PROGAOR / DYAMOND ROXX

DISTRIBUTED IN THE U.K. BY:

NEW EMAIL:
droxxprogaor@gmail.com

In Memoriam: Michael Jon Coates

March 13, 1953 - June 22, 2021 - R.I.P.

Thank you for the music. You're the reason PROGAOR exists.

I remember the time i was blown away with the first audition of Armed to the Teeth by the American band Asia (the TRUE Asia!).

The pompous, proggy and epic hard rock formula captivated me in a time i was digging into the early catalogues of Styx, Kansas and other less obvious band of the same genre. I immediately ordered a copy of the CD released back in 95 with both Asia albums and quickly "Armed to the Teeth" became one of my favourite early 80s Hard Rock/Metal albums. Also it was not long until i got a VG+ copy of the original "Armed to the Teeth" vinyl to appreciate the analog experience as originally was released plus the stunning epic fantasy crossed with sci-fi piece of artwork. Later i eventually found a copy of the original White Wing album, the band before Asia, a bit more on the Symphonic Prog Rock field. This devotion made me eventually contact Mike as i discovered he had a website and from those communications, i was inspired to create a sublabel called PROGAOR and reissue again the two Asia albums followed a year later by the White Wing album, issued for the first time on CD. Fast forward to last year, after i discovered that Mike rescued the Solomon Kane demos (post-Asia studio recordings), i immediately proposed the release of the demos on CD, which quickly happened, but at this time PROGAOR was already a proper label. Ive read many stories from Mike and some were shared in liner notes, i am extremely honoured from playing a part part on Mike's long musical journey and am deeply saddened with the parting of another unsung rock hero.

Mike's bands paved the template for most of the PROGAOR releases and now Cult Rock Classics label in Greece will release all Mike's work on glorious vinyl, including a box set version with the 4 albums.

We will keep the Mike Coates legacy alive.

Rock lives on!

F. Dias

OUT NOW!!

DR15: BELLADONNA-Night Shade CD £13 (LIMITED TO 300 COPIES - TEXAS ROCK DYAMONDS SERIES)

Obscure Melodic Metal/Hard Rock band from Texas with a shelved album forgotten since 1990. The tape with the album songs was rescued recently to digital treatment and added a few bonus tracks from rough demos. All of this material was recorded between 1989 and 1990. The CD is accompanied with an 8-page booklet with lyrics, band photos and band history.

Belladonna was formed in January of 1989 in Houston Tx by Mike Conde , Rude E. and Robert Hampton. The name was given by Robert and they wrote the bulk of its songs by the spring of ’89. Mike and Rude (childhood friends) had known of Robert through a guitar student of his, Kevin Lockler. They would go see the band Robert was in at the time (St. Kelly) whenever they were playing. The songs were great and they had a lot of admiration for Rob in that regard. As Roads twist and turned the 3 found themselves forming Belladonna a couple years later. Charles Prescott joined after answering an ad for a bass player in a local magazine. They hit it off, had great chemistry and became fast friends. By that winter the band had moved to Nashville for a production deal that went sour. The experience inspired the writing of Watching You, Power Surge, and Once Again. Upon returning to Houston the band began playing out, getting radio airplay, gaining a strong following, and by the summer of 1990 recorded a live video concert for the TV show Metallurgy. By the fall of 1990 the song Once Again caught the ear of Rick Chavez (producer and leading member of the band Drive (Rampage/Rhino Records) leading the band to be courted for a recording deal. Tensions had been brewing towards the latter part of the year and the band inevitably split up with Mike and Rude leaving for Los Angeles to record "Once Again" for Drive's "Diablero" album and eventually joined forces with Drive.

File Under: Melodic Heavy Metal, Glam Metal, Hard Rock.

For fans of: Seduce, Odin, St. Elmo's Fire and World War III.

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DR14: LIC-Just a Taste CD £15 (LIMITED TO 300 COPIES - TEXAS ROCK DYAMONDS SERIES)

One of the top club acts in Houston during the years 1976 through 1979 was undoubtedly LIC. They built a reputation for high energy performances and in 1979, they recorded their lone album and one year later the "Bomb Iran" single. Like so many great bands of the late 70s, they quickly vanished, leaving a short but impressive legacy. Presented in a revamped cover, on a 6-panel digipak with rare photos and band history, remixed and remastered from the original tapes. Includes the rare single "Bomb Iran" as bonus tracks.

File Under: Hard Rock, High Energy Rock & Roll.

For fans of Ted Nugent, Rex, Teaze and Diamond Reo.

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PROGAOR14: HEYOKA-Secret Rarities 1978-86 CD £15 (LIMITED TO 300 COPIES - TEXAS ROCK DYAMONDS SERIES)

The music you are now listening to represents the best of the remaining previously unreleased Heyoka recordings both live and studio. The original 1979 studio sessions were first presented as rough mixes to various people very close to the band at the time, and one of those people fortunate enough to have received one of the demo cassettes was living in Louisiana and was able to preserve that tape over the years. That cassette is the source for the 1979 studio sessions (released on Spirit of Revelation in their final form) herein, and provides a different perspective on the core songs of Heyoka as far as how they were mixed, the lead guitar takes, etc. The track “Moods” is quite the rarity, only recently re-recorded by the band, this song could be considered the last great prog-rock epic written and performed live but never properly recorded in the studio. This live recording of the track is the only surviving example of it from the active period of the band. The other tracks are gathered from various sources and give you more of a clear picture as to what the band was about both in the studio and live– playing their top caliber originals mixed with select covers, usually cuts by artists such as Pink Floyd, Rush, or Jethro Tull among others. Presented in a digipak with foldout mini poster-insert, limited to only 300 copies, all songs and alternate studio versions, are for the first time released on CD. First one in the Texas Rock Dyamonds Series.

File Under: Pomp Rock, Melodic Hard Rock, Progressive Hard Rock.

For fans of: Prism, Trillion, 70s Kansas, 70s Styx.

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DR13: TALAN-Retroxxpective CD + 7" Vinyl SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACK - 100 Numbered Copies!

£25 (order from the website and get a promo photo of the band only on the first 25 copies for sale!)

Talan were formed around 1988, when Craig Ridsdale split from Samurai and Phil John from Preyer (and earlier, from Nightime Flyer). They recruited Steve Palmer on guitar, Adrian Bamford on bass and Paul Burnette who was in various Cardiff bands including Ashmata and a stint in Tredegar. That lineup stayed together for a couple of years, one demo tape was recorded which included invasion and 2 other tracks. Paul left and was replaced with fellow Cardiff singer Dave Evans who sung on the single. The band played mostly around the South Wales area but also played a few gigs in England. Dave, Adrian and Steve left after a year or two and were then replaced with Wayne Harding on vocals, Steve Cole on bass and Shane on guitar. This lineup recorded a few demo tapes over the next couple of years but also was playing quite a few covers in the set by then. The band split around 1992. Craig and Phil were playing in a covers band up until 2 years ago, called Joe Public.

Pack includes original rare 7" single and a CDr presented in card-wallet hand-numbered to 100 with the 7" songs and the 10 demo songs all remastered.

File Under: Melodic Metal, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock.

For fans of: Excalibur, Cloven Hoof, Slander and Samurai.

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DR12: JOSEFUS-Not Dead Yet (Unreleased 1978 Studio Sessions & Live) CD £15

(LIMITED TO 300 COPIES - TEXAS ROCK DYAMONDS SERIES)

JOSEFUS are part of the first wave of Hard Rock bands formed in the end of the 60s, being the true pioneers of Heavy Rock in Texas. Their Dead Man album is one of the greatest American Hard Rock albums of the early 70s and deserves all the cult status it has been given all these years. The band resurfaced in the late 70s and then again in the late 80s, recording sporadically never abandoning their Bluesy Hard Rock roots. In the new millennium when everyone was thought the band was history, Josefus hits the stages again and keeps to this day active. This collection of rare material starts with 4 demo tracks from 1978, plus selected live cuts (mostly from 2012), where we can see the power of the band revived and refreshed after 5 decades of existence.

Presented in a 6-panel Digipak and limited to only 300 copies! Second in the Texas Rock Dyamonds Series.

File Under: Heavy Rock, Blues Rock, Southern Rock, Psychedelic Rock.

PROGAOR/DYAMOND ROXX Presents:

TEXAS ROCK DIAMONDS Series!

In partnership with label & publisher Shroom Angel in Texas, we present you a series of Texas Hard Rock, Prog and Melodic Metal bands that are destined to be future collectibles.

All releases are limited to 300 copies only and will be released mostly on 6-panel digipaks.
The first two to be out on the 13th of MAY are from Pomp/Hard Rock band HEYOKA and Texas Heavy Rock pioneers JOSEFUS. More info on the releases pages.

Coming in June: LIC & BELLADONNA.

During the summer and until the end of the year we will release also works for HOOKER, OZ KNOZZ, BLOWN FREE, BRAT, etc.

STILL HOT!!

DR11: IRONHEART-Archives: Expanded Edition CD £13

IRONHEART are one of the secret treasures of the post-NWOBHM movement of melodic Metal bands.

Formed by Mick Hare after the demise of NWOBHM cult band After Dark, the band got based in Reading,

with a 12"EP under their belts in 1988, started sharing stages with Dumpys Rusty Nuts, Little Angels,

Saxon, FM, etc. The band went on for a while touring and headlining shows until it's demise.

Back in 2004 the band got together for a special 20th anniversary gig celebrating the date also with the self released mini CD "Archives" containing the 5 studio tracks (3 of them on the 1988 12"EP "Running Away").

This expanded edition includes apart from the five studio tracks, 10 live songs with excellent sound quality. Some of these songs were never recorded in the studio so you're in for a surprise! All remastered, presented in a 8-page booklet with rare photos and lyrics of the 5 studio songs, plus band history told by band leader Mick Hare.

File Under: Melodic Heavy Metal.

For fans of: Tygers of Pan Tang, Tokyo Blade, Excalibur and Winter's Reign.

STILL HOT!!

PROGAOR13: RENDEZVOUS-ARCHIVES 1983-86 CD £12

(MINI ALBUM LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!)

RENDEZVOUS were an obscure melodic Rock studio project from the Isle of Wight/UK, formed in 1983, operating mostly as a duo (Tim Prouten and Hugh Kim Lewis). Both were active before on the NWOBHM band Warrior (actually, the fifth Warrior band that sadly never recorded anything) and Hugh also shared drumming duties with cult Powerpop band Cassie. Their best track "Decisions in Love" appeared on the 1984 "Feet on the Street" sampler LP. After a few more studio demos, the duo vanished two years later. This is where melodic Hard Rock crosses over with Powerpop, a style popularised by late 70s bands like The Babys, Cheap Trick, New England and Rick Springfield. All songs remastered and booklet includes rare band photos and band history.

Rendezvous were formed out of the ashes of NWOBHM band Warrior. They had played some fairly large gigs on the Isle of Wight in 1981, supporting ‘Overkill’ who had just played the Reading Rock Festival and also Demon Preacher which was future Hanoi Rocks Drummer Razzle’s band at the time! They had also headlined a few of their own gigs to good audiences. Warrior consisted of Simon Wake on Lead Vocals, Brian Clarke on Lead Guitar, Steve Hargreaves on Rhythm Guitar, Terry Lake on Bass Guitar & Hugh Kim Lewis who was also playing with Cassie on drums. The band lost their vocalist, lead guitarist & bass player leaving only Steve Hargreaves & Hugh Kim Lewis remaining. A bass player was recruited and Tim Prouten joined the band on Lead Guitar. The band decided to go for a softer, more melodic style than Warrior. Rehearsals took place and the band concentrated on covers by bands such as Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang & Girl. Things never really worked out and the bassist & Steve left the band leaving only 2 members remaining: Tim Prouten & Hugh Kim Lewis. No effort was made to keep the band going and Hugh by this time was fully concentrated on his commitments to Cassie. Writing songs was something that interested Hugh & Tim and they purchased a Teac 4 track porta studio. Tim got on & handled lead vocals and all of the guitar parts and Hugh the drums and helping out with the backing vocals. They wrote probably a dozen songs in total but unfortunately only 6 were ever recorded. Rod Gammons the famous producer (Ultravox, Eartha Kitt, etc.), heard a demo and asked the lads to participate in the 'Feet on the Street' LP project of 1984. 'Decisions in Love' and 'Don't Give Up' were subsequently re-recorded at Rod's Sound studio in Brighstone on the Isle of Wight in late 1983. 'Decisions in Love' was considered the strongest & most commercial track and was chosen for inclusion on the album. After much critical success from the press following the release of the album in 1984, Dakota Records expressed interest in the song, but sadly nothing materialised. After the LP project, it was thought that putting a band together could be fun & a bass player and keyboardist were recruited and the band rehearsed extensively with a view to writing more songs and getting out and playing live. This period was however short lived and they split up citing musical differences. Tim & Hugh got back together in late 1985 to write again and ‘Hollywood’ & ’Tell me you Love me’ came from those sessions using the porta-studio. In 1986 ‘Forgetting About the Pain' and 'Don't Say it on the Phone' were recorded at Paul & Pete’s 8 Track studio in Ryde, on the ‘the Isle Of Wight. Hugh & Tim moved on to other things around January 1987 and never officially ‘split-up’. Sadly, they never played live and only six songs exist.

File Under: Melodic Rock, AOR, Power Pop.

For fans of: The Babys, All Sports Band, The Roll-Ups and Ya-Ya.

Blood and Iron Records

Heavy Metal Label & Mailorder

Traditional Metal Label and Mailorder

Blood and Iron Records Heavy Metal Label & Mailorder

Traditional Metal Label and Mailorder

Blood and Iron Records

Heavy Metal Label & Mailorder