King Records presents: legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and his new studio album, "World On Fire", released on June 1, 2016. Yngwie tells about the CD: "I spent two years working on it, touring, recording, touring, recording… And that's much, much better, actually, in a way. Back in the day I would write the songs then rehearse them with some musicians, then go and do a backing track and we'd record it, mix it, learn the songs to go play them on tour, then do it all again. That way isn't necessarily conducive to making the best music, y'know what I mean? So in a very, very backhanded way, this weird twist of fate in the music industry has actually made it a more inspiring environment, at least for me. I can write anytime and record anytime. My recording studio is always open, 24 hours. I can just record when I want and it's a beautiful thing." Asked what the new record sounds like, Malmsteen said: "It's a Malmsteen record. But I would say it's a little different. First of all, I do all the lead vocals on it. Any time I did lead vocals in the past, I was singing blues stuff. This time I decided to do lead vocals in my style of songwriting, so it's different in that way. It's a very hard-hitting album and some parts are very advanced, very complicated. But it's a broad record." Yngwie also confirmed that he laid down the bass tracks on his new album: "I play all the bass and most of the keyboards," he said. "And there's a string section and a choir. It's very neoclassical!" Tracklisting: 01. World on Fire, 02. Sorcery, 03. Abandon, 04. Top down Foot Down, 05. Lost in the Machine, 06. Largo-EBM, 07. No Rest for the Wicked, 08. Soldier, 09. Duf 1220, 10. Abandon, 11. Nacht Musik. Line-up: Yngwie J. Malmsteen – el., ac. & bass guitars, lead & backing vocals, keyboards, cello, sitar; Mark Ellis – drums; Nick Marinovic – additional keyboards.

Altrock Records
(Italy) / May 29, 2016

Altrock / Fading Records presents: “Eros & Thanatos” (CD: 11 tracks, 50 min), the new album by the Italian progressive rock band Syndone . Line-up: Nik Comoglio –keyboards, pipe organ, orchestration; Riccardo Ruggeri –lead & backing vocals, ac. guitar, lyrics; Marta Caldara – vibraphone, mellotron, piano; Gigi Rivetti – el. & ac. piano, vintage keyboards; Maurino Dellacqua – bass; Martino Malacrida – drums; with: Ray Thomas – flute; Steve Hackett – el. guitar; Tony De Gruttola – ac. guitars; Pino Russo – classical guitar, oud and the Puntorec String Orchestra.

MoonJune Records
(USA) / May 29, 2016

MoonJune Records presents: Zhongyu, an American band from Seattle with a Chinese name and an attitude that encompasses the full spectrum of musical sounds and sources. Composer Jon Davis teams up with three members of Moraine and an experienced jazz drummer to create a sound that blends influences from Rock in Opposition (Univers Zero), progressive rock (King Crimson), jazz (‘electric’ Miles Davis) and Asian music. Whether it involves plugging a traditional Chinese instrument into a modular synthesizer or running a bass clarinet through a wah-wah pedal, pushing boundaries (or denying their existence) is the core of the band’s identity. "Zhongyu" means "finally" in Mandarin Chinese, and Jon chose it for the project’s name because he “finally has a band”. He has been making music since the '70's, in everything from classic-rock cover bands (before it was classic) to punk rock to electronic experiments. Living in Beijing for three years provided the inspiration for assembling a crew to realize his singular dream of a music that combined all these elements. This is a group that aims to balance the opposites of music: composition and improvisation, serenity and chaos, harmony and dissonance, complexity and simplicity, acoustic and electric. With guitarist Dennis Rea on board as co-producer and legendary engineer Steve Fisk at the controls, ”Zhongyu” is a powerful and strikingly original debut album that has been years in the making.

Cuneiform Records
(USA) / May 29, 2016

Cuneiform Records presents: "Say So", the new album by the American progressive rock band Bent Knee. Tracklist: 1. Black Tar Water, 2. Leak Water, 3. Counselor, 4. EVE, 5. Interlude, 6. The Things You Love, 7. Nakami, 8. Commercial, 9. Hands Up, 10. Good Girl. Line-up: Ben Levin – guitar; Chris Baum – violin; Courtney Swain – vocals & keyboards; Jessica Kion – bass & vocals; Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth – drums; with: Ben Swartz – cello; Rebecca Hallowell – viola; Andy Bergman – sax & clarinet; Geni Skendo - flute & shakuhachi; Bryan Murphy – trumpet; Geoff Nielsen – trombone; &: several more musicians. Format: CD, digital. Release date: May 20, 2016.

Progressive Promotion Records
(Germany) / May 29, 2016

Progressive Promotion Records presents: “Paralyzed” (CD), the new album by the German melodic progressive rock band Cyril. Tracklist: 1. Scarlet Walking (7:58), 2. Paralyzed (4:57), 3. Remember Me (10:35), 4. Rainbow (6:19), 5. Faded Snapshots (8:34), 6. Peal of Thunder (3:24), 7. Secret Place-1 (18:34). Line-up: Marek Arnold (Toxic Smile) – keyboards, sax, clarinet; Larry Brodel (Toxic Smile) – vocals; Manuel Schmid – vocals; Ralf Dietsch – guitars, mandolin; Denis Strassburg – bass, programming; Clemens Litschko – drums; with: Guy Manning – lyrics. Release date: May 27, 2016.

Progressive Promotion Records presents: “Black Chapter Red" (CD), the new album by the German progressive rock band Cromwell. Tracklist: 1. Starlit Sands (8:20), 2. Black Confetti (6:12), 3. Roots (6:49), 4. The Lights (3:24), 5. November Sky (6:00), 6. Black Chapter Red (8:16), 7. Kissing Dynamite (4:04), 8. Deep Down (6:11), 9. End Of Life (6:43). Line-up: Holger Weckbach – vocals; Eric Trauzettel – drums, recording, mixing; Frank Nowack – guitars, bass; Wolfgang Taffner – keyboards. Release date: May 27, 2016.