Alice Cooper will release Paranormal on July 28th via EarMUSIC. The album will be available on 2 CD Digipak, 2 LP, Limited Edition Box and digital. Cooper enlisted longtime producer Bob Ezrin to record the 12 track album in Nashville.
Cooper explains Paranormal isn’t a concept album. “It’s not really a scary record … but [instead] paranormal meaning ‘other than normal,’” he tells Eddie Trunk during a recent interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. “This is not a normal Alice record. Bob and I decided, no theme this time, we’re gonna make a record of things that just get us off, things that we like. And it might go in a lot of directions.”
The project features special guest appearances by U2’s Larry Mullen, Jr., ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Deep Purple’s Roger Glover. A mini album consisting of three brand new songs written and recorded with original Alice Cooper band members, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and guitarist Michael Bruce, alongside carefully selected live recordings will accompany the set.
In the same interview with Trunk, Cooper reveals that it was Ezrin’s idea to recruit Mullen for a track.
“I said, ‘that’s a great idea, it’ll change things up so much, just on the basic tracks.’”
“This is not a normal Alice record.”
Before Mullen agreed, he asked to see the lyrics to the song, which surprised Cooper.
“He said, ‘I play to the lyrics, I don’t play to the bass,’” Cooper explains. “And I said that is so cool, just the idea that you’re interpreting the lyrics on the drums. It totally makes the album another album.”
Gibbons plays guitar on “I’ve Fallen In Love And I Can’t Get Up,” in which Cooper states he didn’t want to include if the guitar legend didn’t agree to lending his talent to it.
“After we cut the record I said, ‘If BIlly Gibbons doesn’t play on this, we shouldn’t put this one out,’” Cooper declares. “Because it is just so him. And [when] he got the record, he said, ‘I got the flu, but, man, this song makes me feel better.’ He just killed it.”
More details will be revealed soon.
North American fans can catch Cooper on the road this summer with dates scheduled through October with his solo band. The shock rocker will then head overseas and play shows in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and the Netherlands late in the year.
A variety of VIP tickets are available for most of the shows including reserved seating, meet and greet opportunities, backstage tours, exclusive merchandise and more. Tickets can be purchased at alicecooper.com.
