Napalm Records Launches Online Informational Hub in Response to COVID-19 Related Tour Delays and Restrictions

by

Updated:

As the impact of COVID-19 is being felt around the world, many of our Napalm Records artists and their teams have had to make the very difficult decision to postpone or cancel their previously scheduled tours. This current situation will cause previously unforeseeable issues for artists and the entire live entertainment industry, but the health and safety of everyone – including our artists, their teams and live music fans – is absolutely paramount, now and always.


Fan support is appreciated and very important, now more than ever. Contributing to fundraising, sharing words of support with artists, and streaming and/or purchasing music will help the beat go on at this difficult time, as bands work to move beyond current necessary setbacks.


For the convenience and planning purposes of their followers and the fans, we have created a landing page on our website, http://label.napalmrecords.com/corona, that will act as a hub for related information – including currently postponed or cancelled tours, related news, artist fundraising efforts, and streaming options. They will update this page on a regular basis.


In addition, as fellow music fans to the core, Napalm Records know the importance of sharing the amazing music of our passionate artists with fans – either on the road or in the comfort of their own homes. Therefore, we plan to host links to classic concerts and exclusive new content from Napalm Records artists – such as unique acoustic sets and intimate living room or studio concerts – via the above link, as well. This content will be dubbed the #NapalmSofaSeries. As our artists make this content available, it will be added to the #NapalmSofaSeries section of the landing page.


To kick things off, WOLFHEART has already announced a virtual concert for all fans all over the world on April 9th. Fans can check all further details via the landing page link. Stay tuned – more content is planned to be revealed soon.


Napalm Records Owner, Founder and Managing Director Markus Riedler states: “Our thoughts and well wishes go out to all who are impacted during this difficult period of time and we would like to thank the strong community of fans for their immense support of any and all artists in the past and especially at this time. Whether it be supporting crowdfunding campaigns, purchasing music and merchandise, or even offering words of encouragement to artists via social media – this support is crucial in keeping music moving forward in times like these. Please stay responsible, healthy and safe.”


Napalm Records Managing Director Thomas Caser states: “The essence of our music – experiencing it live – is hit extremely hard by this pandemic. A lot of artists who were on tours that got cancelled or had scheduled tours that got cancelled or postponed are facing difficult times. But our Metal community stays strong and we have seen amazing reactions, acts of solidarity and support for the artists. This is what our family of Metal is about. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for this. Please keep on being positive, support the bands by listening to their music, show pride by proudly wearing their merchandising, and spread the music by sharing. Keep your tickets for moved tours, shows and festivals, hang in there with us! Better times will come when we all are able to gather again at concerts and festivals to celebrate our music. In the meantime, stay strong, healthy and foremost – HOME! Thank you all!”


MATRIARCHS Expand Their Sound with Crushing New Single “Feed”

by

Updated:

LA metalcore act MATRIARCHS, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and industrious LA hardcore vet Ben Levi (guitar, drums, production), has been quiet since last year when they dropped “Eviscerate,” a ripping single featuring Myke Terry (Bury Your Dead, Volumes). Now they’ve broken their silence with another single, “Feed,” combining down-tuned metalcore with hints of beatdown and instantly recognizable vocals. Chris Anguiano of enlightened metalcore act DMT lends his vocals to the track.


For the uninitiated, the presence of clean vocals doesn’t mean that MATRIARCHS have resigned themselves to weak singing or bad metalcore tropes. Instead, it underscores the constant instrumental heaviness and lends the band their recognizable sound. Think classic nü-metal meets modern metalcore, with enough hardcore influence that you won’t feel like you’re at Hot Topic circa 1994 (unless you’re into that).


“The writing process was unique in that we (Ben Levi & Chris Anguiano) co-wrote the song and had a theme in mind going in, rather than me just sending him the instrumental and him putting vocals over it,” says Levi. “This process definitely helped the song come out sounding focused and mature but with a really hard edge!”


Watch the video for “Feed” here. Stream the song at bandcamp. The single is also available via Spotify.


Ben Levi takes the journeyman approach seriously and has no plans to slow down anytime soon; he runs a production and “connect the dots” music management firm called Five Rings Productions, a heavy music distributor and services firm Knucklehedz Inc. and is constantly working on new material for MATRIARCHS that will continue to push the band in interesting directions. Just in case you thought he was slacking…you can also find him performing guitar and drum duties in LA bands Cutthroat and Fate DeStroyed.


“The DIY ethos in hardcore is an important lesson in how you can remain creative in a musical space and not get deterred by failure and hardship,” he says. “It’s imperative to perpetuate the DIY ethic and help it bloom in order to ensure a future for music as a creative art form and not just monetizable content. It all begins with a community, the sense that there is something bigger than yourself that you are wanting to contribute to and be a part of, the sacrifice of the ego for the sake of a common dream.”


6th Annual RIDE FOR RONNIE Motorcycle Ride Postponed Due to Covid-19

by

Updated:

The 6th Annual RIDE FOR RONNIE Motorcycle Ride and Concert, planned for Sunday, May 17, 2020, has been postponed due to concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The annual event benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is comprised of a Motorcycle Ride originating at Harley-Davidson of Glendale followed by an afternoon of live music at Los Encinos Park in Encino. Los Encinos Park is run by the Parks Department of the State of California, who have cancelled all park events for the next two months in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.


“While I am disappointed at having to postpone what has become an annual tradition for our organization, we also need to keep our beloved audience and supporters safe during this unprecedented global situation,” says Wendy Dio, Founder/President of the Dio Cancer Fund. “We were on the verge of announcing the exciting lineup we had confirmed for this year’s RIDE when the overwhelming concerns over the current health crisis made it abundantly clear that we could not go forward with our plans. We are exploring the possibility of rescheduling for some time in the fall.”


The organization’s 6th Annual Bowl for Ronnie Celebrity Bowling Party is scheduled for November 12 at PINZ Bowling Center in Los Angeles.


For those who have purchased tickets to the 2020 Ride for Ronnie, refunds are currently being issued.


VENOM INC Enter The Studio For New Recordings

by

Updated:

Veteran heavy metal band VENOM INC has entered the studio to record their new album. The follow up to their 2017 debut release Avé will once more be released on Nuclear Blast Records. The recording is being done between, England, Portugal and America and it will have Jeff “Mantas” Dunn at the helm as producer once again.

The new album marks the second recording under the name VENOM INC, while guitarist Mantas and frontman Demolition Man have a long history as recording artists together in VENOM, M:Pire Of Evil and Mantas solo projects. It also marks the recording debut on a major label for multi-instrumentalist, VENOM INC drummer Jeramie “War Machine” Kling (also of Massacre) who joined the band in 2018.

VENOM INC singer/bassist Tony “The Demolition Man” Dolan states:
“I am a firm believer that you try to better yourself in life, not by comparison to anyone else but to yourself..
Making a new album, proudly under a label like Nuclear Blast, gives me that opportunity again..
If Avé was a great album, then this new one needs to be even greater… if the performances on AVÉ were the best we could be then, it will follow that we will outdo ourselves and be better than we were… We don’t care how good or bad ANYONE else is… we are here to challenge ourselves. With the 3 of us in total synchronisation and firing every cylinder we each have, expect something, intense, powerful, dark, spitting, visceral, foreboding, and no holds barred… HEAVY AS A FUCKING WORLD MADE FROM LEAD! Feel the Fire, Hear us Roar… for WE ARE VENOM INC!”

Guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn fills in:
“I have always maintained that I am a man of few words, I let the music do the talking and this motherfucker is speaking volumes and has not stopped to draw breath. Furious, aggressive, relentless, vicious, culled from experience and hatred and with the personnel to deliver it, this makes no excuses for what it is .  . HEAVY FUCKING METAL!”

Drummer Jeramie “The WarMachine” Kling:
“For the new VENOM INC album I have tried a new technique. I have started by completely dismantling my drums and replacing the usual drum kit  with rockets bought in hell…. and the rest of the kit  you ask ?!? Well, that’s been replaced by flame throwers, gun powder and a tank gun!!! And I’m driving it all like a fucking WARMACHINE straight at you!
Nothing is safe and nothing will survive!!”

VENOM INC reunites  the former “Prime Evil” era of VENOM bandmates Demolition Man and Mantas and is complemented by THE ABSENCE and MASSACRE drummer Jeramie “War Machine” Kling, who joined the fold early 2018. Since the release of Avé the band has intensively toured through Europe, Asia, America, Australia, New Zealand and South-America, both on big festivals and club venues.

AMARANTHE Enter Studio

by

Updated:

The cliché phrase of modern metal heroes comes true talking about the latest news from the headquarter of Sweden’s finest AMARANTHE. The band entered the studio in Denmark to start working on the recordings of the new album – just one hour before the Danish borders got closed!

The band, now in quarantine, states:
“By now, some of you know that we will start the recording of our new album today, Monday 16th. It is an odd feeling to continue operations while large parts of the world is at a lockdown, and the music industry is suffering greater than most other businesses – but we find it extremely important to soldier on, as we refuse to be beaten by this disease. It also means that we are effectively isolating ourselves, as everyone should as much as possible.
We were set to travel to the studio on Sunday 15th, but as the Danish government decided to lock their border with only hours notice, we had to make a very sudden and daring escape from Sweden into Denmark, ending up at an utterly deserted Copenhagen train station about one hour before the lockdown. We were quite literally the only ones making our way INTO the country, while everyone else was trying to get OUT. As you can no doubt imagine, people think we are mad.
Many of you are now in voluntary or involuntary isolation, and we will try our best to entertain you with regular updates from the studio! Even in its early phase, the album is something we feel incredibly strongly about, and we think you will no doubt know what we mean when you get to hear it later this year.
Stay safe, wash your hands, keep your distance from the elderly and the sick – spread the love, not the virus!”

AMARANTHE updates their fans daily about their status quo in the studio, check their channels to stay up to date!

With their foundations tracing back to 2008, the group has released 5 albums since then (2011’s Amaranthe, 2013’s The Nexus, 2014’s Massive Addictive, 2016’s Maximalism, and 2018’s Helix), consistently delivering hauntingly catchy tunes led by their unique three-part vocals. Within their arsenal of hit singles – with “Drop Dead Cynical” leading right at the front – a myriad tracks have been received very well via press and fans alike; having also gained countless plays on both radio stations around the globe and across streaming services (the group’s songs have been streamed close to a billion times on Spotify). A string of support tours have blazed AMARANTHE‘s trail in front of huge crowds as well as at their own headline concerts (the group impressively once performed in front of 10,000 fans at Liseberg, Gothenburg). They have kept working incredibly hard over the years, the latest product of which culminated in the form of Helix, which achieved them some of their highest chart positions in the band’s history (Switzerland #21, Germany #29 etc.).

SABATON Announces U.S. Tour With JUDAS PRIEST

by

Updated:

Celebrated Swedish metal battalion SABATON will make their awaited return to the frontlines this fall on a massive U.S. campaign with the legendary JUDAS PRIEST for their“50 Heavy Metal Years Tour.” The year’s heaviest tour will take place in September and October and will follow SABATON’s upcoming Russian invasion in March and European festivals in late summer, including their own Sabaton Open Air in Sweden in August. For information on tickets visit  www.sabaton.net/tour.

SABATON bassist Pär Sundström comments: “It’s a great honour for us to be special guests to one of the most influential metal bands of all time, for a very special tour. We received a lot of requests from the USA that fans wanted to see us return after the successful tour we did last year and here we are, in great company.”

SABATON’s global assault continues in support of their latest album, The Great War, that’s out now from Nuclear Blast. The record has been lauded by fans and critics since its debut on worldwide charts last summer, and features numerous colossal singles like “Great War,” “82nd All The Way” and “Fields of Verdun.”

SABATON Tour Dates with JUDAS PRIEST:
Sep 9 – Oxon Hill, MD – MGM National Harbor
Sep 11 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
Sep 12 – Ledyard, CT – Foxwoods Casino Arena
Sep 14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center
Sep 15 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Sep 17 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Sep 18 – Orlando, FL – Rebel Rock Fest
Sep 21 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
Sep 23 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
Sep 24 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
Sep 26 – Chicago, IL – Rosemont Theatre
Sep 27 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Sep 29 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theater
Sep 30 – St. Louis, MO – Saint Louis Music Park
Oct 2 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Zoo Amphitheatre
Oct 3 – Dallas, TX – Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Oct 5 – Austin, TX – H-E-B Center
Oct 6 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
Oct 8 – Albuquerque, NM – Sandia Resort and Casino
Oct 9 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
Oct 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
Oct 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
Oct 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Microsoft Theater
Oct 17 – Las Vegas, NV – Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood

BLACK SWAN’s Debut Album “Shake the World” Out Now

by

Updated:

Black Swan, featuring Vocalist Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group), guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), bassist Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, The End Machine, ex-Dokken), and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big) have released their debut album Shake the World, today via Frontiers Music Srl.


The band has also released a new video for the track “Make it There.” Watch it HERE.


Stream and order the album HERE.


Black Swan‘s Shake the World is a killer slice of melodic hard rock and heavy metal from seasoned players who have gelled musically.


ALTER BRIDGE Announces Spring Headline Tour

by

Updated:

On the heels of their successful winter headline tour that wraps next week, ALTER BRIDGE are announcing a spring run that is set to kickoff this May. The next headline run will include select festival appearances as well as headline shows with special guests Black Stone Cherry and Saint Asonia. The tour kicks off on May 1st in Atlanta and wraps up on May 24th at Rocklahoma in Pryor, OK. The tour will make stops in Huntington, NY; Sayreville, NJ; New Orleans, LA and Houston, TX to name a few.

Artist presale begins Wednesday, February 19th from 10am – Thursday, February 20th 10pm local time and the public on sale is Friday, February 21st at 10AM local time. Previously announced festival appearances include Epicenter Festival in Charlotte, NC; Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, FL; Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus, OH and Rocklahoma in Pryor, OK. Ticket information for all shows can be found at https://alterbridge.com.

The new tour announcement comes on the heels of their recently released second single from Walk The Sky, “Godspeed.” The song has become a fast favorite amongst fans and critics alike and is currently moving up the charts at Active Rock radio. Written in memory of a friend of the band who passed away, “Godspeed” is an uplifting musical memorial for anyone who has lost someone. The lyric video for the song can be seen here.

ALTER BRIDGE recently released their latest album Walk The Sky (Napalm Records) to critical acclaim and career milestone chart success. The latest album brought the band comprised of Myles Kennedy on vocals/guitars, Mark Tremonti on guitars/vocals, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips their first ever #1 on Top Current Albums chart. The band’s newest release found a home at #1 on over a dozen charts around the globe including: Top Current Albums (US), Billboard Top Albums (US), Current Hard Music Albums (US), Current Rock Albums (US), Current Alternative Albums (US), Record Label Independent Current Albums (US), Record Label Independent Current Album Consumption (US), Internet Albums (US), Top Albums – Market Share – ADA (US), Top Albums with TEA (US), Hard Music (Canada), Top Hard Music Albums (Canada), 100 Independent Albums (UK), Rock & Metal Chart (UK), Top 100 Swiss Albums (Switzerland). Walk The Sky entered the official album Charts at #3 in Austria, Scotland and the Swedish Hard Rock Charts, at #4 in the UK and Canada at #5 in Germany, at #7 in Australia and #16 on the US Billboard 200.

Walk The Sky is produced by longtime collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette and is available in various configurations here.


Alter Bridge burst onto the music scene in 2004 with the release of their gold-selling debut, One Day Remains. In 2007, the band released Blackbird, the album that elevated the band’s profile worldwide. The epic solo in the title track “Blackbird” was voted “Greatest Guitar Solo Of All Time” by Guitarist Magazine. ABIII was released in 2010 and the single“Isolation” gave the band their first #1 single. In 2013, the band reached an elevated creative and critical plateau with Fortress. It bowed at #12 on the Billboard Top 200, moving over 30,000 copies first-week and earning unanimous tastemaker praise. The record garnered perfect scores from Total Guitar and KERRANG! as well as acclaim from Billboard, The Guardian, Loudwire, Ultimate Guitar, and many more. In between sold out tours in Europe and North America, the guys appeared on VH1 and graced the cover of Classic Rock Magazine who labeled Fortress, “The best thing they’ve ever done,” while Eddie Trunk called it, “A top 10 album of the last 10 years.” 2016’s The Last Hero gave the band their first Top 10 album since their debut. ALTER BRIDGE has appeared on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live and their music has been used by the WWE, Major League Baseball and NASCAR to name a few. The band recently released the video and audio of their career highlight, Live At The Royal Albert Hall, featuring ALTER BRIDGE backed by the 52-piece Parallax Orchestra led by conductor Simon Dobson. In December 2019, Guitar World magazine voted Mark Tremonti the Guitarist of the Decade and the latest album Walk The Sky ended up on numerous year end lists signifying ALTER BRIDGE are showing no signs of slowing down.

Walk The Sky Tour 2020

5-1 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle (No Saint Asonia)
5-2 – Charlotte, NC – Epicenter Festival (ALTER BRIDGE Only)
5-4 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
5-6 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
5-7 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
5-9 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville
5-10 – Destin, FL – Club LA (ALTER BRIDGE Only)
5-12 – Louisville, KY – Palace Theatre
5-13 – Niagara Falls, NY – Rapids Theatre
5-15 – Rama, ON – Casino Rama
5-16 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Festival
5-18 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
5-20 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
5-21 – Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Pavilion
5-23 – Herrin, IL – Herrinfesta Italiana (ALTER BRIDGE Only)
5-24 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma (ALTER BRIDGE Only)

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
2-18 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
2-20 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
2-21 – Lake Tahoe, NV – Montbleu Resort
2-23 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
2-24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
2-26 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
2-27 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory

NIGHTWISH Release First Single “Noise”

by

Updated:

When Finnish sextet NIGHTWISH announce a new studio album people tend to take notice. They know that something special is brewing. The band’s new and ninth record HUMAN. :II: NATURE. will be released on 10th April 2020 and will be a double album containing 9 tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.

The band releases the first single and video clip for the song “Noise”. Watch the video here.

Order the song digitally here. Pre-save here and listen at “This is Nightwish-Playlist” here.

The album will be available as: 2CD, 2CD-Digi, 3LP (different colours), Earbook, Boxset, and Digital. You can pre-order all formats and check new merchandise here.

HUMAN. :II: NATURE Track List:
Disc 1:
01. Music
02. Noise
03. Shoemaker
04. Harvest
05. Pan
06. How’s The Heart?
07. Procession
08. Tribal
09. Endlessness

Disc 2:
01. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Vista
02. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – The Blue
03. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – The Green
04. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Moors
05. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Aurorae
06. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Quiet As The Snow
07. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Anthropocene (incl. “Hurrian Hymn To Nikkal”)
08. All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World – Ad Astra

HUMAN. :II: NATURE. was recorded from August to October 2019 at Röskö campsite, Petrax Studios and Troykington castle, as well as Finnvox Studios, by Tero Kinnunen, Mikko Karmila and Troy Donockley. The mixing was done by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox, with Tuomas Holopainen and Tero Kinnunen. Mastering was done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox.

NIGHTWISH Live 2020:
15.04. RC – Guangzhou, CN – Gym-II
17.-18.04. RC – Shanghai, CN – Bandai Namco Base
20.04. RC – Beijing – Exhibition Theater

with MARKO HIETALA
05.05. RCH – Santiago – Teatro Caupolicán
rk (with BOUDIKA)
09.05. BR – São Paulo – Espaço das Américas
10.05. BR – Rio de Janeiro – Vivo Rio

with BEAST IN BLACK
26.05. RUS – St. Petersburg – A2 Green Concert
27.05. RUS – Moscow – Crocus City Hall
29.05. UA – Kiev – Stereo Plaza
31.05. BY – Minsk – Falcon Club

04.06. S – Sölvesborg – Sweden Rock Festival
05. – 07.06. FIN       Tampere – Rockfest
11.06. PL – Kraków – Mystic Festival
12./13.06. CH – Interlaken – Greenfield Festival
30.06. F – Nîmes – Festival de Nîmes
02. – 04.07. E – Barcelona – Rock Fest
09. – 12.07. CZ – Vizovice – Masters of Rock
16. – 19.07. D – Cuxhaven – Deichbrand Festival
30.07. – 01.08. FIN – Kuopio – Kuopiorock

NIGHTWISH EUROPEAN TOUR 2020
16.11. N – Oslo – Spektrum
20.11. D – Leipzig – Arena
21.11. D – Dusseldorf – ISS Dome
23.11. NL – Amsterdam – Ziggo Dome (sold out)
24.11. NL – Amsterdam – Ziggo Dome (sold out)
25.11. F – Paris – AccorHotels Arena
26.11. B – Antwerp – Lotto Arena
28.11. D – Stuttgart – Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
29.11. LUX – Luxembourg – Rockhal
03.12. I – Milan – Lorenzini District
04.12. D – Munich – Olympiahalle
07.12. HU – Budapest – Arena
09.12. D – Bamberg – Brose Arena
10.12. D – Frankfurt – Festhalle
12.12. A – Vienna – Stadthalle
14.12. D – Berlin – Max-Schmeling-Halle
16.12. UK – Cardiff – Motorpoint Arena
18.12. UK – London – SSE Arena Wembley
via Contra Promotion

MICHAEL ALAGO Opens Up About Changing the Landscape of Metal, Battling Addiction and Beating Death

by

Updated:

Music industry veteran Michael Alago can be credited with changing the landscape of heavy metal – and rock ‘n’ roll as a whole – yet his name remains relatively unknown.


In his new autobiography, I am Michael Alago, available March 2 via Backbeat Books, Alago shares his successes in the music industry, such as signing Metallica to their first major label recording contract, while battling 1970s and ‘80s stereotypes, addiction and life-threatening illness.


“Michael Alago was my first genuine connection to the real world of music,” says bassist Jason Newsted. “He is a key player and lynchpin in the early careers of Flotsam and Jetsam, and Metallica, and more importantly; a greatly respected lifelong friend, loved and admired by the people that make up these legendary acts. He’s a fan. We’re all fans.”


Alago grew up in Brooklyn, in a large, spirited, and devoted Puerto Rican family. Through his early passion for music, art, theater, and photography, he soon found himself rubbing elbows with many downtown NYC scene makers, from Stiv Bators to Jean Michel Basquiat, Cherry Vanilla and Wayne County to Deborah Harry and Robert Mapplethorpe. As an underage teenager going to Max’s Kansas City, CBGB and various art galleries, Alago also began running The Dead Boys’ fan club.


A few years later, Alago became the assistant music director for legendary nightclubs the Ritz and the Red Parrot. “I met Michael in 1980,” says Jerry Brandt of The Electric Circus/The Ritz. “He walked into my office at The Ritz and I knew instantly that his kid was going to do great things.”


At age 24, he began a storied career as an A&R executive at Elektra Records that started with signing Metallica in the summer of 1984, changing the entire landscape of rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal. Alago continued to work in A&R for both Palm Pictures and Geffen Records. He was thrilled to executive-produce albums by Cyndi Lauper, Public Image Ltd, White Zombie, and Nina Simone.


“With his gifted passion and open-minded appreciation for music, Michael Alago changed the world and the lives of millions (myself included) forever,” says Orange is the New Black actor and Alekhine’s Gun vocalist Jessica Pimentel. “I am constantly inspired by him and thank him for sharing his rich life with us: the good, the bad, the ugly, the sacred and the magical.”


In the late 1980s, Alago was diagnosed with HIV, which manifested into full-blown AIDS 10 years later, a diagnosis that equaled death at that time. But with the advancement of medical science and the foresight of a brilliant doctor, he survived and continued his music career. In 2005, he left music to pursue his other love: photography. Alago went on to publish three bestselling books: Rough Gods, Brutal Truth and Beautiful Imperfections with German-based publisher Bruno Gmünder.


Alago has also since overcome his longtime addiction to drugs and alcohol. In his clean and sober life, he has reconnected with his family, continues to be a working photographer as well as record producer, and only through the grace of his 12-Step program is he able to live this big, beautiful life. Who the Fuck Is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago, a 2017 documentary directed by Drew Stone and produced by Michael Alex on Alago’s wildly successful career in music, was released in theaters and on Netflix, where it is now in its third year. The film is also now available on Amazon Prime Video.


“A true Hollywood tale of how a gay Puerto Rican man in a heavy metal world can become a conqueror!” says Gary Holt, guitarist for Exodus and Slayer. “From running wild in the streets of NYC as younger men to still being close to this day, Michael is a legend in the world of hard rock. The heavy metal landscape would look much different if it weren’t for him. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his foresight in music and I am thankful for his contributions and even more so, his friendship.”


Michael Alago is the quintessential New Yorker with an “only in New York” career. Passionate about music, art, and literature, legendary music executive and published photographer, Alago is known for his extraordinary work with Metallica, White Zombie, John Lydon, Cyndi Lauper and Nina Simone.


“I’ve known Michael forever, and he is fabulous,” says music business veteran Danny Fields. “So this book is fabulous! Would I ever lie?”


I am Michael Alago was co-written with Laura Davis-Chanin. I am Michael Alago is available in paperback for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound and Rowman & Littlefield.


A release party for I Am Michael Alago will be held Friday, March 6 at The Map Room at The Bowery Electric. Alago will read and sign copies of the book from 7–10 p.m. Register here for Alago’s only New York City appearance.