Hot on the heels of their very cool vintage guitar reimaginations, the revitalized Harmony’s new tube combos are bound to stir up excitement for their tasty retro looks alone. But while the navy blue vinyl covering and white woven-fabric grille cloth with gold piping make the H650 reviewed here a head-turner, its power and clean-to-dirty tone range will garner double-takes, too.The China-made 50-watt, dual-6L6 1×12 H650—the largest of the three new Harmony amps—occupies a power sweet spot that a lot of large-club performers in many playing styles prefer. But it’s not a deafeningly loud amp, and it comes with a built-in attenuator that makes home and apartment use possible, as well as a raft of tricks and quirks that will appeal to retro-minded players looking for a distinct voice.The tremolo is warm, round, and bubbly.Feature FilmThe original Chicago-based Harmony company cranked out well-made, affordable acoustic and electric guitars for decades. At one time they were the largest guitar manufacturer in the nation, and possibly the world. As electrics became more and more a part of the company’s product mix, Harmony offered amplifiers, too, though these were generally made by third-party manufacturers. Some of these amps have become minor legends in their own right. The mid ’60s H415 model made by Sound Projects Co., for instance, is regarded by Trainwreck tube guru Ken Fischer as a gem among affordable vintage amps.The H650 isn’t much like old Harmonys in terms of circuity or tube complement. A pair of 6L6GC power tubes delivers output that Harmony claims as 50-watts, although that’s on the high side for these tubes (most similar class A/B dual-6L6 amps generate 40 to 45 watts). Four 12AX7 tubes drive the preamp, effects, and phase-inverter stages.The cab is a semi-closed-back design, with a vented aluminum cover over the space between upper and lower back panels. Inside, a single Italy-made 12″ Jensen Tornado Stealth 65 speaker converts all that energy back to moving air. The entire rig measures approximately 25.5″ x 19.5″ x 10.5″ and weighs 49.8 pounds, which is still pretty hefty. But a wide, padded leather handle makes toting this substantial amp a lot more manageable.Removing the upper back panel reveals a rugged printed circuit board, with through-hole, surface-mounted components. All potentiometers, switches, and tube sockets are mounted directly to the chassis itself, which should aid reliability over the long haul. Mounted on the grill side of the chassis, the tubes are tricky to reach, but it’s not impossible to access and replace them without pulling the whole chassis.The top-mounted control panel offers a single channel with gain (which doubles as a push-pull control for boost), bass, middle, treble, reverb, tremolo depth and speed, presence, and master volume. The back panel is home to dual speaker jacks with a switch for 8- or 16-ohm output, and a rotary selector for the built-in attenuator, which offers 1 watt, 0.5 watt, and 0 watt output for silent recording via the line out. There are also two TRS footswitch jacks for a tremolo/boost and a reverb/effects loop, as well as a send, return, and bypass switch for the effects loop. Harmony thoughtfully includes both footswitches with the amp.Blue MovesWhether with humbuckers, single-coils, or P-90s, the H650 sounds distinctive, though at times a bit quirky. At lower to medium volumes, it ably produces clean to clean-ish tones reminiscent of a 6L6-based black- or silver-panel Fender platform: relatively mid-scooped, firm lows, and sparkling, glassy high-frequency tones. The Harmony’s greatest strengths are rooted in this foundation, but the spring reverb and tube tremolo help create lush retro soundscapes that are well suited to the fundamental voice. The tremolo is warm, round, and bubbly. The depth control’s taper increases drastically in the final 10 percent of its travel, but all the sounds are great. The H650’s reverb also sounds cool. It’s spacious, with a deliciously long decay but is never excessively splashy—even at maximum settings. The effects loop works effectively, and the external bypass switching is a bonus.Things get wilder and more interesting when you crank the H650 to the point of overdrive. And whether you find these overdrive sounds fantastic or raunchy depends on your own tastes. With the gain past 1 o’clock and humbuckers or P-90s out front, the amp-generated distortion can sound a tad ratty and fizzy, which is very much in keeping with the cranked-up catalog-amp ethos that makes vintage Harmony amps appealing. Engaging the boost makes it even more so, as do most drive pedals. That said, there’s no end to the raw, garage-rock fun you can have with the gain maxed and boost engaged. Just don’t expect archetypal big-stack classic-rock lead tones.The built-in attenuator is good at enabling ultra-hushed overdrive at bedroom practice volumes, but high-gain sounds can sound comparatively gnarly and compressed at 1 watt. It also seems that, given the effort of including such a feature, it would have been worth creating a 10-watt setting. Though the silent recording feature is a big plus for players that may be on the fence about justifying a 50-watt amp.The VerdictThe H650 offers an interesting, if somewhat dichotomous, palette of sounds. On one hand, it’s capable of black-panel Fender-style clean tones that sound impressively refined if you stay in the amp’s sweet spot. On the other, you get hairy, raunchy overdrive in line with amps that constituted Harmony’s competition in the 1960s: Danelectro, Silvertone, Valco, and the like. The ethereal reverb and tremolo are a significant bonus. But whether the H650 works for you is probably down to how well you love the amp’s raunchier side. Harmony H650 Demo | First Look

Long-running U.K. rockers THE QUIREBOYS have parted ways with lead singer Spike (real name Jonathan Gray). The band will continue as a five-piece, with longtime guitarist Guy Griffin handling the vocals.

THE QUIREBOYS most recently performed without Spike aboard this year’s Monsters Of Rock cruise, which departed out of Miami, Florida on February 9.

THE QUIREBOYS put out their most recent album, the well-received “Amazing Disgrace”, in 2019.

The band’s debut LP, “A Bit of What You Fancy”, was released in 1990 and included the song “Hey You”, which was THE QUIREBOYS’ biggest hit, reaching No. 14 in the U.K. singles chart and No. 5 in the U.S. Billboard Rock chart.

In 2020, THE QUIREBOYS were scheduled to celebrate their 35th anniversary with a tour. The trek, which ended up getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, would also have marked 30 years since the release of “A Bit Of What You Fancy”.

Following the band’s inception in London in 1984 — originally as THE CHOIRBOYS, then THE QUEERBOYS, before settling on the less controversial name of THE QUIREBOYS — there followed six years of hard graft and personnel changes.

THE QUIREBOYS played to 72,000 people at 1990’s Monsters Of Rock at Donington with the likes of WHITESNAKE, AEROSMITH and POISON. They supported THE ROLLING STONES that same year in Newcastle, and opened for GUNS N’ ROSES at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1987 and again a couple of years later on their “Use Your Illusion” tour.

The public’s appetite for THE QUIREBOYS had returned and hasn’t waned since — three further studio releases (“Well Oiled”, “Homewreckers & Heartbreakers”, “Halfpenny Dancer”) were released on various labels from 2004 to 2009 before the band found their new, and permanent, home on Off Yer Rocka, the label of the renowned festival brand Hard Rock Hell.

An anniversary edition — fully re-recorded — of “A Bit Of What You Fancy” drew much acclaim in 2021.

The Quireboys have parted company with Spike and will continue as a 5 piece with all other current members.

Posted by The Quireboys – This Is Rock And Roll on Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD have announced North American tour dates for this coming June. The trek will kick off in Trois Rivieres, Quebec on June 1, with 14 dates to follow and will wrap up on June 19 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Comments VOIVOD drummer Michel “Away” Langevin: “At last! After more than two years without touring, we are finally hitting the road in June 2022 in North America. We are thrilled to play the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest. It will also be exciting for us to play songs from [our new album] ‘Synchro Anarchy’ for the first time live! We can’t wait to see our old Voïvodian friends again and meet some new ones. See you then!”

Tour dates:

June 01 – Trois Rivieres, QC – L’Entité
June 02 – Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre Music Theatre
June 03 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 04 – London, ON – The Music Hall
June 05 – Detroit, MI – Small’s
June 06 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
June 08 – Huntington, WV – The Loud
June 09 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
June 10 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore (Decibel Magazine Metal and Beer Festival)
June 11 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
June 13 – Pittsburgh, PA – Crafthouse
June 14 – Buffalo, NY – Rec Room
June 15 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
June 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Market Hotel
June 18 – Liverpool, NY – Sharkey’s
June 19 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall

“Synchro Anarchy” was released last month via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2018’s “The Wake” was produced by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio and features cover artwork created by VOIVOD drummer Michel “Away” Langevin.

Regarding the release of “Synchro Anarchy”, VOIVOD vocalist and lyricist Denis “Snake” Bélanger said: “Here it is folks. So proud to present this album to you. It is one of a kind, a very unique and distinctive album. It was made with all the passion we have for music under particular conditions. Driven by a nuclear brainstorm between the four of us in a state of emergency. Written, recorded, and delivered, and not necessarily in that order, we managed to do it all in a few months. We hope you will enjoy the album. We can’t wait to see you all of you, our fans out there on our upcoming tours. We’ve been missing you.”

Langevin previously stated about “Synchro Anarchy”: “We are eager to present our latest work, a real collaborative effort. The new album represents countless hours of writing, demoing, recording, mixing and so on. The band and Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio gave their very best to make it happen under unusual circumstances, which led us to call it ‘Synchro Anarchy’. We feel that the sound and music are 100% VOIVOD, and we hope everyone will enjoy it as much as we had fun making it. We certainly can’t wait to play it live.”

VOIVOD released a new live album, “Lost Machine – Live”, in November 2020 via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded in Québec City during the worldwide touring cycle for “The Wake”.

In the summer of 2020, VOIVOD released a new three-track 12-inch vinyl and digital EP titled “The End Of Dormancy” via Century Media Records. The EP is centered around a special “Metal Section” version of the title track (off VOIVOD’s latest album, “The Wake”) with added trumpets, saxophone and trombones. The complementary songs on this release are exclusive live versions of “The End Of Dormancy (Metal Section)” and the group’s classic “The Unknown Knows”, recorded at Montreal Jazz Fest 2019.

San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING are celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band with the “Two Decades Of Destruction” tour. Today, the band announced the U.S. leg of the trek will kick off on June 10 in Las Vegas. Joining the band for the 30 dates will WHITECHAPEL, SHADOW OF INTENT, BRAND OF SACRIFICE (June 24-July 17), and OV SULFUR (June 10-23) The tour will conclude on July 17 in Oklahoma.

AS I LAY DYING guitarist Phil Sgrosso comments: “After two years of anxiously awaiting the safe return of live events, it’s finally our time to get back out on the road to celebrate ‘Two Decades Of Destruction’ with WHITECHAPEL, SHADOW OF INTENT, BRAND OF SACRIFICE and OV SULFUR. We’ve had enough time to fully recharge and can’t wait to feel that energy of performing onstage again. We’ve certainly missed our fans so we look forward to reconnecting with everyone as we celebrate our 20-year milestone and get back on the road. See you soon!”

General admission and VIP tickets for the tour go on sale on Friday, April 1 at 10 a.m. EDT.

“Two Decades Of Destruction” tour dates:

Jun. 10 – House Of Blues – Las Vegas NV ^
Jun. 11 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson. AZ ^
Jun. 12 – 11:11 – El Paso, TX
Jun. 14 – Empire Garage – Austin, TX ^
Jun. 15 – Temple Live – Fort Smith, AR^
Jun. 16 – The Concourse – Knoxville, TN^
Jun. 18 – House Of Blues – Myrtle Beach, SC^
Jun. 19 – Jannus Landing – St Petersburg, FL^
Jun. 20 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC^
Jun. 22 – Brown’s Island – Richmond, VA^
Jun. 23 – The Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA^
Jun. 24 – Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ*
Jun. 25 – Webster Theater – Hartford, CT*
Jun. 26 – The L – Elmira, NY*
Jun. 27 – Roxian – Pittsburgh, PA*
Jun. 29 – Paristown Hall – Louisville, KY*
Jun. 30 – Kemba Live – Columbus, OH*
Jul. 01 – The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI*
Jul. 02 – Pierre’s – Ft. Wayne, IN*
Jul. 05 – The Rust Belt – Moline, IL*
Jul. 06 – EPIC Event Center – Green Bay, WI*
Jul. 07 – Admiral – Omaha, NE*
Jul. 08 – Val Air – Des Moines, IA*
Jul. 10 – Zoo Montana – Billings, MT*
Jul. 11 – The Newburry – Great Falls, MT*
Jul. 12 – Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA*
Jul. 14 – Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO*
Jul. 15 – Sunshine Studios – Colorado Springs, CO*
Jul. 16 – The Wave – Wichita, KS*
Jul. 17 – Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City. OK*

^ – With OV SULFUR
* – With BRAND OF SACRIFICE

Last September, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called “Roots Below” which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for the band’s 2019 album “Shaped By Fire”.

A month earlier, guitarist Nick Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he can no longer justify being part of “a superficial pursuit” of the “story and meaning” that the band’s 2018 reunion was built upon.

AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band’s Facebook page after his release.

In September 2019, AS I LAY DYING released its seventh full-length album, the aforementioned “Shaped By Fire”, via Nuclear Blast.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band’s disgraced frontman as a “sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation” in a social-media post back in 2014.

AS I LAY DYING 2022 is:

Tim Lambesis – vocals
Phil Sgrosso – guitars
Josh Gilbert – bass guitar and vocals
Jordan Mancino – drums

According to Oxford Mail, the former home of late DEEP PURPLE keyboard player Jon Lord is up for sale.

The eight-bedroom property Burntwood Hall in Goring-on-Thames, where Lord lived in the 1980s, is now on the market with a guide price of £8.5 million (approximately $11.17 million). The house, which comes with a bowling alley, games room and cinema room, was the inspiration for the song “Burntwood” from Lord’s debut solo album, released in 1982.

Burntwood Hall has had several owners since Lord lived in the property.

Check out pictures of the home at Oxford Mail.

Jon Lord died on July 16, 2012 at age 71 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Lord, who was known for his keyboard virtuosity and his reinvention of the Hammond B-3 organ sound, co-wrote such PURPLE classics as “Smoke On The Water” and “Child In Time”, among others. Lord and drummer Ian Paice were the only original members to last through the band’s initial run from 1968 to 1976. He was on board for their 1984 reunion and stayed on through to his 2002 retirement from the band, after which he’s worked primarily in the classical field.

Over the course of his career, Lord also worked with the ARTWOODS, FLOWER POT MEN, PAICE, ASHTON AND LORD, WHITESNAKE and good friend and neighbor, George Harrison.

In an interview with Peter Makowski, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about Jon Lord: “I’m not sure that the people in today’s hard rock world really truly understand how innovative this guy was. He wasn’t just another keyboard player on the side of the stage. In ’66/’67, when Hendrix, Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore were taking the electric guitar to a new level, by using banks of Marshall stacks beefing up the sound, Jon Lord was one of the first guys in hard rock to take the keyboards through the same process. He took a fairly standard instrument like a Hammond organ put it through amplifiers and Leslie cabinets and introduced a whole new way of forcing the sound out of the keyboards.

“Ritchie Blackmore said that Jon formed DEEP PURPLE; he was certainly the instigator that made things happen,” Lars continued. “If not the musical leader, Jon was the spiritual leader of the band. He was a pioneer, and I think that somehow that’s gotten a little lost in the last few [months]. People are talking about, obviously, what a gentleman he was and what a fantastic band member but he really did something nobody had done before with the sound of the keyboards and I think that’s probably the biggest thing to remember him for.”