Metric’s relentless pursuit of timeless songwriting and fiercely independent ethos have cemented their place as one of the most essential and ahead-of-the-curve bands of the last two decades. By constantly upping themselves across nine unpredictable and adventurous studio albums, the trailblazing Toronto outfit founded by songwriting and production partners Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw along with bandmates Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott Key is proof that you can amass an untouchable catalog without ever signing to a major label or changing your lineup. Their latest LP, Formentera II, out October 13 via their label Metric Music International and Thirty Tigers, is a testament to their singular purpose. It stands among their best and most genre-defying work and closes the 18-song cycle started by 2022’s critically acclaimed Formentera.

2023 Marks 30 years since Tom Waits released The Black Rider. Originally released in 1993 on Island Records, The Black Rider is Tom Waits’ 12^th studio album. The Black Rider is a musical comedy/horror collaboration between artists: Robert Wilson (director/designer) writer/Beat guru, William S. Burroughs (text) and Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (music). Not a cast album, this Island Records release is Tom’s interpretation and performance of the songs he had originally created for the stage production of The Black Rider. The music is a Waitsian concoction of pop, vaudeville, rock, cabaret and blues – a brew that is strangely familiar yet absolutely fresh.

The unlikely source material is rooted in German Romantic literature and the Weber opera, “Der Freischutz” (although Waits’ music does not quote from the Weber score), The story concerns a marksman who makes a pact with the devil (in the guise of a shadowy horseman) in order to win a shooting contest and hence claim his bride.

A cross between the musical, Cabaret and The Threepenny Opera, The Black Rider is brimming with the sort of inspired originality that can only flow from the mind of Tom Waits.

The album is newly remastered for the first time ever from the original ˝” flat master tape and personally overseen by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering under the guidance of Waits’ longtime audio engineer, Karl Derfler. The album packaging has also been restored. The Black Rider includes tracks such as “November,” “Russian Dance” and “The Briar And The Rose.” Available as a CD digipack.

Originally released in 1992 on Island Records, Bone Machine is Tom Waits’ 11^th studio album. 5 years after Franks Wild Years, Bone Machine is a return to studio albums for Tom Waits. The album features David Hidalgo, Les Claypool, Brain and Keith Richards and won a GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Album.

Bone Machine is rather pointedly otherworldly… another edge pusher – his most poetically and sonically daring work yet. Writing again with his longtime collaborator and wife, Kathleen Brennan, Waits acknowledges writing ‘darker’ material saying “A great many songs live there, so that’s where I’ve been digging lately.”

Waits calls the songs on Bone Machine “little movies for the ears.” He sometimes wrote them entirely from a percussion pattern—which he played on array of largely homemade instruments. One, the “conundrum,” was rusted pieces of farm equipment hung from a large iron crucifix. As Waits explained at the time, “I have a lot of very strong rhythmic impulses, but this is not my world. I just pick something up and I hit it, and if I like the sound, it goes on. Sometimes my idiot approach serves the music.”

Mortality is a recurrent theme, from “Dirt In The Ground” (“We’re all gonna be. . .”) to “All Stripped Down,” “The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me” (a tale of contemplated suicide), “Jesus Gonna Be Here,” the rambunctious paean to childhood, “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up,” and certainly the broken-hearted, confessional classic Waits ballad, “Whistle Down The Wind.” Waits explained at the time: “Yeah, ultimately, it will be a subject that you deal with. Some deal with it earlier than others, but it will be dealt with. Eventually we’ll all have to line up and kiss the devil’s arse.” Yet the album actually ends upliftingly, with “That Feel” co-written with Keith Richards.

Newly remastered for the first time ever from the original ˝” flat master tape and personally overseen by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering under the guidance of Waits’ longtime audio engineer, Karl Derfler. The album packaging has also been restored. Bone Machine includes tracks such as “Goin’ Out West,” “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” and “Jesus Gonna Be Here.” Available on 180g black vinyl.

THE COLLECTION II spotlights Van Halen’s second incarnation, with singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony. The upcoming set includes newly remastered versions of four multi-platinum studio albums, along with a selection of rarities recorded between 1989 and 2004. All the music in the set was mastered directly from the original master tapes, a process overseen by the band’s longtime engineer, Donn Landee. 

THE COLLECTION II is the long-awaited sequel to The Collection, a compilation released in 2015 that focused on the six studio albums recorded by the band’s original line-up, which featured singer David Lee Roth. THE COLLECTION II picks up where its predecessor left off and covers the four consecutive #1 albums released during the Hagar era: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1991), and BALANCE (1995).

The journey begins with 5150, Van Halen’s seventh studio album and the band’s first to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200. Certified platinum six times in the U.S., the record treated fans to hits like “Dreams,” “Love Walks In,” and “Why Can’t This Be Love,” which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group returned two years later with OU812, a quadruple-platinum smash that delivered four Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “Finish What Ya Started” and “When It’s Love."

The accolades continued with FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, which earned Van Halen its first Grammy® Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album. Debuting at #1 and staying there for three weeks, the album achieved triple-platinum certification. The record produced an incredible seven singles, including hits like “Poundcake,” “Top Of The World,” and “Right Now."

In 1993, the band released its first live album, LIVE: RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, before returning in 1995 with BALANCE, its final studio album with Hagar. The album was another commercial triumph, debuting at #1, selling more than three million copies, and earning a Grammy® nomination for “The Seventh Seal.”

THE COLLECTION II concludes with STUDIO RARITIES 1989-2004, an exclusive compilation that assembles eight gems from the Hagar era for the first time. Among these rarities is “Crossing Over,” the B-Side to Balance’s “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”, and the band’s only non-album B-side. 

The compilation boasts other exceptional highlights, including the band’s cover of Little Feat’s “A Apolitical Blues” and the instrumental “Baluchitherium,” which were originally left off the vinyl versions of OU812 and BALANCE, respectively. Additionally, the set features two songs the band contributed to the Twister Soundtrack – “Humans Being” and the Grammy®- nominated “Respect The Wind.” 

Rounding out the set are “It’s About Time,” “Up For Breakfast,” and “Learning To See,” which were recorded during the band’s temporary reunion with Hagar in 2004. All three debuted that year on Van Halen’s second greatest hits collection, THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas is the fifteenth studio album by Elvis Presley, released in October 1971. It was his first Christmas album with new recordings since Elvis' Christmas Album (1957). The album's single, "Merry Christmas Baby" / "O Come All Ye Faithful", was later released in November 1971. This album was a top seller and topped the Billboard Holiday Albums Chart.

Celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Big Pun’s classic debut album, Capital Punishment, with this 2-LP edition on black vinyl.  Originally released in 1998, this album established Big Pun as one of the most gifted lyricists in hip-hop history, showcasing his incredible flow, witty wordplay, and hard-hitting delivery. Featuring collaborations with heavyweights like Fat Joe, Inspectah Deck, and Busta Rhymes, Capital Punishment boasts some of the most iconic tracks in hip-hop, including “I’m Not A Player,” “Twinz (Deep Cover 98),” and “You Came Up.” This 25^th anniversary edition includes all 24 tracks from the original album, fully remastered for vinyl and packaged with an updated design that pays homage to the album’s legacy.

Twenty years since the release of his best-selling album Blues Deluxe, which celebrated “the year of the blues” with unforgettable reinterpretations of classic tracks, Joe Bonamassa is taking stock of how far he and the genre have come with Blues Deluxe Vol. 2. Featuring 2 new originals and 8 new covers of some of the most influential names in the blues – Bonamassa returns to his roots and gives new life to the classic tracks that have informed his own artistry.

Vinyl Packaging:  Blue 180-gram LP with download card included