[Cover photo credit to Agata Nigrovskaya]
Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Deep Purple) and Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group have announced the upcoming release of Belly of the Beast for October 28th, 2022. The title track and an accompanying lyric video have also been revealed.
Songwriter and vocalist Joe Lynn Turner’s 11th album was Produced by Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, PAIN, Lindemann), capturing thought-provoking Heavy Metal.
Turner comments on the album:
Belly Of The Beast is a phrase we’ve heard over and over again in history. You can trace the cults and corruption all over the world back to prophecies in the Bible. It feels like it’s coming to fruition these days. When you look at the book of Revelation, there it is. I’ve always dipped into esoteric knowledge, Hermeticism, Occultism, Bible research, Eclectic philosophy. I’ve been fascinated with discovery of hidden mysteries. We are in a true spiritual war right now. It’s Good versus Evil. We’ve all got an Angel on one shoulder and a Devil on the other. We’re in the Belly Of The Beast, trapped in the System, and there’s no way out of it. The album addresses this.
This new chapter of Turner’s life has also led to some decisions about his public persona. Having been diagnosed with alopecia at three-years-old, he began to wear a wig at 14-years-old, dealing with “emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying in school.” So, he wore the hairpiece throughout his career until finally deciding to go without it.
He explains:
In a way, it’s a blessing and a curse. I have nothing to prove, and I can wear a wig—or not. I am free to do what I want. I’m a grown man, and I’m getting to be an older man. Many men in this business eventually come to the decision to continue to ‘’wear hair’’ or shave their head which is very fashionable today. Either way, it takes a lot of personal courage. Assholes in high school trying to kick me around made me stronger and gave me the necessary motivation and strength to rise above the rest. Anger and pain are a great tool. If applied correctly, it could develop you to become the best version of yourself. Instead of running away, I was ‘’hiding in plain sight”.
Turner’s message on Belly of the Beast focuses on the idea that so many have “sold their souls to major corporations” and therefore “become a part of the establishment”. He asks, in return, “Where are the rebels?”
