FIREBALL MINISTRY Sign With LIQUOR AND POKER MUSIC

Acclaimed Los Angeles quartet FIREBALL MINISTRY, recently dubbed the "#1 metal band you need to know now" by Guitar World, have officially joined the roster of Liquor and Poker Music. The L.A.-based rock label will release the group's new album, "Their Rock Is Not Our Rock", on October 18. A rough mix of the new track "Sundown" has been posted at Liquor and Poker's web site, www.liquorandpokermusic.com (mp3).

Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, VELVET REVOLVER, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) and engineered by Mike Terry (BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, ASH, HALFORD),"Their Rock..." is the quartet's third full-length album, and their first featuring new bassist Johnny Chow (SYSTEMATIC, MY RUIN). Its release will be preceded by a nationwide Adio Footwear-sponsored tour in support of CKY, which kicks off August 8 in San Diego.

FIREBALL MINISTRY — also featuring vocalist/guitarist Rev. James A. Rota II, guitarist Emily J. Burton and drummer John Oreshnick — broke ground on their "first church of rock n' roll" in the late 1990s. They soon developed a devoted cult following with their first two releases, "Ou Est La Rock?" (French for "Where is the rock?") and 2001's "F.M.E.P.", as well as their memorable live performances.

But it wasn't until 2003's "The Second Great Awakening", also produced by Raskulinecz, that the group's powerhouse rock was granted a worldwide pulpit. In support of the critically acclaimed album, the band toured America with the likes of DIO, ANTHRAX, MOTÖRHEAD and ANDREW W.K., while their European touring alongside BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, URIAH HEEP and CKY converted many overseas believers.

The group has also toured and/or shared the stage with such rock and metal heavyweights as SLAYER, MASTODON, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, DANZIG, MONSTER MAGNET, FU MANCHU, HIGH ON FIRE, FEAR FACTORY, THE DATSUNS, DIMMU BORGIR, HATEBREED, ILL NINO, SLIPKNOT, SOILWORK, LAMB OF GOD, LIFE OF AGONY, SHADOWS FALL, SOULFLY and TURBONEGRO. Expect that list to grow extensively in the coming months.

"We are very happy to announce our joining forces with Liquor and Poker," Rota said. "We hope that you all will find the new CD as enjoyable as you did the last one. If you don't, there's plenty of other shit out there masking itself as party rock, so gel up your hair and bust out the eyeliner. Nick and Mike have been forging a slab of stone so heavy that you better buy it its own 12-pack for when you get it home. 'Their Rock Is Not Our Rock'...enough said."

FIREBALL MINISTRY is currently featured on "Bam Margera Presents: Viva La Bands", a compilation CD assembled by the skateboarding MTV personality of "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" fame. (Margera name-checked the group in a recent Entertainment Weekly feature.) They will perform live during an in-store appearance alongside Margera at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles today at 4 p.m.

Home to such celebrated groups as NEBULA and THE HELLACOPTERS, and with a catalog that includes notable releases by BACKYARD BABIES and HANOI ROCKS, Liquor and Poker Music recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. Its mission statement remains clear: to develop the next generation of rock stars.