Well, for any of you that have regularly checked out my blog before you may have noticed that I have been missing for a while. Sorry for the interruption, let's just say there were a lot of situations I needed to handle. Enough excuses let's get to the reason you all read this, The Rock.
I had the amazing opportunity to visit the famous Bathouse recording studio recently, thanks to an invitation by Kingston's own Greg Ball. His band were recording new tracks for his newest album, and I have to say that what I heard was sounding pretty damn good. Unfortunatley Greg could not nail down a date for the new release, but you can be asured that I will give you a review of it as soon as it hits the streets. What I can tell you is that he is working with other tallented Kingston artists on this new offering, and the whole project is being directed by non other than Hip guitarist Paul Langlois. Greg and his band are adding more depth of instrumentation into the new album, which allowed me to see for myself the diversity of tallent that the band has; like who knew that lead guitarist Joe Carscallen could also play the electronic organ? The Bathouse is known for being the studio where the iconic Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip recorded many of their hit songs. Inside the rooms of the house turned state of the art studio there is amazing Rock and Roll history all around.
Within the warm wooden walls of the historical building you can feel the awesomeness of the place. From the huge artpeice depicting the cover of the 1992 Hip album "Fully Completely," to the gold Tragically Hip album on the wall in the kitchen the Rock and Roll pedigree of this studio shines through. It isn't some posh sterile modern build, instead you can feel that the very spirit of Canadian Rock and Roll lives and breaths in that place. Admittedly I would have been looking forward to Greg Ball's next album even if it was not being recorded in such a historic studio, still I can't say that now knowing it is being recorded and directed by some of the best talent in Canada does make me all the more eager to hear the upcoming Greg Ball album. If you want to know more about the Bathouse studio or Greg Ball please click on the links below.
http://www.thebathouse.com/ http://www.gregball.ca/
The amazingly talented Finnish guitarist Elmo Karjalainen has released a new album online called "Age of Heroes." The album has been getting its first reviews, and one reviewer said it's the best shred album since Joe Satriani's "Surfing with the Alien." Now that is some high praise. I have liked his playing ever since I first heard him a few years ago, and he has been steadily producing more and more sweet riffs. 
Elmo added the extra talents of established Metal gurus such as: Derek Sherinian .ex Dream Theater, and Yngwie Malmsteen keyboard player who also toured with Billy Idol, Kiss and Alice Cooper; IA Eklundh of Freak Kitchen; and the extremely talented Janne and Emil to this album. Elmo pulls out all of the stops for this offering, it Rocks harder than any of his previous works. As with his previous albums it includes bits of his humor and amazingly smooth guitar work. "Age of Heroes" is a must have for all of you aspiring guitarists out there. He'll open your ears to the possibilities of wielding an axe, and inspire you to follow that ecstasy that can only be felt through the summoning of the spirits of the Guitar Gods. BUY ELMO KARJALAINEN'S "AGE OF HEROES" HERE!!! 
Those incredible cerebral Metalheads Stage Of Reality have definitely established themselves as one of the must hear acts for anyone who likes thinking mans Metal. Their last offering was a huge success especially when realizing the depth of the ideas brought to the table. Reviewers have even pegged Stage of Reality as being the barometer of talent which new acts in the genre should aspire to. Now you can see and hear more of this exceptional act on their brand new website.......HERE!! So don't wait until the world ends to get your fill of some high quality cerebral Metal and go check out Stage of Reality today. 
Thirteen keeps getting better. They have stayed true to their stated mission of making quality bad ass music in the spirit of the best of classic Rock and Metal. So if you like your Rock and Roll on the rocks just like your whiskey then you have to hear Thirteen's new album "Nightingale." I just wish we could hear more of this quality of new music on the radio. YOU CAN BUY "NIGHTINGALE" HERE!! OR HERE!! Well, that's it for now. I'll just leave you all with a damn cool video for the Batman Lego movie. 
