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New Albums - Page 136

New music, with an emphasis on the bass player.

Opeth’s 11th is Heavy on Melody

Opeth’s 11th is Heavy on Melody

Swedish progressive metal band Opeth has released the follow-up to its acclaimed 2011 album, Heritage. , featuring the bass work of Martín Méndez, is the 11th album from the group, which originated as a death metal outfit. Méndez and vocalist-guitarist-producer Mikael Åkerfeldt wrote all the songs on the album, which Åkerfeldt says found the group focusing on melodies more than...

Asia’s High Voltage Performance Released as Live CD/DVD Set

Asia’s High Voltage Performance Released as Live CD/DVD Set

The July 2010 High Voltage Festival in London marked the first time Asia performed its multiplatinum 1982 debut album in full in Europe. Four years later, that show is now available in a . The performance featured the original band lineup (including singer, songwriter and bassist John Wetton), hits like “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell” and...

Americana Stars Shine on John Cowan’s “Sixty”

Americana Stars Shine on John Cowan’s “Sixty”

Progressive bluegrass singer and bassist John Cowan has assembled a who’s who of roots music for his latest album, . Cowan, who also plays bass in The Doobie Brothers, is known for his work with New Grass Revival, Sam Bush, The Sky Kings and his own John Cowan Band, as well his abilities as a session player and vocalist. And...

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Bass and Drum Duo Royal Blood Release Eagerly Awaited Debut Album

Bass and Drum Duo Royal Blood Release Eagerly Awaited Debut Album

Royal Blood, which has been generating buzz in the music press and online for almost a year, now has its . The U.K duo creates a massive rock vibe, even though the only instrumentation comes from vocalist Mike Kerr’s bass and Ben Thatcher’s drums. In our interview with Kerr, he said the group’s epic sound came “more [from] curiosity than...

The Bad Plus Create an “Inevitable Western” with Latest Release

The Bad Plus Create an “Inevitable Western” with Latest Release

The Bad Plus, on the heels of releasing its take on The Rite of Spring earlier this year, has now released its first album of original music since 2012’s Made Possible. is an album “rich with mystery,” according to the website for the leaderless avant-jazz piano-bass-drums trio. The group is devoted to exploring musical forms birthed from jazz, and those...

Motorhead’s Aftershock Reissued in a “Tour Edition”

Motorhead’s Aftershock Reissued in a “Tour Edition”

Motörhead has added something extra to its 2013 Aftershock album — a live CD. The package, called , features not only the original album, but also the bonus material, culled from the band’s mini Best of the West Coast Tour earlier this year. The live recording features Aftershock tunes and Motörhead classics, like “Ace of Spades.” Fronted by bassist, singer...

Rhythm and Swing: Rodney Whitaker Releases “When We Find Ourselves Alone”

Rhythm and Swing: Rodney Whitaker Releases “When We Find Ourselves Alone”

It’s all about the rhythm for Rodney Whitaker, the double bassist and head of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University who has released his eighth album, . The record features five originals and six arrangements of others’ work. But in the latter case, even standards become new when a different kind of rhythm is employed, Whitaker says in a short...

Billy Sheehan Appears on “Guitars for Wounded Warriors”

Billy Sheehan Appears on “Guitars for Wounded Warriors”

Emmy-award winning composer and guitarist Brian Tarquin has gathered some “Heavy Friends” to create the album, , featuring instrumental music inspired by America’s soldiers. For the record, Tarquin, owner of Jungle Room Studios, called upon a host of metal guitarists, including bass player Billy Sheehan. Sheehan’s work is featured on the album’s opening track, “Black Hawk.” “I had a blast...

Wonderlush EP Offers Taste of Funktastic Album to Come

Wonderlush EP Offers Taste of Funktastic Album to Come

Wonderlush’s funk sound is in full display on the , which features five versions (the original and four remixes) of the song “Jam” from their upcoming debut album. Propelled by terrific grooves from one half of the duo, bassist Punk Pappa, “Jam” is quite the… jam. With sounds like these, it’s not surprising the group has opened for George Clinton...

Swedish Trio Dirty Loops Releases Debut Album, “Loopified”

Swedish Trio Dirty Loops Releases Debut Album, “Loopified”

Dirty Loops, the Swedish trio known for its wild cover versions of songs by Justin Bieber, Adele and Justin Timberlake, has released its first album, . The band is still somewhat amazed by its success, which led to the creation of the record, according to bassist Henrik Linder. “We thought the combination of fusion and pop was so unsexy that...

Simon Phillips Releases “Protocol II”, Featuring Ernest Tibbs

Simon Phillips Releases “Protocol II”, Featuring Ernest Tibbs

Famed drummer Simon Phillips, known for his work as both a session player and in Toto, has released his first solo project in 14 years — the jazz/rock/fusion instrumental , featuring Ernest Tibbs on bass. Tibbs is a renowned session player (David Benoit, David Garfield, Pat Kelley and Kevin Toney) who also teaches at the Musician’s Institute. Phillips says he...

George Mraz Featured on “A Touch of Radiance”

George Mraz Featured on “A Touch of Radiance”

Double bassist George Mraz, known for his work with a slew of jazz greats (Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, and Carmen McRae, just to name a few) has lent his talents to pianist Yelena Eckemoff’s latest, . The album, which is attributed to the Yelena Eckemoff Quartet, is the first to feature Eckemoff...