![](\"http:\/\/www.frontiers.it\/m\/uploads\/photos\/hurtsmile_cover.jpg\")
HURTSMILE is the new band featuring singer Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen) who has teamed up with his brother Mark to write his most succinct record to date. The self-titled, HURTSMILE is a raw sonic sucker punch in the face! From the opening buzz saw riff of \u201cJust War Theory\u201d to the epic finale of \u201dSlave\u201d and \u201cBeyond The Garden\/Kicking Against the Goads\u201d, Gary continues to push and poke you in the ear with his lyrically provocative themes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHurtsmile was a long time coming\u2026 I always wanted to write a record with my brother,\u201d says Gary. “I’m a big fan of Mark\u2019s song writing and his snarling guitar riffs.” The timing was right as Extreme was in-between their touring and record cycle, leaving Gary the freedom. They recruited Joe Pessia (bass) an alumnus of Nuno Bettencourt\u2019s Dramagods as well as the guitar player for Tantric. Joe also engineered, and co-produced the record with Gary. To round off the lineup they enlisted heavy hitter Dana Spellman on drums \u201cIt\u2019s an east coast-Boston thing,\u201d states Gary. \u201cMark, my brother, was in a band with Nuno\u2019s brother\u2026 Joe was in Nuno\u2019s band and Dana was a friend, and student of Mike Mangini (former Extreme drummer) \u2026 we like to keep it in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lineup is not the only thing familiar with the band. In true Cherone fashion, the record is chock full of swaggering guitar, soaring vocals and the trademark Cherone eclecticism on tracks such as \u201cJesus Would You Meet Me\u201d, the reggae-tinged \u201cJust War Reprise\u201d and the Dylanesq \u201cThe Murder of Daniel Faulkner (4699)\u201d. \u201cHurtsmile was about returning to my roots, writing a record in my basement, a straight up rock \u2018n\u2019 roll record\u2026 but it turned out to be more diverse and ambitious than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gary is no stranger to taking on intense topics, and Hurtsmile is no exception. The first half of the record is a group of more loosely knit songs such as the cynically inquisitive “Just War Theory”, the limit’s of free speech “Tolerance Song (edit)” and the disturbingly mesmerizing \u201cKaffur (Infidel)\u201d, inspired by the beheading of Daniel Pearl.<\/p>\n
The 2nd half of the record is more conceptually cohesive; an introspective look at the nature of man and the condition of the human heart. \u201cStillborn” introduced earlier, and “Set Me Free” both touch on mans inclination toward darkness, culminating with an epic journey from sin to salvation\u2026 “Slave” to “Beyond the Garden\/Kicking Against the Goads”.<\/p>\n
For the most part both themes are represented as 2 sides of a record. A concept familiar to Extreme fans but make no mistake, whether reading between the lines or just moved by the visceral power of the music, this is a completely different type of record. Gary adds, “All the boys in the band have brought something new to the table, and you’ll never know what hit you!”<\/p>\n
\u201cHurtsmile\u201d tracklisting includes:
Just War Theory; Stillborn; Love Thy Neighbor; Kaffur (Infidel); Painter Paint; Tolerance Song (Edit); Set Me Free; Jesus Would You Meet Me; Slave; Beyond The Garden \/ Kicking Against The Goads; Just War Reprise; The Murder Of Daniel Faulkner (4699).<\/p>\n
The songs \u201cJust War Theory\u201d and \u201cLove Thy Neighbor\u201d can exclusively be listened in full in streaming on the Frontiers Web radio. Tune in at: www.frontiers.it\/webradio<\/a><\/p>\n Hurtsmile: Produced by Gary Cherone, Joe Pessia<\/p>\n SAMPLES: Source: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HURTSMILE is the new band featuring singer Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen) who has teamed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Gary Cherone \u2013 Vocals
Mark Cherone – Guitars
Joe Pessia – Bass, Mandolin
Dana Spellman \u2013 Drums, Percussion<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.frontiers.it\/m\/uploads\/audios\/hurtsmile_-_01_-_just_war_theory_.mp3<\/a>
http:\/\/www.frontiers.it\/m\/uploads\/audios\/hurtsmile_-_03_-_love_thy_neighbor_.mp3<\/a>
http:\/\/www.frontiers.it\/m\/uploads\/audios\/hurtsmile_-_08_-_jesus_would_you_meet_me_.mp3<\/a><\/p>\n