ENEMY EYES ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM "HISTORY'S HAND" OUT NOVEMBER 18, 2022

Johnny Gioeli, a career vocalist whose credits include Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell, and Crush 40, has announced the formation of a new band, Enemy Eyes.

Enemy Eyes is the fulfillment of a vision of Johnny's to create a new band that combines his fondness for classic hard rock with European metal.

Of note, this will be Gioeli's 100th official release as a recording artist after decades of multi-platinum, gold, and critically acclaimed albums. A true landmark recording in his discography and also the beginning of a new chapter.

"Enemy Eyes is the final product of a vision I've had for many years of combining old school rock with a European metal feel. At the end of the day, I can sing many styles of music, but my heart and soul is metal. It is known to my fans as I wring the sweat out of my shirt each night on stage. I want to feel what I sing. I grew up with the music of DIO, Rainbow, [Black] Sabbath, [Iron] Maiden, and more. I needed to fulfill what I feel is a missing piece in my musical puzzle, so Enemy Eyes has been born. It’s not just a project, it’s my music life’s work moving forward," says Gioeli.

The band's debut album, 'History's Hand' will be released on November 18, 2022, via Frontiers Music Srl. 

Today, Enemy Eyes release the new single and video, "Peace and the Glory".

Pre-order/save 'History's Hand' on CD/LP/Digital HERE

Listen to the previously released track, "Here We Are" HERE

Check out the Lyric Video for "Peace and the Glory"

Johnny Gioeli first came to prominence with Hardline, a melodic hard rock band that he formed with his brother Joey and which famously featured Journey guitarist Neal Schonon the band's debut album, 'Double Eclipse'.

Johnny has continued to front Hardline since the release of their debut album in 1992, including their most recent release, 2021's 'Heart, Mind and Soul'. In addition to Hardline, Johnny has been fronting both German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's solo band and Japanese-American band Crush 40 since 1998. He also released his first solo album, 'One Voice' in 2018.

Needless to say, Johnny brings Enemy Eyes to life with a wealth of experience and a clear-eyed vision of where he is going with the band.

"This is completely different from Hardline, ARP, and Crush 40. Completely different. It is a definitive new music entrée on the menu of my career and one I've been hungering for," says Gioeli. "The influences are many. From the metal music I grew up with to more modern bands like Breaking Benjamin, Volbeat, Architects, and on and on. This combined with my love for melodic and Euro metal, to me, helps Enemy Eyes become a fresh world of metal," he adds.

As he has done with his other acts, Gioeli plans to bring Enemy Eyes to the stage to bring the message and power of the music directly to fans. A seasoned musician who is now in his fourth decade of touring the globe, he doesn't know any other way.

Asked about the meaning of the album's title track, Gioeli explains, "'History’s Hand' is a very special song. The chorus' finishing line “born a child, feared as a man” sums up my vision of awareness, innocence to evil, and how we become what our history dictates. Sort of the “history repeats itself” thought process. Recognizing that all things come full circle in time, and we should be reminded of this regularly…sometimes with a good fucking slap. Feel the hit of History’s hand. We are the architects of our history. Don’t fuck it up. It felt right to make this the album title."

Stay tuned for announcements about tour dates and more info on Enemy Eyes by following the band's social media as well as Gioeli's.

Line Up:

Johnny Gioeli - Vocals

Marcos Rodriguez - Guitar

Alessandro Del Vecchio - Bass, keyboards

Fabio Alessandrini - Drums

CIRCUS OF ROCK ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM; ALL-STAR CAST JOINS FINNISH DRUMMER MIRKA RANTANEN

ALL-STAR CAST JOINS FINNISH DRUMMER MIRKA RANTANEN

"COME ONE, COME ALL" COMING AUGUST 6, 2021

NEW SINGLE + VIDEO, 'DESPERATE CRY' FEAT. JOHNNY GIOELI OUT NOW

Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Circus Of Rock's debut album, "Come One, Come All" on August 6, 2021. Circus Of Rock is a new band, or rather a massive musical project, masterminded by drummer Mirka Rantanen (King Company). The debut single, 'Desperate Cry' featuring Johnny Gioeli (Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell) on lead vocals is out today. See the video HERE.

Pre/order save "Come One, Come All" HERE: https://orcd.co/circusofrock

"My musical influences in making "Come One, Come All" come from a mix of artists I've been exposed to over the years. My own bands which I've been involved in and, of course, my own musical idols. In music, I love more than anything classic melodic hard rock and that shows on this album. I wanted to make the kind of music I could stand behind completely. The intention was just to have fun with musicians I admire and have everybody perform great songs," says Circus Of Rock mastermind Mirka Rantanen.

"As for the recording of the album, last summer we had all the songs and demos ready. I recorded the drums in early autumn and then everyone else did their part in different studios or at home during autumn and end of the year. Since the album has almost 40 musicians, it was a bit of a challenge to keep everything in order when it comes to sessions. Dozens of tracks could arrive to me on the same day. I worked closely with mixer Kimmo Ahola so that we both kept up to date with what was coming in, what had been transferred, etc. It was quite a job and I still have to tip my hat to Kimmo for putting this puzzle together," continues Rantanen.

“Come One, Come All” has a killer line-up of singers and musicians, a full list of which you can see below. The amazing talents involved come from the likes of Amaranthe, Tyketto, Hardline, Nightwish, Leverage, and more, plus musicians from bands such as Stratovarius, Brother Firetribe, Masterplan, and others.

Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell frontman Johnny Gioeli handles lead vocals on first single 'Desperate Cry'. Rantanen explains, "'Desperate Cry' was called 'Why' at first, but when Johnny got it, he wanted to change the lyric a little bit and it became 'Desperate Cry'. This was the first song that came together for the album. It is written by songwriter/guitarist Ade Manninen and as soon as I heard the demo of it, I was absolutely sure it would go to Johnny. It fits his voice perfectly. Unfortunately, Ade died of cancer May 9th and will not be able to see the release of the song or the entire album. The guy in the video is a "stunt guitarist" because Ade was no longer able to participate in the video shootings due to his health. But he's in our memories now here and a few other songs he plays on. The song is about a relationship ending between two people and the pain involved with that, but after Ade's death, the story took on a whole new meaning, at least for me."

“A few years ago I started to think about recording a solo album; however, I didn’t want to do just a traditional solo album. That’s because people often think a solo album is mainly to allow the musicians to show off their fantastic skills and magnificent instruments, but I wanted to focus more on the great songs that don’t happen to have extra drum solos. I also wanted to include many fantastic colleagues with whom I have played over the years on this album, and in addition a couple of great guest singers. My intention is to get the album released in 2021, when I turn 50. And now this will happen thanks to the Frontiers label. The album will be a kind of milestone in my professional career, my long-term 'dream that is finally coming true' type of thing," says Rantanen.

Confirmed singers and musicians appearing on the album include:

- Jarkko Ahola

- Rick Altzi (Masterplan)

- Kimmo Blom (Leverage)

- Johnny Gioeli (Hardline)

- Marco Hietala (ex-Nightwish)

- Erik Kraemer (Simulacrum)

- Mark Quee

- Antti Railio

- Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone)

- Elize Ryd (Amaranthe)

- Tommi “Tuple” Salmela

- Riku Turunen

- Danny Vaughn (Tyketto)

Mirka Rantanen has a long career in the Finnish hard rock scene. He has played on 40+ albums during his 30 year career, including releases by King Company, Raskasta Joulua, Kotipelto, Warmen, Northern Kings, Revolution Renaissance, and more. In addition, ten years ago he created the very popular heavy rock band for kids called ‘Hevisaurus’, for which he was awarded the Emma Award in 2011 (the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy).

Tracklist:

1. The Beat (Feat. Riku Turunen)

2. Desperate Cry (Feat. Johnny Gioeli)

3. Sheriff Of Ghost Town (Feat. Marco Hietala)

4. Never (Feat. Kimmo Blom)

5. In Times Of Despair (Feat. Elize Ryd)

6. Crossroads (Feat. Pasi Rantanen)

7. Caught In The Middle (Feat. Danny Vaughn)

8. Plywood Covered Windows And Crappy Shoes (Antti Railio)

9. Edge Of Love (Feat. Rick Altzi)

10. Set Me Free (Feat. Jarkko Ahola

11. Everafter (Feat. Tommi “Tuple” Salmela)

12. No Reason (Feat Marc Quee)

13. Tears Of The Clown (Feat. Erik Kraemer)

14. Burning (Bonus Track Digital)