The first press release for Yellowcard‘s upcoming album, Paper Walls, has been released. Read more below for further details:

Breakthrough rockers Yellowcard return with new album Paper Walls on July 17th, the third in a trilogy of albums that includes 2006?s gold-certified Lights and Sounds and their 2003 smash, Ocean Avenue. The band will join the 2007 Vans Warped Tour from June 29 ? July 19, with more summer live dates to be announced soon. A full list of confirmed tour dates is below.
Yellowcard emerged from Jacksonville, Florida with a completely infectious and original blend of rock, punk and classical (owing to violinist Sean Mackin) that made them a sure thing to break out of the pack, but even the band could not have imagined how far.

With a string of successful indie releases, a tireless touring schedule and a steamrolling fan base the band made their Capitol Records debut with 2003?s Ocean Avenue. The album was a smash, spawning huge hit singles, sold-out tours in the U.S. and abroad, an MTV Video Music Award and has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. 2006?s gold-certified Lights and Sounds ? an even bigger-sounding, more expansive and harder-edged album ? was released to rave reviews, showcasing the band?s diversity as songwriters and once again sending them circling the globe.

But with the success some darkness fell ? the loss of founding guitarist Ben Harper, major vocal surgery for frontman Ryan Key, and general fatigue from years and years spent at breakneck speed had the group frazzled.

After some badly-needed time off the band regrouped in a Los Angeles studio with a new plan: to have NO plan besides simply coming together for the sheer joy of writing and playing music. To get back to their roots, write songs for their own sake, and everything else was gravy.

Those sessions yielded the songs which would become Paper Walls. Drawing from both the universal, buoyant, hook-filled style of Ocean Avenue and the tougher edges of Lights and Sounds, Paper Walls takes it all a step further with an energized, anthemic and forward-looking set of songs. The album reunites the band with producer Neal Avron, who produced the band?s previous two albums, and also marks the recording debut of guitarist Ryan Mendez, who joined the group during the Lights and Sounds tour.

?This album is the sound of five musicians in a room having a great time and writing the music that we love,? said Key. ?We feel like the luckiest guys in the world to be able to do this.?

Album-opener ?The Takedown? starts with a shot ? an indelible guitar hook and ferocious drums charge forth as Yellowcard?s trademark mix of airtight vocal harmonies, entwined guitar lines and flourishes of violin crackle with energy. ?Fighting? brings together the band?s many strengths ? tight, melodic, propulsive riffs gather steam before launching into an epic, undeniable chorus.

Lead single ?Light Up the Sky? has an even more massive payoff, its refrain won?t leave your head in this lifetime, but allows for some ringing dissonance beneath it all. ?Dear Bobbie? is a sweet, wistful ode featuring Key?s real-life grandfather reading a love letter to his wife of 58 years. ?Shadows and Regrets? fades in as a gorgeous ballad before chimes and sweeping strings elevate the song?s stunning melody to great heights. And album-closing title track ?Paper Walls? starts with an angelic female choir and simple, strummed guitar before it too takes flight with buzzing guitars and a surging chorus that grips until the final chord.

A deluxe CD/DVD version of Paper Walls will also be available featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the band, extensive photo gallery and two additional live bonus tracks.

In a recent post by Vinnie, of Less Than Jake, they have split with their record label, Warner Bros. Read more below:

A few days ago it became ?official? we left Sire and Warner bros to go
it alone for the moment. A few months back we talked as a band and
decided to ask Warner to release us from our contract and the one last
record we owed them. It became obvious to me and everyone else that its
time to move on and in a new direction as band.
So cue the comments from the .net and .org crowds ?they made a shitty
last record?, ?maybe they?ll have more horns on the next record?, ?they
haven?t done anything good since pezcore anyways?, ?they should have
played more ska?, ?maybe they?ll find a label that promotes the record?
I?ve heard it and read it all before when we left Capitol records way
back when. Hell, I could go point by point and defend or agree with
everyone of the above statements but its not the right time to do that.
The time right now is to look at things with a fresh prespective, look
to the future- remember your history – move on. It seems obvious but
sometimes when you?re reaching for the other shore you drown in the
middle somewhere.
Thanks to everyone involved in the last few years, that gave their time,
understanding and energy to less than jake.

Posted by v.

After pulling away from Victory Records Hawthorne Heights has signed with a new management company The Firm. The Firm is responsible for artists such as Kelly Clarkston, Korn, and Three Days Grace. We’ll see where the road leads for Hawthorne Heights.

In a recent post by A Wilhelm Scream regarding their new album:

we’ve been in fort collins, colorado for almost a week now working on the new record. nick’s drums are done and bri’s almost done with his bass already and i gotta say they both sound fucking insane on this. {fans of bri’s previous bass work ain’t seen nothing yet.} me and chris worked with jason on guitar tones last night and we’re gonna start tracking today. the guitars are a bit more gain-y (or bad-ass, as they say) than the last two records, and alot closer to our live guitar tone. nuno might start singing today, we’ll see. we got here (blasting room) last week with 18 songs and we’re gonna do 15 this time. the other 3 will go on the next record for sure. bill says the songs are alot more “intense” sounding than the last two records. no title yet, but we’re working on it.

Jimmy Eat World recently posted the status of their upcoming album, currently untitled:

We have a mix date set for May 28th. Yes, there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. We just spent a week in Los Angeles tweaking out a few songs and talking Tony from Sparta (we know what Starbucks you go to now, homz). We re-cut drums and bass for a song called “Here It Goes” with producer John Fields. We will be working on art and getting all our new stage costumes together soon. How does human-size banana suits sound? People would definitely ask us less questions about emo then.

Here’s a couple recordings of Emery performing new tunes of their upcoming album, due to drop sometime this fall. Simply Amazing.

I can not wait for this album. Ugh.

Bon Jovi will be releasing their 10th studio album on June 19th, titled Lost Highway. The current single (You Want To) Make That Memory has reach #27 on the Billboard Top 100 charts. Bon Jovi’s new album has a strong presence of their hard rock influence as well as a side of country. You can listen to their new single on their myspace. They have a couple big country stars featured on this new album including Leann Rimes and Big & Rich.

You can find their title track Lost Highway on the Wild Hogs Soundtrack. No tour dates have been scheduled for their new album, but the band did note on a recent appearance on American Idol that they hope to start touring in January 2008.

Here’s the artwork and tracklisting for Bon Jovi – Lost Highway:

Tracklisting:
1. “Lost Highway”
2. “Summertime”
3. “(You Want To) Make A Memory”
4. “Whole Lot of Leaving”
5. “We Got It Going On” feat. Big & Rich
6. “Any Other Day”
7. “Seat Next To You”
8. “Everybody’s Broken”
9. “Stranger” feat. LeAnn Rimes
10. “The Last Night”
11. “One Step Closer”
12. “I Love This Town”

Pick up Bon Jovi – Lost Highway in record stores everywhere June 19th, 2007.

Here’s a sneak peak into Emery’s recording process for their upcoming album. I can not wait to hear this:

So if you’re anticipating Silverstein‘s new album Arrivals and Departures….here’s the tracklist you’re anticipating:
1. Sound of the Sun
2. Bodies and Words
3. If You Could See Into My Soul
4. Worlds Apart
5. My Disaster
6. Still Dreaming
7. The Sand Will Turn To Glass
8. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
9. Vanity and Greed
10. Love With Caution
11. True Romance

Just a little less than 2 months away…

In a recent post on Trent Reznor’s blog (lead singer of Nine Inch Nails) he has stressed his opinion on record labels including his own. Read more in his post below:

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne’s record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US).
By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: “It’s because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out – you know, true fans. It’s the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy.”
So… I guess as a reward for being a “true fan” you get ripped off.

* The dreaded EURO Maxi-single. Nothing but a consumer rip-off that I’ve been talked into my whole career. No more.

The point is, I am trying my best to make sure the music and items NIN puts in the marketplace have value, substance and are worth you considering purchasing. I am not allowing Capital G to be repackaged into several configurations that result in you getting ripped off.

We are planning a full-length remix collection of substance that will be announced soon.