JOE HASSELVANDER RELEASES THE NINTH HOUR SOLO ALBUM IN THE UNITED STATES
Rock stalwart Joe Hasselvander has released The Ninth Hour in the United States. The album was released last month in Europe where it is receiving glowing reviews. Italian website Metallus recommended the album “without hesitation,” while German site Metal-district compared the album to Hawkwind and Black Sabbath, giving the CD 9.5 stars out of 10. Italy’s Metal Journal gave the album 9 out of 10 stars, while the Metal Head website called the The Ninth Hour “A truly great album, capable of bewitching.” Jukebox Metal called The Ninth Hour Hasselvander’s “finest musical achievement to date.” Wormwood Chronicles chimed in, stating that The Ninth Hour is “Almost unbelievably heavy and portentous from the outset.”
Joined by keyboardist Paolo Negri and bassists Martin Swaney and Eric Cabana , Hasselvander, who has played drums for Raven, Pentagram, Jack Starr and Blue Cheer, unleashes his solo release on BloodRock/Black Widow Records. Hasselvander performs the vocals, drums and guitars on The Ninth Hour.
Joe Hasselvander threw his hat into the musical ring at an early age. He was asked to join legendary music pioneers the Platters while still in high school, and later invited to join Mountain, opting instead to hook up with burgeoning heavy metallers Pentagram. The band released a single and opened for Judas Priest on their Hell Bent for Leather tour. In 1981, they released their first album for Dutch East records.
Hasselvander continued his associations with hard rock luminaries including Jack Starr and Savoy Brown’s Kim Simmonds before joining N.W.O.B.H.M. act Raven in 1987. Hasselvander and Raven toured globally, opening for bands including Testament, Kreator and Tank among others.
In 1997, Hasselvander signed to Italian record label Black Widow, where he released solo albums and material for Pentagram.
Over the next decade, Hasselvander continued his association with Raven, while playing with such metal luminaries as UDO, Jack Starr and Blue Cheer, the latter of whom he recorded the album What Doesn’t Kill You…. with. In 2005, Hasselvander played the German mega-festivals Keep it True and Bang Your Head!!! with Raven. The events were released on DVD the following year, while Raven continued to play festivals and events throughout Europe, including England’s prestigious Hard Rock Hell event alongside UFO, Twisted Sister and Saxon. Hasselvander continued to release solo albums throughout, including The Hounds of Hasselvander, which became the name of his solo band.
Source: http://www.myspace.com/joehasselvander
