Phoenix based band Co-Op released their self-titled debut album via Ellefson Music Productions/ SPV on 29th June. It was released a couple of weeks earlier in the USA via the EMP Label Group (the company started by Megadeth’s David Ellefson). The band formed in 2014 and is fronted by Dash Cooper; son of rock legend Alice Cooper. The album features a guest appearance from Alice Cooper and from Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. The single “N.O.W.” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29th June.
Dare marked the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album with a re-recorded, special edition called “Out of the Silence II” that was released on 29th June 2018 via Legend Records. The album has been completely re-recorded and is a little heavier sounding than the 1988 original. I included the track “Abandon” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29th June.
Read more: NI ROCKS Recommends "Out of the Silence II" by DARE
Lightning In A Bottle is a new consultation agency co-founded by Toby Jepson (Wayward Sons/Little Angels) and Rob Town (Stampede Press/Panic Cell). With its core values aimed squarely at the music and what it is to be a music maker in the modern age, this new business partnership has been set up by musicians with over 30 years experience in the industry as a support platform for musicians, to help inform, encourage, support and empower them, and to bring a real, honest approach to the problems and challenges that so many bands and music artists face everyday.
“Big City Life” is the second album from Norwegian band Big City and it was released on 22nd June by Rock of Angels Records (ROAR) as a double CD along with their debut album “Wintersleep”. The band can trace its roots back about ten years and it features members from other Norwegian bands such as Scariot, Satyricon and Withem. I included the track “Running For Your Life” from the “Big City Life” album on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 22nd June.