Victory at Sea

Brighton, England's Blood Red Shoes feature Laura-Mary Carter (vocals/guitar) and Steven Ansell (drums/vocals), two enthusiastic punk-inspired brawlers who channel the clamor of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Duke Spirit, and Huggy Bear. Ansell, who performed with Cat on Form, and Carter, a former member of Lady Muck, came together in late 2004 upon the demise of their previous bands. With one song in tow, the angsty duo landed a gig and Blood Red Shoes were born; the name is reminiscent of Ginger Rogers, who allegedly had to redo a tap dance scene so many times that her white dancing shoes ended up covered in blood.

For nearly 20 years, singer-songwriter Michael McDermott buried himself in drugs and alcohol, and he surveys the toll his addiction took on his personal and professional life with remarkable candor. “I burned a lot of bridges and screwed things up pretty bad,” he states. “I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that it was just short of suicide by cop. I knew I had to stop, but it took a while for me to get the message.” He credits his wife and their young daughter, Rain, for finally pulling him through. “Seeing the way they look at you when you’re messed up – after a while you go, ‘I just can’t do this anymore. Something has to change.’ I’m so grateful I turned things around. I know it sounds cheesy, but I’m grateful for every day now. I try to lead a good life, and I’m making up for lost time. I’ve re-dedicated myself to making music I can be proud of.”

Fifty years, 11 CDs, 11 Doctors and 389 tracks. This is the release that Doctor Who fans worldwide have been waiting for, assembled after years of research and trawls through dusty archives and libraries. It's a comprehensive overview of the very special music that has accompanied the Doctor over his travels through time and space from William Hartnell in 1963 to present day Matt Smith. From Ron Grainer's iconic theme realised by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's Delia Derbyshire to Murray Gold's orchestral tapestries, this is a musical saga of monumental proportions. The esteemed collection of composers featured include Tristram Cary, Brian Hodgson, Wilfred Josephs, Dudley Simpson, Geoffrey Burgon, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb, Malcolm Clarke, Keff McCulloch, Dominic Glynn, John Debney and many more. The lavish 32 page booklet with the set includes liner notes from Doctor Who composer Mark Ayres on the history of music in the series and details of the episodes.

This 3CD set introduces one of the most distinguished Italian film composers to the Film Score Monthly catalog. Although Piero Piccioni (1921-2004) worked primarily on Italian-made films, the two scores presented here are for films with strong Hollywood connections. Like Lalo Schifrin, Piccioni successfully combined his proclivities for jazz with solid symphonic writing in films of many diverse genres.

The most acclaimed and enduring film music in Hollywood history, the original soundtracks of Star Wars Episodes I-VI will be reissued by Sony Classical in three new, definitive editions – Star Wars: The Ultimate Vinyl Collection (11 LPs), Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Edition (10 CDs plus DVD) and Star Wars: The Ultimate Digital Collection (hi-resolution download). All composed by the legendary five-time Oscar-winning composer, John Williams, these unique collector’s sets are being reissued after the latest chapter in the saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters.

A Quiet Place is an American opera in three acts, with music by Leonard Bernstein to a libretto by Stephen Wadsworth. The work is a sequel to Bernstein's earlier short opera Trouble in Tahiti. In its initial form, A Quiet Place was in one act, and followed Trouble in Tahiti after the intermission. The first performance was on 17 June 1983 by the Houston Grand Opera.

When you gaze upon the gorgeous artwork adorning the new Atlantean Kodex opus, does it remind you of another classic album cover? Look closely. If your metal mind went back through time to Bathory‘s Blood Fire Death, you win the Steel ov Approval. And it seems the similarity in art is anything but accidental. After impressing the metalverse with 2013s The White Goddess, the band took their sweet time crafting a followup, and the long-awaited The Course of Empire definitely dials up the Bathory-esque epic Viking side of Atlantean Kodex‘s mammoth heavy metal sound. Along with the band’s usual While Heaven Wept meets Manowar on Manilla Road take on oversized throwback metal, there’s a powerful Hammeheart influence under-girding the already titanic, soaring compositions, making for a heavier, darker sound. With over an hour of Homeric bombast and wanton excess to battle through, it takes a strong back and an iron will to weather this storm, so lash yourself to the mast, ignore the Siren’s song and let’s set sail to high adventure.