Early in 2007, producer Rob Cavallo asked Shinedown frontman Brent Smith about his goals for the band's new album. Smith didn't hesitate.

"I said, 'You know what -- when I'm dead and gone, when everybody in this band has passed or what have you, I want the world to remember this as a record that needed to be made, and that there was a reason for it,' " Smith says. "That was the motivation behind this album."

"And part of the reason it took so long to make!"

Welcome then to THE SOUND OF MADNESS, Shinedown's third album -- and the Florida rockers' boldest effort to date. Like its two predecessors, 2003's Platinum LEAVE A WHISPER and 2005's Gold US AND THEM, THE SOUND OF MADNESS offers a brave and unsparing look into the soul and psyche amidst a fierce musical attack that, even in its quieter moments, vibrate with the passion, energy and focus of a band with high-minded ideals and limitless ambitions.

Smith and company began the recording process for THE SOUND OF MADNESS with the formidable task of following up two massively successful albums that yielded a staggering seven consecutive Top five rock and alternative radio hits that included "Fly From the Inside," "45," the chart topping "Save Me," and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," along with a reputation as a hot live band with an insatiable appetite for the road. However, after one listen, it's clear that the band didn't shrink from the task. Where THE SOUND OF MADNESS differs most is in its growth; it's the product of a group that has developed an even clearer vision for how it wanted to impact an audience.

"Lyrically, these songs are the most blunt that I've ever written," says Smith, who formed Shinedown with drummer Barry Kerch in 2001 in Jacksonville, Fla. "I feel that on this record I wrote what a lot of people want to say, but they just don't know how to say it -- not that I should tell anyone how to live their lives, but I've had these experiences and these thoughts that are in my head. And I can't believe I'm the only one who feels the way I do. So I just tried to express that in the most artistic and the most honest way I possibly could."

Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released five studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection.

The band has had three consecutive number one albums (Faceless, IV, and The Oracle) on the Billboard 200. The band also has parked a ratified 19 top ten rock radio hits, including 15 songs in the Top Five. Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and have toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. In the summer of 2009, Godsmack toured as support to Mötley Crüe's Crüe Fest 2 tour.

Staind dove into bleaker recesses than ever before and surfaced with their heaviest and most hypnotic album to date, STAIND, their self-titled, seventh studio album. The multi-platinum Massachusetts hard rock outfit—Aaron Lewis, Mike Mushok, and Johnny "Old School" April—pushed itself to the very brink. There was struggle and strife, but, as a result, Staind constructed a collection of chaotically melodic songs that hearken back to their 1999 major label debut, Dysfunction, while wielding an instrumental and lyrical prowess that could only be cultivated by 16 years of writing, recording, and touring together.
Along the way, the band forged a melodic musical maelstrom that served as solace for fans of all ages. They sold 15 million albums worldwide, had eight top ten singles across multiple formats with three songs hitting number one, and wrote the most-played rock song of the past decade, "It's Been Awhile." Three out of six albums—Break the Cycle, 14 Shades of Grey, and Chapter V—debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and 2008's The Illusion of Progress peaked at #3. On STAIND, they channel the intensity from their early days with tight, taut technicality. Mushok augments an avalanche of baritone guitars with a searing solo on the track "Eyes Wide Open" as Lewis schizophrenically screams. Meanwhile, "The Bottom," featured on the Transformers: Dark of the Moon soundtrack, twists and turns through a haze of grinding guitars, bass, and drums. These songs are raw and real. They're heavy and honest. They're pure and powerful. They're everything Staind was always meant to be.

"Invincible," the edgy, empowering rocker that kicks off the self-titled debut from Adelitas Way is also an apt description for singer Rick DeJesus' undaunted focus and determination. Born and raised in a rough Philly neighborhood, he saw family members in jail and on drugs, and a friend shot in the head and killed by drug dealers. Rick's future was likewise bleak -- "my friends were carrying guns, selling drugs, doing drugs, leading reckless lives. I knew I was going to pay the consequences," Rick acknowledges. So, in 2005, grasping for any escape, on a dare Rick auditioned for a VH1 show that would take him to Los Angeles. With no idea what he was in for, in short succession Rick appeared on the VH1 show 'Strip Search," then ended up in Vegas, living in his car for three months, doing anything to make ends meet. "Anything" included the "American Storm" show at the Rivera. Rick calls his short stint in the revue "a rock moment. I was young, poor and crazy… and it beat robbing people." It also allowed him the means to focus on the anthemic, potent hard modern rock that would become the calling card of Adelitas Way. Rick's compelling personal dramas are channeled into his performances -- and every dynamic note on Adelitas Way. The heartfelt, radio-ready songs, captured by Grammy-nominated producer Johnny K (Disturbed, Plain White T's, 3 Doors Down), Adelitas Way, range from the sexy romp of 'Dirty Little Thing" to the emotionally charged rock anthem of "Last Stand" to the classic mid-tempo rocker "Scream."

Rick is joined by kindred spirits in the Las Vegas-based quintet. First to join Adelitas Way was Iorio, a high school senior who credits his "rock & roll parents" with getting him a guitar at 7, and turning him on to KISS, Ted Nugent and Van Halen. His style is a mix of '70s rock with modern flair, and he notes: "I like Slash and Randy Rhoads—both bluesy and 'shreddy' styles." Trevor Stafford, an in-demand tour and studio drummer, was on Ozzfest with the band Shuvel at 17, and is a fan of System of a Down, Primus, and grunge. A Huntington Beach, California native, he moved to Vegas to be in the band full time. The final puzzle pieces are New York-bred bassist Derek Johnston and West Virginia native guitarist Keith Wallen, who joined after the record was complete. They both bring indie, hardcore and classic rock influences to the Adelitas Way stew.

Trevor gives major props to Rick for getting Adelitas Way shows with artists like Chris Cornell, Hinder and Tantric, and generating the huge industry buzz that ended with the band signing to Virgin. "I played with a lot of people," says Trevor, "but never anyone like Rick; his work ethic is out-of-control amazing." Rick and Trevor have more than rock in common. Determined to rise above the chaos of his existence in Philly, Rick graduated high school with a 3.7 GPA and went to college for three years, playing college baseball. Likewise, Trevor earned a partial baseball scholarship, but, like Rick, ultimately chose music. It wasn't until Rick was 18 and snuck into a bar for an acoustic night, singing in front of 60 people for first time ever (and getting a standing ovation), that he thought, 'hey, I might not suck!'" Now they're team players in Adelitas Way, Rick's winning personality and dogged work growing the band's reputation one fan at a time, literally. "Every second of my life was focused on music. I bought nothing for the first year doing music in Vegas. I wore the same shirt every day. I handed a demo to every person I saw, and that's how the mystique began. If I was in Walmart, Dunkin' Donuts… I probably handed out 6,000 demos. So our first show we drew 900 kids at the Rainbow Bar."

Rick and the band (in a different lineup) sold 10,000 self-titled records under their own steam, "Move On" earning #1 song accolades in 2006 on Vegas rock station KOMP. Regional tours further honed their reputation as a powerful live act, solidifying Rick as a charismatic frontman who wrote songs that exorcised and explored the demons of his past. Their songs, like "Scream," written in a scummy Memphis motel room, are a whole-band effort. Rick's lyrics are at once introspective, compassionate, unflinching and inspiring. On "Invincible," a band favorite, Rick explains, "I was going for that 'Incredible Hulk' feeling; a song that pumps you up, a crowd-pleaser. It's about our attitude: I'm not going to let anyone stand in the way of my dreams."

One of the band's most-asked questions is their name. Rick, the consummate storyteller on and offstage, relates a great true tale. During a band road trip to LA, they took a detour to San Diego, and when Rick woke up from a nap in the back of the band truck, they were getting arrested in Mexico. Corrupt cops robbed the band, but Rick secreted away a little cash in his socks. Freaked out, the band went to the first bar they saw in Tijuana to have a beer and calm their nerves. It was the Adelita Bar. "There were a bunch of young, really pretty girls and I realized it was basically a brothel," explains Rick. "I chatted with one girl, questioning why she was living this life? And I wrote a song about it. The band name emerged from the sad stories behind the 'Way' they lived at the Adelita—Adelitas Way. As a songwriter," Rick continues, "I'm very emotional, I put myself in people's shoes a lot and live vicariously. My songs are about true situations." That's reflected in their well rounded and timeless album. For instance, "All Fall Down" is about Rick's headspace before he left the mean streets of Philly. "Before I moved, everything was gloomy and depressing. But as a kid, your only concern was what you were going to be for Halloween, or get for Christmas. So the song is about how you should have savored those moments. I took things for granted."

In 2009, with the rising success of Adelitas Way, Rick takes nothing for granted, and some days, feels lucky just to be alive. As teenage guitarist Chris observes, "we made it this far by hard work and nickel-and-dimeing it, vans breaking down in the middle of the desert, the whole bit. It took a while to find this ideal lineup, where we all want the same thing. And everything finally feels right.

"Music comes down to passion," says P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval. "There are not a lot of bands out there
today who have that. But I think that feeling is coming back around again."

P.O.D. (Payable on Death) certainly has the right to talk about passion in music. Passion has been front and center
since the band formed in 1992 in San Diego, CA, and all the way up to the release of their eighth and latest record,
Murdered Love. Over the last two decades, the group has sold over 10 million albums (including 2001's triple
platinum record Satellite), garnered four No. 1 music videos, three Grammy nominations and over a dozen rock
radio hits, including "Southtown," "Alive," "Youth of the Nation" and "Goodbye For Now." Music trends have come
and gone, but P.O.D.'s fanbase has seemingly only grown stronger.

Still, after the release of 2008's When Angels & Serpents Dance, the band took a lengthy hiatus. "You can blame me,"
says Sandoval. "The record business was changing, and we all wanted to get back to our personal lives and families.
When we do P.O.D., we want to enjoy what we're doing, and not to do it to pay the bills or tour just to tour."
Fortunately, the time off served the band, and Sandoval, well. "Yeah, I got in a good place again. P.O.D. means so
much to us and our fans – there's a lot of love for what we do. I wanted to keep inspiring and encouraging people."

The band initially reconvened with a few jam sessions and the intent to put out a hardcore, Bad Brains-style EP
and tour a little bit. But the initial recordings were strong enough to convince the group to tackle a new album. "By
taking a break, we kind of got back on the same page," says guitarist Marcos Curiel. "Now, everyone has the same
attitude going forward, the same feeling we had when we did those first two first two big albums The Fundamental
Elements of Southtown and Satellite."

The most startling aspect of Murdered Love lies in its diversity and the band's songwriting having penned every
track on the album. The opener "Eyez" might be the band's heaviest song yet, with a cameo by Hatebreed's Jamey
Jasta. It contrasts sharply with "West Coast Rock Steady," a playful hip-hop ode to their San Diego roots featuring
Sen Dog of Cypress Hill. Meanwhile, "Panic & Run" is full-tilt punk, "Bad Boy" brings a funky swagger and first
single "Lost in Forever" ties it all together with an equal mix of aggressiveness and melody.

"The band is a fusion of all our musical passions," says Curiel. "We can jump from punk to reggae to rap to metal.
And funk -- people forget we had a little funk on our first few indie releases. So on a few songs here, we took it
back. The whole process was really organic."

Lyrically, the record finds P.O.D. at its most thoughtful and introspective as the band contemplates their lives and
the world around them. On "Lost in Forever" Sandoval shows a mixture of hope and unease to questioning the
cruelty of man, as the band also does in the brutal title track "Murdered Love." "It's about people who have died
when all they brought was love" explains Curiel. The sparse, catchy "Beautiful," contemplates the afterlife while

the teeth-rattling album closer "I Am," finds Sandoval opening with the vivid line: "I am the murderer, the pervert,
sick to the core" and never lets up. It's the band at its darkest and most confrontational.

"I had been doing a lot of outreach to kids, talking at a lot of schools," says the singer. "I see what they go through
– suicide, rape, addiction –and that song is just about being vulnerable and honest. They're wondering if they're
screw-ups, if they're deserving of love and compassion. "

The band recorded Murdered Love with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (Kelly Clarkson,
My Chemical Romance, Daughtry), a long-time friend of the group and the man behind three of its biggest
records. "He's family," says Sandoval, then laughs. "He has the power to choose who he wants to work with, and I
think he wanted to go back and make a real rock record."

To promote the record, the band has already set up a late spring/early summer headlining tour, as well as hitting
a number of festivals and larger shows this year. "It seems like there's Warriors in every city," says Curiel, noting
the band's affectionate nickname for their diehard fans. "They're loyal. And it's great, because we'll see people who
loved us around the Satellite era bringing their kids." Given the closeness between the band and their fanbase, it's
no surprise that P.O.D.'s new logo was the result of an online contest with their fans.

In the end, Murdered Love showcases a band at its most energetic and vital, nearly two decades after its debut.
Sandoval agrees.

"This is the best record we've ever done," says the singer. "And that can only come from what we've put into this.
We're the same four down-to-earth guys we were when we were putting out indie records. There's an honesty and
an underdog vibe to everything we do that you can definitely hear in our music."

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL DEUCE PAGE - DEBUT SOLO ALBUM - NINE LIVES - DROPS APRIL 24, 2012 - Official store

There's stubborn. And then there's Kaz stubborn. The singer-songwriter of Redlight King refused to take no for an answer when music business suits denied his request to sample a Neil Young classic, pressing relentlessly until he got a "yes." More importantly, Kaz held on to vanquish the inner demons that nearly wrecked him several years ago. Now, with "Something for the Pain," Redlight King's redemptive Hollywood Records debut album, Kaz relives both his darkest days and the turn-around, when he clawed his way back to the light.
A latticework of rock and hip hop, the album conjures old school sounds, thanks to Kaz and producers Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry, as well as the good vibes at Hollywood's TGG Studios (now called Wax Studios, whose alums include Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and, yes, Neil Young). "I'm all about mixing in the old sounds," Kaz says, "and giving it that warm, analog feel. There is sampling, hip hop grooves and beats, but I also wanted good old fashioned meat and potatoes: bass, guitar, drums."

The sound may be warm, but his songs revisit the cold climate of Kaz's native Hamilton, Ont., and the even chillier emotional landscape of his lost years. In the astonishing hip-hop flavored debut single, "Old Man," Kaz offers a reluctant salute to his father, a larger-than-life figure who taught school by day and raced stock cars at night ("The life he demanded/Kept us all in a struggle/When he ruled with his fist/It kept us all out of trouble"). "No father issues here," says Kaz with a laugh.

Hard-edged rockers like the blustery "Bullet in My Hand," "The Underground" and the title track take listeners on a vertical drop into an abyss Kaz once knew all too well. "Most of it was written while the feelings were still there," he recalls. "My songs are written about real issues, real experiences. I like to bring listeners in deep, and give them time to look around."

Kaz starts "digging six feet up" (as he puts it) on songs like "Comeback," "Built to Last" and the irresistibly melodic "Driving to Kalifornia." Collectively, they describe the hard labor of rebuilding a life, then hitting the road, with the wintry east receding in the rear view mirror. The album ends with the acoustic-flavored "Past the Gates" and "When the Dust Settles Down," the former a hope-filled forward glance, the latter a last look back. He may be whistling past the graveyard, but it's such a pretty tune.

Kaz grew up in Hamilton, Ont., once a booming steel center on the shores of Lake Ontario, and now struggling in the global economic meltdown. He grew up in middle class home where his parents "struggled to pay the bills." Like his dad, Kaz loved cars and drag racing (Redlight King is named for the light "tree" that signals the start of a race). As he grew, music also began to take hold. He loved Queen, Springsteen, Dylan and Lennon no less than A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, Treach and Nas. He started writing early on, recording his first track at age 16. But in his teens, music took a back seat to judo. He was good enough for a shot at Canada's Olympic training center to prepare for the 2000 Games. But he didn't make the team -- a blow that would take a toll later.

Meanwhile, Kaz returned to music, landing a deal and releasing an album in Canada. That led to a Juno Award nomination for Best New Artist, but the affirmation wasn't enough to halt a steep slide. "You know why it's happening," he recalls of his struggle with substance abuse. "You don't know where the end is, you've lost all rationality. You're borderline insane. But in the end, you make a decision to start again, and the only way was to forgive myself for my mistakes."

It worked. Kaz came back strong, headed to California in a rebuilt '49 Mercury pick-up and converted his two-year nightmare into the song cycle that became "Something for the Pain." Says Kaz, "Writing songs when you're in a dark place is dangerous. The songs I wrote for this album I won't write again. I won't have to."

Just because he lives in Los Angeles now doesn't mean he's gone Hollywood. When the mood strikes, he takes his rebuilt 1950 Harley up the PCH, just to clear his head. Hot rodder that he is, Kaz is currently restoring a rare 1937 Lincoln Zephyr coupe, with plans to make "a film capturing the journey and process of bringing the car back to life," he says. "Hot rod culture runs deep in my roots."

Music runs even deeper, and with the release of "Something for the Pain," Kaz will take the show on the road very soon. He knows his music touches a raw nerve, but that's part of the appeal for him. "I hope people will be able to connect with it and take from it what they need," he says. "It's about the human condition. In the end, we're all the same."

"Toronto-area Christian rockers Thousand Foot Krutch first appeared in 1997, when Trevor McNevan, Joel Bruyere, and Steve Augustine started putting a worship song spin on a rap-metal sound similar to Limp Bizkit or Korn. After building a buzz around Ontario with numerous shows, a strong demo, and thriving trade of MP3s through its website, Thousand Foot Krutch signed with Diamante and issued Set It Off, its official debut, in March 2001. The album featured a rap-rockified version of EMF's "Unbelievable," tricked out with a Christian-themed rap from McNevan. TFK jumped to the much higher profile Tooth & Nail for September 2003's Phenomenon. They'd grown up considerably in the two years since Set It Off, and the new album reflected a more focused, rocking sound. The trio joined Kutless and FM Static for a late-2003/early-2004 tour." - Johnny Loftus, AllMusicGuide

* Ryan Hoke – Vocals
* Jeremy Edge – Guitar, Vocals
* Jamie Morral – Bass, Vocals
* Josh Hetrick – Drums

"Candlelight Red" deliver hard edged yet melodic, powerful
and emotion driven music. Hailing from central PA, the band has
completed their first full length cd with Grammy Nominated
Producer "David Ivory" and will soon be hitting the road on a
spring/summer tour (dates to be announced).

CLR beat out over 10,000 other bands to win the 2010 national
Guitar Center "Onstage" contest which landed them an opening
slot for "KISS". The band was chosen from among twenty two
regional contest winners by none other than Gene Simmons and Paul
Stanley of KISS. CLR had the honor of opening a show for KISS in
Pittsburgh later in 2010.

Candlelight Red followed up the Guitar Center contest victory
and their exploding regional buzz by inking a record deal with
Imagen Records in late 2010. The band had also recently opened up
for Buckcherry, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Hellyeah, The Damned
Things, Tantric and others. They just finished up a 30 day tour with Egypt Central and are slated to tour with Saving Abel into October.Their upcoming cd is scheduled
to be released in July.