Seven Deadly’, the humungous new studio album from massively successful multi-million selling veteran classic British hard rock / metal band UFO, crashed straight in to the top slot of the UK rock chart today, simultaneously debuting in the national album chart at 63 and at number 9 in the UK Indie chart.
‘Seven Deadly’, an atmospherically dense fabric, consisting of exceptionally classy guitars, tight rock grooves and mesmerizing vocals, has won numerous rave reviews in the UK rock press. Classic Rock Magazine’s Geoff Barton awarded the album 8/10 in his lead review in the February issue, stating that “UFO’s first studio album since 2009’s ‘The Visitor’ is bursting with creativity and athleticism…It’s positively febrile. Mogg, in particular, is at the top of his game. He carries the record with his passion. His singing has all the vim and vigour it had on ‘Strangers In The Night’, their legendary 1979 live album; maybe even more. His lyrics remain as erudite and evocative as anything Mellencamp, say, has ever written. ‘Seven Deadly’ begins in frantic fashion before settling into a groove that’s powerful and reflective, complex and involving. ‘Mojo Town’, the third track, is a gigantic jangling blues monster that brings guitarist Vinnie Moore to the fore; you won’t believe this so-called ‘technical musician’ can play so raw. ‘Burn Your House Down’ is packed full of loping menace; ‘Angel Station’ builds from a gentle balled into something sprawling and magnificent, complete with the added frisson of female backing vocals…In an album of numerous high spots, and tons of twists and turns, the best is left to last. ‘Waving Goodbye’, enhanced by Tommy Newton’s massive production job, is as mournful as it is monumental.” Next week the UFO live juggernaut will set off on the road to play the following UK tour dates:-
15th March – Cambridge – The Junction
16th March – Edinburgh – MV Picture House
17th March – Newcastle – O2 Academy
18th March – Leeds – O2 Academy
20th March – Dublin – Academy
21st March – Belfast – Spring & Airbrake
23rd March – Milton Keynes – The Stables
24th March – Tavistock – The Wharf
25th March – Bristol – O2 Academy
27th March – Nottingham – Rock City
28th March – Norwich – Waterfront
30th March – Manchester – HMV Ritz
31st March – Wolverhampton – Wulfrun Hall
1st April – Southampton – The Brook (Sold Out)
3rd April – Brighton – Concorde 2
4th April – London – Forum
History
There are even more stories about UFO than they’ve composed songs. Any band who have been in the music business for over 40 years are bound to have experienced difficult times, but also massive highs and spectacular events. UFO’s success story began in London way back in 1969, when vocalist Phil Mogg, drummer Andy Parker, guitarist Mick Bolton and bassist Pete Way formed the group, borrowing the band name from a legendary London music club. Even in the early Seventies, the band distinguished themselves with their very own, unmistakable style, touching a nerve among their growing following with rock numbers like ‘Prince Kajuku’, ‘Follow You Home’ and ‘C’mon Everybody’ from their albums UFO 1, Flying and UFO Live.
The global breakthrough arrived when German guitarist, Michael Schenker, joined the fold in 1973, who left the Scorpions to take up an offer by Phil Mogg and Pete Way. This line-up of UFO broke through into rock’s big time with their Phenomenon album in 1974, closely followed by Force It in 1975 and No Heavy Pettin’ in 1976, featuring classics such as ‘Doctor Doctor’, ‘Shoot, Shoot’, and ‘Rock Bottom’.
Following the arrival of keyboarder/rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond in 1976, UFO released two more studio albums Lights Out (1977) and Obsession (1978), including the hit singles ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Only You Can Rock Me’. Their double live album Strangers In The Night came out in 1979 and is regarded to this day as one of the best live releases of all time, while also signalling the ‘end’ of the Mogg, Way, Schenker, Parker & Raymond line-up.
The reorganised band underwent fifteen years marked by various eras and numerous line-up changes. To everyone’s surprise, autumn 1993 saw the return of the classic UFO line-up, which brought out Walk On Water, their first joint effort after one and a half decades, and embarked on a world tour. However, Schenker left UFO during the Walk On Water tour again to continue working with his own group, MSG, while Mogg & Way went on to release their second album, Chocolate Box. The UFO albums Covenant and Sharks, recorded by Mogg, Way and Schenker, arrived in the stores in 2000 and 2002. With Schenker returning to MSG yet again, Vinnie Moore joined the UFO family, and the album You Are Here was recorded with Jason Bonham on drums in 2004. During the subsequent world tour, UFO cut a show in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, which was later released as a double live album, Showtime, along with a DVD of the same name which featured additional bonus material. Later, Bonham made his farewells to join Foreigner and was replaced by UFO’s original drummer, Andy Parker, who rejoined to play on The Monkey Puzzle studio album (2006), 2009’s much acclaimed The Visitor album, and now the new opus Seven Deadly.
Seven Deadly, a compact collection of 10 very special, soaring, instantly recognisable UFO hard rock anthems, marks yet another major milestone on the illustrious path of this celebrated band’s history.
Lethal – Roland Hyams – roland@workhardpr.com / 020 8677 8466 / 07768 156392.
www.ufo-music.info
www.spv.de
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