Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, uber-energetic front-man & all-round rock 'n' roll legend, Michael Monroe, has confirmed the release of new studio album, 'Horns And Halos', for August 23rd 2013 via Spinefarm Records; this is the follow-up to 2011's critically-acclaimed 'Sensory Overdrive', winner of Classic Rock Magazine's 'Album Of The Year' and a No. 1 record in MM's Finnish homeland.
Monroe's touring & recording outfit - bassist Sami Yaffa (ex-Hanoi Rocks/New York Dolls), guitarist Steve Conte (ex-New York Dolls/Company Of Wolves), guitarist Dregen (Backyard Babies, formerly of Hellacopters fame) and drummer Karl 'Rockfist' Rosqvist (ex-Chelsea Smiles/Danzig) - have been hard at work in the studio, providing creative support for a frontman whose reputation is genuinely global and whose influence continues to be felt, with musicians of all ages (from Dave Grohl to
the original Gun n' Roses' members) citing Michael's ground-breaking career as a source of inspiration.
Indeed, the video for the first single to be drawn from 'Horns And Halos', 'Ballad
Of The Lower East Side', includes a nod to Michael's early days in New York, a city he moved to for a decade following the mid-'80s break up of glam punk pioneers, Hanoi Rocks. The clip - directed by
celebrated videographer/photographer Ville Juurikkala, who has photographed Michael for the past 10 years as well as working with Linkin Park, Good Charlotte & HIM, amongst others - features archive footage & photos of Michael in prime Big Apple mode, interlaced with current live & backstage scenes.
Says Michael: - "'Ballad Of The Lower East Side' is about New York, and especially that particular
area - what it was way back in the days when I lived there; it shows how times have changed and how it is today. New York has always been an important city for me since I lived there for 10 years, and two members of our band still live there. It's the City of all Cities!"
