second leg of the tour the band had the opportunity to open for Danish rock quintet Royal Hunt in honor of their 20th anniversary world tour.

Today, STAMINA consists of Alessandro Granato - vocals, Luca Sellitto - guitars, Andrea Barone - Keyboards and Mario "Uryo" Urciuoli - bass plus the additional musicians, Andrea Stipa - drums; Jacopo DiDomenico - backing vocals; Donata Greco - flute; Giulia Silveri - cello. Band leader Luca Sellitto says: "Our new studio effort, ‘System of Power’ is the most mature release from us up until now, displaying a slightly more aggressive approach, an even increased level of technical proficiency and a wider sonic spectrum than ever before.”

STAMINA’s fourth album “System Of Power”, will be released on German label Pride & Joy Music on February 24^th, 2017 and is tailor made for fans of Melodic Prog Metal in general, in the vein of early Symphony X, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Dream Theater, Royal Hunt, Angra and many more.

Web: www.facebook.com/staminaitalianband

product: Age Of Reflection - In The Heat Of The Night

release date: 24.02.2017

label: AOR Heaven

format: CD

territory: Europe

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Shaping the Swedish melodic rock band AGE OF REFLECTION was not something that happened over night. On the contrary, it was the result of a two decade long process of waiting for the right opportunity and the right people. But then, a lifelong dream finally came true when founder Carl Berglund (guitar) got together with old friend Jan Skärming (bass) – a bandmate from several previous bands – to write songs shaped at its very core by 80’s rock giants. These were songs with emotional harmonies from pure British AOR, with the power of American hard rock, sprinkled with hooks from the new era of Swedish melodic rock.

You know those teenage dreams of rock bands we all have had at one point? The bands and the songs that never were, because of circumstances you couldn’t control. Well, this was now firmly within grasp.

When Carl Berglund quit the industrial metal band ONEbyONE in 2013 (coincidently a band where he played with Jan Skärming) it became the spark to form his illusive AOR band. Equipped with tons of hard hitting melodic rock song written, there were a few pieces of the puzzle still missing, and after years of searching those pieces turned out to be Jonas Nordquist (lead guitar) and Lars Nygren (vocals).

In May 2016 they picked 4 songs and published them onto Spotify, iTunes, and a few other places with amazing reviews and response.  In August 2016, the band signed a deal with AOR Heaven for a February 2017 release, and about that time they also added drummer Michael Sjöö (SEVEN TEARS, ONEbyONE) to complete their band. The album was recorded in Studio Thinner, the band's own studio, in the spring of 2016 in the band's hometown of Vasteras, Sweden. The album is also produced by AGE of REFLECTION but the mixing and mastering is done by Erik Mårtensson, Blowout Productions (Eclipse, WET a.o).

Age Of Reflections has a multifaceted meaning. Partly so, it means that we’re living in a time where we need to stop and reflect on what the consequences of our actions will be, what will happen if we do not take care of our planet, but also the band reflects of what at one time created their interest in music and they want to recreate the same feeling. Last but not least, the first letters of the bands name's also what we love and want to pass on, AOR.
Right now the band is ready to spread their music worldwide and is certainly looking forward to see you on the arenas.