Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 209

Helms Alee has returned with their sixth studio album, “Keep This Be The Way”, which marks an expansion of their signature sound. The trio recorded the album themselves and took the opportunity to experiment with production possibilities.

Atelier Kraken has such a cool style, and they overlay that on to more traditional designs. Their Thunder model is inspired by the Les Paul Junior Tribute DC Bass.

Earthquaker Devices has introduced the Special Cranker, an overdrive pedal that boasts an all-discrete analog circuit. The company calls it a sibling of the Speaker Cranker, with “extra grit and boost without drastically altering tone.”

Trickfish Amplification has expanded its Bullhead series of bass amps with the Bullhead Mini 500. Rated at 500 watts, the unit matches the Mike Pope-designed preamp with a Class D power amp.

Bassist Ahmad Hani put together an amazing arrangement of the classic song “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”. The rendition is performed by Hani Caz?!, which is his trio with Yigit Boyunaga on keys and Gürkan Özkan on tabla.

The Bay is ready to strike back again as Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel are teaming up for a second leg of tour dates. The “Bay Strikes Back” tour will bring the thrash titans together again starting on September 9th.

Fodera has unveiled a new bass that they call a “futuristic new model” with cutting-edge innovations. The Mini MB Presentation Bass is a collaborative effort between Mike Bendy, Vinny Fodera, Joey Lauricella, and the whole Fodera Team.

Randy Rand, who co-founded the ’80s hard rock outfit Autograph, has died of undisclosed causes. He was 62 years old. The news was shared by the band in an official statement.

Bassist and composer James Singleton has returned with a new solo album called “Malabar”, which features his sextet performing original music. Singleton’s songbook includes his evolving bass work, which he augments with effects.

Another monstrous metal tour has been announced as Anthrax and Black Label Society unveiled a co-headlining tour. Hatebreed will be opening the show on select dates. The bands are anchored by Frank Bello, John “JD” DeServio, and Chris Beattie, respectively.

Vulfpeck fans with keen eyes may have noticed that Joe Dart was sporting a new bass in the latest Fearless Flyers videos. Now Ernie Ball Music Man has revealed the instrument to be the Joe Dart II, which adds to the company’s line of artist basses.

Sadist has unveiled their ninth studio album, “Firescorched”, which will drop on May 20th. Tommy Talamanca and Trevor Sadist are joined by new drummer Romain Goulon as well as fretless bass wizard Jeroen Paul Thesseling.