JOE STUMP’S TOWER OF BABEL

track-list:
Dominum
Rules Of Silence
Days Of Thunder
Blind Are Your Eyes
Alone In The Desert
In The Heat Of The Night
Sacrifice
Black Knight’s Prelude
Trust Me
The Princess

produced by Mark Cross for Cross Music Productions (CMP-Records Ltd)
mixed by George Aspiotis and Mark Cross at Studio Aspiotis
mastered by Ade Emsley at Table of Tone Mastering London, UK

discography:

Joe Stump’s Tower of Babel – the hard rock quintet who bring the finest European ingredients to their no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll – will release ‘Days Of Thunder‘ on Silver Lining Music on July 4th, 2025.
Stump’s supreme six-string shredding skills are known throughout rock, both as the lead guitarist of Alcatrazz and as the metal/shred specialist associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and having torn new earholes with their 2017 debut ‘Lake of Fire‘, Stump & co take it a step further and higher with ten glorious slices of riff-driven, Rainbow/Deep Purple styled rock‘n’roll.
Along with the soaring vocals of Jo Amore, the tight-fist-drumming of Mark Cross, the multi-dimensional Mistheria – aka Maestro – on synth/organ, and Nic Angileri nailing down the rhythms on bass, Stump has once again prevailed in bringing heavy, energetic, yet gloriously melodic music to the table with a style and panache rarely seen in 2025.
“All of my influences are the classic European hard rock masters, whether it’s Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker with the Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Uli Jon Roth when he was with the Scorpions, and of course the early Yngwie Malmsteen stuff,”
says Stump.
“So, the record gives a modern take on those classic sounds. I also love classical music of course, like Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and I wear all those influences on my sleeve. I do have more of a metal background, and my touch is like quite a bit more aggressive, but this ‘Days Of Thunder’ record is more of a hard rock album than it is a metal record.”
“That’s also my background,”
furthers Maestro,
“and my favorite rock band is for sure Deep Purple because they use keyboards. Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rainbow too, they used the keyboards a lot and had some of the best keyboardists ever. I mean Jon Lord is the Master of them all! So, I went even deeper into blending various vintage but also modern sounds, and then of course there’s my keytar: all my keyboard solos are recorded on the keytar, because you get that solo vibe, that different control, expression that you cannot get on the usual keyboards. And of course there was also a lot of dual shredding with Master Joe.”
Being an associate at the Berklee College of Music has certainly ensured Stump continues to be a master of his craft.
“When I’m at the college I’m there working so I have a guitar in my hands eight to ten hours a day whether I like it or not, you know?”
affirms Stump,
“I’ll come across something when I’m working with one of my students and it becomes something I’m wanting to address, or something that I’m gonna put into my playing vocabulary. I often find myself doing arpeggios and chords that you normally associate with jazz fusion and incorporating them into a hard rock and metal thing. So, I’m always trying to develop, I’m always trying to get better.”
The likes of ‘Rules Of Silence’ and title track/first single, ‘Days Of Thunder’, propel themselves typically with Stump’s blistering riffs which shimmer with dazzling technique, Amore’s vocals helping to further evoke the classic era of 80’s European rock, whilst songs such as ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘The Princess’ dance the edge of speed and classic fireball rocking, the latter allowing some outrageous solos to unfold from both Maestro and, of course, Stump, who proudly re-establishes his pedigree as one the world’s best hard rock axesmiths.
“With ‘Rules Of Silence’ it felt to me like one of those old up-tempo Rainbow songs, such as ‘Lost in Hollywood’ or ‘Fire Dance’”
explains Stump.
“It’s one those ‘driving’ tracks, and it’s one of my favourite riffs on the record. I love the balls of something that rocks like that, it’s got a lot more vibe and it’s fun to play. And ‘Days Of Thunder’, too, is very much in the Rainbow vibe, but I went a bit heavier towards something that might be reminiscent of some of the early Dio stuff such as ‘Holy Diver’ or ‘Dream Evil’”.
There’s also the mysterious, hazy groove of hip-swinger ‘Alone In The Desert’, a smokey backbeat dragging you into its soulful swagger.
“As I started to put the track together, I wanted it to take on the life of one of those epic rock classics where there’s an Eastern vibe,”
furthers Stump,
“like ‘Stargazer’ or ‘Gates of Babylon’, that kind of thing. Obviously, Blackmore got the idea from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’, so it all morphs together. So, between the marvelous backbeat of Cross, the vocals, the stops and the verse, it’s very, very ‘70s. It sounds a little bit like everything but not too much like anything.”
All in all, taking a ride with ‘Days Of Thunder‘ is a Jedi mind trick of vintage sounds with ultra-fresh and vibrant sensibilities that will transport you back to the Hammersmith Odeon and the days when unabashed hard rockin’ talent, power, colour, and flare were celebrated and venerated.
“One of the reasons it translates is because the honesty comes through,”
says Stump.
“I’m not doing this because I’m trying to cash in – it’s not like that kinda stuff is like super popular today – I’m doing it because I’m truly playing what I love. I’ll just be playing, messing around, and then, all of a sudden, I come up with a killer riff. Or I come up with some little classical or neoclassical bit. It could be anything, could be a melody, could be a riff, could be a chord sequence, and it all finds its natural place. I love playing this music, and it really just ‘comes’ to me. And all the guys in the band are of the same mindset and the same school, so I don’t have to mention anything to them and the tracks take on lives of their own. With Jo’s great vocals, Mark’s skill playing, and of course the Maestro destroying on the keys, everything on ‘Days Of Thunder’ all matches up perfectly. Mark took the production to his Studio and worked with Jo on lyrics and melodies and everything else and later mixed it in Greece.”
Earlier this year Joe Stump’s Tower of Babel had released single ‘Days Of Thunder‘ accompanied by a video (Very Metal Art).
A song that propels itself off with typically blistering Stump riffs which shimmer with dazzling technique, Amore’s vocals helping to further evoke the classic era of 80’s European rock.
Joe Stump comments:
“It’s a badass tune that has a Rainbow vibe to it but heavier and reminiscent of early ‘classic’ Dio, something you could hear on the ‘Dream Evil’ or ‘Holy Diver’ albums. The band just went for it and the track immediately took on a life of its own… Jo’s great vocals, Mark’s killer playing and of course The Maestro destroying on the keys, it all matches up perfectly!”