Simon Rushworth
Melodic rock specialists Frontiers Records have revealed their latest raft of forthcoming releases after announcing a powerful March line-up.
Ex-Skid Row screamer Sebastian Bach leads the way with his debut live CD/DVD package – boasting the cringeworthy title ABachalypse Now.
And 80s Christian rockers Stryper have re-recorded a whole host of classics from their early years – and added two brand new tracks – on the aptly-titled Second Coming.
Australia and New Zealand join forces to bring us De La Cruz – a southern hemisphere tour de force promising 80s metal with style!
And finally March will see the release of Motherland – the latest offering from Danish melodic rock giants Pretty Maids.
Bach is in typically bullish mood ahead of his audio visual assault and ABachalypse Now includes never-before-seen footage from 2012’s GrasPop Festival in Belgium, the full never-before-seen Hellfest set from France and the fully-remixed and remastered Club Nokia show from Los Angeles (originally broadcasted on AXS TV).
The Bon Jovi-endorsed frontman said: “We have included three recent concerts and the footage is totally kickass! It’s remixed and remastered for full audio and video quality. The performances and energy of the crowds are killer throughout the DVD and you really feel like you are at the shows.”
Stryper frontman Michael Sweet is equally optimistic about his band’s decision to revamp a series of lost classics and said: “We’re really excited this record. The re-recorded songs are sounding awesome! Better than the originals in many ways!! One word to describe the record? Heavier. We’re hooked up with some great people – we’ve got new management, a great album, a great label. We just feel like everything is coming together, and hopefully some big things are to follow.”
Pretty Maids singer Ronnie Atkins believes the follow-up to 2010’s critically acclaimed Pandemonium will hit the mark for all fans of melodic rock but admitted: “We knew it was going to be a tough one to follow! I remember back in the day when we had to follow up albums like Future World – we tried more or less to copy the songs from the previous album to keep the same kind of balance. But this time we just wrote what came natural to us and that’s what became Motherland.
“Jacob Hansen was a natural choice since we had a great experience with him producing the Pandemonium album. The recordings went smooth to begin with but then we had to start touring again during the weekends and this created some stress. Though I really feel strongly about Motherland. In my view it has all the ingredients of a good Pretty Maids album- maybe even more melodic than Pandemonium and absolutely, as far as I’m concerned, a worthy follow up.”
All four albums hit the streets in the UK on March 25 – look out for full reviews here soon!