WHITESNAKE side project MANIC EDEN announce reissue of self-titled album
Out on Mascot Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group on April 12
18-03-2024
It was 1993, and Whitesnake was on a hiatus. David Coverdale was working on an album with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Adrian Vandenberg (Guitar/Keys), Rudy Sarzo (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums) decided to put a band together. Manic Eden released one solitary gem of an album in 1994, and today, Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group is proud to announce the reissue of the self-titled album on 12 April. It will be released on CD, and made available digitally and on vinyl for the first time. The visualiser for “Can You Feel It” is now released in celebration of the announcement.
Watch “Can You Feel It” below.
Remembering the time, Vandenberg says, “Rudy, Tommy and I just came out of the glamorous ’80s, having surfed the world’s biggest stages on the waves of the multi-million selling Whitesnake albums ‘1987′ and ‘Slip Of The Tongue’. The expensive, polished Whitesnake videos had been all over MTV non stop. Then the Grunge scene hit.”Vandenberg wanted a more ‘organic’ sound, one that reminded him of the bands he grew up listening to; Cream, Free, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Mountain. “They still sound timeless and exciting and a bit ‘rough around the edges’,” he continues. “Pretty much always recorded in a very short period of time, so the spontaneity, dynamics and emotion in the musicians’ performances are right in your face. Mixed in such a way that the listener feels he or she is right there in the room while the band is playing.”The moment came for them to return to their roots; bluesy, honest, in-your-face and ‘organic’ music. After a week or two of rehearsing in Palm Springs, they started working in a small, funky, authentic 70’s recording studio in Los Angeles. They had recruited Ron Young, the singer from American hard-rockers Little Caesar, to take on vocals for the recording. Young came off the back of two acclaimed albums with Little Caesar and a cameo appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Terminator 2.The band had already recorded the instrumental tracks, and Young adapted his vocal lines to the tracks. His instantly recognisable signature style fitted the songs and their approach perfectly. The recordings were done in about two weeks, 70’s style.Looking back, Vandenberg reflects, “When the album got its worldwide release, it was tough to get radio airplay because of the drastically changed ‘music fashion of the week’. Of course, we were anxious to hit the road and tour all over the place, but in the end, we only did an acoustic tour in France, which was a lot of fun. While in Paris, we recorded an extremely budget-friendly video for the song ‘Do Angels Die’, filmed by two students from the film academy in Amsterdam. Still one of my very favourite videos and songs of my career.”He finishes by saying, “Personally, this album is a timeless work of honest, organic ‘Blues-Rock With a Twist’ by four musicians who’ve always been in the music business out of passion for music and who play from the heart. I’ve always been very proud of the Manic Eden album that my friends Ron, Rudy, Tommy and I recorded in 1993. After hearing the songs a million times, I still play the album regularly, which says a lot. It’s the real deal.”Thirty years later, honest, authentic hard-rock is flying high by both the original torchbearers and those inspired by it, so what better time for ‘Manic Eden’ to resurface as a hidden gem from a bygone era.
Track listing:1. Can You Feel It2. Gimme A Shot3. Fire In My Soul4. Do Angels Die5. Pushing Me6. Dark Shade Of Grey7. Keep It Coming8. When The Hammer Comes Down9. Ride The Storm10. Can’t Hold It11. Crossin’ The Line (digital only)
Pre order the album AT THIS LOCATION.
VANDENBERG has released the official music video for the song “Hit The Ground Running” last year. The track is taken from the band’s latest studio album, “Sin”, which came out last August via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. The release proceeds the news that Adrian Vandenberg rejoined Peavey Guitars for his new signature gutar, about which more news will follow.
Watch “Hit The Ground Running” below.
VANDENBERG drummer Koen Herfst has announced halfway last year he will sit out the VANDENBERG tour activities, due to personal circumstances. He will be replaced by former DELAIN and current DEAR MOTHER (in which he plays alongside also former DELAIN guitarist Merel Bechtold) drummer Joey Marin de Boer.
Says Herfst:
VANDENBERG released a new studio album, “Sin”, on August 25 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. The official lyric video for the LP’s second single “Sin” can be seen below.
VANDENBERG leader Adrian Vandenberg shares: “Sin. Just a tiny, three-letter word but one with a very comprehensive meaning. Everything in between a little white lie and a murder. So, it deserves a powerful, heavy, epic song to do it justice.”
“For me, music is very much like a painting,” affirms Adrian. “You have your ups, downs, lights, and shades. One song might make you want to jump on the table and party your brains out. Another song will inspire you to think. Either way, you’re thrown into a landscape, which my favorite albums still do to me. You could be in your car or at home with your headphones plugged into a soundsystem, and you’re in a different world.”
Exploding out of The Netherlands and onto the global scene with 1982’s self-titled “Vandenberg”, the Dutch phenomenon notched an international hit in the form of “Burning Heart”, paving the way for seminal releases such as “Heading For A Storm” (1983) and “Alibi” (1985). The band canvased the United States, Europe, and Japan alongside OZZY OSBOURNE, KISS, RUSH, SCORPIONS, MICHAEL SCHENKER, and many others. Sought out to join WHITESNAKE, Adrian famously ripped the legendary lead on the 1987 recording of the No. 1 smash “Here I Go Again”, which adorned the eight-times-platinum “Whitesnake” and ended up touring the world’s largest arenas for a year-and-a-half when the 1987 album went through the roof in terms of sales. He co-wrote the entirety of 1989’s platinum “Slip Of The Tongue” and spent the ensuing tour sharing axe duties with none other than Steve Vai. In addition to playing guitar on and co-writing “Restless Heart” from DAVID COVERDALE & WHITESNAKE, he performed hundreds of shows as part of the band for some twelve years. Speaking to the breadth of his output, he notably penned and recorded “A Number One” as the theme for his hometown Dutch football team FC Twente. 2013 saw him launch the acclaimed VANDENBERG’S MOONKINGS, releasing “MoonKings” (2014),“MK II” (2017) and “Rugged And Unplugged” (2018).
VANDENBERG as a band roared back to life with the comeback LP “2020”. Among many highlights, “Freight Train” gathered 1.6 million Spotify streams, while the record attracted praise. Sonic Perspectives enthused, “The end result sounds like the missing link between WHITESNAKE and RAINBOW, and updates the group’s sound to the new generation of hard rock fans.”
In its wake, VANDENBERG welcomed Mats (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, CANDLEMASS) to the fold.
“He’s an amazing singer,” notes Adrian. “I’d heard him online, and we got in touch. It’s funny because his mom brought the first two VANDENBERG records back to Scandinavia from England when he was in his early twenties — and he was a fan. He’s a workaholic like me. We picked up after COVID and put the new album together. The spark is definitely there. On top of that, Koen and Randy lay down the most solid concrete, grooving foundation that I could ever wish for. I’d say it’s one notch heavier than ‘2020’.”
Recorded in Holland and Los Angeles with Marlette, “Sin” represents a natural evolution for VANDENBERG. Scorching pinch harmonics light up the first single “House On Fire” as the groove underlines a chantable chorus from Mats.
“In one way, it’s a party song, because it keeps you tapping your foot,” Adrian exclaims. “Mats added a different darker twist with his lyrics. It also envisions a person who’s frustrated about the things other people have. This person can’t control their anger and sets the place on fire.”
Vandenberg was a member of WHITESNAKE for 13 years at the height of the band’s fame, contributing the solo on “Here I Go Again”. He was also part of supergroup MANIC EDEN, and more recently released a number of albums with VANDENBERG’S MOONKINGS.
Vandenberg‘s namesake band released its comeback album, titled “2020”, in May 2020 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. A follow-up LP, “Sin”, will arrive later this year.
Adrian is joined in VANDENBERG‘s current lineup by vocalist Mats Levén, drummer Koen Herfst and bassist Randy Van Der Elsen.
The group’s fifth full-length offering, “Sin”, was produced by Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE, ALICE COOPER, ROB ZOMBIE).
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