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Spotify Launches Ramadan Hub with Curated Playlists and Podcasts for Reflection, Wellness, and Celebration

Eric Alper
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Spotify Launches Ramadan Hub with Curated Playlists and Podcasts for Reflection, Wellness, and Celebration

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience this year with Spotify, where you can discover content designed to nourish your soul, stimulate your mind, and energize your body. Explore our curated recommendations below and find your perfect audio companion in the Ramadan hub.

Nourishing the soul: Spiritual sounds for Ramadan

Music can be a powerful tool for reflection and connection. Spotify offers a variety of Ramadan-inspired playlists to enhance your spiritual journey.

  • Ramadaniyat captures the cultural and spiritual essence of the month with traditional Islamic songs focused on pure vocals and spiritual lyrics.
  • Featuring the soothing sounds of the oud, Chill-oud is ideal for unwinding after a day of fasting and enhancing the tranquility of your Ramadan evenings.
  • For moments of contemplation between prayers, Duaa features a selection of supplications, an integral part of Islamic worship.
  • South Asian Sufi presents Sufi devotional music, known for its rich adaptations of Sufi poetry and enigmatic themes, creating a profound spiritual experience.
  • Titrat features soundtracks from popular Ramadan TV series, a blend of dramatic scores, comedic beats, and poignant melodies that reflect the rich cultural fabric of the Arab world.
  • As the sun sets, the Iftar playlist provides a serene atmosphere, mirroring the gratitude and connection shared as families and friends gather for the fast-breaking meal.

Enriching the mind: Podcasts for reflection and inspiration

Spotify’s podcast selection offers thought-provoking content to stimulate your mind during Ramadan.

  • Finjan with Abdul Rahman Abu Maleh invites listeners to explore new perspectives and gain insights into a variety of topics, from technology and entrepreneurship to personal stories and cultural discussions.
  • Omam Podcast puts a unique spin on the stories of the Holy Quran, allowing listeners to experience these narratives through sensory, evocative storytelling.
  • In Indonesia, video podcast creators are embracing Ramadan with special segments designed to inspire and entertain. Check out Biar Ga Nyesel for mindfulness tips, Rapot for lighthearted iftar inspiration, and PODCAST ANCUR for heartfelt stories from Indonesians living abroad.

Strengthening the body: Music for movement and preparation

Taking care of your physical well-being is also an important aspect of the sacred month. Here are some playlists to help you stay active and energized.

  • As you prepare your suhoor and iftar meals, Cooking Time and the Laper Parah mood mix provide uplifting and catchy soundtracks to enhance your kitchen experience.
  • Need an energy boost during your Ramadan workout? Hit play on Fitness and Health. And to stay energized for a more productive day while fasting, check out the Lebih Produktif di Ramadan mood mix.

Head to the Ramadan hub to discover a world of audio inspiration.

Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

Eric Alper
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Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

Spotify continues to work daily to lift up new voices, providing creators with opportunities to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, its in-house publishing imprint, the platform has partnered with various publishers and authors to license and produce hundreds of titles.

Starting today, Spotify Audiobooks is launching a new website encouraging independent authors to submit short-form stories for audiobook creation and publishing consideration.

“Spotify Audiobooks is thrilled to be opening submissions for short-form content written by independent authors who are as passionate about audiobooks as we are,” said Leah Kleynhans, Spotify Audiobooks Producer. “We know Spotify users will love exploring these intense, bite-sized listens, and expanding our audiobooks catalog in this way gives fans even more choice in the content they love to consume on our platform.”

This is a global program, open to any author with an English-language short-form story who controls their own audio rights for that work.

If Spotify chooses to move forward with an author’s submission, Spotify will publish the audiobook, handling all aspects of production, distribution to major audiobook retailers, and payment of an advance and royalties.

How to Submit a Short-Form Story to Spotify Audiobooks:

  • Visit the short-form audiobooks site, which includes frequently asked questions and a link to the submission page.
  • Ensure the story is a novelette of approximately 10,000-20,000 words.
  • Focus on one of three genres: romance, mystery/thriller, or sci-fi/fantasy.
  • Cross-genre works such as romantasy, dark romance thriller, mystery sci-fi, or psychological thriller are encouraged.
  • Do not submit erotica or children’s content.
  • Submissions will be chosen on a rolling basis.

Spotify remains committed to lowering the barrier to entry so that more authors than ever can have their books heard. As part of this initiative, Spotify is also encouraging independent authors who prefer self-publication to upload existing short-form audiobooks via Findaway Voices. With Spotify Audiobooks, authors have the opportunity to have their books produced and distributed through Spotify, while Findaway Voices offers a path for existing content to reach new fans.

Spotify’s Loud & Clear 2024 Report Highlights Record Royalties, Global Artist Growth, and Streaming’s Future

Eric Alper
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0
Spotify’s Loud & Clear 2024 Report Highlights Record Royalties, Global Artist Growth, and Streaming’s Future

Spotify has just unveiled this year’s Loud & Clear report, a transparent look at how the streaming economy continues to support artists and fuel the music industry’s explosive growth. Loud & Clear is an annual initiative to demystify how artists earn money through streaming, clarify royalty distribution, and highlight the growing and evolving global music landscape. The latest report underscores record-breaking revenues, increased artist diversity, and a more borderless music industry than ever before.

A booming industry

Music streaming services now boast more than 500 million paying subscribers worldwide (IFPI), and a future with one billion paying listeners is within reach. In 2024, Spotify alone paid out $10 billion to the music industry—more than any single company has ever contributed in one year. The best news? This surge in payouts is increasing payouts for artists at all levels.

Breaking borders and expanding representation

The music industry’s growth isn’t just financial—it’s cultural. More artists are succeeding across borders, with more languages and diverse voices breaking into the mainstream. In 2024, the artists who generated at least $100K in royalties were recording music in more than 50 languages, while the artists who generated at least $1 million on Spotify recorded music in 17 different languages, both more than double the languages at those thresholds in 2017.

Women are also making historic gains on Spotify. Female artists generating more than $1 million annually have quadrupled since 2017. Markets like Canada, South Korea, Sweden, and Argentina see particularly strong female representation amongst their top artists.

The export factor: global fandom fuels artist success

Artists today are no longer bound by their home markets. Over 50% of the artists who generated at least $1K in royalties on Spotify in 2024 made the majority of their earnings from listeners outside their home country. This demonstrates the pivotal role that export plays in the success and sustainability of an artist’s career. Around one-third of them saw more than 75% of their royalties come from outside their home countries, showing the power of global streaming in driving artist income. And at the $100,000 level, the connections run even deeper—over 80% of these artists have teamed up with musicians from abroad.

More artists, more success

Spotify has helped level the playing field for artists at every stage of their careers. Since 2017, the number of artists generating between $1,000 and $10 million annually has tripled. Notably, nearly a quarter of the 12,500 artists generating over $100,000 in 2024 weren’t even releasing music professionally five years ago.

Success in the streaming era doesn’t require a decade-spanning catalog nor a chart-topping hit.

More than 80% of Spotify’s top-royalty generating artists weren’t even featured in its Global Daily Top 50, proving that independent musicians and niche genres can thrive in the new streaming economy. Meanwhile, in 2024, independent artists and labels collectively generated more than $5 billion from Spotify — representing about half of total Spotify royalties for another year.

Record-breaking royalties and industry impact

Spotify continues to lead the music industry in payouts, with more than $10 billion distributed in music royalties in 2024 alone—increasing payouts tenfold over the past ten years. The company has now paid out around $60 billion since its inception. Music publishing payouts have also hit new peaks, surpassing $4.5 billion to songwriters and publishing rights holders in just the past two years  – with double-digit percentage growth from 2023 to 2024 alone.

What’s next: fans driving the future of music

The future of music is being shaped by its most passionate force: fans. New opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and creative expression will emerge as they continue to embrace and support artists across streaming platforms. With global access to diverse sounds and cultures stronger than ever, artists will keep pushing boundaries, and fans will play an even more significant role in shaping the next era of music. The industry is not just growing, it’s evolving into an ecosystem where listeners and creators thrive together.

Envy Of None Release New Single “The Story” Ahead of ‘Stygian Wavz’ Album, Out March 28

Eric Alper
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Envy Of None Release New Single “The Story” Ahead of ‘Stygian Wavz’ Album, Out March 28

Ahead of the release of their new album Stygian Wavz (March 28th, Kscope), American/Canadian fourpiece Envy Of None have shared a brand-new single today. The second track from the new album, ‘The Story’ holds a special place in each of the band member’s hearts and is brought to life with a stunning new video by Jaden D.

Speaking about the new single and inspiration behind the video, songwriter and vocalist Maiah Wynne shared “I wrote about wanting to be better, to grow, and the sense of desperation that comes with that desire. To me, the song is about the struggle of not being able to break bad cycles. I had been stuck for a very long time and was trying to be better. I think it’s a theme a lot of people can connect with in some way. Whether it’s habits, addiction, self-sabotage, or just unhealthy patterns, we all are trapped by something we are trying to break away from. If I had the power to write my own story, I’d want to be the hero, but so often I am my own villain.”

Envy Of None announced their new album back in January and have so far shared 3 standout singles, ‘Not Dead Yet’, ‘Under The Stars’ and ‘Stygian Waves’. To promote the album, the band recently appeared on Talk Shop Live in the US with host Steve Harkins to discuss the creation of Stygian Wavz, the writing and recording process and plans for the future.

Though they’d never describe themselves as such, Envy Of None are the living, breathing definition of a supergroup. No other band on earth could rightly claim to have Alex Lifeson – one of rock’s most influential visionaries – heading up guitar duties, with Andy Curran of Coney Hatch and Soho 69 overseeing bass/programming as well as producer extraordinaire Alfio Annibalini on keyboards. However, the star in this band could very well be its youngest member – American singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne – whose wonderfully emotive vocals are able to spin the music in new exciting directions that thrill to the core.

On their self-titled debut of 2022, the group were able to prove that they were a lot more than the sum of their parts, with an abundance of panache and finesse poured into a contemporary alt rock sound that was hard to predict and even harder to categorise. This year’s sophomore release, Stygian Wavz, is the sound of a band basking in the radiant glow of creative confidence and coming into their own, staggering the listener with every twist and turn encased within their heady mix of genre-splicing brilliance.

OK Go Releases Two New Tracks from And the Adjacent Possible, Out April 11

Eric Alper
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OK Go Releases Two New Tracks from And the Adjacent Possible, Out April 11

OK Go have surprised fans with the release of two additional tracks off their forthcoming fifth studio album And the Adjacent Possible. The tracks include the bright, synth-splashed “Take Me with You” released with a psychedelic official visualizer by David McLeod. The second track is the pensive ballad “This Is How It Ends”. And the Adjacent Possible will arrive on April 11.

OK Go set the stage for And the Adjacent Possible with the January release of the album’s lead single “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” alongside a stunning official music video. Adding to the band’s vast catalog of ground-breaking music videos – they’ve danced on treadmills and with dogs; in time-lapse and slow motion; in zero-gravity, Rube Goldberg machines, and Super Bowl commercials – the clip for “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” features 64 videos on 64 phones laid out as a moving mosaic. The band did more than a thousand takes over the course of eight days, and the final video crams over two hours and twenty minutes of single-take clips into one frame.

The music video for “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” premiered on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and arrived to widespread critical acclaim. Consequence proclaimed, “Come for the song, stay for the wildly ambitious music video,” while Fast Company lauded, “OK Go has reintroduced itself as a creative force with a new video that’s a whimsical riff on modern digital life.” Apple CEO, Tim Cook tweeted, “OK Go knows how to make an incredible music video!” and Shots declared, “Whenever a new OK Go video drops, the creative community’s mixture of anticipation and professional jealousy is palpable.” The New York Times praised, “OK Go’s latest single – from what will be its first album since 2014 – arrives, as usual, with an ingenious, playful, effort-packed video clip: a kaleidoscopic mosaic of intricately coordinated cellphone videos, directed by the band’s lead singer, Damian Kulash. Yet the audio can stand on its own.”

Gene Loves Jezebel & Slim Jim Phantom Hit the Road for 2025’s “Hit & Run” Tour

Eric Alper
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0
Gene Loves Jezebel & Slim Jim Phantom Hit the Road for 2025’s “Hit & Run” Tour

Two Cleopatra label favorites, Goth pioneers Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel and Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom (Headcat, 13 Cats, Swing Cats, Voodoo Tones) launch their much-anticipated Hit & Run tour of the United States on April 8. Eighties hit maker (and Pretty In Pink soundtrack standout) Belouis Some is also on the bill.

Key figures on the 1980s US college/alternative rock scene, Gene Loves Jezebel were responsible for a stream of immortal club and MTV hits, among them “Jealous,” “The Motion of Love,” “Heartache,” “Josephina” and “Desire (Come and Get It).”

This is Gene Loves Jezebel’s first American visit since the release of their acclaimed 2023 album Love Death Sorrow X; 2025 also marks the 40th anniversary of the core trio of Aston, bassist Pete Rizzo and guitarist James Stevenson playing together – in fact, Stevenson’s first tour with the band was the US.

“The tour is definitely something we’re looking forward to celebrating this milestone with,” says Aston. “It’s amazing that we’re still together after all this time!

“We’ve never stopped creating new music together and we are great friends. We’ll be playing so many of the classic GLJ songs of course, along with our personal favorites from the last two albums (Dance Underwater was released in 2017).”

He is also excited about the line-up for the tour. “We played a wonderful show with Belouis Some in London recently. Such a great band and it was a pleasure to share the same stage.”

Aston and Slim Jim go back even further; “I’ll never forget seeing Slim Jim with The Stray Cats at the Venue in Victoria, London, when they first came on the scene, and they were sensational. Jim and his beautiful wife, Jennie Vee are a striking rhythm section and I can’t wait to play these shows with them.”

Slim Jim also has a new Cleopatra release behind him. Issued at the end of February, the tumultuous rockabilly stomp “Livin’ Ain’t Easy” is the first single by Voodoo Tones, a new band formed by Phantom with fellow Headcat alumni Danny B Harvey and Djordje Stijepovoc (Tiger Army), plus CM Wolf of The Delta Bombers.

4/8 Philadelphia, PA – City Winery
4/9 NYC, NY- Sony Hall
4/10 Pittsburgh, PA -Jergels
4/11 Toronto, ON – El Mocambo
4/12 Cincinnati, OH – Ludlow Garage
4/13 Detroit, MI – Magic Bag ***
4/15 Roslyn, NV – My Fathers Place*
4/15 Hightstown, NJ -Randy Now’s Man Cave **
4/16 Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House
4/17 Roslyn, NY – My Fathers Place ***
4/17 Hightstown, NJ – Randy Now’s Man Cave *
4/18 Norwalk, CT – District Music Hall ****
4/19 Elkton, MD – Elton Music Hall*
4/20 Boston – City Winery
‘SIP only **CLJonly ***GLJ and BS only ****GLJ and SJP only

Grateful Dead Announces ‘Enjoying the Ride’ Massive 60-CD Box Set Spanning 25 Years of Legendary Live Performances

Eric Alper
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0
Grateful Dead Announces ‘Enjoying the Ride’ Massive 60-CD Box Set Spanning 25 Years of Legendary Live Performances

When the ride begins in ’65 at a pizza parlor in the South Bay under another moniker, who would have imagined? When “Who Are You? Where Are You? How Are You?” became “Won’t you come with me?” and, ultimately, “Where does the time go?,” who would have thought? 60 years on, we’re celebrating the Grateful Dead’s Diamond Era. Here we go back to the beginning, to the original “Follow,” and uncover the wonders of getting on the bus all over again.

ENJOYING THE RIDE is a sweeping 60-CD collection that maps an epic cross-country road trip along the “Heady Highway” with stops at storied venues where the music, the moment, and the magic of the Dead reliably converged. Spanning 25 years of legendary live performances, this expansive compendium spotlights defining shows from 1969 to 1994 at 20 venues that consistently inspired the band to new heights.

With the exception of a few tracks from earlier releases, virtually all of the music on ENJOYING THE RIDE is previously unreleased, with more than 450 tracks and over 60 hours of music. Of the 20 shows in the collection, 17 are presented in full, with some featuring additional material from the same venue. The remaining three — Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall — are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.

These performances were originally recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Kidd Candelario, Dan Healy, and John Cutler. David Glasser and Jeffrey Norman restored and mastered the performances, with select ones using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction for optimal sound quality.

It’s all housed in a custom keepsake box inspired by the experience of traveling from city to city to see the Dead at legendary venues across America. Inside, a beautifully detailed tour guide features liner notes by Jesse Jarnow (author and co-host of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast) and a producer’s note from Lemieux, an essay by the Owsley Stanley Foundation, and more. The set is richly illustrated with photos, including many taken at the shows featured in the collection.

Due May 30th, this one is limited to 6,000 individually numbered copies and exclusive to Dead.net.

WHAT’S INSIDE:
Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (4/5/69) – Cassette
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/5/69)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/7/69)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/8/69)
Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/24/71)
Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/20/71)
Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/25/71)
Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/27/71)
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/15/72)
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/16/72)
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY (3/16/73)
Winterland, San Francisco, CA (3/20/77)
Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (5/13/78)
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (8/12/79)
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (8/23/80)
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (7/11/81)
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT (3/14/81)
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA (5/1/81)
Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (8/20/83)
Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, CA (7/13/84)
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/21/85)
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/22/85)
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY (9/16/87)
Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN (7/15/89)
Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA (12/27/89)
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA (5/12/91)
Capital Centre, Landover MD (3/17/93)
Capital Centre, Landover MD (9/15/82)
Boston Garden, Boston, MA (10/3/94)

Originally Recorded By Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Kidd Candelario, Dan Healy, & John Cutler
Mastered By David Glasser & Jeffrey Norman
Plangent Processes Tape Restoration And Speed Correction
Custom Keepsake Box w/ A Guide Book By Jesse Jarnow, Producer’s Note By David Lemieux, & Essay By The Owsley Stanley Foundation
Design By Once Upon A Time

Raven Drum Foundation Hosts All-Star Benefit at NYC’s Cutting Room to Support First Responders and Veterans

Eric Alper
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0
Raven Drum Foundation Hosts All-Star Benefit at NYC’s Cutting Room to Support First Responders and Veterans

Raven Drum Foundation brings together an all-star lineup at NYC’s famed Cutting Room to support first responders and veterans for the second year in a row.

Founded in 2001 by Rick Allen, drummer of Def Leppard, and healing arts educator and musician, Lauren Monroe, Raven Drum Foundation brings musicians, health educators, and the philanthropic community together to serve the healing of first responders and veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress. With the core philosophy that when music, intention, and healing wisdom all meet on the paths of neurobiology and psychology, we harmonize our inner mental and emotional states to effect positive change, the foundation provides mind, body, and drumming integrated workshops incorporating evidence-based techniques such as guided visualization, breathwork, and heart-brain coherence education to support wellness, and regulation of the human nervous system.

Together with first responder organizations Friends of Firefighters and First Responder Resiliency Inc., artists will raise funds for proactive resiliency education, counseling, and holistic care programs addressing post-traumatic stress.

In addition to performances by an all-star band and a silent auction of rock memorabilia, the Legacy Award will be presented to humanitarian and artist Peter Criss – the original Cat-Man and co-founder of KISS. Joining Criss, Allen, and Monroe onstage will be The Joe Bouchard Band with Albert Bouchard (former members of Blue Oyster Cult) featuring Mickey Curry (Hall & Oates, Bryan Adams), Mountain’s Corky Laing, R&B legend Bernard Purdie, Saturday Night Live’s Christine Olhman, Shawn Pelton, Carlton Jumel Smith, Ricky Byrd (Joan Jett), Devon Maria (Debbie Gibson), Kasim Sulton (Joan Jett, Todd Rundgren) and surprise guests, as well as emcees Maria Milito of Q104.3 and musical director Billy Amendola.

Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now. Please visit RavenDrumFoundation.org for more information.

Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium Announce ‘The Poisoned Ascendancy’ 2025 Tour

Eric Alper
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0
Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium Announce ‘The Poisoned Ascendancy’ 2025 Tour

Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium announced their 2025 co-headlining “The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour” featuring special guests August Burns Red across all dates, Sylosis, and Bleed From Within on select dates – see routing below.

The tour is in celebration of both bands prolific albums – Bullet for My Valentine’s ‘The Poison’ and Trivium’s ‘Ascendancy’, which turn 20 years old in 2025. Each will be performed in their entirety on this tour.

“We are super excited to announce we are coming back to the USA in 2025 with our friends Trivium, to bring you the ‘Poisoned Ascendancy Tour’. We’re going to be celebrating 20 years of our debut album ‘The Poison’ and Trivium’s ‘Ascendancy’. It’s the metal tour of 2025, so don’t miss out.” – Bullet for My Valentine

“This is a celebration for the old fans that were there at 9 am at Ozzfest to catch a couple songs from a band in Iron Maiden shirts. It’s for the new fans that have been listening to the deep cuts but never caught them on a recent tour. And lastly, it’s for both BFMV and us to take a moment to reflect on how amazing these 20 years have been, how fast they’ve gone, and how important these albums are for the both of our bands. Having August Burns Red, Bleed From Within, and Sylosis joining us only makes this more special. We can’t wait to play Ascendancy for you!” -Trivium

Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city tour kicks off on March 30 at PNE Forum in Vancouver, BC making stops across North America in Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and more before wrapping up in Raleigh, NC at Red Hat Amphitheater on May 18.

TICKETS: Tickets are available now at LiveNation.com

Limited VIP packages are available from both artists including a meet & greet. For more info on VIP packages please visit: onemoretimevip.com

THE POISONED ASCENDANCY 2025 TOUR DATES:
Sun March 30 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Forum#&
Tue Apr 1 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre#&
Thu Apr 03 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic#&
Fri Apr 04 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento – Hard Rock Live#&
Sat Apr 05 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort*#&
Tue Apr 08 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium#&
Thu Apr 10 – Las Vegas, NV – Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort#&
Fri Apr 11 – Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theatre#
Sat Apr 12 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre#&
Tue Apr 15 – Dallas, TX – Gilley’s – South Side Ballroom#&
Wed Apr 16 – San Antonio, TX – Boeing Center at Tech Port#&
Thu Apr 17 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center#&
Sat Apr 19 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory#^
Sun Apr 20 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha#^
Tues Apr 22 – Ashwaubenon, WI – EPIC Event Center*#^
Wed Apr 23 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe#^
Fri Apr 25 – Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino Hotel- Showroom*#
Sat Apr 26 – Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom#^
Sun Apr 27 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit#^
Tues Apr 29 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE*#^
Wed Apr 30 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia#^
Fri May 02 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway#^
Sat May 03 – Laval, QC – Place Bell#^
Sun May 04 – Toronto, ON – Great Canadian Resort Theatre#^
Tue May 06 – Washington, D.C. – The Anthem#^
Wed May 07 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17#^
Fri May 09 – Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Bethlehem – Wind Creek Event Center#^
Sun May 11 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle*#^
Tues May 13 – Corbin, KY – Corbin Arena*#^
Wed May 14 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre#^
Sat May 17 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre#^
Sun May 18 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater#^
*Not A Live Nation Date
# August Burns Red
& Sylosis
^ Bleed From Within

Candlemass Celebrates 40 Years of Doom with ‘Black Star EP,’ Out May 9

Eric Alper
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0
Candlemass Celebrates 40 Years of Doom with ‘Black Star EP,’ Out May 9

Swedish godfathers of epic doom Candlemass celebrate their 40th anniversary of pioneering the genre with a four-track EP, Black Star. Packed with craterous riffs, this celebration of doom metal mastery is set for release on May 9, 2025 via Napalm Records.

With Black Star, the genre-defying band unveils two brand-new songs alongside two cover versions of timeless classics. The EP will be available in various formats, including a strictly limited vinyl edition featuring a 12-page vinyl booklet, an A3 poster, and a tote bag.

Leif Edling comments: “Not all bands get to see their 40th birthday and it certainly hasn’t been an easy ride. But many ups and downs later, we stand here as survivors, veterans even… a bit scarred perhaps? Still ready though to unleash another piece of doom-laden metal upon an unsuspecting world. You have to do something when you turn 40, right? Anyway, as always, it’s been fun recording some new stuff as well as covering a couple of old favorites.”

Title track, “Black Star”, blends haunting melodies with deeply introspective lyrics, brought to life by the dark, romantic voice of vocalist Johan Lanquist. Songwriter Leif Edling’s lyrics delve into themes of existential struggle, temptation, and the allure of darkness – creating an intense atmosphere imbued with Candlemass’ signature sound. The second new track, “Corridors Of Chaos”, marks a true old school instrumental containing both classic metal riffing and stunning guitar playing by Lars Johansson, showcasing the band’s mastery of dynamics.

Adding to this tribute, Candlemass delivers a cover of Black Sabbath’s iconic “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, taking listeners back to 1973. This is followed by their rendition of Pentagram’s classic “Forever My Queen”, further cementing Candlemass’ remarkable contribution to shaping the genre into what it is today.

Black Star tracklist:
1. Black Star
2. Corridors Of Chaos
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Forever My Queen

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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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