LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ End Records) - Northern Ireland-based rock band The Answer embarks on its American conquest on November 11, 2008 with their debut North American release NEVER TOO LATE, a 4-song EP bundled with a bonus DVD featuring previously unseen footage and exclusive interviews.
Thelimited edition 2-disc title, which will only be available in North America, comes out on indie label The End Records, with distribution through Sony RED.
The Answer's gargantuan sound has often been compared to Led Zeppelin and Free, and they have already opened stadium shows in Europe for acts including the Rolling Stones, the Who and Aerosmith. The band has also headlined tours in the U.K., Europe, Japan and Australia, and their first album Rise met with major fan and critical success in all the aforementioned locales. Pre-eminent U.K. hard rock arbiter Classic Rock Magazine - who named The Answer 2005's Best New UK Band - have called them, "The biggest new rock band of the decade."
"I've followed The Answer from the very beginning," said Andreas Katsambas, Owner and President of The End Records. "In addition to thinking that they are an incredible band, I have a personal connection to their music because it is a contemporary version of what I listened to, and loved, growing up. The Answer is the second wave of classic rock, in the tradition of the giants of the '70s - they are pioneers who will bring this great sound back into the mainstream."
NEVER TOO LATE opens with the title track, which originally appeared on Rise. Kerrang! deemed that disc, "as fresh as any debut album in living memory" and "the best British rock debut of the decade." Rise was first released in 2006, and a special 2-CD edition - boasting a bonus disc with b-sides, rarities and live tracks - came out in 2007. In addition to kicking off The Answer's debut North American release in November, the song "Never Too Late" will be featured on Guitar Hero(R): World Tour, the fourth installment of Activision's phenomenally popular game, scheduled to hit retail in October.
The Answer's forthcoming EP offers a glimpse into the future with "Highwater Or Hell," a preview track from what will be the band's first full-length release in North America, slated for first-quarter 2009 (also on The End). The as-yet-untitled album was recorded this summer at Los Angeles studio Seedy Underbelly with John Travis (Kid Rock, Static-X, Killing Heidi, etc.) producing.
Also featured on NEVER TOO LATE are a live recording of "Come Follow Me" from The Answer's show in Japan circa 2007, and the slow blues track "The Doctor" from Rise - Special Edition. The package's bonus DVD features one hour of rarely seen and previously unreleased footage including: exclusive in-depth interviews with band members Cormac Neeson (lead vocals), Paul Mahon (guitar), Micky Waters (bass) and James Heatley (drums); documentary clips from the past two years; live performance highlights; and videos.
"We've dreamed for years of bringing our own blend of hard rock and roll from the crooked shorelines of Northern Ireland across the Atlantic to audiences in America," says lead singer Neeson. "We know it's our time. America beckons, and we're on our way."
Rolling Stone editor David Fricke wrote about The Answer's much buzzed-about 2008 SXSW showcase that, "The four hard-blues boys proved they knew their business well with an assault that was heavy Seventies a la UFO and Irish slide-guitar god Rory Gallagher, delivered with smart writing and true-believers swagger." The Answer is planning their first nationwide American tour in early 2009.
For more information on The Answer, visit https://www.theanswer.ie
