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  • JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR Announces New Album “The Trouble With Love” And New Single “This Is Who I Am”

    British blues-rock artist Joanne Shaw Taylor has announced her new studio album The Trouble With Love, produced by Kevin Shirley, set for release October 23rd via Journeyman Records.

    On The Trouble With Love, Joanne dives headfirst into the beautiful chaos of the human heart. Blending blues, rock, and soul-soaked pop, the album explores the many forms love takes in our lives: the reckless kind that sweeps you off your feet, the quiet kind that steadies you, the kind that breaks you open, and the kind that puts you back together.

    The album is available to pre-order on CD, 180 Gram LP (Dusty Rose colour) and digital.

    To mark the announcement, Joanne has shared the album’s latest single, “This Is Who I Am,” a soul-baring reinterpretation of Celeste’s song about acceptance, self-love, and being seen clearly. The original version was hand-picked for the spy thriller TV series “The Day of the Jackal.” “Kevin brought this cover of Celeste’s beautiful song to the table,” Joanne shares. “It’s such a beautifully written track, for me about acceptance and self-love. I hope we’ve done it justice.”

    With lines like “Only you may ever see me true” and “No lie, I’m no less / This is who I am,” the song becomes a deeply personal statement in Joanne’s hands, carried by her expressive vocals and stunningly passionate guitar solo. She lets the song unfold with quiet strength, turning it into a moment of clarity and self-recognition at the centre of the album.

    This Is Who I Am” follows a run of singles that have steadily opened the door into the world of Trouble With Love. The fiery title track, “The Trouble With Love,” featuring Joe Bonamassa captures the push and pull of love in all its intensity, while What Good Is My Love?” featuring Orianthi explores the pain of love that is not returned. “Hell Or High Water” brings a defiant blues-gospel charge to the fight for resilience and self-belief. Together, the songs point toward one of Joanne’s most emotionally direct and musically expansive albums yet.

    The album also builds on the momentum of Joanne’s critically acclaimed Black & Gold, which drew widespread praise upon its release. Classic Rock awarded the album a 9/10 rating, while Powerplay Magazine highlighted its “pop appeal and smoothness.” Guitarist Magazine noted that it “reinforces Joanne’s place in the firmament of today’s brightest stars,” and American Blues Scene called it “a deeply personal experience, showcasing the depth of Joanne’s artistry.” Together with the Black & Gold (Deluxe Edition) and a run of acoustic reinterpretations, the album marked a defining chapter in Joanne’s career and set the stage for this next creative era.

    The announcement arrives amid another busy touring season for Joanne. Following her spring U.S. headline tour and upcoming European festival dates, she will hit the road this summer for a new run of U.S. dates beginning June 27th at the San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival, with additional stops across the Northeast, Midwest, and beyond. Known for her commanding stage presence, fiery guitar work, and emotionally immersive performances, Joanne continues to captivate audiences with a set that blends new material with fan favourites from across her catalogue.

    For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: www.joanneshawtaylor.com/tour.

    Spring Europe Tour Dates
    May 23 – Peer, BE – Blues Peer Festival
    May 24 – Schöppingen, DE – International Blues Festival Schöppingen
    May 25 – Raalte, NL – Ribs & Blues Festival
    May 27 – Hannover, DE – Pavillon Hannover
    May 28 – Nuremberg, DE – Lowensaal
    May 29 – Eindhoven, NL – BRIDGE Guitar Festival Eindhoven

    2026 U.S. Tour Dates
    June 27 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival
    July 8 – Old Saybrook, CT – The Kate
    July 9 – Newport, RI – The JPT Film & Event Center
    July 12 – Kingston, NY – Assembly – Kingston
    July 22 – Milwaukee, WI – The Argo
    July 25 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Blues Festival
    July 26 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
    July 30 – Minneapolis, MN – The Parkway Theater
    July 31 – Sioux Falls, SD – Levitt Shell Sioux Falls
    August 14 – Portland, ME – Aura
    August 15 – Salisbury, MA – Blue Ocean Music Hall
    August 16 – Laconia, NH – Colonial Theatre
    August 19 – Lexington, MA – Cary Hall
    August 20 – Norfolk, CT – Infinity Music Hall Norfolk
    August 21 – Buffalo, NY – Electric City
    September 10 – Paw Paw, MI – Warner Vineyards
    September 11 – Dayton, OH – Levitt Pavilion Dayton
    September 12 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom

    JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
    Website | Facebook | Spotify | X | Instagram | YouTube

    The post JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR Announces New Album “The Trouble With Love” And New Single “This Is Who I Am” appeared first on The Rockpit.

  • Anthony Garone “OK, But Why?” – new album on Moonjune Records

    OK, but why? is Anthony Garone’s first full-length album since 2007, and pulls together his best work from nearly two decades of writing, recording, and obsessing over arrangements that are equal parts song and puzzle. While much of the music existed publicly in earlier forms, this release is the cleaned-up, finished version: updated performances, improved production, and a cohesive arc that finally connects the dots across years of ideas. The album moves between odd-meter grooves, tight counterpoint, and melodic hooks that sneak in through the side door. Besides 11 original compositions, two movements from Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe (BWV1060) re-imagined through Garone’s rhythmic lens, along with a refreshed take on Robert Fripp’s “Erudite Eyes”. Featuring 20 guest musicians among them Morgan Agren, Michael Manring, Andy West, Jan Zehrfeld.

    Anthony Garone, born in 1982, is an entrepreneur, author, musician, and technologist from Mesa, Arizona. He runs a music YouTube channel Make Weird Music with over 40 thousand subscribers and over 3 million views. He got a wide notoriety in the ambient of guitar and progressive rock world with his internationally acclaimed book “Failure to Fracture: Learning King Crimson’s Impossible Song”.

    Anthony Garone is a virtuoso, highly accomplished and talented guitarist whose musical mastery is widely praised by guitar masters such as Robert Fripp, Steve Vai, and Mike Keneally.

    “Anthony Garone has made an unapologetic, dense, alien melodic, rhythmic brain twisting, sublimely lovely solo record… I’m sure glad I don’t have to play it.” – STEVE VAI

    “It’s an album of engaging, adventurous, unselfconsciously intelligent music, it spans a broad spectrum of musical and expressive worlds..” – GRETCHEN MENN

    Anthony Garone will perform at the MoonJune Festival, July 24, 2026 in Teramo, Italy with Swiss guitarist’s STEPHAN THELEN FRACTAL TRIO featuring also keyboardist FABIO ANILE.

  • Listening Now : Spin Signals – All We have Is Now

    Spin Signals deliver a geniously titled slice of nostalgic electronica with All We Have Is Now, channeling a warm, reflective atmosphere and an unmistakable Moby-esque vibe throughout. Dreamy synth washes, steady rhythmic flow, and emotionally direct melodies give the track a timeless late-night glow, balancing melancholy with subtle optimism. Rooted in 90s aesthetics yet emotionally immediate, the song feels like a faded memory slowly coming back into focus. All We Have Is Now is immersive, heartfelt, and beautifully understated — the kind of track that quietly stays with you.

    Connect:

    Instagram

  • LAMB OF GOD + TRIVIUM Australian Co-Headline Tour 2026 With Special Guests Bleed From Within

    Photo: Travis Shinn

    Australia, get set to step into oblivion and mosh until the world goes cold this October when GRAMMY Award-nominated metal pioneers LAMB OF GOD team up with fellow modern metal lords TRIVIUM for a mammoth national co-headline run, joined by special guests BLEED FROM WITHIN.

    Commencing on Friday 2 October in Perth, LAMB OF GOD and TRIVIUM will take over arenas in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney before concluding on Sunday 11 October in Brisbane.

    Forged in basement shows and DIY venues in Richmond, Virginia, the impact and enduring legacy of LAMB OF GOD since forming in the mid 90s is nothing short of legendary. Renowned for their role in helping shape the new wave of American heavy metal, LAMB OF GOD have commanded global attention for decades, touring the globe, selling millions of records, ticking off five GRAMMY Award-nominations and retaining a perpetual presence with new music to join their monumental back catalogue in the process. Between evergreen favourites like Laid to Rest, Redneck, Walk with Me in Hell and Now You’ve Got Something to Die For, and, most recently, new material courtesy of their latest LP, 2026’s Into Oblivion, LAMB OF GOD‘s razor-sharp fusion of grooves, metal mayhem and raucous energy is eternally showing no signs of slowing down.

    Equally as prolific in a live setting as they are in the studio, LAMB OF GOD‘s touring rap sheet reads like a metalhead’s fever dream, spanning everyone from Slayer through to Metallica, Megadeth, Slipknot and countless more. Most recently performing for Australian crowds in 2024 as part of Knotfest Australia, LAMB OF GOD‘s Melbourne headline sideshow at the time garnered praise from The Rockpit, declaring “Lamb Of God do it better than most; in fact tonight’s show was a playbook that every new and younger band needs to study”. With 2026 set to tick off the band’s first full tour run down under in close to a decade, the groove metal godfathers are set to make a glorious return this October.

    One of the most innovative and influential bands to emerge via the American South’s heavy metal explosion in the early 21st century, TRIVIUM‘s metamorphosis from metalcore outfit into a genre chimera and global sensation has been nothing short of formidible since their formation in Florida back in 1999. With their restless and provocative creative DNA, TRIVIUM have splice styles spanning thrash through to prog, technical and melodic death metal, along with healthy jolts of alternative and groove metal. Raising the bar for metal with each new release, the 2017 single Betrayer earned TRIVIUM a GRAMMY Award-nomination, with the band also in command of several Billboard 200 top 20 hits, #1 debuts on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and an ever-growing fanbase across the world.

    Genuine “road dogs”, renowned for paving their success the old-fashioned way, aka touring, TRIVIUM‘s live show is best described as a masterclass; a scene-stealing experience in any venue, country, time or space that has seen them relentlessly tour throughout their career, including with the likes of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Machine Head and Slipknot. Last down under in 2023 as part of Knotfest Australia’s inaugural year, TRIVIUM‘s Brisbane headline sideshow had Wall Of Sound praise: “Trivium are certainly at the top of their game and so very much deserve their place in the metal genre. We all talk about bands back in the day who are still amazing after all these years and these boys will be spoken about for years and years to come.”

    Glasgow metal pioneers BLEED FROM WITHIN have spent 20 years sharpening their signature blend of metalcore, towering riffs, hypnotic grooves, breakdowns and beyond. Starting life as a deathcore band, BLEED FROM WITHIN have since evolved into an unstoppable force, also routinely renowned for incorporating nods to their motherland with bagpipes woven into their sonic landscape. Most recently unleashing their seventh studio album Zenith in 2025, BLEED FROM WITHIN have firmly secured their place as one of the UK’s most respected metal bands. BLEED FROM WITHIN‘s unforgettable live show has seen them in demand sharing stages around the world with everyone from Slipknot through to Bullet For My Valentine, Megadeth and more.

    Two titans of modern metal will collide for an unforgettable co-headline run this October, don’t miss LAMB OF GOD and TRIVIUM when they return in 2026!

    Artist early bird pre-sale tickets on sale: Fri 15 May, 9am – Thurs 21 May, 8am local

    Destroy All Lines early bird pre-sale tickets on sale: Tues 19 May, 9am – Thurs 21 May, 8am local
    To Gain Early Ticket Access Register Here -> https://daltours.cc/LOGTRIV

    Venue early bird pre-sale tickets on sale: Tues 19 May, 9am – Thurs 21 May, 8am local
    My Ticketek early bird pre-sale tickets on sale: Tues 19 May, 9am – Thurs 21 May, 8am local

    Spotify early bird pre-sale tickets on sale: Wed 20 May, 9am – Thurs 21 May, 8am local

    General tickets on sale: Thursday 21 May, 9am local 
    Tickets from destroyalllines.com

    The post LAMB OF GOD + TRIVIUM Australian Co-Headline Tour 2026 With Special Guests Bleed From Within appeared first on The Rockpit.

  • THE CHURCH Announce ”A Psychedelic Symphony with The George Ellis Orchestra” Australian Tour

    Photo: Adam Nicholas

    A Psychedelic Symphony will see THE CHURCH joined by a 30 Piece Symphony Orchestra under the baton of celebrated conductor and composer GEORGE ELLIS. Together they will perform an epic orchestral set as they reimagine and enhance their beloved songbook including Under the Milky Way, The Unguarded Moment, Metropolis, Reptile, Almost With You and more.

    “A lush violin sweep here, a 12-string guitar flourish there. This is The Church in ultra luxe mode”

    Timeless, enigmatic, and unmistakably their own, The Church have occupied their own space in Australian music with a body of work that continues to evolve without losing its spell. The Church have never stopped growing or innovating.

    No ordinary concert, A Psychedelic Symphony is a rare chance to experience the songs you already know and love, added to by suitably grand orchestral arrangements.

    A wonderful celebration of the music of one of Australia’s most important bands.

    “The orchestra chime in at ideal moments, building songs to shimmering crescendos”

    “When art rock meets classical music”

    Tickets:
    Pre-sale: Wednesday 13th May at 12:00pm Local Time
    General Public On Sale: Friday 15th May at 12:00pm Local Time
    From: https://metropolistouring.com/the-church-a-psychedelic-symphony/

    The post THE CHURCH Announce ”A Psychedelic Symphony with The George Ellis Orchestra” Australian Tour appeared first on The Rockpit.

  • Progressive Rock Band Quivira Reveals News of 4th Single with Special Guest Evan Stanley

    Quivira to return with a brand-new single in June, the fourth track from their upcoming debut album due out this September. The new song, “Kicking Rocks,” is an instrumental jazz-prog fusion piece featuring Evan Stanley on guitar, John Baker on bass, and Lisa LaRue on keyboards.

    “Kicking Rocks” tells the story of someone down on their luck, aimlessly wandering an alley and kicking rocks until the rocks kick back and life suddenly changes for the better. At its heart, the track carries the message that things ultimately work out the way they are meant to. The song was inspired by the image of a late-night backstreet jazz club, blending atmosphere, emotion, and improvisational energy into a powerful instrumental journey.

    Quivira’s upcoming debut album will hit the streets this September. Stay tuned for more details on this atmospheric new release.

    A Los Angeles-based guitarist, singer, and composer, Evan Stanley is best known as the frontman of Amber Wild and as one half of the duo Stanley Simmons alongside Nick Simmons.

    The track will be available on Bandcamp as well, as all popular streaming platforms.

    Quivira is a progressive rock project based in Topeka, Kansas. Consisting of Jake Livgren (Emerald City Council, Proto-Kaw) on vocals, John Baker (Forever Twelve, Mars Hollow) on guitars, and Lisa LaRue (RematriNation, 2KX) on keyboards and VST instruments. The project blends historical themes, classic rock, and cinematic progressive rock into multi‑movement works that emphasize narrative cohesion, harmonic exploration, and textural depth.  The debut album focuses on the story of pre-Kansas “Quivira”, the Native American villages that Coronado believed held gold.

    For press inquiries, interviews, or review copies, please contact the artist or label directly.

    Quivira
    Email: 785arts@gmail.com

    Melodic Revolution Records
    Email: melodicrevolutionrecords@gmail.com

    Quivira Links
    Bandcamp: https://quivira.bandcamp.com/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583312171993
    MRR Band Profile Page: https://mrrmusic.com/project/quivira/

    Melodic Revolution Records Links
    https://li.sten.to/mrrmusiccom

  • Review ERADIKATED “Wiring of Violence”

    Höör is a small community that you pass through when driving further into Småland, Sweden. The city is home to a rising star of the metal scene. Hailing from southern Sweden, Eradikated was founded in 2021 and released their debut album in 2023. Their first album, “Descendants”, received positive feedback, and the band is now… Continue Reading →
  • LETZ ZEP (UK) ‘’Celebrating The Music Of Led Zeppelin’’ May 2026 Australian Tour

    Described by Kerrang! magazine as “better than a Led Zeppelin reunion” and hailed by Warner Music as “Europe’s best tribute to Led Zeppelin,” LETZ ZEP has earned its reputation as the world’s premier tribute to the greatest rock band of all time.

    Celebrating the legendary music of Led Zeppelin, LETZ ZEP delivers an electrifying live experience that captures the raw power, soul, and swagger of the original band in their prime. Hear Zeppelin‘s Biggest Anthems including Stairway to Heaven, Immigrant Song, Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Kashmir, Whole Lotta Love, Ramble On, Heartbreaker, Good Times Bad Times, Dazed and Confused plus many more fan favourites.

    Even Led Zeppelin’s founding members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have attended Letz Zep performances. So impressed were they, they personally invited the band to perform at the official launch of Led Zeppelin’s compilation album Mothership.

    Letz Zep are a powerhouse tribute show featuring the music of Zeppelin, performed loud and live. As audiences often say: “Close your eyes, and it’s Led Zeppelin themselves.”

    This is the Ultimate Classic Rock Night Out.

    Setlist includes –
    Achilles Last Stand
    Black Dog
    Communication Breakdown
    Dazed and Confused
    Heartbreaker
    Immigrant Song
    Kashmir
    Moby Dick
    No Quarter
    Ramble On
    Rock and Roll
    Since I’ve Been Loving You
    Stairway to Heaven
    Thank You
    Whole Lotta Love

    Tickets On Sale Now From: https://totaltouring.com.au/letz-zep-led-zeppelin-tribute-uk-2026/

    The post LETZ ZEP (UK) ‘’Celebrating The Music Of Led Zeppelin’’ May 2026 Australian Tour appeared first on The Rockpit.

  • Album Review: Slayer – Hell Awaits [40th Anniversary]

    Album Review: Slayer – Hell Awaits [40th Anniversary]

    Reviewed by Dan Barnes

    I’m going to start this review with the assumption that if you’re reading it you’re at least familiar with Slayer and their body of work, be that whole career or merely the later parts. For those of us old enough to remember hearing Slayer for the first time it was like nothing we ever heard before. They seemed to have taken the speed and spite of Venom and somehow turned it up even more than the Geordies had. The 1983 debut album, Show No Mercy, had Venom’s fixation on the darker side of life, tracks like Evil Has No Boundaries, Die by the Sword, Black Magic, and The Antichrist could have been interchangeable with material from Welcome to Hell et al.

    The 1984 EP, Haunting the Chapel began to show signs of Slayer’s move toward a more familiar sound, which was fully realised on Hell Awaits, their sophomore full length where, as Kerry King is reported to have said: “Slayer became Slayer.”

    If the previous two releases had shown songwriting coloured by Venom, it was fellow First Wave of Black Metal band, Mercyful Fate, who would influence Hell Awaits. Three of the seven songs exceed six-minutes in length and featured more progressive elements than the band had shown previously.

    From the opening ritual of the title track’s demonic chanting –which was actually ‘Join us’ played in reverse – leading to the interlocking of all four elements musically coming together, to the diabolical carnage, sharp snappy vocals and thin production lending the whole thing an otherworldly feel, this is classic Slayer that stands up to anything the band have released since.

    Tom’s bass creep and lurks just beneath the surface of At Dawn They Sleep’s tale of vampirism; Crypts of Eternity has the guitars low in the mix, but it all adds to the chilled atmospherics of the record.

    More in keeping with the direction Slayer would follow from here, Kill Again has a grooving riff and some machine gun guitars, that start to sketch out the band’s sound going forward;  Praise of Death is a simple but effective riff that allows King and Hanneman to experiment a little; Necrophiliac is more speed than thrash, with Tom’s bass tolling like a death bell. Hardening of the Arteries closes out the album with some dissonant snapping vocals and an outro that takes up right back to the start of the record and those dark choral chants of the opening section.

    Album Review: Slayer - Hell Awaits [40th Anniversary]

    Seismic for the mid-Eighties – this was a time when Glam & Hair Metal ruled the charts – Hell Awaits laid the groundwork for Reign in Blood’s game-changing appearance but a year later. The combination of King and Hanneman on guitar and Araya and Lombardo on rhythm duties was an unstoppable force back then, though only Hell Awaits itself would feature regularly in the band’s live sets going forward, with the occasional appearance of Necrophiliac and Kill Again.

    This fortieth anniversary reissuing of Hell Awaits doesn’t mess around with the original mix from ’85, leaving Brian Slagel’s production and Bernie Grundman’s mastering as was back then to maintain the atmospherics of the day.

    Available as either a three-vinyl version, including a sixty-page hard cover book, Hell Awaits presented on fire splatter coloured vinyl, a replica ticket, tour laminate and German tour poster, plus slip mat, posters and fliers. The three CD version also includes the book and poster, with the second and third CDs and vinyl being Slayer’s show at Zeche in Bochum, [then West] Germany on 18th June 1985.

    By the time of this show, Hell Awaits had been in the record stores for a couple of months, and the eighteen-song set reflects the assumed familiarity with the album. All seven tracks get aired, scattered among Slayer’s dark past of Captor of Sin, Fight Till Death and The Final Command. In facteverything Slayer had recorded to that point was included in the Bochum show; the quality of the recording is rudimentary but shows a band in the first flushes of youth and making hay while the sun shines. Tom’s voice starts to show limitations by Die by the Sword and he seems to pin the band’s colours to Black Metal’s first wave in the intro of The Antichrist; but this is the roots of the juggernaut that would soon enough steamroller big stages for decades to come.

    There will be a version of Hell Awaits’ 40th Anniversary Edition that doesn’t include the Bochum show and will be limited to 666 copies worldwide and available only through the fan club.

    It was blast being able to sit and listen to Hell Awaits front to back again; like being reacquainted with an old school friend you’ve been meaning to call for years but something has always got in the way. In all honesty I don’t tend to reach for Slayer after Seasons in the Abyss whenever I’m in the mood for one of their albums, and I rarely go back to the early days either, sticking with Reign, South of Heaven or Seasons; I’d quite forgotten just how much I enjoyed Hell Awaits back then, and still enjoy it today.

    For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

    The post Album Review: Slayer – Hell Awaits [40th Anniversary] appeared first on The Razor's Edge.