Between Heaven And Hell

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, who feature in their ranks current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., will celebrate their 10th anniversary by releasing a live album on June 24 via Century Media Records in Europe. Entitled "Apotheosis - Live 2012", the CD will contain 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band's "Few Against Many" tour in 2012. With a playing time of 69 minutes, the effort is a great overview of the band's career so far, which consists of seven studio albums. It also marks FIREWIND's final release with singer Apollo Papathanasio, who decided to leave the group at the end of last year. He has since been replaced by Kelly Sundown Carpenter (ADAGIO, BEYOND TWILIGHT) as session frontman for all 2013 live activities.

Spectral Mornings is the third release and the second post-Genesis album by British guitarist Steve Hackett. The album is the first recording to feature Hackett's first true touring band, consisting of his brother John Hackett on flute, guitar and bass pedals, long-time collaborator keyboardist Nick Magnus, bassist/vocalist Dik Cadbury, drummer John Shearer and vocalist Peter Hicks. In 2005, Spectral Mornings was remastered and re-released on Virgin Records. The new edition features updated liner notes and seven bonus tracks.

D is the debut album of composer Deuter, released in 1971 through Kuckuck Schallplatten.Beginning with moody bass and guitar plucking that wouldn't be a fraction out of place on albums by fellow German musicians like Ash Ra Tempel, D finds Deuter as both an accomplished composer and self-producer. It's not about simply technical virtuosity, of course, as the music throughout D demonstrates. At once epic in scope and with a sly, careful sense of entrancement, this is psychedelic music in the immediately post-psych world. The multi-part "Babylon," which takes up most of the album's first half, exhibits as much metallic flash and snarl on guitar as it does drowsy, dreamy studio treatment; keyboards are mixed with an endless amount of backwards taping.

To his credit, Steve Hackett learned from the mistakes made on Please Don't Touch, and delivered a much-improved mix of songs and instrumentals on 1975's Spectral Mornings. With a workable backing band that includes John Shearer, Nick Magnus, and former Decameron bassist Dik Cadbury, the ex-Genesis guitarist exploits his strengths: progressive instrumentals that skip between heaven and hell, pastoral pop songs, and a healthy dose of English humor…

Short Stories is the debut album by Jon & Vangelis, the collaborative effort between Jon Anderson of the prog rock band Yes and electronic music pioneer Evangelos Papathanassiou. Although this was not the first time that the two had worked together; Vangelis had auditioned to be Rick Wakeman's replacement in Yes in 1974, but the role was given to Patrick Moraz. In 1975 Jon Anderson sung on "So Long Ago So Clear" from Heaven and Hell. Vangelis later contributed to the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album in 1989..