First Hit For Free is the second debut of sorts for Voodoo Six.

In 2006, the band put out their debut CD, Feed My Soul. Their label didn’t promote the record, and rolling into 2007, the band was still virtually unknown.

Voodoo Six brought in new management, and Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica, Van Halen) who remixed the album. Voodoo Six didn’t stop there. They also added the killer new tune, Faith, to their album,  First Hit For Free.

So how is the new disc? If you missed their debut, Feed My Soul, then First Hit For Free is an excellent new way to check out Voodoo Six. Voodoo Six has a cool classic rock sound that is listening to Led Zeppelin with a blend of Soundgarden.

Henry Rundell has a solid rock voice that could push Voodoo Six to the next level. This album is chock full of great vocals, killer guitar work (yes, their are solos,) and a solid rhythm section. Voodoo Six will join the likes of bands like Airbourne, Z02, and The Answer, that will bring real rock back to the mainstream. The only negative thing with First Hit For Free, is that some of songs don’t stand out very well, and can be a little repetitive. Aside from that, First Hit For Free is pretty good record. Hard rock fans have a brand new classic rock record to check out.

My favorite cuts are Faith, Feed My Soul, Crawl and I Am the Sun.

You can download this album via ITunes or buy a copy from Voodoo Six today. Don’t miss this disc!

For more information on Voodoo Six, check out their website!

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Faith
2. No Friend Of Mine
3. Feed My Soul
4. Walking On Nails
5. Crawl
6. I Am The Sun
7. Saint & Sinners
8. One More Day
9. Mistaken
10. Shine On
11. Century
12. Slip Inside

Voodoo Six is:
Henry Rundell - vocals
Matt Pearce - guitar
Chris Jones - guitar
Tony Newton - bass
Dave ‘Grav’ Cavill - drums

Bob Vinyl’s favorite band, Supagroup have released a new video for their tune, Born in Exile. This tune is on their new CD, Fire for Hire.

I started compiling the following list of New releases for 2008. This may not be a complete list, but some much great new music has arrived in 2008, so far, I though it would be a good idea to keep a running tab of what has come out, and what is on the way. The releases through August have been confirmed. Releases with a question mark have not been confirmed yet. This list will be updated as more news arrives.

Updated May 21, 2008

January
Drive By Truckers - Brigher Than Creation’s Dark
Airbourne - Running Wild (U.S. Release)
Bullet For My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free, Part 2
Ayreon - 01011001
American Speedway - Ship of Fools
Lillian Axe - Love and War (Reissue)
Lillian Axe - S/T (Reissue)
Sleeze Beez - Screwed Blued & Tattooed (Reissue)
Sleeze Beez - Powertool (Reissue)
Stonerider - Three Legs of Trouble
Thieves & Liars - When Dreams Become Reality
Tiles - Fly Paper
Saint Daemon - In Shadows Lost From the Brave
Pagan’s Mind - God’s Equation

February
DVD - Iron Maiden - Live After Death
DVD - Scorpions - Live at Wacken Open Air 2006
DVD - Overkill - Live at Wacken Open Air 2007
DVD - Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
Three - End is Begun
Pillar - For the Love of the Game
Avantasia - The Scarecrow
UFO - Phenomenon (Reissue)
UFO - No Heavy Pettin (Reissue)
UFO - Force It (Reissue)
Type O Negative - Dead Again (Red Version)
Hurricane - Over the Edge (Reissue)
Hurricane - Take What You Want (Reissue)
Hurricane - Slave To the Thrill (Reissue)
Hericane Alice - Tear the House Down (Reissue)
Baton Rouge - Shake Your Soul (Reissue)
Baton Rouge - Lights Out on The Playground (Reissue)
Wrathchild America - Climbing the Walls (Reissue)
Tangier - Four Winds (Reissue)
Tangier - Stranded (Reissue)
Danko Jones - Never Too Loud
King’s Call - No Alibi

March

Benedictum - Seasons of Tragedy
Inflikted - Cavalera Conspiracy
Saving Abel - S/T
Steve Stevens - Memory Crash
Firewind - The Premonition
DVD - Zebra
King Kobra - Ready to Strike (Reissue)
King Kobra - Thrill of a Lifetime (Reissue)
Icon - Right Between the Eyes (Reissue)
Black Tide - Light From Above
House of Lords - Come To My Kingdom
Warrior - Fighting For The Earth (Reissue)
Shannon - Angel in Disguise
Whitecross - 1987
Black Crowes - Warpaint
Diamond Head - Borrowed Time (Reissue)
Diamond Head - Canterbury (Reissue)

April
Fatal Smile - World Domination
Saints of the Underground - Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner
Theory of a Deadman - Scars & Souvenirs
Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad
Dominici - 03 A Trilogy Part 3
Asia - Phoenix
Testament - The Formation of Damnation
The Sword - Gods of The Earth
Dream Theater - Greatest Hit (And 21 other pretty cool songs)
P.O.D. - When Angels and Serpents Dance
Sevendust - Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow
In Flames - Sense of Purpose
Kamelot - Ghost Opera: The Second Coming
Ministry - Cover Up
DVD - Axel Rudi Pell - Live Over Europe
Keel - Lay Down the Law (Reissue)
White Lion - Return of the Pride
Circle II Circle - Delusions of Grandeur
Crimson Glory - S/T (Reissue)
Crimson Glory - Transcendence (Reissue)
Tantric - The End Begins
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I - IV

May
Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back In Time: The Best Of 1980-1989
MSG - In the Midst of Beauty
3 Doors Down - S/T
Bombay Black - Psycho Magnet
Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
Kip Winger - From the Moon To the Sun
Eden - Oblivion
King’s X - XV
M.ILL.ION - Thrill Of The Chase
Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again
10 Years - Division
Jon Oliva’s Pain - Global Warning
Flotsam and Jetsam - Cuatro (Reissue)
Gun Barrel - Outlaw invasion
Brother Firetribe - Heart Full of Fire
Circle II Circle - Delusions of Grandeur
Southern Gentleman - Valley of Fire
10 Years - Division
Glenn Hughes - First Underground Nuclear Kitchen
Souls of We - Let The Truth Be Known (Featuring George Lynch and London LeGrand)
Gypsy Rose - S/T (Featuring David Reece)

June
Disturbed - Indestructible
Bret Michaels - Rock My World
Man Raze - Surreal
Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles
Judas Priest - Nostradamus (2 CD Set)
JORN - Lonely Are the Brave
Flotsam & Jetsam - When The Storm Comes Down (Reissue)
The Dogs Divine - Way of Life
Clusterhead - Times of No Trust
Hydrogyn - Deadly Passions
Shinedown - The Sound of Madness
Tesla - Comin Atcha Live - DVD
Night Ranger - Hole in the Sun
Harem Scarem - Hope
Asphalt Valentine?

August
Buckcherry?
Slipknot
Trapt - Only Through The Pain (Aug 5th)

September

Black Stone Cherry?
Tesla?
Papa Roach - Metamorphisis

October
Aerosmith?
Metallica ?
Anthrax?

November
Alice Cooper?

December

AC/DC?

In January 2007 Classic Rock Magazine hand picked Art of Dying as one of the Top 15 Bands To Watch worldwide. CRM’s recommendation did not fall on deaf ears.

The band has been out on the road with may of today’s biggest hard rock acts including Seether, Saliva, Hinder and Papa Roach. The band is opening up for Disturbed’s 2008. I saw them for the first time last Wednesday night, but has only gotten to know a couple of their songs prior to that show.

Art of Dying is a modern rock band, featuring the awesome vocals of Tony Hetherington. At times Hetherington’s vocals can be velvety smooth, and other other times have a rough edge that drives the harder tunes.

There are several good cuts on this disc including Get Through This, Completely, Inside It’s Raining and Fits of Clarity. Several U.S. stations have picked up the song Get Through This. This song has the potential to be a monster hit for Art of Dying.

The only drawback I can see with AOD, is that their sound is somewhat derivative of the modern hard rock acts of today. Their sound is not original, and as a result, they may get lost amongst the more popular artists out there.

To their credit, the five gentleman making up Art of Dying have crafted a fine hard rock disc, that will be getting a lot of spins from me now. I like this disc, and think a bunch of you will too. If you like bands like Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman, or Daughtry, definitely look into Art of Dying. Their CD is not available in the U.S. except through online retailers like See of Sound.com.

Check out Art of Dying on their myspace page!

Rating:Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Get Through This
2. You Don’t Know Me
3. I Will Be There
4. Fits of Clarity
5. Inside It’s Raining
6. Completely
7. Do What You Can
8. Crime
9. Car Crash
10. Alone
11. Build a Wall
12. Dog Is My Copilot

Art of Dying is:
Greg Bradley - Guitar
Flavio Arillo - Drums
Tony Hetherington - Vocals
Matt Rhose - Bass
Chris Witolsi - Guitar

GLENN HUGHES has completed the production of his first videoclip in support of the release of his forthcoming studio album “First Underground Nuclear Kitchen” due out on Frontiers Records on May 9^th 2008.

The location was chosen in Los Angeles and featured on drums is none other than the great Chad Smith from RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. Glenn chose the song “Love Communion” which has a very uptempo and feel-good vibe.

It will also be included as a special multimedia tool on the cd album version.

]]> http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/new-video-glenn-hughes-love-communion/feed/ Rob Rockitt http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/airbourne-ebay-insanity-part-iii/ http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/airbourne-ebay-insanity-part-iii/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 02:54:03 +0000 Rob Rockitt http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/?p=3940

Another copy of Airbourne’s 8 song EP, Ready To Rock showed up on Ebay. I was hopeful to grab this copy as the bidding started out slow. Much to my disappointment, it didnt’s stay that way.

The latest copy of Ready to Rock sold for $330.00. Plus 3.75 shipping. That is $42.09 per song.

Total Insanity!

RICHIE KOTZEN, former guitarist for MR BIG and POISON has now a very strong cult following in Europe as a solo artist. With a series of very consistent and quality releases.

“Live in Sao Paulo” is Richie Kotzen’s first-ever live album which came about when Kotzen after much prompting from fans, chose for the purpose a stellar performance from his South American tour in 2007.

His live performance reflects the guitar style’s that has defined his career as a virtuoso. Kotzen reveals to fans live his true diversity with the rhythmic labours of “A Love Divine” to the poignant ballad “Remember”. The performance continually travels between moments of classic-rock song “Shapes of Things”, to the uplifting original “Stand”.

A real must-have release for all Kotzen fans and for the followers of early Van Halen, Bad Company and Free.

- Sound samples in mp3 (click on the song title to listen to a 90 sec. mp3 sample):

Socialite

Remember

Fooled Again

Doin’ What The Devil Says To Do

]]> http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/preview-richie-kotzens-live-in-san-paulo/feed/ Rob Rockitt http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/the-return-of-silent-rage/ http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/the-return-of-silent-rage/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 13:26:38 +0000 Rob Rockitt http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/?p=3928

Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of SILENT RAGE’s highly anticipated fourth studio album “Four Letter Word” on July 4th 2008.

Silent Rage is known for their multi-captivating vocals, the unmistakeable blend of Melodic and Hard Rock and signature songwriting reminiscing of the glorydays of 80’s Arena Hard Rock. “I think our sound can be described as Classic Arena Style Hard Rock” says singer and guitarist Jesse Damon “that’s what we’re considered in Europe!” “

“Four Letter Word” is another fine example in the tradition of the band’s classic production. “We had a great time staying within the natural progression of our 1989 release “Don’t Touch Me There” & mixing in the sounds of modern hard rock” continues Damon, “all of the tracks, whether lighthearted or serious in nature, have deep meaning to the band members. There’s no hidden agenda, just melodic-hard-rock with contemporary production, written from the heart & soul of four veteran rockers”.

Silent Rage’s new album was produced by former Guns’N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke who is also credited on the album for his contribution on guitar, keyboards and percussion. “Gilby is a long time friend of the band”, tells Jesse “We were first acquainted with him back in the 1980’s when he was playing with his band, “Candy”. Both bands were performing on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Then, Silent Rage’s first tour manager (Bill Greer) went on to work with Gilby in Guns’N Roses and we got to see his rise to fame. Our association with him became very close when our bassist, EJ Curse began riding motorcycles with him on a regular basis. EJ went on to play bass for a few of Gilby’s concerts. SR heard the CD of “The Bronx” that Clarke produced & loved it. It was great to work with someone that we had such a long kinship with”.

Another very special guest is RATT’s Bobby Blotzer on drums and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, who plays a guest solo on “Man or Machine”. “We met Bruce while working with Gene Simmons on the “Don’t Touch Me There” CD” explains Damon, “Bruce co-wrote one of the songs for that disc. Kulick has always been in our circle of friends & a supporter of Silent Rage. We always admired his guitar virtuosity plus, he’s a great guy. Knowing he lived nearby our recording studio, we had to ask him to do a jam on the CD. We thought it fitting to have him perform on “Man or Machine” since originally, that song was an idea that Gene Simmons & I started a few years back”.

Silent Rage is very proud of the new CD “Four Letter Word” and look forward to present it live in Europe during the summer. A string of concerts has been already set in Europe and more are going to be announced shortly.

“Four Letter Word” tracklisting includes:You Could Be The One; Four Letter Word; Man Or Machine; Feel My Love; Close Your Eyes; Sinister Man; Hard Habit To Break; Nobody Knows (Ballad of Andy & Glory); Bona Fide; I’m Not Lonely; Trouble.

Get ready for a raw, rock explosion for melodic hard rock fans, new and old, on July 4th!

Bret Michaels has a new single, Go That Far, off of his new solo CD, Rock My World, that will be released on June 3rd.

I am not very impressed with this song. Let me know what you think about it!

2008 is shaping up to be an incredibly strong year for hard rock and metal music, and Disturbed’s Indestructible is another good release to add to the mix.

From the opening air raid sirens of the title track, Indestructible, you almost know you are going to hear something cool. The title track starts off in awesome fashion. It is a very good track to open this disc up with.

Disturbed already has # 1 radio hit with the song, Inside the Fire, and their are several tracks that could follow this one on to radio.

Deceiver is one of the heavier songs I have heard Disturbed record. This track has plenty of double bass drumming, and some very heavy guitar licks. This is easily my favorite tune on this CD. This song is going to be massive for Disturbed.

The Night has that awesome rhythm that so many Disturbed songs are known for. The driving drums and bass will definitely get the head bangers going. Dan Donegan has some tasty guitar licks in this song as well.

Perfect Insanity is another one of those tunes where David Draiman does his typical vocal chant. Listen to this one once, and repeat after David…..Losing My Mind. This song gets in your head.

At this point, Indestructible needs a song to break it up from being too repetitious. Haunted takes it down between mid to high tempo, but aside from some semi creepy parts, it is too much like everything else on this record. It isn’t a band song, but I needed to hear something to break this album up.

The cool thing about the song Enough is Draiman sings more than he chants. His voice shines on this track, while Mike Wengren serves up some extremely cool drum beats.

The Curse is another tune that will ignite your inner head banger. The music on this song is pretty cool. I thought the chorus was kind of weak, but it isn’t the worst Disturbed has ever done.

Torn is another song that I had trouble getting into. Dan Donegan has some cool guitar parts on Torn, but as a whole, their isn’t anything that makes me want to replay this song.

Divide is more like it. This is the kind of stadium anthem that will have people singing along with the band in no time. Cool Tune!

Those thinking that Disturbed have gotten a little lighter over their last couple of releases will be happy to know that Indestructible is a return to the heavy sound that made Disturbed one of the more popular metal bands over the last ten years. This is easily their heaviest record yet, and quite possibly their best effort to date. If you are a fan of Disturbed, don’t even hesitate to pick this one up. Indestructible hits stores June 3rd, 2008!

To preview more songs off of Indestructible, check out the Disturbed myspace page.

Rating:Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. Indestructible
2. Inside the Fire
3. Deceiver
4. The Night
5. Perfect Insanity
6. Haunted
7. Enough
8. The Curse
9. Torn
10. Criminal
11. Divide
12. Facade

Disturbed is:
David Draiman - Vocals
Dan Donegan - Guitar
Mike Wengren - Drums
John Moyer - Bass