2014.02.19 - Press Release - Release of 'Stratosphere' by Matt Sorum's Fierce Joy

Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and legendary drummer of Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver and The Cult, Matt Sorum will release his new album, "Stratosphere", under the moniker Matt Sorum's Fierce Joy on March 11 on Rok Dok Recordings via Kobalt Label Services.

"Stratosphere" is major departure from the hard-hitting rock Sorum is best known for. His intense passion for animal and human rights, and need to give back heavily influenced the narrative and acoustic orchestration of the album.

"Over the years, I've been influenced by my surroundings and sometimes that hasn't always been for the better," says Sorum. "But after years of soul searching, I organically fell into a different state of mind.

"With many lessons learned along the way, it seemed like the perfect time to do a record in my own voice, if you will. It's as real and exposed as anything I've ever offered my in my career, and I hope you enjoy it."

Besides stepping behind the mic for lead vocals, Sorum wrote the entire album, and plays acoustic guitar and piano.

"I've always played acoustic, so I wanted to use that as the feel of the record," Matt says.

"I chose the musicians I wanted by records they had played on, and diverse instruments such as mellotron, slide guitar and ethnic percussion.

"I always wanted orchestration, so this album was the canvas for that as well."

Pre-order "Stratosphere" now on iTunes and get an instant download of "The Sea".

Check out the first webisode (in a series of 5) about of the making of "Stratosphere" below.

MATT SORUM'S FIERCE JOY - "Stratosphere" track listing:

01. Intro - Stratosphere Part 1
02. The Sea
03. What Ziggy Says
04. For the Wild Ones
05. Goodbye To You
06. Gone
07. Lady of the Stone
08. Ode to Nick Drake
09. Blue
10. Josephine
11. Land of the Pure
12. Killers N Lovers
13. The Lonely Teardrop
14. Outro - Stratosphere Part 2