Anvil
Premier Concerts and Manic Presents:

Anvil

Midnite Hellion, Balkun Brothers

All Ages
with Midnite Hellion, Balkun Brothers

General Admission Standing Room Only

ANVIL

Their 2009 movie documentary The Story Of Anvil has made them famous the world over, following seemingly endless years of energy-sapping tours de force marked by dismal organisational conditions. Their albums are considered as landmarks among a musical genre which is otherwise successively losing its identity. Their most recent release, Juggernaut Of Justice (2011), was a powerful and unrelenting thunderbolt of the first order. Now Canadian cult metal act Anvil are back with their new studio recording Hope In Hell. The album presents guitarist/vocalist Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner and their new bassist Sal Italiano in top form, highly dynamic and full of energy from the first to the last note. “We’re really proud and already love the new album just as much as our early releases from the beginning of the eighties, because Hope In Hell sounds like Anvil live on stage: natural, honest, unvarnished, never over-produced and straight from the heart.”

Which is hardly surprising since Hope In Hell was written and recorded following an 18-month world tour which took Anvil around the globe. “We hadn’t expected this kind of extensive tour when we brought out Juggernaut Of Justice,” Kudlow confesses. “Time just flew by. I could hardly believe it when I found myself in the studio again after the tour, ready to work on the next album. The reactions to Juggernaut Of Justice and the shows had been so positive that we had plenty of ideas and inspiration for new material.”

Kudlow is referring to typical Anvil tracks such as ‘Hope In Hell’, which the Anvil guitarist considers a logical continuation of legendary numbers like ‘Forged In Fire’, ‘Metal On Metal’ and ‘Plenty Of Power’. He also mentions ‘Eat Your Words’, according to Kudlow a “hybrid between ‘Jackhammer’ and ‘666’, in other words pure Anvil, like in our early days.” Pretty much the same applies to haunting new tracks like ‘The Fight Is Never Won’ and ‘Call Of Duty’, which present Anvil true to form. But there are also a number of real surprises on Hope In Hell: “A song like ‘Badass Rock’n’Roll’ with its rock’n’roll groove surprised even me”, Kudlow admits. “It shows our great respect for bands like AC/DC and Motörhead. I’m sure that all Anvil fans will love this song because it’s the best we’ve done in this direction.” ‘Mankind Machine’ sees Kudlow & Co. break new ground: never before has this band sounded so mechanical (like the title suggests). And never before has it sounded as oriented to the classic rock feel of the seventies as in ´Time Shows No Mercy´.

So Anvil are proud to present the kind of album that Anvil fans will love: no concessions to short-lived trends, no modern frills but traditional metal with lots of classic rock music elements. “What we do is totally timeless,” says Anvil’s frontman. “We’ve never tried to change our sound or experiment with trends and fashions. We live in our own world and have maintained our individuality and own identity.” Like Juggernaut Of Justice, Hope In Hell was produced by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Airbourne, Alice Cooper) at the NRG Recording studios in North Hollywood, California, and brilliantly mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Malmsteen, Sepultura). These are the first cuts featuring Anvil‘s new bassist Sal Italiano, who joined the band a year ago. “We’re really happy with Sal, his style is powerful and amazingly imaginative. It’s a little as if we’d enlisted Steve Harris,” enthuses Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, who composed the whole album together with drums legend Robb Reiner.

Hope In Hell will be available in four different formats: as a limited-edition Digipak including bonus material, as a jewel case CD, vinyl LP and as download. “The album’s flair reminds me of the beginnings of classic heavy metal in the most positive sense of the term,” says Kudlow. “I grew up in the seventies, and I still like what I listened to back then. You can always rely on Anvil, we don’t write our music for the radio and we don’t want to break any records. Some media criticise our uncompromising attitude, but we’re proud of never having betrayed our ideals and having remained faithful to our roots.”

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

MIDNITE HELLION

Enter Kingdom Immortal, the new album from Midnite Hellion. Kingdom Immortal contains eight brand-new cuts of New Jersey-style Heavy Metal.

Forged in 2011 by drummer Drew Rizzo, Midnite Hellion took shape with the addition of bassist and vocalist Rich Kubik in 2016. Joined by lead guitarist Charles Koegler in June 2019, the band entered Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, NY in August 2019 with producer Alex Perialas (Anthrax/S.O.D, OverKill, Testament, Joe Bonamassa). Recording for Kingdom Immortal was completed in six days, with mixing and mastering taking place in March and May 2021, respectively. The vinyl mastering was cut at Infrasonic Sound by Daniel Bacigalupi (Barry Gibb, Dolly Parton, Stray Cats, Willie Nelson) and manufactured at Third Man Records (Jack White/The White Stripes).

Midnite Hellion toured the US in summer 2022 supporting Kingdom Immortal. After 39 dates with ANVIL, the band is preparing to hit the road again in 2023.

Their debut album, Condemned To Hell, catapulted Midnite Hellion into the metal markets in 2017. The album was featured on the coveted “New Music Mondays” program on 89.5 FM WSOU. Heavy regional and national touring in support of the album was in order, most notably supporting Otep and The World Over in December 2018 in the Midwest and Mountain regions of the US.

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

BALKUN BROTHERS

Internationally touring rock n’ roll band, Balkun Brothers, is made up of older brother, Steve, on guitar, vocals and thumb-bone bass, alongside younger brother, Nick ‘The Hammer’ on drums and vocals. The band, formed in 2010, is reinventing the term “power duo” with their heavy hitting, new-age brand of psychedelic rock n' roll.

Brewed in a caldron of face-melting guitar riffs that are met with a wall of earth quaking bass drum hits, their ferocious flaming meteor of a duo, breeds a ruthless rebellion of rock n’ roll. Known for their explosive live shows that go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye, the brothers grew up studying the likes of Son House, Johnny Winter, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, then smashing those together with Motorhead, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, The Doors, Motley Crue and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In a day and age where the world is in dire need of true rock n’ roll, the Balkun Brothers are bringing the people what they want: hard-nosed, dirty, mammoth sounds that have been invading the ear-holes of fans from coast to coast across the globe and changing lives one head bang at a time.

Following in the footsteps of their delta-blues, rock and metal forefathers, Steve and Nick have been crushing stages since their early teens. Known for marathon concerts that can last up to 5 hours, the two brothers have been developing a sound that few can compare to or even attempt to comprehend.

Steve’s self-built, custom baritone and resonator guitars are on full throttle from the first note he plays each night on stage through BOTH his guitar and bass amps simultaneously, while Nick’s thunderous drum beats meet his brother at center stage for one colossal monster truck of a band. Their shattering low end has been catching the eyes of many who can’t seem to understand how a duo can make so much noise. With a musical range that spans into hip hop and funk fusion without missing a beat, audiences are left speechless at live shows that serve up smashed guitars, dinosaur-like power and lyrical content that is more relevant in today’s society than ever before.

After being voted 'Best Blues Band in Connecticut' at the Connecticut Music Awards 4 years in a row (from 2013-2016), the band was also awarded 'Best Rock Band in New England' at the 2017 New England Music Awards. Steve Balkun was also hand selected by Joe Bonamassa to join him on stage in Los Angeles, CA as part of the Guitar Center Blues Masters competition in 2013 after being voted a grand finalist at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.

The Balkun Brothers have shared the stage with acts such as Gary Clark Jr., Johnny Winter, Joe Bonamassa, George Lynch, Chris Robinson, James Cotton, Gogol Bordello, Devon Allman, Melvin Seals and JGB, The Mike Dillon Band, Dub Trio, Dopapod and many more. The duo has also been featured on major festival line-ups alongside The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Linkin Park, Motley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Slayer, Iggy Pop and Elvin Bishop.

Brothers Nick and Steve, independently produced and released their debut album in 2015 entilted, 'ReDrova', which was well received and rose to #1 on the Roots Music Report Blues-Rock album charts and was #5 on the Roots Music Report overall Blues charts.

Balkun Brothers signed with European label Dixiefrog Records in 2015 and released their much-anticipated second album, 'Devil On TV', with Dixiefrog in May of 2017.

On their mission to spread rock n' roll across the universe, the brothers have toured extensively throughout the United States from coast to coast. The band has also completed six European tours since 2015, performing in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France.

After releasing two albums on French record label, Dixiefrog Records, The Balkun Brothers returned to their rock and blues roots on the power duo's 2019 album, ‘The Sun Studio Sessions’, which was recorded in Memphis, TN at Sun Studios. The brothers paid tribute to their musical forefathers with songs ranging from fast, up-tempo rock anthems to dirty, sweat-covered, backwoods delta blues.

After Completing a full United States tour in early 2020 and playing at famed venues such as The Whiskey A Go-Go and The Viper Room in Los Angeles, CA, the power duo from Hartford, CT returned to the studio alongside legendary producer, Steve Albini, to channel grunge, punk and rock on their album, ‘Here Comes The End Of The World’, available on Aisa Music and Auto Bon Records. This album mixes rock, thrash, doom and punk all into one fast-paced adrenaline covered rampage. The high-energy songs reveal the band's versatility in the studio and their in-your-face attitude bleeds true rock n' roll into the listener’s ears with every note. The album was produced, recorded and mixed on analog tape by legendary engineer, Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, Iggy Pop), at Electrical Audio in Chicago, IL and mastered by Bill Skibbe (Jack White, The Black Keys, The Raconteurs) at Third Man Records in Detroit, MI. Both Albini and Skibbe are veterans of the music business and have number one albums with a variety of artists including Jack White's album 'Boarding House Reach'. White even attended Balkun Brothers' mastering session.

Following this album, the band released two singles in late 2020 on Color Red Records. Both singles were produced by Eddie Roberts. The two songs mix psychedelic funk, rock, jam and punk.

in 2021 the duo put out an EP, 'Paris Penthouse Party', which was recorded in Paris, France at Basement Studios by UK producer, Nick Buxton. The album was mastered by Sean Magee (The Beatles, The Ramones, Iron Maiden) at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, England. Balkun Brothers latest album is released on Auto Bon Records & Aisa Music/The Orchard.

Their latest album, '735 Farmington Ave' was released in August 2022 and is a mix of rock, funk and alternative music. Produced and mixed by Jason Randall at More Sound Studios in Syracuse, NY and mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

Venue Information:
Space Ballroom
295 Treadwell Street

Hamden, CT, 06514