GRAHAM BONNET BAND will release a new studio album, “Day Out In Nowhere”, on May 13 via Frontiers Music Srl. The official music video for the LP’s first single, “Imposter”, can be seen below.

Graham is joined by longtime bandmates Beth-Ami Heavenstone (bass) and Conrado Pesinato (guitar) on this new opus, as well as keyboardist Alessandro Bertoni and drummer Shane Gaalaas. “Day Out In Nowhere” also sees performance and co-writing guest appearances from Jeff Loomis (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE), John Tempesta (THE CULT, WHITE ZOMBIE), Mike Tempesta (POWERMAN 5000), Roy Z (HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON) and Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW), to name a few.

Explains Bonnet of the new album: “Similar to the first two [GRAHAM BONNET BAND] albums, it will reflect different eras of my career, but with a contemporary twist. I’m also delighted to be playing with the original members of the GRAHAM BONNET BAND: Beth-Ami Heavenstone who has been my constant partner (on and off stage) since meeting back in 2012 and guitarist Conrado Pesinato, whose innate musical style elicits some of my best songwriting. Conrado and Beth-Ami also produced this record which made the process seamless.”

Bonnet is a hard rock legend with a pedigree to back that statement up. His solo offerings and stints with RAINBOW, MSG, ALCATRAZZ and IMPELLITTERI prove he is one of the finest rock vocalists and songwriters of his generation. From his late 60s into his 70s, Graham has written and recorded three of the best albums he’s ever done, including a reunion album with ALCATRAZZ called “Born Innocent” in 2020, along with two regal, rocking and yet irresistibly sophisticated records with his cherished GRAHAM BONNET BAND. “The Book”, which was met with zeal by fans the world over, arrived in 2016, followed by the well-loved “Meanwhile, Back In The Garage” in 2018.

It is with this elegant late-career outfit, GRAHAM BONNET BAND, that this consummate powerhouse of a vocalist and charmer of a frontman brings us “Day Out In Nowhere”.

Expect Graham to hit the tour trail with his usual passion and energy combining the classics with some new gems.

“Day Out In Nowhere” track listing:

01. Imposter
02. 12 Steps To Heaven
03. Brave New World (feat. Roy Z
04. Uncle John
05. Day Out In Nowhere
06. The Sky Is Alive
07. David’s Mom
08. When We’re Asleep (feat. Mike Tempesta, John Tempesta)
09. It’s Just a Frickin’ Song (feat. Don Airey)
10. Jester (feat. Jeff Loomis, Kyle Hughes)
11. Suzy

GRAHAM BONNET BAND is:

Vocals: Graham Bonnet
Guitars: Conrado Pesinato
Bass: Beth-Ami Heavenstone

Guest musicians:

Keys: Alessandro Bertoni
Drums: Levi Dokus
Drums: Shane Gaalaas
Guitars: Jeff Loomis
Acoustic Guitar: Takanori Ozaki
Drums: Kyle Hughes
Drums: John Tempesta
Guitars: Mike Tempesta
Guitars: Roy Z
Orchestral Arrangement: Shota Nakama and Antonio Teoli

During the question-and-answer portion of his March 1 spoken-word show at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked how his technique of hitting the high notes has changed over the years as his voice has aged. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, I’m not sure it has changed that much. When your voice is very young — I discovered my voice, when I was young, as being quite tinny; it didn’t have a lot of [depth] to it. And your voice, it thickens a bit as you get older. And obviously talking for two and a half hours doesn’t help. But when you get to hitting high notes… My high end… When I was in the early days — SAMSON and stuff like that — I used to go into my little falsetto thing, but that got blown out of the water when I did [MAIDEN’s] ‘The Number Of The Beast’ [album], because I pushed up into my high register, which is not like a cash register; it’s a bit that actually happens in your voice. But it is a kind of high register. As my publisher said — he was a South African gentleman called Ralph Simon, and he worked with Zomba Music. And Ralph, he managed other producers, so he managed Martin Birch and they also managed the guy that did all the DEF LEPPARD albums [‘Mutt’ Lange]. So, anyway, he would chat to me about this stuff, and when we would do the MAIDEN things, like we’d do ‘Run To The Hills’, he’d come up [to me and say], [adopts South African accent] ‘You have this thing that Mutt does with all of his bands. It’s the high frequency thing that makes the Americans go raving mad. You’ve got that high octave. When you go into it, like ‘Run To The Hills’, and when you sing, ‘Run to the hills, run for your life,’ it makes the Americans go raving mad; they can’t help themselves.’ So I took that advice. I thought, I’d just go to that high octave that makes the Americans go raving mad.”

Dickinson’s two-month North American spoken-word tour kicked off on January 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and will run through the end of March.

Bruce’s spoken-word show is split into two parts. The first section sees him take a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of MAIDEN anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, as told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs, videos and sometimes even erupting into song a cappella, to illustrate a point. The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to the aforementioned question-and-answer session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce’s answers are all completely improvised — the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be.

GENERATION KILL, the band featuring former EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, has released the official music video for the single “Dogs Of War” featuring John Joseph (CRO-MAGS, BLOODCLOT). The track is taken from GENERATION KILL’s new album, “MKUltra”, which is out now via Blood Blast Distribution and Art Is War Records. The album features additional guest appearances by Gary Holt (SLAYER, EXODUS), Chris Poland (MEGADETH, OHM:) and Grammy Award-winning pianist Ronnie King, who guests on the final track, “La Fin Du Monde”.

Dukes commented: “‘Dogs Of War’ was so much fun to write and create with the boys. I said, ‘I want a song that John Joseph will sing on,’ so that’s what Jay Velez and the boys delivered. Then I wrote the lyrics, recorded it and then called John to ask if he will sing on the song. I sent him the track and then 10 minutes later, he called to say that he loved it, so we got him in the studio and he killed it. John has such a distinct voice and style that it just killed on this track. It’s such an honor to have one of the entire band’s hero on our album.”

Joseph added: “GENERATION KILL’s new record, ‘MKultra’, is fucking brutal on so many levels — hard riffs and lyrics that mean something. The pit is going to get extremely violent over this one.”

GENERATION KILL was formed by Dukes in New York City in 2008. Rob, on hiatus from touring with EXODUS, wanted to funnel his excess creative energy and aggression into something new. After the inclusion of Jason Trenczer, Lou Lehman and Sam Inzerra, the band began writing and recording its first album, “Red, White, & Blood”, featuring several singles, including “Feast For The Wolves” and “Hate” as well as a cover of the NINE INCH NAILS track “Wish” which enjoyed heavy radio rotation.

Due to creative differences with Inzerra and the untimely death of guitarist Lou Lehman, Jay Velez and Jim DeMaria (HEATHEN) joined and began recording GENERATION KILL’s sophomore album, “We’re All Gonna Die”, with renowned producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED). Shortly after its release, the band embarked on a European tour with fellow EXODUS member Lee Altus’s band HEATHEN. The album spawned several successful singles, including “Prophets Of War” which went to No. 1 on SiriusXM Liquid Metal’s “Dirty Dozen” and remained one of the top requested songs on the channel.

Following the success of “We’re All Gonna Die”, drummer Rob Youells joined GENERATION KILL and they went into the studio, this time with ex-GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal to record an album with a founding member of RUN-D.M.C., Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels. The project was initially titled DMC GENERATION KILL before becoming its own entity, later renamed FRAGILE MORTALS.

Recorded once again with Nick Bellmore (HATEBREED, CORPSEGRINDER), “MKUltra” incorporates everything an aficionado of the thrash metal genre has been longing to hear for the last decade: crunchy riffing, capturing melodies and killer solos mixed with brutal, thought-provoking lyrics. Their heaviest album to date, the album showcases the diverse musical backgrounds of each seasoned band member, a signature sound which has defined and allowed GENERATION KILL to remain a band without limitations.

Photo credit: Melody Myers

ZZ TOP will release a new album titled “Raw” that was recorded in connection with the band’s wildly popular and critically lauded 2019 Netflix documentary “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas”. The Grammy-nominated feature from Banger Films and director Sam Dunn includes an interlude that finds the group’s classic lineup — Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and the late Dusty Hill — gathering for a very intimate session at Gruene Hall, “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas.” That performance provided the basis for the “Raw” album release.

The album’s title is derived from the unfettered and straightforward manner in which the tracks were recorded. As seen in the film, the bandmembers played, for the most part, together within sight of each other in the course of one day. The methodology employed was something of an homage to the way ZZ TOP recorded at the start of its epic five plus decades run at the pinnacle of rock’s pantheon.

Billy F. Gibbons served as producer with engineering by Jake Mann and Gary Moon; “Raw” was mixed by Ryan Hewitt. The album’s 12 tracks recall the very beginning of the band’s recording career (“Brown Sugar” and “Certified Blues” from ZZ TOP’s first album) and include many of their major hits (“Legs”, “Tush”, “La Grange”, “Gimme All Your Lovin'”) with a definite blues skew (“Blue Jean Blues”, “Just Got Paid”, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”) as well as some up-tempo house rockers (“Tube Snake Boogie”, “Thunderbird”).

“Raw” will be released July 22 by Shelter Records/BMG on 180-gram vinyl, CD and through digital platforms and is dedicated “in righteous memory of Dusty Hill.”

The album’s liner notes by Billy and Frank explain the approach: “It was, in a very real way, a return to our roots. Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour busses. Just us and the music. We knew right then it was a very special circumstance, all of us in the same place at the same time and what a time it most certainly was! It was as bare bones as when we first started touring in a behemoth Chrysler station wagon, driving vast stretches between those early far-flung shows under blackened Texas skies and first hearing our records on the radio. We were bonded as brothers.

“‘The Dust’ may have left the building but he’s still very much with us.”

“Raw” track listing:

Side 1

01. Brown Sugar
02. Just Got Paid
03. Heard It On The X
04. La Grange
05. Tush
06. Thunderbird

Side 2

01. I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
02. Gimme All Your Lovin’
03. Blue Jean Blues
04. Certified Blues
05. Tube Snake Boogie

At the same time the new album is being announced, the band’s forthcoming “Raw Whisky” tour has been revealed. The first leg of the tour, starting on May 27 in San Diego, California, will see the band on stage in 50 markets across North America, more dates to be announced soon. The tour’s title is a hat tip to both the forthcoming album as well as the recent release of ZZ TOP Tres Hombres whisky from Balcones Distilling of Waco, Texas, a flavorful 100 proof mash bill of roasted blue corn, malted barley and rye.

Tickets are on sale for most markets starting March 11.

Tour dates:

May 06 – Niagara Falls, ON – Fallsview Casino Resort
May 29 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Jun. 01 – Redding, CA – Redding Civic Auditorium
Jun. 02 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
Jun. 05 – Jacksonville, OR – Britt Pavilion
Jun. 07 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Jun. 08 – Walla Walla, WA – Wine Country Amphitheater
Jun. 09 – Spokane, WA – First Interstate Center for the Arts
Jun. 12 – Billings, MT – MetraPark – First Interstate Arena
Jun. 14 – Grand Junction, CO – Las Colonias Park Amphitheater
Jun. 17 – Tucson, AZ – Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater
Jun. 19 – Colorado Springs, CO – Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts
Jun. 21 – Loveland, CO – Budweiser Events Center
Jun. 22 – Grand Island, NE – Fonner Park – Heartland Events Center
Jun. 24 – Park City, KS – Hartman Arena
Jun. 25 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre
Jun. 26 – Little Rock, AR – First Security Amphitheater
Jun. 29 – Rogers, AR – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
Jul. 01 – Toledo, OH – Toledo Zoo & Aquarium – Amphitheater
Jul. 02 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Jul. 05 – Fort Wayne, IN – Foellinger Theater
Jul. 09 – Greenville, WI – Greenville Lion’s Park
Jul. 22 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
Jul. 23 – Watertown, NY – Watertown Fairgrounds Baseball Diamond
Aug. 27 – Beaver Dam, KY – Beaver Dam Amphitheater

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