DAVID BOWIE ‘FAME’ 40th ANNIVERSARY 7″ PICTURE DISC
July 24, 2015 sees the release of the latest limited edition David Bowie 7″ picture disc, the 40th anniversary edition of Fame. Originally released in 1975, Fame was taken from the album Young Americans. It was co-written with John Lennon and guitarist Carlos Alomar and was Bowie’s first number one in the USA. This is the first appearance of the single edit since the Best Of Bowie LP in 1980. The B-side of the original single was the Young Americans album track Right. For this 40th anniversary, Right appears as an alternate mix, previously released by Ryko/EMI in 1991. However, it was originally released at the wrong speed, but for this release that has been corrected. The photo used on the A-side of the picture disc is by Andrew Kent, taken whilst Bowie was performing on the Soul Train TV show in November 1975.
NEW IRON MAIDEN ALBUM
Last year Iron Maiden recorded a new album in Paris with longtime producer Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley, but the release was put on hold while vocalist Bruce Dickinson underwent treatment for a tumour. Now that Dickinson has been given the all-clear, the album launch is going ahead. The Book Of Souls will be released globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records. Its 11 tracks span 92 minutes, making it Maiden’s first ever double studio album, and the songwriting is split more broadly than ever before. This is also the first time since 1984’s Powerslave that an Iron Maiden studio album features two tracks written solely by Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song Maiden has ever recorded. There are also two Dickinson/Adrian Smith collaborations. “We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously,” bass player Steve Harris says. “A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs. They have almost a live feel to them, I think. I’m very proud of The Book Of Souls, we all are, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year.”
NEW COLOSSVS VIDEO
Melbourne black metal machine Colossvs has just released a blistering new clip for Crown Of Thorns, shot live at Crowbar, Brisbane by Colin Cadell, Wilson Bambrick, Adrian Pagano, and directed and edited by Colin Cadell. It follows on from the bloody first single Christburner from their debut album Unholy.
ULCERATE AT THE BENDIGO
This Saturday June 27 at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood, catch Auckland-based unorthodox death metal act Ulcerate. Ulcerate was formed by guitarist Michael Hoggard and drummer Jamie Saint Merat in 2000 with the aim of creating dark oppressive death metal. This focus has since developed and metamorphosed into a far more dynamic approach with a fully realised sense of atmosphere and mood, while furthering their foray into the darker end of the genre’s spectrum. The band has remained DIY where possible, handling all facets of album production and visual design. This Saturday they’ll be joined by the most grim of supports in Denouncement Pyre and Altars.
HELLOWEEN TOUR
When you think of power metal, one of the first bands that come to mind is the German legends Helloween. They’ve played countless festivals all over the globe, and furthermore, they’ve conducted enthralling headline tours all over the world. Now, 30 years into their career, Helloween finally make their triumphant return to Australia. Incredibly, this will be just the second time they’ve toured Australia and their first time ever in Adelaide and Perth. Catch them at 170 Russell on Wednesday October 14.
GRAVE PLEASURES UNVEIL NEW ALBUM
Finland’s Grave Pleasures have set September 4, 2015 as collision date for their new album Dreamcrash, which will be released by Sony Music Australia. It was recorded with award-winning producer Tom Dalgety (Killing Joke, Royal Blood), resulting in a complex and feverish set of modern rock songs bending urban tribal rhythms, potent melancholia, raw pop sensibility and irreverent ferociousness. “I am concerned with a total collapse of our dreams”, says vocalist Mat McNerney. “Hacking out this feverish, frantic and very uninhibited music, it exposes and lays raw some intense emotions. As we get deeper and closer to capturing the spirit of what we set out for this band to be, we are touching some vital nerves. It’s getting under the skin, under the flesh.”
