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Heaven & Hell’s Final Chapter With Ronnie James Dio Gets a Stunning New Boxed Set

Eric Alper
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Heaven & Hell’s Final Chapter With Ronnie James Dio Gets a Stunning New Boxed Set

Ronnie James Dio’s final chapter with members of Black Sabbath was one of heavy metal’s great unexpected reunions, and Rhino Records is giving it the treatment it deserves. ‘Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009’ is out now as a 7 LP and 4 CD/Blu-ray boxed set, documenting the complete arc of Heaven & Hell from their triumphant 2007 return through the end of their run together.

The collection brings together the full story in one place. It starts with the 2007 Radio City Music Hall performance, follows through the Top 10 studio album ‘The Devil You Know’ in 2009, and closes with ‘Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell,’ the live album recorded at Wacken that same year. Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice operating at full force, with the chemistry of musicians who’d spent decades apart and came back sounding like no time had passed at all.

The set includes eight tracks making their vinyl debut, among them studio recordings from ‘The Dio Years’ and select live performances. Most significantly, the complete ‘Live From Radio City Music Hall’ performance appears on vinyl for the very first time. Both editions come with an illustrated book featuring new liner notes by Hugh Gilmour, a replica tour book, and a poster. The Blu-ray adds video from Radio City Music Hall and Wacken, plus band interviews.

For anyone who witnessed this reunion or discovered it afterward, ‘Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009’ is a definitive document of one of heavy metal’s most emotionally charged final acts. Dio passed away in 2010, making this period all the more precious.

‘Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009’ Tracklisting:

CD 1: The Devil You Know

  1. Atom and Evil
  2. Fear
  3. Bible Black
  4. Double The Pain
  5. Rock And Roll Angel
  6. The Turn Of The Screw
  7. Eating The Cannibals
  8. Follow The Tears
  9. Neverwhere
  10. Breaking Into Heaven
  11. The Devil Cried
  12. Shadow Of The Wind
  13. Ear In The Wall

CD 2: Live from Radio City Music Hall

  1. E5150 / After All (The Dead)
  2. The Mob Rules
  3. Children Of The Sea
  4. Lady Evil
  5. I
  6. The Sign Of The Southern Cross
  7. Voodoo
  8. The Devil Cried

CD 3: Live from Radio City Music Hall

  1. Computer God
  2. Falling Off the Edge Of The World
  3. Shadow Of The Wind
  4. Die Young
  5. Heaven And Hell
  6. Lonely Is the Word
  7. Neon Knights

CD 4: Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell

  1. Mob Rules
  2. Children Of The Sea
  3. I
  4. Bible Black
  5. Time Machine
  6. Fear
  7. Falling Off The Edge Of The World
  8. Follow The Tears
  9. Die Young
  10. Heaven And Hell
  11. Neon Knights

Irish Alt-Pop Singer-Songwriter FYA FOX Makes a Powerful Return With “Sweet Goodbye”

Eric Alper
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Irish Alt-Pop Singer-Songwriter FYA FOX Makes a Powerful Return With “Sweet Goodbye”

FYA FOX has been away for a while, and the reasons are deeply personal. The birth of her daughter and a motor accident kept the Irish singer-songwriter from releasing music since 2023’s “Duvet Day,” named Hot Press Track of the Day. Her return, “Sweet Goodbye,” is out now, and it arrives with the kind of emotional weight that only comes from songs written close to the bone.

The single is a tribute to lost loved ones, sitting in the complicated space between grief, remembrance, and the slow process of moving forward. “Sweet Goodbye explores not being able to share big moments in my life with loved ones who have passed,” FYA FOX says. “It came together really naturally because it’s so close to my heart. I wrote the bones of the song at home on guitar and then went into the studio with some really strong sonic references.” She adds, “I feel really excited but nervous about this release as it’s been a minute. But it’s authentic and honest and I hope listeners feel that when they hear it.”

Produced by longtime collaborator Matthew Weir, the track merges FYA FOX’s electronic roots with a new pop-folk direction, minimal and refined in a way that lets the emotion breathe. It’s a deliberate sonic shift that suits the material perfectly, the kind of production choice that serves the song rather than decorating it.

A Whelan’s Ones To Watch alumna and VIP Magazine Rising Star, FYA FOX has been building a reputation as one of Irish pop’s most earnest and gifted songwriters. “Sweet Goodbye” is the first step in a fresh creative chapter, and it’s a deeply compelling one.

Brand New Pop Provocateur MEEK Arrives Fully Formed With Debut EP and Instant Anthem “Fabulous”

Eric Alper
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Brand New Pop Provocateur MEEK Arrives Fully Formed With Debut EP and Instant Anthem “Fabulous”

Writing now.

Brand New Pop Provocateur MEEK Arrives Fully Formed With Debut EP and Instant Anthem “Fabulous”

TAGS: MEEK, Sophie Muller, Sade, Annie Lennox, Beyoncé, Kylie, Blur, BMG, Ku Bar,

MEEK doesn’t ease you in. Her debut three-track EP, out now via BMG, opens with “Fabulous,” a chant-ready pop anthem shaped by British humour, queer nightlife, and a complete refusal to shrink. It’s a calling-card that works immediately, and the story of its first public play proves exactly why. At Soho’s legendary Ku Bar, the entire room was screaming the chorus back before the first verse was done. “I jumped up on the bar and started lip-syncing along,” MEEK says. “I did half of the first intro and then everyone, literally everyone in the bar, was screaming, ‘I’m so fucking fabulous.'”

The video for “Fabulous” was directed by Sophie Muller, whose credits include Sade, Annie Lennox, Beyoncé, Kylie, and Blur. Set in Blackpool, it captures MEEK tearing through the northern seaside town in a joyful, gloriously unhinged blur of glam-trash energy. It’s instantly iconic in the way only the best pop videos manage to be.

The EP’s two additional tracks show genuine range. “Brixton” is a stripped-back, old-school South London portrait, warm and grounded. “I Want Love, But Not That Much” is all acerbic wit and sharp-edged humour aimed squarely at an ex. Three tracks, three different angles, all connected by MEEK’s soaring vocals and a point of view that’s entirely her own.

This is a debut that arrives knowing exactly what it is. Bold, playful, emotionally honest, and built for rooms full of people who need a song to scream. MEEK is the real thing.

Washington DC Modern Rockers Waking Stone Unleash Fiery New Single “Make Money”

Eric Alper
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Washington DC Modern Rockers Waking Stone Unleash Fiery New Single “Make Money”

Waking Stone have been building toward something with their debut album, and “Make Money” makes the strongest case yet for why this Washington DC band deserves your attention. It’s the fourth single from their forthcoming record, and it hits differently from everything that came before it. Where their earlier releases earned praise for their upbeat, hopeful energy and accessible sound, “Make Money” goes somewhere darker and more urgent.

The track is a direct, unfiltered takedown of corporate greed and the billionaire class gambling recklessly with everyone else’s future. It’s blunt, it’s heavy, and it’s exactly the kind of rock music that feels necessary right now. The lyrics don’t trade in abstraction. They paint a vivid picture of a society pushed to its limits by unchecked ambition, and the music matches that energy beat for beat.

Critics have already taken notice of Waking Stone’s earlier singles, pointing to their “palpable freedom,” “fresh energy,” and a sound that genuinely stands apart in the current modern rock landscape. “Make Money” doesn’t abandon that identity. It sharpens it, pushing the band’s signature high-energy approach into more intense and confrontational territory without losing any of the momentum that made those first three singles land.

The full album is on the way, and if “Make Money” is any indication of where Waking Stone are headed, it’s going to be worth the wait. Four singles in and this band is still accelerating.

The Numbers Behind the Biggest Concert Tours in History Are Absolutely Staggering (Updated For April, 2026)

Eric Alper
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The Numbers Behind the Biggest Concert Tours in History Are Absolutely Staggering (Updated For April, 2026)

Here’s a number that reframes everything: $2,077,618,725. That’s what Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed across 149 shows between 2023 and 2024, making it the first concert tour in history to surpass $2 billion. Per show, that’s an average of nearly $14 million. Every single night.

What the all-time highest-grossing tours list really tells you is how dramatically the music business shifted when recorded music stopped being the primary revenue source. In the 21st century, touring became the industry’s financial engine, and the numbers reflect that in ways that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. The first tours to crack $100 million were Michael Jackson’s Bad World Tour and Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, both running from 1987 to 1989. That barrier feels almost quaint now.

Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour sits at No. 2 with $1.524 billion across 223 shows, and it’s still ongoing, making it the first tour to officially report crossing $1 billion in August 2024. Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road comes in at No. 3 with $939 million across 330 shows over five years, the longest run in the top 20. The contrast with Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour is striking: 56 shows in a single year, among the shortest in the top 20, and still one of the biggest grossing runs in history.

The Rolling Stones shadow this entire list in ways the raw numbers don’t fully capture. They set the all-time touring revenue record three separate times, in 1990, 1995, and 2006, more than any other act. Their Voodoo Lounge Tour held the record for highest-grossing tour of all time for 11 consecutive years. They and U2 have each mounted the highest-grossing tour of the year eight times, a record no other act comes close to matching.

Ed Sheeran appears twice in the top five, with the +−=÷× Tour at No. 4 ($875.7 million, still ongoing) and the ÷ Tour at No. 5 ($776.2 million). That’s a level of sustained live dominance that belongs in a separate conversation entirely. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2023-2025 Tour lands at No. 7 with $729.7 million across 129 shows. The Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn Tour sits at No. 8 with $693.2 million and is still running. Harry Styles’ Love On Tour generated $617.3 million across 169 shows. Pink’s Summer Carnival rounds out the top 10 at $584.7 million across 97 shows.

Top 10 Highest-Grossing Concert Tours of All Time:

  1. Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour (2023–2024) – $2.077B – 149 shows
  1. Coldplay, Music of the Spheres World Tour (2022–2025) – $1.524B – 223 shows
  1. Elton John, Farewell Yellow Brick Road (2018–2023) – $939M – 330 shows
  1. Ed Sheeran, +−=÷× Tour (2022–2025) – $875.7M – 169 shows
  1. Ed Sheeran, ÷ Tour (2017–2019) – $776.2M – 255 shows
  1. U2, 360° Tour (2009–2011) – $736.4M – 110 shows
  1. Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band, 2023–2025 Tour – $729.7M – 129 shows
  1. The Weeknd, After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026) – $693.2M – 110 shows
  1. Harry Styles, Love On Tour (2021–2023) – $617.3M – 169 shows
  1. Pink, Summer Carnival (2023–2024) – $584.7M – 97 shows

NYC Hardcore Pioneers Agnostic Front Drop “You Say” and Announce European “Echoes In Eternity” Tour

Eric Alper
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NYC Hardcore Pioneers Agnostic Front Drop “You Say” and Announce European “Echoes In Eternity” Tour

Agnostic Front have been at this for over four decades, and “You Say” proves they haven’t lost a single degree of intensity. The new lyric video is out now for the track lifted from their latest album ‘Echoes In Eternity,’ and it hits exactly the way you’d expect from one of hardcore’s most uncompromising founding forces. Gang vocals, charging guitars, thundering drums, and a message that doesn’t flinch.

Vocalist Roger Miret doesn’t mince words about where the song comes from: “‘You Say’ is a war cry against the normalization of corruption and empty promises. Whether it be governments, corporations, or straight up con artists, they all have the same interests. Their own. Our message has always been and will be ‘F**k you’ to these entities, and to hold them accountable.” That’s Agnostic Front in a sentence, and it’s been that way since 1982.

‘Echoes In Eternity’ reaffirms everything that made this band essential from the start. Roger Miret’s inimitable roar and Vinnie Stigma’s legendary guitar work remain as vital as ever, channeling the raw street-level energy of New York’s Lower East Side that sparked an entire genre. The band that helped build New York hardcore and crossover thrash is still operating at full force.

Bristol Rock Trio Masca Share New Single “Diggin'” From Debut Album ‘Love Letters’

Eric Alper
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Bristol Rock Trio Masca Share New Single “Diggin'” From Debut Album ‘Love Letters’

Masca’s debut album ‘Love Letters’ arrives April 3rd via Cold Hard Bangers, and new single “Diggin'” gives you a sharp, immediate sense of what the Bristol trio are about. It’s rock with a pop sparkle and pop with a rock snarl, and it lands with the kind of political directness that feels entirely at home in the current climate. Vocalist and guitarist Christina Maynard describes it as “a song about not being able to see the other side, getting so entrenched with your own views that you’re unable to take a step back. Left vs right.”

The track features guest vocals from Ellie Godwin of PEACH and Aisling Rhiannon of Sans Froid, two fellow Bristolians who bring additional texture to an already richly layered piece of songwriting. It’s indicative of Masca’s broader approach, glittering melodies sitting alongside blistering riffs, music built for curious minds who also want to move.

‘Love Letters’ covers serious ground across its eleven tracks. “Oxytocin” is a feelgood song Maynard wrote for her young son while pregnant with him. “Fitting In” takes direct aim at billionaires damaging the world. “DWIW” is about working hospitality on minimum wage. It’s an album with genuine things to say, recorded in part at The Louisiana’s basement studio and finished with vocals tracked in a duvet-lined home booth Maynard built herself, fairy lights and all.

Masca formed in 2021 during lockdown, with Maynard and Hamilton livestreaming jam sessions from their tiny Bristol flat just to cover the mortgage. A breakout set at 2000trees Festival followed, a trio completed by bassist Ben Holyoake, and now a debut album that feels like everything that origin story was building toward.

‘Love Letters’ Tracklisting:

Act My Age

Elevate

Love Letters

Oxytocin

Cry Baby

Sucker

Fitting In

DWIW

Bones

Diggin’

Old Friend

Masca Live Dates:

May 14 – Cardiff @ Fuel Rock Bar

May 28 – Luton @ The Castle

May 29 – Brighton @ The Hope and Ruin

May 30 – Southampton @ Heartbreakers

June 5 – Sheffield @ Sidney and Matilda

June 6 – Birmingham @ Sunflower Lounge

Polish Heavy Rockers Misscore Drop Cinematic New Single “Domino” via DarkTunes Music Group

Eric Alper
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Polish Heavy Rockers Misscore Drop Cinematic New Single “Domino” via DarkTunes Music Group

Misscore have been building steadily since solidifying their lineup in 2023, and “Domino” makes it clear the momentum isn’t slowing down. The new single is out now via DarkTunes Music Group, and it’s the kind of track that grabs you immediately, blending modern alternative rock with cinematic darkness and the kind of emotional weight that lingers well after the last note.

Vocalist Natalia Rygiel is direct about where the song comes from: “‘Domino’ was written as a reaction to control disguised as comfort. We recorded it instinctively, chasing tension rather than perfection. The song captures the moment when one small move breaks the illusion, and everything begins to fall around us.” That tension is all over the track, and Rygiel’s commanding vocal performance carries it with real authority.

The band from Lubrza, Poland, features Rygiel on vocals, Mateusz DźwigaÅ‚a on bass and keyboards, Maciej Przybylski on guitars, and Jarek Bielecki on drums. Drawing from Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot, and Linkin Park while building something distinctly their own, Misscore released their debut full-length ‘DRᛜWN’ in early 2024 before following it with ‘Hypocrisy’ in May 2025 via DarkTunes, a darker and more mature record that marked a significant step forward for the band.

“Domino” signals the next chapter, and with a full schedule of live dates planned for 2026 and an international fanbase already stretching from mainland Europe into the UK, Misscore’s rise on the global rock scene is gathering real force.

Blues-Rock Singer Lena Morris Bares Her Soul on Live-Recorded EP ‘Rouge’

Eric Alper
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Blues-Rock Singer Lena Morris Bares Her Soul on Live-Recorded EP ‘Rouge’

Lena Morris didn’t go into a studio to polish something. She went in to capture something real. ‘Rouge,’ her second EP and first concept record, was recorded live at Motif Music Studio in Paris, bass, drums, and rhythm guitar all tracked in real time, and the result is exactly as raw and immediate as that approach suggests. It’s out now, and it hits with the kind of urgency that only comes from a band playing in the same room at the same time.

The concept is a five-card cross tarot spread, with each of the four tracks embodying a card and a corresponding emotional state. Nostalgia, passion, anxiety, and acceptance. It’s a framework that gives the EP genuine thematic coherence without ever feeling academic or distant. The songs do the work. The structure just gives them room to breathe.

“Buying a Donkey” opens with a longing for instinctive freedom. “Red” captures the exact moment desire reignites after monotony. “Young Blood” calls back to a younger, freer self as a guide through adult anxiety. “Dancing In Hell” closes the record by choosing to move with fear rather than against it. Four tracks, four emotional states, one fully realized artistic statement. “Red” and “Young Blood” have already accumulated over 86,000 streams on Spotify combined.

Morris also designed and illustrated the cover artwork herself, making ‘Rouge’ a fully self-contained creative vision from start to finish. No autotune, no artificial intelligence, no digital instruments. That’s not just a production choice. It’s a declaration. Inspired by the aesthetics of 1970s blues-rock and filtered through a sharp contemporary sensibility, ‘Rouge’ is the sound of an artist operating entirely on her own terms.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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