Megadeth

Released by UMe on September 2, 2022, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! further establishes MEGADETH as a band that has bothdefined and repeatedly redefined heavy metal since formation, and which follows up 2016’s Grammy®-winning Dystopia, which debutedat #3 on the Billboard Top 200 (MEGADETH’s highest chart positionsince its 1992 classic Countdown to Extinction). MEGADETH has crafted a record with a visceral energy, heaviness,and sometimes paranormal pace that few would expect from such a seasoned band with so little to prove. The Sick, The Dying... And TheDead! melds the ultra-frenetic riffing, fiercely intricate guitar solos, and adventurous spirit of the quartet’s groundbreaking early output with the musicality and melodicism of its ‘90s songwriting, all laced with signature virtuosity and precision – plus, of course, Mustaine’s singular vocal snarl and wry, take-no-shit lyrical vitriol. Both defying Mustaine’s recent battle with throat cancer andcelebrating his defeat of the disease, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! counterintuitively thrived on delays and cancelled tours resulting from both his illness and the worldwide pandemic. “The fact that we had so much time to work on it benefitted the songs in the end, because they kept evolving,” notes drummer Dirk Verbeuren. “Parts kept being refined; the ‘ear candy’ and the little details just kept getting better.” After his departure from Metallica, having co-written many songs that would appear on their first two albums, the ultra-hungry 21-year-old Mustaine conceived a new band, MEGADETH, which would harnessthe cinematic songcraft of the new wave of British heavy metal to radically faster tempos, heightened technical agility, complex arrangements, and punk’s primeval aggression. “The utmost heaviest, ultra-furious band that I could come up with at that time,” he recalls. “When we came out, there weren’t a lot of bands that were doing what we were doing. There still aren’t a lot of bands that are doing what we’re doing.” Mustaine’s rare gift for guitar (ranked #1 in 2009 book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists), ahead-of-his-time sonic ambitions, and superhuman drive put MEGADETH among the legendary pioneers of thrash metal, known as the “Big Four.” Establishing themselves immediately with the release of their legendary debut Killing Is my Business… And Business Is Good, a series of platinum-selling album soon followed, earning them household-name status. To date, MEGADETH has sold over 50 million albums globally, including the double-platinum Countdown to Extinction, and received twelve Grammy® nominations. The band’s uncompromisingly fierce yet fastidious live shows have become benchmarks for heavy metalperformance worldwide. Yet even amid this lofty legacy and MEGADETH’s prodigious catalog, The Sick, The Dying ... and The Dead! stands apart on multiple levels. Mustaine’s cancer was detected shortly after pre- production began,but he didn’t let that derail the recording. “He’s a fighter,” recalls guitarist Louriero. “Because besides his chemo day [each week], he was always there!” It’s also the first MEGADETH album to feature Kiko Louriero, who debuted on Dystopia, drummer Verbeuren and bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Testament), who temporarily stepped in to record the album–with the kickoff of MEGADETH’s recent tour, alumni James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family and is now the permanentbass player. Mustaine once again opted to co-produce the album with Chris Rakestraw (Danzig, Parkway Drive) in Nashville, reuniting the winning team behind Dystopia, which has scanned over 440K units and scooped the 2017 Grammy® for Best Metal Performance for its title track. “Chris and I have an understanding of what a MEGADETH record is supposed to sound like,” he explains. “And his work ethic is a lot like mine: we worked hard; he worked harder.” Featuring some of Mustaine’s strongest-ever songwriting, including collabs with bandmates, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! brings together everything that’s exhilarating and distinctive about MEGADETH. From the blistering throwback fury of “Night Stalkers”(featuring the iconic Ice-T) and first single “We’ll Be Back,” to the more mid- tempo and melodic “Soldier On!” and the very personal title track, with its enthralling twists and turns. As always with MEGADETH, every riff is meticulously fashioned to constantly crescendo, with new harmonic elements endlessly manifesting and every detail structured for maximum musical and emotional effect. Yet, through all of the album’s moods and movements, MEGADETH never loses the crucial groove that binds the band members to one another and the foursome to its audience. The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! is a relentlessly caffeinated, riff-fueled romp of a record in its technical prowess, ambitious arrangements, staggering guitar solos, and nihilistic yet eloquent lyricism. Acoustic intros and interludes, a sense of progressive adventure, and Mustaine’s trademark socio-political commentary round-out the record. “This record could easily sit between Countdown and [1990’s] Rust in Peace,” says Mustaine. “The musicality that we started to add to MEGADETH songs around Countdown to Extinction is pretty prevalent with this record, while it still has a lot of the aggression that Rust in Peace had.” Since those landmark albums, MEGADETH has experimented with myriad sounds, songwriting styles, and riff arrangements, forever pushing the envelope of what we know as heavy metal. But with its newer members providing almost a fan’s perspective of what’s made the band so enduring, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! encapsulates the restless musical hydra that is MEGADETH on one record like never before. The album captures all the tribal, bonding magic of being alongside thousands of fellow fans at MEGADETH concert, even when listened to at home alone or on earbuds. It’s a motivating soundtrack to our greatest achievements and the solace through our all-time lows – or simply that invigorating album you stick on during your dour commute to escape to another place altogether. “People don’t make records the way they used to; they don’t make whole piece of art,” Mustaine explains. “But I think the metal community wants to honor itself and have something that’s unique to ourselves – that sets us apart and rewards the people in this community for their hard work and their perseverance and their loyalty to one another.” Released on the heels of MEGADETH’s rapturously received Metal Tour of the Year alongside Lamb of God, plus numerous high-profile European festival appearances, and an upcoming North American tour with Five Finger Death Punch, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! cements the latest electrifying chapter in a career that has constantly challenged and surprised. “I don’t think we’re nearing the end, not even remotely,” Mustaine concludes. “I feel more energized now that I have in decades.” Appropriately, the album closes with “We’ll Be Back” ...

Hardy

The sound is big. The towns are small. And the name is HARDY. Big Loud artist HARDY grew up on classic rock in Philadelphia, Miss., a town of about 7,500 in the country setting of Neshoba County. So when fans hear the music on his four-song EP for the label, This Ole Boy, they're getting the real deal. The songs are bold and proud, the voice is commanding and the lyrics are centered on farms, in the backwoods and mostly in America's heartland. "I love that lifestyle, and that's what I want to talk about," he says unapologetically. "I'm not really a love song dude. If I'm going down that road, it's a song like ‘This Ole Boy' where it's a redneck-in-love kind of thing. People that are like me, or people who still live in small towns, still love that and want to hear that. That's why I'm who I am as an artist." HARDY's artistic identity is notably focused on This Ole Boy. His voice is gritty in "4x4," soulful in the background vocals of "This Ole Boy" and edgy in the stack of HARDY harmonies in "Rednecker." The productions' mix of swamp rock and country walks a line between strutting sarcasm and communal congeniality. And the incessant word play - where else does "quatro" rhyme with "macho?" - marks HARDY as a smart guy with an uncommon sense of humor. Some of those traits are a direct result of his songwriting prowess. HARDY moved to Nashville to pursue the elusive art of matching words with chords and melodies, and 2018 became a breakthrough year for him. He was one of three writers on the Morgan Wallen/Florida Georgia Line collaboration "Up Down," a #1 platinum-selling country single built on HARDY's original idea: "We live it up down here." He snagged another hit as a co-writer of FGL's "Simple." And he took part in Seth Ennis' "Call Your Mama," a lump-in-your-throat ballad that started its chart journey in fall 2018. In fact, HARDY was so focused on writing that he didn't really pursue his budding recording career. It actually came looking for him. FGL's Tyler Hubbard and the duo's producer, Joey Moi, were both convinced there was a place for his talent in the marketplace and offered to help him make it happen. Perhaps unintentionally - perhaps on purpose - FGL helped him say yes by putting HARDY on stage three different times during its 2018 summer tour. He hit the road several weekends to write with the duo, and they brought him out to take Wallen's "Up Down" part at the Country Stampede in Manhattan, Kansas; the Country LakeShake in Chicago; and the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. HARDY was amped and animated in the role, as if he'd been playing in front of thousands for years. And the crowd reaction sealed the deal. "Playing those places and those people singing back to you, that whole thing put it in perspective," he says. "That is an incredible feeling. It's just unexplainable." Fortunately, HARDY comes to the table as an artist with a strong view of who he is, thanks to his experiences in Mississippi. Philadelphia spawned two previous country music successes - Grand Ole Opry member Marty Stuart and songwriter/producer Derek George (Bryan White, Randy Houser) - and they certainly showed it was possible to make it in the business. But HARDY's original exposure to music came from his dad, who consistently had classic rock blasting when he took his son on the 15-mile commute from the house to the family's chicken farm and back. HARDY pitched in on a job that was brutal to the senses - "I don't even think I could go in a chicken house now," he says - but he learned the value of hard work. And the exposure to smart hooks and distinct musical identities of the music his father listened to made a permanent imprint. "I like Pink Floyd a lot," HARDY says. "They're my favorite band. Thanks to my dad, I loved The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon growing up, and once I got older, I realized how metaphorical and parallel their writing is, and how you understand it. I really appreciate, in all genres, creativity that sonically nobody has ever heard before." His dad took him to his first two concerts - Aerosmith, in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1999; and KISS, in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2000 - but when HARDY wrote his first song at age 18, it set him on the path toward making music a vocation. That initial composition, "Caroline," had the singer meeting a girl in a grocery store and obsessing about her, even though he would never encounter her again. "It was just so simple and not thought out," he says with a laugh. "There were little holes in the storyline. It's interesting to think about it looking back now." But it got a reaction. His parents, of course, liked it. And when he played it for a few classmates at junior college, they liked it, too. HARDY started playing it at parties and creating a little buzz, though it was the only song he knew. That spurred him to write a few more. When he heard Eric Church's "Homeboy," HARDY realized that rock had found a new home in country music, and it created a deeper appreciation for the genre, which had always been there in the background in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, HARDY's sister - Nashville makeup artist Madison Hardy Dennis - was going to school at Music City's Belmont University, and when he visited her in February 2010, the experience was life-changing. "Music was everywhere - I had no idea," he remembers. "That's when I found out about publishing deals and that you could make a living writing songs. That was over one weekend, so when I went back home I told my mom, 'Hey, I'm moving to Nashville.'" HARDY enrolled in the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University and majored in songwriting, mentored by instructor Rick Carnes, who composed Garth Brooks' "Longneck Bottle," The Whites' "Hangin' Around" and Reba McEntire's "Can't Even Get The Blues." HARDY periodically posted performances of his own songs on social media, and another relative - Dennis Matkosky, first cousin to HARDY's grandfather - reached out. Matkosky was an established songwriter, known for Michael Sembello's "Maniac," Keith Urban's "You'll Think Of Me" and LeAnn Rimes' "I Need You." Matkosky liked HARDY's work, and within a few months, he signed HARDY to his own independent publishing company. HARDY met FGL's Tyler Hubbard at a parking lot party on Music Row in 2012, right as "Cruise" was being released, and didn't see him again for several years. In the meantime, HARDY landed cuts by Tyler Farr and Walker McGuire, and when he got a chance to start writing with FGL at their concert sites on the road, his acquaintance with Hubbard turned into a full-fledged friendship. Beginning in January 2017, he was a frequent sidekick on tour, writing with them on their bus during the day before their concerts. In fact, "Throwback" - the newest song on This Ole Boy - was written on the bus at the Iowa State Fair in August 2018, just weeks before the EP's release. The release provides a strong base point for HARDY as an artist, representative of the hard-edged music, the easy-going people and the slow-changing nature of the world at the heart of a rural community. "A lot of where I pull from is just being from a small town," he says. "People live a little slower and a little more behind, whether that's a good thing or bad thing." With This Ole Boy, HARDY provides a solid opening salvo to establish himself as an artist, honed in on the sounds and stories at the core of his Southern heritage. But it's just a starting point, a place to launch an artist whose combination of country imagery, Southern rock sounds and blue-collar vocals is intrinsically relatable. "This stuff is my favorite and the most true to me," he says, "but we will mix it up along the way, slowly but surely. I don't want to scare anybody off, but we'll give a taste here and there and hopefully by the end it will be a well-rounded sound." A big sound. About small towns. A HARDY representation.

+LIVE+ - Band

Goo Goo Dolls

If you live every day to the fullest, you will never run out of scars to show off, stories to share, and things to say.   As life goes on for Goo Goo Dolls, the ensuing music connects even more closely, embracing experimentation, exhibiting assurance, and exuding experience. Drawing on over three decades together, the four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated record-breaking multiplatinum rock band—John Rzeznik and Robby Takac—supply a real sense of hope and a whole lot of heart on their twelfth full-length album, Miracle Pill [Warner Records].   “There is always hope,” affirms John. “Things may look dark or dire, but there’s a chance to make a connection, nevertheless. I’m writing from as honest of a place as I can at this time in my life. That’s something I want everyone to understand about the album. A lot of our fans have grown up with us. I think they’ll be able to relate to where we’re at in our lives, because they tend to be at the same place. We’ve still got a lot to say.”   As such, everyone also continues to grow. Following a sold-out 20th anniversary tour in support of the 1998 quadruple-platinum classic Dizzy Up The Girl and the recent live releases The Audience is This Way and The Audiences Is That Way (Rest of the Show) [Vol. 2], the duo immediately hit the studio in late 2018. Rather than “have a long break,” John and Robby feverishly wrote upon returning from the road.   As they worked with everyone from Sam Hollander [Train, Weezer] to  Derek Fuhrmann [A Great Big World, Kygo], the musicians retreated to familiar territory in order to record: the world-renowned Capitol Studios in Hollywood.   “We’ve made records through so many different phases of the band and the industry,” says Robby. “Even so, we were actually in the same room where we recorded a lot of older music this time. It felt like some of the vibe made it into our current process. We always try to keep it fresh, find new avenues, and keep moving forward.”   “The process is more enjoyable than ever,” adds John. “We work with whoever we want to, and we get to experiment. You never know if this may be the last time you’ll get to make a record. It’s a privilege, so you need to have fun. It’s a joy to sit down, try out ideas, and push the limits of the band.”   That’s exactly what the boys do on the first single and title track “Miracle Pill.” Backed by ragtime piano, handclaps, and dreamy production flourishes from Hollander and Grant Michaels, John’s voice swings from theatrical verses into an intoxicatingly irresistible hook.   At the center of the tune, he asks, “Baby, would you be my miracle pill? And I could be somebody else. So sick of living inside myself.”   “As soon as we finished Miracle Pill, it was the obvious title for many reasons,” John elaborates. “Miracle Pill is a metaphor for instant gratification or relief. If you’re feeling sad, you take a pill. If you need approval, you go on Instagram and receive it immediately. It speaks to the second decade of 21st century angst. We’re inundated by bullshit, garbage, and false solutions to every problem we have. The real path is to work hard, be nice, and keep going. However, this route gets overlooked, because we’re all looking for the ultimate shortcut and escape.”   Produced by Fuhrmann, the follow-up single “Fearless” pairs stark synths with driving guitar and an uplifting hook, “I’m gonna be fearless.”  The tune addresses the state of the world and urges finding confidence among each other.   “I’m speaking to my daughter,” John says. “I want her to pursue what she wants, but we’re living in a scared and unfair world. You have to bravely go out and enact the changes you want to make in order for this to be a better place. I’m also apologizing to the next generation for leaving a big mess. They’re up for the challenge though.”   Elsewhere, “Step In Line” spotlights Robby’s gravelly delivery and shimmering electronics as it offers comfort “about getting older…Since you can’t stop it or slow it down, embrace it.” Then, there’s “Lost” where John reassures his daughter, “she will never have to feel lost,” just above finger-picked guitar. Meanwhile, “Money Fame & Fortune” incorporates background vocals from Valerie Broussard over ethereal acoustic strumming, tambourine, and synth transmissions.   “Everybody wants to be rich and famous in cyberspace, which is just bizarre,” sighs John. “We’re in an era where people are incredibly popular for I don’t even know what. Me, I just want three really good friends I can count on. I’m saying everything I need is in you and not in the world.”   Upheld by violin and viola, the conclusion “Think It Over” stretches towards heavenly heights on the harmonies of a soul choir and in between intimate confessions such as, “I am my father’s son. I tried to shake his fate, but it’s too late to die that young, fighting to make a change.”   “I have this problem in my life where I feel low-grade chronic separation from everything and everyone,” John goes on. “I hate it. I’m trying to fill the gap, so the songs always push towards this. Not too much though, you need a little misery to create right?” he laughs.   Miracle Pill serves as the next step on a long life journey together for John and Robby. To date, Goo Goo Dolls’ sales exceed 12 million albums worldwide. Not to mention, the group garnered four GRAMMY® Award nominations and seized a page in the history books by achieving 14 number one and Top 10 hits at Hot AC—"the most of any artist in history.” As a result, they hold the all-time radio record for “Most Top 10 Singles.” Among a string of hits, “Iris” held #1 on the Hot 100 for 18 straight weeks and would be named “#1 Top 40 Song of the Last 20 Years.” Thus far, A Boy Named Goo [1995] went double-platinum, Dizzy Up The Girl went quadruple-platinum, and Gutterflower [2002] and Let Love In [2006] both went gold as Something for the Rest of Us [2010] and Magnetic [2013] bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200. 2016’s Boxes attracted the praise of People and Huffington Post as Noisey, Consequence of Sound, and more featured them. Their music has been covered by everyone from Taylor Swift to Leona Lewis. Additionally, they’ve performed for millions at sold out shows everywhere. Among many accolades, John received the prestigious “Hal David Starlight Award” in 2008 as well.   In the end, the music might just be the true Miracle Pill for Goo Goo Dolls.   “I want people to walk away satisfied, relating to it, and feeling like they’re a part of it,” John leaves off. “Personally, I can’t walk away from Miracle Pill  without feeling like I left a piece of me in there.”   “The connection continues here,” Robby agrees. “We’ve known each other for 33 years now. When you know somebody that long, you know what it takes to make it work forever. We decided we want it to work for as long as we can.”

Wests Best (E-40, DJ Quik, Xzibit)