VIOLENT STORM's 'Storm Warning' To Receive U.S. Release In July

More and more in the early 21st century, newer metal acts seem to be modeling their sound after the metal masters.

And there's a reason why the debut full length by VIOLENT STORM, "Storm Warning", bears a sonic resemblance to the aforementioned metal masters — two of the genre's most renowned guitarists, Yngwie Malmsteen and JUDAS PRIEST's K.K. Downing, have lent a hand (with the latter also handling Executive Production duties).

Led by bassist/songwriter Mick Cervino (who has toured alongside Ritchie Blackmore and Malmsteen),alongside drummer Mike Sorrentino (ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT),vocalist Matt Reardon and guitarist Martin Mickells, VIOLENT STORM instantly left an impression on Downing.

Says K.K.: "There's a lot of bands out there now, but a lot of it is very 'nu metal' to me. So when I heard Mick's stuff, I thought, 'This is pretty cool — it has a freshness about it. Very classic metal.' So I played a couple of solos and things went on from there. Yngwie played on the record, and later, I pushed them towards Roy Z to engineer and remix the record from the original. Roy and I were sending files back across the Atlantic, I actually went there a couple of times — once to L.A. and once to Las Vegas — and hooked up with Roy to listen to some stuff. And that's how it all happened, really — I've been involved ever since."

Although he's appeared on live recordings by Malmsteen ("Attack!!" and "G3 Live: Rockin' in the Free World") as well as a song on a studio set by BLACKMORE'S NIGHT ("Under A Violet Moon"),Cervino hasn't had the opportunity to truly show off his bass chops in the studio, until now. "That's another reason why I needed to do VIOLENT STORM, because I've got to be able to play the bass on an album some time!" he said.

The result is a rockin' release that manages to appeal to metalheads both old and new, explains Cervino.

"If you're in an aggressive mood, you listen to something fast, like 'War No More'," he said. "But sometimes you're more into a melody frame of mind, and you listen to 'Alimentary Fable'. It really depends on the mood of the day — and that's what I intended to do for the listener, so they wouldn't be stuck with one style that is redundant."

"Storm Warning" track listing:

01. War No More [Featuring K.K. Downing]
02. Fire In The Unknown [Featuring Roy Z and Yngwie Malmsteen]
03. Deceiver [Featuring K.K. Downing]
04. Pain [Featuring Yngwie Malmsteen]
05. Alimentary Fable
06. Screaming In Your Face [Featuring Roy Z]
07. You Don't Care
08. Owning You
09. Empty Hope
10. Storm

"Storm Warning" will be released in the U.S. on July 17 via Gold Storm Records.

VIOLENT STORM tour dates:

Jun. 01 - Spirit Of Rock Festival at Eishalle - Deutweg-Winterthur, Switzerland
Jun. 02 - Corporation - Sheffield, England
Jun. 06 - KB Hallen - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 07 - Stengade 30 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 09 - Sauna Open Air Festival - Tampere, Finland
Jun. 15 - Spirit 66 Club - Belgium
Jun. 17- JB's - Dudley, England
Jun. 18 - The Camden Underworld - London, England
Jun. 22 - Bang Your Head Festival - Ballingen, Germany