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Tag: Pretty Maids
0 Pretty Maids – Motherland (2013)
Synth heavy, hard hitting, and filled with lyrics that give the listener pause, creating thought, Pretty Maids latest album, Motherland is a solid, enjoyable effort from this Danish rock band. While their last effort, 2010’s Pandemonium was a harder edgier affair, Motherland is a strong musical journey and a great next chapter for this band’s long history book.
On first listen, it may appear that Pretty Maids are leaning more toward the album oriented rock melody in their song crafting. Yet, after a few more spins, it is easier to tell that this disc is still based on a solid foundation of shredding guitars, strong and steady stomp drumbeats, and massive guitar solos. Overall Motherland is a little mellower than its predecessor, but it still delivers the hard rock hits.
Motherland is one of those atypical albums where the disc must be played through a few times for the whole effect to take hold. On first listen, I thought that Motherland was a decent record with the stronger songs placed at the end of the album. Then I played it through a few more times only to learn that the songs at the beginning of the record were pretty decent as well.
Loaded with great hooks and shredding solos, Pretty Maids have delivered a fine piece with Motherland. Lead singer Ronnie Atkins’ voice is in top form throughout the record, never wavering or weakening. Ken Hammer continues to deliver on guitar with some exceptional work and fantastic solos. And while the keyboards from Morten Sandager receive plenty of spotlights, they never overtake the music entirely, allowing for a perfect blend of synthesizer, guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. It creates a synthesis of symphonic sound parading through the eardrums with delight.
Motherland reminds me of great synth-rock albums from the 80s, balanced with mid-tempo melodies, hard rockers, and a ballad or two thrown in for good measure. Think Styx, Trixter, Europe, or Winger for a good point of reference. And while Motherland may not be as strong a release as their last record, it is still a decent album worthy of investing your listening time into. Pretty Maids may be heading in a mellower direction, but that doesn’t make them any less grand. And given enough time (and plays) Motherland may overtake any of the bands releases in the last ten years as the record to listen to.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
Mother Of All Lies
To Fool A Nation
Confession
The Iceman
Sad To See You Suffer
Hooligan
Infinity
Why So Serious
Motherland
I See Ghosts
Bullet For You
Who What Where When Why
Wasted
Pretty Maids Are:
Ronnie Atkins – Vocals
Ken Hammer – Guitars
Rene Shades – Bass
Allan Tschicaja – Drums
Morten Sandager – Keyboards
Reviewed by Ryo Vie
2 New Video – Pretty Maids – Mother of All Lies
Pretty Maids, Pretty Awesome! Pretty Maids have released a new video “Mother of All Lies” in support of their up and coming album, Motherland.
The video was shot by the famed director Thomas Tjader who already worked with PRETTY MAIDS for the clip “Little Drops of Heaven”.
“Motherland” is scheduled to be released on Frontiers Records on March 22nd in Europe and March 26th in North America.
Check out the clip below!
0 Danish Dynamite Rockers PRETTY MAIDS to release their new Album “MOTHERLAND” on Frontiers in March !
Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release of PRETTY MAIDS anticipated new album entitled « Motherland » on March 22nd in Europe and March 26th in North America.
After their successful and highly acclaimed 2010 album “Pandemonium”, Danish melodic Hard Rockers, Pretty Maids celebrated their 30th anniversary with their debut visual release “It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” in 2012. “Pandemonium” showed the world that Pretty Maids were in a creative spring again, with the band in their finest moment. The melodic approach brought a return to the “Future World / Red Hot and Heavy” era of the eighties, but with an updated sound and freshness that consolidated Pretty Maids as strong as ever.
In late spring 2012, the band gathered to finally write the follow up album. Singer Ronnie Atkins tells: “We knew it was going to be a tough one to follow ! I remember back in the day when we had to follow up albums like “Future World”, we tried more or less to copy the songs from the previous album to keep the same kind of balance. But this time we just wrote what came natural to us and that’s what became “Motherland”.
The band teamed up again with producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe) for the new album. Ronnie says: “Jacob was a natural choice since we had a great experience with him producing the “Pandemonium” album. The recordings went smooth to begin with, but then we had to start touring again during the weekends and this created some stress. Though I really feel strongly about “Motherland”. In my view it has all the ingredients of a good Pretty Maids album, maybe even more melodic than “Pandemonium” and absolutely, as far as I’m concerned a worthy follow up”.
Founded in early 1982 by guitarist Ken Hammer and singer Ronnie Atkins, Pretty Maids soon established themselves as a band to be taken seriously in the early eighties, having their breakthrough with the release – in April 1987 – of the album “Future World”. This record soon gathered a universal recognition as a “Classic”, which endures to date, and allowed the band to perform in from of large audiences thanks to their tour with Deep Purple and their appearances in the “Monsters of Rock” festival. The following album “Jump The Gun” kept the momentum for the band, particularly in Europe and Japan.
Throughout the nineties Pretty Maids continued to release albums, usually followed by European and Japanese tours with the band still maintaining a very high songwriting and production standards. The release of “Wake up to the Real World” in 2006 started the band’s relationship with Frontiers Records.
“Motherland” will include the following tracks:
Mother Of All Lies; To Fool A Nation; Confession; The Iceman; Sad To See You Suffer; Hooligan; Infinity; Why So Serious; Motherland; I See Ghosts; Bullet For You; Who What Where When Why; Wasted.
The release of the new album will be preceded by the release of the single / video “Mother of All Lies” which will hit the streets on January 22nd 2013. A sample of the single can be heard following this link:
Pretty Maids will play numerous festivals this summer such as Wacken Open Air and Bang Your Head !!!, followed by an extensive world tour in support of “ Motherland”.
Pretty Maids are stronger than ever – don’t miss them on tour !!!
PRETTY MAIDS
Ronnie Atkins – vocals
Ken Hammer – guitars
Morten Sandager – keyboards
Allan Tschicaja – drums
Rene Shades – bass
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1 PRETTY MAIDS To Celebrate Their 30th Anniversary With the Release of “It Comes Alive” – The Band’s First Ever Audio-visual Release !
Frontiers Records is pleased to celebrate PRETTY MAIDS’ Thirtieth Anniversary with the release of the band’s first ever live 2CD/DVD package entitled “It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” on March 23rd in Europe and March 27th in North America.
Following the highly acclaimed 2010 album “Pandemonium”, Danish melodic hard rockers, Pretty Maids have been touring more or less constantly throughout 2010/2011. They undertook a full scale European tour in 2010 and have since played several festivals and occasional gigs. The overwhelming response to the new songs and the ongoing requests coming from the fans prompted the band to take their chance and record a live 2CD/DVD last October 1st 2011. Pretty Maids gathered in Pratteln, Switzerland with an enthusiastic and highly explosive crowd of die hard fans and followers to fulfill the demand, for an energetic and memorable performance which was recorded with a fully equipped mobile studio and cameras.
“Riding on the success of our previous studio album Pandemonium and with maybe the strongest line up ever, we thought that we’d make some kind of a live document of what this band is all about in the present time” tells singer Ronnie Atkins. “It Comes Alive is purely and simply a tribute to all our fans and supporters throughout the world, who gave us so many memorable moments, so much pleasure and making our childhood dreams come through”.
“The band’s spirit during the last couple of years has been better than in a long long time” says Atkins. And “It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” shows the band at the top of their game, performing songs from a 30 year long career.
“It’s always difficult to make a set list that satisfies everyone” continues the singer, “It’s a combination of what the crowd expect us to play and what we like to play ourselves ! But of course there are songs like Futureworld and Red hot and heavy that we have been playing for the last 25 years so, they still get a new life every time we play ‘em and still seem to please our audience. But basically what you will find on this Live album are the songs that we toured with on the Pandemonium tour, with a few exceptions”.
“It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” will be exclusively released in a lavish 2cd/dvd digipak released and will include the following tracks:
CD1: Pandemonium; I.N.V.U; Hell on high heels; Wake up to the real world; Destination paradise; Another shot of your love; Scream; Walk away; It comes at night; Queen of dreams; Savage heart; Clay.
CD2: Yellow rain; Rock the house; Back to back; Rodeo; Lovegames; Future world; Little drops of heaven; Please don’t leave me; Red hot and heavy; Lethal Heroes*
* bonus track
DVD Contents: Pandemonium; I.N.V.U.; Hell On High Heels; Wake Up To The Real World; Destination Paradise; Another Shot of your love; Scream; Walk Away; It Comes At Night; Queen Of Dreams; Savage Heart; Yellow Rain; Rock The House; Back To Back; Rodeo; Love Games; Future World; Little Drops Of Heaven; Please Don’t Leave Me; Red Hot & Heavy.
Rockumentary (incl. backstage footage and interviews with the band)
DVD Format: NTSC Region Free / Length 120 mins / Stereo mix 2.0 / Screen 16:9
The Album trailer can be enjoyed below!
“It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)” captures Pretty Maids in their finest moment, Live on stage – In your face ! It’s party time, so just: TURN UP THE VOLUME !
1 Hard Rock Hideout Radio Play List for 6/2/10
Do you want to hear the best new hard rock on the radio? The best new rock is at Hard Rock Hideout Radio first! Tune in to Hard Rock Hideout Radio every Wednesday night at 9 P.M. CST online at www.kacvfm.org on in Amarillo, Texas at FM 90. This week’s show featured new music from Suburban Tribe, Hellyeah, H.I.M. , Negative, Kissin’ Dynamite, Sister Sin, Jackyl, Grand Design, Pretty Maids, Rush, Raven, Masterplan, Broken Teeth, SNEW, Taddy Porter, Chris Laney, RATT and a whole lot more. Check below for the complete play list!
Hard Rock Hideout Radio Play List for 6/2/10
While The World Awaits – Suburban Tribe
Dirty Little Rock Star – The Cult
Hell of A Time – Hellyeah
Kiss Me Undead – 69 Eyes
Heartkiller – H.I.M.
The End of the Line – Negative
Midnight Mover – Accept
Addicted To Metal – Kissin’ Dynamite
Outrage – Sister Sin
Scream (Until You Like It) – W.A.S.P.
Action – Sweet
Little Willy – Sweet
Fox On The Run – Sweet
She’s Not A Drug – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
Bring You Down – Riot Brides
Air It Out – Grand Design
Little Drops of Heaven – Pretty Maids
Heat of Emotion – Zeno
Gutters of Gold – Sunstorm
Man Against The World – Eden’s Curse
Caravans – Rush
Trainwreck – Raven
Far From The End of the World – Masterplan
Viva La Rock Fantastico – Broken Teeth
Cocaine – Black Robot
Bad Lovin’ Never Felt So Good – Stonerider
Feedback & Distortion – Snew
My Moonshine – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
Deep Inside My Heart – Rock City Angels
Excitable – Def Leppard
Love So Bad – Chris Laney
Dirty Dream – Thunder
Take A Big Bite – Ratt
Never Enough – Kiss
The Wild Life – Slaughter
Ride – Dirty Skirty
Shake Me – Taddy Porter
Dirty Water – Snowblynd
Overnight Superstar – The Glitterati
Sometimes – Middle Finger Mob
Can’t Get Enough – Miss Crazy
Don’t Blame Me – Soulshake
Tattoos & Dirty Girls – Million Dollar Reload
Deeper In Darkness – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
I Love Rock N’ Roll – L.A. Guns
5 Pretty Maids – Pandemonium (2010)
I have been a fan of Pretty Maids since their classic Future World release. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I received the news about the band’s follow-up to 2006’s Wake Up To the Real World. With Pandemonium, Pretty Maids have turned in another solid effort, and one that will definitely appeal to fans of the band’s previous releases, and melodic rock in general.
The album opens up with the title track, “Pandemonium”. It seems like to me that Pretty Maids tried to recapture some of the same magic from Future World, and more or less it does. I thought it was odd for a Danish band to have prattlings in their song from U.S. President Barack Obama, and quite frankly, I could have lived with it. Aside from that, “Pandemonium” is a pretty solid opener. I love the up tempo keys of Morten Sandager, and the heavy guitars of Ken Hammer. Ronnie Atkins voice is a lot heavier and more coarse than I remember it being, but it works great with this type of music.
“I.N.V.U” is another melodic monster that reminds me a lot of the current style of the band Gotthard. This is another great tune from Pretty Maids.
If you have been listening to the Hard Rock Hideout Radio Show, you have heard the song “Little Drops of Heaven” a few times by now. In my opinion, this song is easily one of the best of Pretty Maids career. Check it out in the video below.
“One World One Truth” is another up tempo rocker. This one has it all! Blazing guitar solos, great vocals, killer keys. “One World One Truth” does not disappoint at all.
The intro of “Final Day of Innocence” reminds me of the Who’s “Teenage Wasteland”. This song is a pretty catchy melodic rocker that will have you singing along in no time.
“Cielo Drive” is one of the heavier cuts on Pandemonium,. I am a sucker for these up tempo heavy tunes from Pretty Maids, and this one is easily one of my favorites.
You get two versions of “It Comes at Night” on Pandemonium. This song mixes it up with some cool guitar work, killer piano, occasional voice coder. You will want to hit replay after you hear this song the first time. This is some killer stuff. The second version of the song is a minute and a half longer with a longer intro. I think I like the longer version better, but both are very cool.
“Old Enough to Know” has a much more updated song to it, and doesn’t have the dominant keyboards that are present on the other songs on Pandemonium. As a result, “Old Enough To Know” almost sounds out-of-place on this album. The song is a little lighter than what I would expect from Pretty Maids, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have a hit with this song. This is more in the vein of the music on Bon Jovi’s The Circle.
Luckily, the detour for Pretty Maids is a short one, and the heaviness returns on “Beautiful Madness”. “Beautiful Madness” is a mid-tempo number that is a real grower. I find myself cranking this one up in my car.
The song “Breathless” reminds me a lot of Foreigner. This song would not have been out-of-place on Foreigner’s last CD, “Can’t Slow Down”.
Overall, I enjoyed the songs on Pandemonium quite a bit, and found no filler tracks. This is one of the better melodic rock CD’s I have listened to in 2010!
Pandemonium will be released in the U.S. on June 8th. You definitely don’t want to miss out on this CD. You can pick up Pandemonium at this link.
For more information on Pretty Maids, please visit the prettymaids.dk.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Pandemonium
2. I.N.V.U.
3. Little Drops of Heaven
4. One World One Truth
5. Final Day of Innocence
6. Cielo Drive
7. It Comes at Night
8. Old Enough to Know
9. Beautiful Madness
10. Breathless
11. It Comes at Night (remix bonus track)
Pretty Maids are:
Ronnie Atkins – lead vocals
Ken Hammer – guitar
Allan Tschicaja – drums
Morten Sandager – keyboards
Kenn Jackson – bass
0 Hard Rock Hideout Radio Playlist for April 28th, 2010
Did you listen to last Wednesday Night’s Hard Rock Hideout Radio Show? If not, you missed new songs from Ozzy Osbourne, RATT, Y & T, Pretty Maids and a bunch more. Check out the playlist from the April 28th show!
Let Me Hear You Scream – Ozzy Osbourne
Take A Big Bite – Ratt
Sexual Thing – Poison
Hot Shot – Y&T
Crawlin’ – Alice Cooper
Going, Going, Gone – Danger Danger
Up In Smoke – Blackberry Smoke
Devil’s Daughter – Silvertide
Shake Me – Taddy Porter
Dirty Water – Snowblynd
Outer Space – Ace Frehley
2000 Man – Kiss
Back In The New York Groove – Ace Frehley
Best of Me – Ratt
Keep On Dreaming – H.E.A.T.
Angel In Black – Bangalore Choir
We Belong – Saints & Sinners
Little Drops of Heaven – Pretty Maids
Burning Like A Flame – Dokken
Dynamite – Salute
Lost in Wonderland – Eden’s Curse
Dyin’ For An Angel – Avantasia
Now Forever After – Kingdom Come
Twister – Broken Teeth
Lick It Into Shape – Smashed Gladys
Lost Weekend – Ratt
Garden of Your Earthly Delights – Tunnel
While The World Waits Suburban Tribe
A Bigger Bang – Ammotrack
Beg For It – Hardcore Superstar
One More Reason To Hate You – Gunfire ’76
Badlands – Metal Church
Hook In Mouth – Megadeth
Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden
Crack of Dawn – Johnny Crash
Cocaine – Black Robot
Going Down (Above The Clouds)- Jetboy
Eat Me Up Alive – Ratt
(You Can Still) Rock In America Night Ranger
You can listen to the Hard Rock Hideout Radio show every Wednesday night from 9 P.M. – 12 A.M. CST online at www.kacvfm.org.
Got a Song Request? You can send your song requests to Brian Basher or Rob Rockitt!
0 New Video – Pretty Maids – Little Drops of Heaven
PRETTY MAIDS have just finished the shooting of the videoclip for the single “Little Drops of Heaven” under the direction of Thomas Tjader (Saint Deamon), taken from the forthcoming album “Pandemonium” to be released on Frontiers Records on May 14th in Europe and June 8th in the USA. The video can now be seen below!
1 Classic Video – Pretty Maids – Future World
With the recent announcement of Pretty Maids new CD, Pandemonium via Frontiers Records, I decided to give a look back on some classic tunes from the 80’s from the band.
Check out the classic clip, “Future World” below.
0 Frontiers Records announces the release of PRETTY MAIDS 13th studio album
Preceded by the digital only release of the single “Little Drops of Heaven”, “Pandemonium” is out on May 14th in Europe and June 8th in the USA.
Napoli, March, 2010 – Danish Dynamite Rockers Pretty Maids will release their anticipated new album “Pandemonium” on May 14th in Europe and June 8th in the USA.
“Pandemonium” is the band’s 12th studio album and their first full length release over the last four years. A 90 secs. preview of the single “Little Drops of Heaven” is now available for streaming on www.prettymaids.dk and on the band’s and Frontiers myspace sites (www.myspace.com/pmaids / www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords).
Produced by Jacob Hansen (who has also worked with Volbeat, Rob Rock and Beyond Twilight between others), “Pandemonium” with its melodic approach is a definite return to the “Future World / Red Hot and Heavy” era of the eighties, but with an updated sound and freshness that consolidates that Pretty Maids are as strong as ever.
“I think this new record shows the band in its finest moment”, says singer Ronnie Atkins “that’s definitely our best effort in many years and the spirit in the band is higher than ever”.
This album also introduces keyboard player Morten Sandager as a permanent member of the band and his impact is evident on the tracks of the cd, particularly on the hauntingly melodic new single “Little Drops of Heaven” which will be released – only as a digital download, as an exclusive teaser leading to the album’s release, on April 13th worldwide.
Written in the fall 2009 and recorded in the winter 2010, “Pandemonium” will be supported by several festival appearances during the summer of 2010 and then followed by a full scale European tour in Oct/Nov 2010.
“Pandemonium” tracklisting includes:
Pandemonium, I.N.V.U., Little Drops of Heaven, One World One Truth, Final Day of Innocence, Cielo Drive, It Comes at Night, Old Enough to Know, Beautiful Madness, Breathless, It Comes at Night (remix)*.
* Bonus track available first pressing in digipak
Pretty Maids:
Ronnie Atkins – vocals
Ken Hammer – guitars
Kenn Jackson – bass
Allan Tschicaja – drums
Morten Sandager – keyboards
Weblinks: www.prettymaids.dk / www.myspace.com/pmaids / www.frontiers.it / www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords
0 Merry Christmas From Hard Rock Hideout!!
Merry Christmas from Hard Rock Hideout.com. The video clip below is from the hard rock band Pretty Maids.
Vodpod videos no longer available.There is nothing like seeing Twisted Sister animated. Check out “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” below.
Santa Hulk is coming to town?
Skid Row’s – Jingle Bells
0 New Pretty Maids CD in 2010
Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS are about to enter the studio in January to begin recording their new studio album for a late spring/early summer release on Frontiers Records.
PRETTY MAIDS‘ last album, entitled “Wake Up To The Real World”, was released in November 2006 still on Frontiers Records. Singer Ronnie Atkins stated about the CD, “The new record has all the trademarks a good PRETTY MAIDS album should have, and that’s the overall combination of good melodies and strong guitar riffs. But the key word, as far as I’m concerned, is it’s gotta be melodic: whether it’s the heavier and faster tracks or the more ballad/AOR-oriented kind of stuff; in other words ‘good songs’, and I think the album has got that!”
PRETTY MAIDS is a legendary hard rock/heavy metal combo from Denmark founded in early 1982 by Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer. They have released 11 studio albums and ver the years have sold hundreds of thousands of records.
Check out the classic video clip, “Future World” below.
3 Check out the Band Lineup for Firefest V
The United States isn’t the only country with great music festival. Firefest V, will soon be taking place in the Rock City club in Nottingham, UK.
Check out this two day lineup:
This show takes place on Saturday October 25th, and Sunday October 26th. For ticket information, check out the Firefest Website at this location.
The following are videos from Firefest IV:
Jorn Lande performing Duke of Love
Harem Scarem – If There Was A Time
Tyketto – Forever Young
Jaded Heart – Hero
