Hana DeVore, wife of late guitarist and wrestler Andy Williams, mentioned the memorial in a video where she also thanked fans for continuing to share stories about her husband. Continue reading…
An event honoring the life of the late ex-Every Time I Die guitarist and wrestler Andy Williams is set for his hometown of Buffalo later this month.
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Hidden Intent visited Bloodstock all the way from Australia. We’re pretty sure it was worth the trip, and not just because they got to talk to Sean! Sorry for the wobbly picture, we think it’s down to our camera melting in the heat! Hidden Intent: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube | patreon
Back in the day, it would’ve been a much bigger deal if a Dischord band covered Depeche Mode. These days, boundaries between musical universes are a whole lot looser, and it feels completely natural — especially given that the Dischord band in question is the art-punk crew Shudder To Think, who were always glammier than their peers.
For Steve Hackett, 2022 was – even by his standards – a feverish period, seeing the release of a memoir, a live album and an acoustic record. He followed that with full-power LP Surrender Of Silence, which raised eyebrows, and even drew accusations of favouring quantity over quality. But the former Genesis guitarist took it all in his stride.
Nowhere on Steve Hackett’s album Surrender Of Silence is his desire to challenge himself and the listener more evident than the track Wingbeats. Fusing his core guitar sound with African-inspired world music – perhaps evocative of his former Genesis bandmate Peter Gabriel – has caused a rare division of his fanbase.
Musicians are familiar with the familiar, unsolvable dilemma: repeat yourself and criticism for being predictable will follow, but alter what’s perceived as your genre of choice and there’ll be accusations of disrespecting your fanbase.
“There’s always going to be that,” says Hackett. “You can gain some and you can lose some. That particular song was written after a visit to Ethiopia and I’d been struck by the beauty of the place. The response to it has been extraordinary.
I think brave music is bound to divide people – if you do a brave song, you can’t expect everyone is going to get it. Music is always having to justify itself and it isn’t going to sit still. The hunger for it is never going to go away. I don’t aim to please my core audience – I love them, but at the same time I want to go: ‘Have you thought of this? You might like it!’
During the early days of Genesis, audiences would boo and walk out during songs which, in time, became regarded as classics. Many things can be met with a stony silence; you have to allow a certain amount of time for people to absorb it. Music becomes more powerful and sweeter as you re-encounter it, like an old friend.”
In the instantaneous, disposable society of today, that space for fans to absorb and fully nurture material is often absent. Witness the scathing comments which appeared shortly after the release of the gallant – and occasionally awkward – video for Wingbeats.
“Most of our own social media was full of praise for it,” Hackett says. “I think that with YouTube, you open yourself up. For all artists life is a coconut shy with yourself as the coconut. A certain number of balls are going to hit you. But if you’ve got your helmet on, as a long-term performer, you’re going to go, ‘Well, so what?’”
An event honoring the life of the late ex-Every Time I Die guitarist and wrestler Andy Williams is set for his hometown of Buffalo later this month.
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According to Slipknot's new press photo that was sent out with the song 'Arsenal,' they're now down to eight members instead of nine. Continue reading…
As part of her 50th Birthday celebrations, Finland’s undisputed “Queen of the Slide Guitar” Erja Lyytinen will release “Hard as Stone”, the second single taken from her upcoming highly anticipated double live album Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026.
Released by Tuohi Records on Friday, October 9th, Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026 is available to pre-order on CD and vinyl here and digitally here.
As part of her spectacular 50th Birthday celebrations, Erja is set to unleash a deluxe live album package featuring a double CD, double vinyl, and full-length DVD, capturing an unforgettable night at Helsinki, Finland’s prestigious House of Culture — affectionately known as “Kultsa” — on 21st March 2026. Steeped in rock history, the legendary venue hosted some of music’s most iconic names, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Slayer, making it the perfect setting for Erja’s landmark birthday concert.
Erja reflects on why she made “Hard as Stone” a part of the set list on her 50th Birthday album: “”Hard as Stone” is the second single from the live album, and I’m thrilled to have it back in the set list,” says Erja. “It has a force and personality all its own and stands apart from the rest of the songs.”
“In 2019, ‘Hard as Stone’ first appeared on my studio album Another World, and it’s always been a track I’ve loved,” says Erja. “Since then, my guitar playing has evolved so much that I started to feel the original version was a little too sweet. I knew it was time to give it a tougher edge.”
Erja continues: “I changed some of the chords and drove them harder to give the track more punch — to make it truly hard as stone. I recently bought my first Floyd Rose-equipped guitar, a 1989 Kramer Nightswan, and it proved to be the perfect weapon for this song, especially for the Whammy Octave solo section and the heavier refrain.”
On the double live album, Erja’s amazing band backs her through this 90-minute-long concert full of old gems from her colourful career. The release features songs from albums such as Voracious Love, Another World, and the latest studio album, Smell the Roses.
This is a heavy blues rock show with international stars. Erja brought her favourite artists to perform alongside her on the show. Swedish banjo punk/blues group Baskery featured on the song “Torn” with Erja accompanying their vocals on guitar.
Legendary bassist Sami Yaffa (Joan Jett, Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls) stormed the stage with Erja and her band for “One Thing I Won’t Change,” injecting the performance with a raw, electric charge. Rearranged especially for the celebration from Erja’s 2012 album Forbidden Fruit, the song becomes a full-throttle tribute to life, fearless musicianship, and Erja’s ever-evolving fire as a performer.
The evening starts with an introduction from Erja´s twin boys inviting the group on stage and after that the first band song, “Ball and Chain,” kicks in hard. We also hear “Smell the Roses” and “Going to Hell” from the latest studio album, before the set list continues with songs from older gems such as the rocking “Bird,” Erja’s beautiful slide solo take on “Lullaby,” the lushy “Cherry Overdrive” and “Nasty Weather” from Erja´s Dreamland Blues album. The latter was recorded in Mississippi in 2006 with Kinney and David Kimbrough and has now been played and renewed exactly twenty years later.
In the song “Another World,” Erja has a vocal breakdown, where a thousand people in the audience join her to sing along and savor this great moment together. The live recording also includes “Stoney Creek” and “The Ring” as encore songs that wrap up the joyous evening at House of Culture on Erja´s Birthday.
Additionally, the live album contains a concert from the Smell the Roses studio album release tour in October 2025. Recorded in Tempo, Mikkeli, Finland, this recording has all the album songs, like “Dragonfly,” the heavy “Abyss,” the heart wrenching ballad “Empty Hours,” huge southern-rock vibey “Wings to Fly” and in addition Erja´s favorite live tracks “You Talk Dirty” and a 13-minute-long rendition of “Wedding Day”. The latter was originally recorded on the album Another World, together with slide maestro Sonny Landreth.
Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live2026 album is a great package showing that this firecracker lady continues to enjoy playing live and isn´t anywhere near ready to stop making music and developing herself as a musician, songwriter, and entertainer. This live album is a must for all Erja fans who enjoy unique hard rock and blues music played with an attitude. And it will leave you with a smile on your face!
Production Credits:
Erja Lyytinen / Vocals and Guitars Harri Taittonen / Hammond and Backing Vocals Heikki Saarenkunnas / Bass and Backing Vocals Jesse Lehto / Drums Olli Huttunen / FOH Sound Engineer Santtu Lehtiniemi / Guitar Tech Elsa Wellamo / Photography Marko von Konow / Graphic Design
Recorded by Olli Huttunen at Mikkeli, Tempo, Finland on 03.10.2025 and House of Culture, Helsinki Finland on 21.03.2026 Mixed by Matias Kiiveri at Hollywood House, Helsinki Finland 2026 Mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers, Espoo Finland 2026 Executive producer Erja Lyytinen for Bluesland Productions/Tuohi Records
