STONE ANGELS – ‘UP IN SMOKE’ – THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

‘UP IN SMOKE’

THE NEW ALBUM

OUT NOW

WATCH

‘OVER THE EDGE’ ‘HOLD ON’ ‘WHERE THE CROWS FLY’

Hard-grunge rockers Stone Angels release their highly anticipated and sought after new album ‘Up In Smoke’ on CD & vinyl available direct from the band HERE. Armed to the teeth with a flurry of sledgehammer riffs, colossal choruses and unabashed wailing solos, and in a departure from the norm, the collection of 9 hard-hitting songs will be released digitally track-by-track throughout 2024. Buying the album in this fleeting moment, or at a show, is the way to hear the album first in its entirety as intended and to savour…

On the decision to release the album in physical form only for now, they go on to explain, “The way music is released has changed drastically. Ultimately, we wanted to do something different than the traditional model of 2 or 3 singles and then release the album, while this model still works for physical releases, it doesn’t work for streaming platforms such as Spotify.”

“In order for an artist to really have a chance to grow on these platforms they need to have a steady flow of new music to drip feed over several months to help maintain and grow audience engagement. On any given day around 120,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify, so within a month over 3 million songs have been released which means your music can become “old” in an instant.” Digging in further and staking their flag in the ground, “As an unsigned independent band, we have the luxury of not being tied to a record label’s potentially outdated approach, but we will be releasing each track 2 to 3 months apart digitally as stand alone singles. Sure, some may say it’s a gutsy move but we want to challenge the norm and believe this new way of thinking will benefit us in both physical sales and streaming platforms.”

Setting the scene behind the album title, lead guitarist James Innes tells the tale, “November 7 2019 at approximately midday, a fire broke out in my house while I was inside. The trauma of watching my home, my safe space be destroyed by the blaze sent me into a depressive spiral, especially as the pandemic quickly followed. It’s the closest that I have ever been to becoming an alcoholic as at times it felt like the only release I had.” Taking an adverse and crushing situation to rise up, “I took inspiration to write about the ordeal rather than bottle it up. ‘Up In Smoke’ was the most challenging song that I have written, but with the support of my wife, bandmates, family and friends I was able to heal. It was my way of making a silver lining to that smoke cloud.”

Featuring a trio of released slamming singles ‘Where The Crows Fly’, ‘Hold On’ and the kinetic ‘Over The Edge’, which rapidly racked up streaming and YouTube views, other reasons to play it loud include a take on drummer Loz’s high stakes day job profession in ‘Gambler’ and the full-throttle pedal-to-the metal new single ‘Supercharged’ that would be the ideal opener to any rockers night out. There’s a contrast in the southern epic ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ evoking imagery of cutting off what has come before, seeking adventure and the death of a relationship that continues to haunt whilst set to an iconic skyline in ‘Ghost Of New York’. On the album closer ‘Western Dream’ they pose the politically charged question, “Are places like America & the UK still desirable places to live? With the rise in the cost of living, the aftermath of Brexit and lack of gun control, is the West still as desirable as it once was to others?”

Swooping in from the vibrant cornucopia of the ever-expanding music scene in Brighton UK, the soaring 4 piece of Niall Kersey (vocals), James (guitar), Sam Sayers (bass) and Loz Ford (drums) admit it’s been a while; “We actually began recording demos in the summer of 2019 and started shaping and bringing to life our songs, then the pandemic struck. Initially, like everyone else, we were frustrated about having to put our lives on hold, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise to have more time to make the best album we possibly can.” This moment of serendipity led to working with multi-platinum award-winning producer Mike Krompass (Steven Tyler, Everybody Loves An Outlaw, Smash Mouth), recording at his state-of-the-art studio Base Culture with mastering duties expertly handled by the legendary Tim Turan (Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Van Halen).

Having previously shared stages with Hot Milk, InMe, Skindred and wowed at the inaugural Pride Rock Festival Brighton, the band pull inspiration from classic LA rock, Seattle’s iconic grunge and historic UK rock scenes forging a fresh take on the genres by creating their own cocktail of adrenaline fueled rock having been likened to such household names as Queens of The Stone Age and Soundgarden.

With the aforementioned exciting new approach to releasing an album which bears plenty to please all rock fans, it will leave the listener clamouring for more. Current live show highlights to come sees them performing at Station 18 Festival in Swansea, the fantastic Monsterfest in picturesque Inverness Scotland and what will be a triumphant return to Pride Rock Festival, a flightful future is upon Stone Angels.