Northern Light Orchestra

[mtlhd001]

Just thought i'd share some free christmas hard rock music some of you might enjoy:

http://www.carangel.com/northern-light-orchestra/index.html

Northern Light Orchestra highlights majestic, orchestrated rock music featuring soaring vocals, incredible guitar solos worthy of true “Guitar Hero” status, and pounding rhythms sure to impress and invigorate the baby boomer generation that grew up on what is today classic rock! Combined with the talents of executive producer and longtime record mogul Russ Regan, (responsible for over 800 million record sales with such artists as Neil Diamond, Elton John, and Barry White as well as soundtracks such as Flashdance and Jesus Christ Superstar), NLO is slated to become a seasonal live performance and recording entity that provides the very best in entertainment! We also offer free music downloads and sheet music!

The brain child of re-mix keyboardist/writer Brian Stewart (Backstreet Boys, Robert Plant, Hall & Oates, Poe) and produced by industry veteran Ken Mary (House of Lords, Trik Turner, Alice Cooper, The Beach Boys), NLO is designed to create a total musical experience combining the powerful drama of Webber and Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” with the emotionally moving musical styles of Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, and Kansas. Vocalists and musicians appearing on NLO have been responsible for the sale of over 200 million albums worldwide and include members and former members of household names such as The Beach Boys, Sly and the Family Stone, Alice Cooper, Survivor, Steely Dan, Firehouse, Megadeth, Sister Sledge, Quiet Riot, Vanilla Fudge, Winger, Bob Carlisle, Guns and Roses, Grand Funk Railroad, Kiss, House of Lords, and Whitesnake just to name a few. Live performances will highlight a spectacular light and video presentation, theatrical movements, as well as incredible musicianship all assembled to tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ over two thousand years ago.

The new nine track release of Northern Light Orchestra, The Spirit of Christmas, provides merely a hint of what is to come, with nine additional tracks already in production for next year!



VOCALS:
Phil Bardowell (Beach Boys, Magdalen)
Bob Carlisle ("Butterfly Kisses")
Eddie James (Gospel Singer)
Jon Gibson (Jon Gibson)
Robin McAuley (Survivor)
Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge)
Rose Stone (Sly and the Family Stone)

GUITARS:
Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake)
Kendall Bechtel (Fifth Angel)
Lanny Cordola (House Of Lords, Beach Boys, Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
Jason Hook (Alice Cooper, Mandy Moore)
Shane Gibson (KoRn)
Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grandfunk Railroad, Billy Squire)
Chris Sanders (Lizzy Borden)
Bill Leverty (Firehouse)
George Lynch (Dokken, Lynchmob)
Elliot Randell (Steeley Dan, Asia)

BASS:
David Ellefson (Megadeth, F5)
Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot, Vanilla Fudge)

DRUMS:
Ken Mary (Alice Cooper, House of Lords)

STRINGS:
Kip Winger (Winger, Alice Cooper)

KEYS:
Dizzy Reed (Guns-n-Roses)
Brian Stewart (Backstreet Boys, Poe, Evermore, Donkey Ollie)

 

[adaher]

That's a very diverse group. Could be interesting.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

I went and downloaded the free album. I'll have to admit it sounds pretty good. However, I cannot get past the feeling that this just seems to come off as a Trans-Siberian Orchestra knock-off. TSO seems to be the one thing that came from our corner of the music scene that has truly hit mainstream acceptance. Now, it seems like some former mainstream artists now want to get into a piece of the action themselves and create their own outfit, this Northern Light Orchestra thing. They are more than likely going to market this thing based on the mainstream aspect of these artists, with dropping names like "Beach Boys", "Steely Dan", "Guns and Roses". After all, how many people has heard of "Savatage", which is what TSO was pretty much born out of? I am willing to bet the vast majority of the folks in that audience when I saw TSO just last week in Richmond does not even realize where "Serajevo 12/24" and "I Believe" came from. At least that is how it appears to me.

Still, with that said, I actually kinda like it. Will it be another TSO? I highly doubt it, but it is nice to see another take on the Christmas music instead of hearing the tired old standards over and over again every year.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Well, I've downloaded the free album to see what this band has to offer. It's kind of cool that Dave Ellefson and Doug Aldrich are involved! NLO should have gotten Michael Sweet from Stryper to participate.

~Brian~

 

[MetalAges]

I grabbed this months back, and it's not too bad.

One thing I was expecting was it to be more ass kicking, given all the players involved. Maybe ass kicking isn't the right word, but I was hoping the song writing would be more "inspired" sounding.

Still, not too bad.

EDIT: I'll also add, that with the stuff TSO has done, it will be very hard for an act to come out and release something that isn't somehow following in the footsteps TSO has already laid out.