News - Page 291

Thrash metal band Anthrax, known to many for its early songs like “Bring the Noise” and “I’m the Man,” is still playing (a followup to 2011’s Worship Music is expected later this year or in 2016) and plans to hit the road this fall. With Frank Bello on bass — he’s been handling the low end since 1984, with the...

Iron Maiden, featuring the legendary Steve Harris on bass, has released its 16th studio album, The Book of Souls. Harris, a founding member of the band, co-wrote six songs on the record and has the sole writing credit on another. “We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously,” Harris said. “A lot of the songs...

Jazz bassist Ron Carter is legendary. His work is on more than 2,500 recordings, including ones with Miles Davis and Gil Evans. And now, the first recordings of his compositions with a big band have been released on My Personal Songbook, credited to Ron Carter and The WDR Big Band, recorded in early 2013 in Germany. Carter describes the result...

After announcing their lineup and a single Halloween concert, Grateful Dead alumni group Dead and Company has revealed a 10-date run this fall. The band will kick things off in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center before a two-night run at Madison Square Garden and several other East Coast dates. Their final dates are set for the end...

Want some free music? Paul McCartney is getting ready to continue reissuing his solo catalog with remastered versions of Tug of War and Pipes of Peace on October 2nd. To celebrate, the legendary bassist is giving away a free download of the 1982 single “Take It Away.” Though “Take It Away” appears on Tug of War, the remastered single edit...

Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork has released its last album with bassist Ola Flink, who left the band in June. The Ride Majestic is a work informed by deaths affecting several band members, according to vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid. In June, Strid addressed Flink’s departure: “We all sooner or later come to a crossroad in our lives, when our...

Bassist/multi-instrumentalist Evan Marien has released his latest solo effort, Artifacts. Marien composed, produced and mixed the album, which he said “slowly took shape over three years–a painstakingly careful process to produce some of the most unique sounds and textures that reflect what I’ve seen and heard in my life.” Marien said he’s particularly proud of his solos on the album,...

When Rainbow hit the road in 1979, the band looked different. Singer Ronnie James Dio had exited and Graham Bonnet had taken over vocals for the Ritchie Blackmore-led band. Guitarist Blackmore’s Deep Purple bandmate, bassist Roger Glover, had also newly joined the fold as both bassist and producer, and the reformed group recorded a commercially successful album, Down to Earth....

On July 4, 1970, the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed in front of 300,000 people at the Second Atlanta International Pop Festival, which was viewed as a kind of “Southern Woodstock.” Hendrix’s bassist for the performance was Billy Cox (who also played with Hendrix at Woodstock), who is interviewed (as is Paul McCartney) in the documentary about the show, called “Jimi...

Jazz fusion/experimental bass virtuoso Michael Manring’s first solo album, Unusual Weather, is now available in a remastered and repackaged CD edition. Adventure Music is behind the reissue of Manring’s 1986 solo debut, which first appeared on Windham Hill Records, where he acted as house bassist. A student of the late, great Jaco Pastorius, Manring is also well-known for his collaborations...

Well, now that Lemmy has switched from Jack and Coke to vodka and orange for his health, the bassist in shape to support his stalwart metal band Motörhead’s latest, Bad Magic. Motörhead, celebrating its 40th anniversary, retains its signature driving sound on Bad Magic (its 22nd studio album), which is being promoted as the group’s strongest record in two decades....

Disturbed has returned after a four-year hiatus with the album, Immortalized. The metal band’s break was a deliberate one, and it never signaled a potential breakup. As guitarist Dan Donegan told Billboard, the band members said to themselves, “ ‘Let’s put the brakes on for a minute here. Let’s walk away from it and give everyone some room to breathe...