Away Team

From Gibson.com:

One of the great hard rock bands of the late ’70s/early ’80s, RAINBOW evolved over the course of its initial run (1975-1984) from a heavy sword-and-sorcery sound (helmed by RONNIE JAMES DIO) to a lighter, more commercial enterprise attuned to early ’80s FM playlists (with the Lou Gramm-esque JOE LYNN TURNER on vocals). Somewhere in between was an album called Down To Earth, which managed to dial up much of the hard rock fury of the Dio years, but with the dead-on pop sensibilities of the band’s later albums.

For Down To Earth, bandleader and axe-man extraordinaire RITCHIE BLACKMORE tapped GRAHAM BONNET to take the mic. With Bonnet’s stentorian vox, Blackmore’s fiery fretwork, monster drummer Cozy Powell, veteran keyboardist Don Airey and Ritchie’s old DEEP PURPLE mate Roger Glover on bass (and co-producer), the group created some of the best tracks in Rainbow’s long and winding history, including the singles ‘All Night Long‘ and the Russ Ballard-penned ‘Since You’ve Been Gone‘.

Now Universal Music has announced a deluxe expanded version of Down To Earth, with non-album B-sides ‘Bad Girl‘ and the atmospheric instrumental ‘Weiss Heim‘, as well as a second disc of studio outtakes and alternate versions, which lend much-appreciated context to the finished album.

It has also been reported that Universal will soon announce a release date for a similar deluxe edition for the album many consider to be the band’s masterpiece, Rainbow Rising.

Down To Earth: Deluxe Expanded Edition tracklisting:
Disc 1:
All Night Long
Eyes Of The World
No Time To Lose
Makin’ Love
Since You Been Gone
Love’s No Friend
Danger Zone
Lost In Hollywood
Bonus Tracks:
Bad Girl (7′ Single B-Side)
Weiss Heim (7′ Single B-Side)

Disc 2:
All Night Long (Instrumental Outtake)
Eyes Of The World (Instrumental Outtake)
Spark Don’t Mean A Fire
Makin’ Love (Instrumental Outtake)
Since You Been Gone (Instrumental Outtake)
Ain’t A Lot Of Love In The Heart Of Me
Danger Zone (Instrumental Outtake)
Lost In Hollywood (Instrumental Outtake)
Bad Girls (Instrumental Outtake)
Ain’t A Lot Of Love In The Heart Of Me (Alternative Outtake – Take 2 with mixed down vocal)
Eyes Of The World (Instrumental Outtake Take 2)
All Night Long (Cozy Powell Mix)








For more RAINBOW click here.
For more DIO era RAINBOW click here.

Universal Music will release “The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria” DVD and Blu-ray containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring the “Big Four” of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX. The DVD hits the streets on October 29 in Northern Europe, November 1 in most of the rest of the world, November 2 in North America and the full shows from all four bands will be included in the two-disc set along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage.

According to a posting on METALLICA‘s official web site, “you can now pre-order the deluxe set in the Metallica Store. Along with the deluxe box set, you will also receive a limited-edition, exclusive RED ‘The Big 4‘ guitar pick with one of four different print colors (white, black, silver or gold). This red guitar pick is not available in stores!

“To pre-order the deluxe set, click here. It will start shipping on October 15, 2010. To our friends outside of North America, this special box set will be available at your favorite local stores and online retailers as well, should you choose to avoid international shipping charges.”

METALLICA was joined onstage during the show by members of MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX for a performance of the DIAMOND HEAD song “Am I Evil?”

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, MEGADETH singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine and ANTHRAX vocalist Joey Belladonna took turns singing the song, which has been a part of METALLICA‘s live set for decades. The event marked the first time that Dave Mustaine had performed onstage with METALLICA since April 9, 1983. An original member of the band, he was fired just weeks before METALLICA recorded its debut album, “Kill ‘Em All“.

According to Billboard.com, the Sonisphere cinecast from Sofia was beamed via satellite in HD to cinemas and was seen by more than 100,000 fans. It was distributed globally into hundreds of cinemas by New York-based BY Experience.

METALLICA track listing:
01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Harvester Of Sorrow
05. Fade To Black
06. That Was Just Your Life
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
Encore:
16. Am I Evil? (with the Big Four)
17. Hit The Lights
18. Seek and Destroy

SLAYER track listing:
01. World Painted Blood
02. Jihad
03. War Ensemble
04. Hate Worldwide
05. Seasons In The Abyss
06. Angel of Death
07. Beauty Through Order
08. Disciple
09. Mandatory Suicide
10. Chemical Warfare
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

MEGADETH track listing:
01. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
02. Hangar 18
03. Wake Up Dead
04. Head Crusher
05. In My Darkest Hour
06. Skin O’ My Teeth
07. A Tout Le Monde
08. Hook In Mouth
09. Trust
10. Sweating Bullets
11. Symphony Of Destruction
12. Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise

ANTHRAX track listing:
01. Caught In A Mosh
02. Got the Time
03. Madhouse
04. Be All, End All
05. Antisocial
06. Indians/Heaven And Hell
07. Medusa
08. Only
09. Metal Thrashing Mad
10. I Am The Law









For more METALLICA click here.
For more SLAYER click here.
For more MEGADETH click here.
For more ANTHRAX click here.

MICHAEL MONROE, iconic rock‘n’roll frontman and founding member of hugely influential Finnish outfit Hanoi Rocks, has entered into a recording agreement with Universal Music. The first fruits of this international deal will be a brand new live album, ‘Another Night In The Sun/Live In Helsinki’, set for release on September 27th 2010. This 15-track outing will be made available through Universal subsidiary, Spinefarm Records.
Says Jarkko Nordlund, Managing Director, Universal Music Finland “Michael Monroe is a true international rock star, and Universal Music’s international network is extremely proud to be working with him. Spinefarm Records is the best home for this rock‘n’roll legend, as both label and artist share the same degree of professionalism and passion.”
Mixed in LA by Niko Bolas (whose credits include Neil Young, Frank Sinatra, Keith Richards, Kiss, Spinal Tap and more) and mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (the man behind Tom Petty and Dixie Chicks), ‘Another Night…’ – recorded on July 6th at the Tavastia Club, Helsinki – features key tracks from Monroe’s solo career spiced up with selected Hanoi classics, some well-chosen covers, plus two brand new, unreleased songs.
Says Monroe: “No excuses, it is what it is, and will probably end up sounding great with all its clunks and flaws, once it’s mixed and finished. Obviously, we’re not doing any overdubs, so you’ll have a very raw ‘rough and ready-or-not’ live recording of another rockin’ night in the sun in the beautiful Finnish summer!”
In the wake of the album’s release, Monroe (plus regular band: Wildheart’s mainman Ginger on guitar, ex-Hanoi member Sammy Yaffa on bass, Steve Conte of New York Dolls & Company Of Wolves fame on guitar, and Karl ‘Rockfist’ Rosqvist on drums, a Swedish/Finnish drummer who has played with both Chelsea Smiles & Danzig) will head out on tour in Finland & Sweden before heading over to the UK to Special Guest with Motörhead on their 35th Anniversary tour in November.

For more MICHAEL MONROE click here.