Five Finger Death Punch's "Got Your Six" Opens at #2 on Billboard Album Chart

While it's becoming a habit, it's still an achievement: In a music business that seems to be dominated by free streaming, Five Finger Death Punch has scored its third debut at number two on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart with Got Your Six (or fourth, if you included both volumes of The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell).

Co-written and produced once again by Kevin Churko, Got Your Six eschews the softer side of FFDP as showcased on both parts of the Heaven album, but has the power of the record's first single, "Jekyll and Hyde," which is currently at number three on the Active Rock radio charts.

Also, in a nod to the band's core fans (more affectionately known as Knuckleheads), Heaven, Vol. 1 spiked on the Billboard Album chart the same week as Got Your Six's debut entry.  Heaven, Vol. 1 has enjoyed over 80 weeks on the sales chart since its release July, 2013.

FFDP are currently on the road with two other Kevin Churko (and Kane Churko) produced acts: Papa Roach and In This Moment.

Disturbed's "Immortalized" Debuts at #1; Kevin Churko's First #1

Cadium Music Publishing's writer/producer, Kevin Churko, scored his first number one album with Disturbed's latest, Immortalized.  Churko has written and produced albums that hit number two on the Billboard Top 200 album chart with Five Finger Death Punch's American Capitalist and The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell (Vols. One and Two), but until very recently, the number one spot had remained elusive.

Churko co-wrote on all the band's 15 songs from the album.

Disturbed, no stranger to number ones, has had its last five albums open at the top spot.

Immortalized has been partly fueled by the anticipation from loyal "Disturbed Ones" who have waited five years for a new record from the group, and the album's first (number one rock radio) single from the disc, "The Vengeful One."

The band will play one show this year, then begin the first leg of their U.S. tour in the Spring.

Disturbed to Release New Album Recorded by the Churkos

After a five year hiatus, Disturbed are back with a new album.

The Chicago quartet chose to (not so) quietly step into Kevin and Kane Churko's The Hideout towards the end of last year and record 19 songs, which culminated in Immortalized, due out August 21, according to the band's website.

Kevin helmed the sessions and is credited with co-writing all the songs.

The lead track is "The Vengeful One," and based on some Disturbed Ones' reaction, the news of a new album is happily welcomed.

Cadium Music signs "The Fighter" co-writer, Nikka Bling; Churkos Back in Studio with FFDP

Cadium Music Publishing has signed Nikka Bling.

Bling (real name if Nick Helbling), who brought his song, "The Fighter," to In This Moment during the recording of their Black Widow album, has been an integral part of the success at Kevin Churko's studio, The Hideout.  Bling has credits as a Programmer and Editor on the aforementioned ITM album, as well as the most recent Five Finger Death Punch album, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell.

Bling also co-wrote "Be Right There" for teen artist, MattyB.

"The Fighter," which is the most commercial song on ITM's new album, will most likely be released as a single, later this year.

In other news, a new Five Finger Death Punch album is in the works.  Kevin and Kane Churko have been recording new material with the band and it is projected that the new album will be released by this Summer.

Cadium Music Publishing's Year-End Highlights

2014 was a continuation of 2013 with more notable moments for Cadium Music...

- In This Moment's, Blood, continued to sell, and with the guidance of Kevin and Kane Churko in the studio, the band landed a new record deal with Atlantic.

ITM's new album, Black Widow, has been out less than five weeks, but the group (and the label) is in full support of the record.  

Prediction: ITM's, "The Fighter," is the sleeper track on the album (think crossover radio), but won't get much attention until early next year.

- Cisco DeLuna's collaboration with Nashville's Annie Bosko is producing results.  While not written by Cisco, Bosko's "Crooked Halo" is gaining traction at Sirius radio.

- Southbound 75, a new project from Mark Lorenzo, was recorded this year and after testing some of the tracks, rock, as well as country listeners, like what they hear.  Expect Southbound 75 to release its debut in the first quarter of 2015.

- Five Finger Death Punch - the band that keeps dishing it out - had great success with both volumes of its The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell that were released in 2013, selling 750,000 collectively.  The title track just reached number one on the rock radio charts.

The guys have already recorded much of their new album with the Churkos and the first single is expected in March with an album launch in May.

- Papa Roach recorded their latest with each Churko writing and producing part of the album.  The lead single, "Face Everything and Rise," has already been licensed and the album is due out, 1/27/15.

- Currently, three Cadium songs are in the rock radio top ten: The aforementioned, "Wrong Side," as well as Hellyeah's "Moth" and the aforementioned "F.E.A.R."  (ITM's "Sick Like Me" is #11.)

Lastly, if the industry can get a handle on the streaming situation, maybe 2015 will be a better year for all of us.

Video for In This Moment's "Sick Like Me" Released

In This Moment's first single to their upcoming album Black Widow, "Sick Like Me," was released earlier this month.  The band have just released the official video to the song.  Black Widow comes out November 18 and was co-written by Kevin and Kane Churko, and produced by Kevin Churko.

New Album from Papa Roach Due Out 2015; Single Coming Soon

Papa Roach completed their new album, F.E.A.R. (Face Everything And Rise), which will be due out early next year.  

The record was recorded at Kevin Churko's Hideout Studio and co-written with Kevin and Kane Churko.

In the past, the Churkos have collaborated as a team when it comes to writing with their artists, but due to unusually high traffic at the studio earlier this year, Kevin and Kane co-wrote and produced the album separately - and according to the band, it came out great.

Look for the first single, "Face Everything and Rise" which was co-written by Kane Churko, to come out before the end of the year.   

Five Finger Death Punch Wins Song of the Year at Golden Gods Awards

Five Finger Death Punch received a Golden Gods Award for Song of the Year for "Lift Me Up."  "Lift," co-written by Kevin Churko, was the first single from FFDP's The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Vol. 1.  The song includes guest performer, Rob Halford.  The GGA's were held at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, April 23rd.

Cadium Music Publishing Signs Kane Churko

Cadium Music Publishing proudly signs writer/producer/mixer/engineer and Juno award-winner, Kane Churko.

Kane, the son of writer/producer Kevin Churko, has built quite a catalog, writing songs with Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch, In This Moment and Eyes Set To Kill, among others.  Churko's contributions as a writer have resulted in FFDP's biggest selling song on 2011's American Capitalist  with "Remember Everything" and the biggest selling song in Century Media's history, the title song to ITM's 2012 release, "Blood."

Growing up in a musical family, Kane learned the Pro Tools ropes through his father and is currently the engineer of the elder Churko's studio, The Hideout, in Las Vegas.

Still, with all the activity coming out of The Hideout, Churko has proven himself to be able to successfully work on projects independently of his father and one who can add value to writing projects, such as co-writes on the just-released Eyes Set To Kill album, Masks, writing with Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne) for his solo project, Red Dragon, September Mourning (Virgin) and Speaking The Kings (Nuclear Blast).

While his ever-growing catalog of songs appears to be focused on hard rock and metal, Churko has a very pop background, as demonstrated by his recordings with his band, Modern Science.  The youngest person ever to win a Juno for Engineer of the Year for his work on the aforementioned Capitalist and Blood albums, Churko is looking to maintain a balance amongst various genres of music, by pulling from his personal musical experiences and a variety of artists he's worked with over the years (Shania Twain, Bob Dylan, Hinder and The Corrs, among others). 

Look for the bevy of activity from Kane Churko to continue for the duration of the year and well into 2014.

New Five Finger Death Punch (Vol. 1) Off to Great Start

Five Finger Death Punch released the first of a two-disc set, today.  The album, The Wrong Side of Heaven & the Righteous Side of Hell, Vol. 1, takes an unconventional approach by releasing a double-album, but in two shifts - Volume 2 of the offering to be released later this year.

Vol. 1, co-written and produced by Kevin Churko, who partnered up w/ the band for the last two FFDP albums, is peppered with guest appearances by Tech N9ne, Max Cavalera (Soulfly), Maria Brink (In This Moment) and Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta.  The first single, "Lift Me Up," features Rob Halford.

Guest appearances are one-for-one so far, as "Lift Me Up" has already reached number one on the U.S. Active Rock charts.

Recorded at The Hideout Studio, New Cadium Music signing, Kane Churko, contributes a song by co-writing, "M.I.N.E. (End this Way)."

Look for FFDP on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour, and beyond, this Summer.

Kevin Churko Wins Fourth Juno! Kane Churko Wins, Too!

CARAS has once again recognized the great work of Kevin Churko.  Last night, Churko won his fourth Juno at the 39th Juno Awards.  Churko won for Engineer of the Year, for his work on In This Moment's song, "Blood," and for Five Finger Death Punch's, "Coming Down."  What made the award extra special was that Kevin's son, Kane, also shared the award as co-engineer on the two tracks.  Both In This Moment's, "Blood," from the album of the same name and Five Finger Death Punch's "Coming Down," from American Capitalist, were recorded at Churko's The Hideout.

Two More Juno Nominations for Kevin Churko

This year's Juno nominations were announced and Kevin Churko has two of them.  Churko, and his son, Kane, are nominated for their production work on In This Moment's Blood album, and engineering on Five Finger Death Punch's American Capitalist.

Kevin is a multi-Juno nominee, having won Junos for his engineering work on Ozzy Osbourne's Black Rain and Simon Collins' U-Catastrophe.

The Juno awards take place April 21 at The Brandt Centre, in Regina.

For a little insight on Team Churko, check out this piece in the MJ Times.

Five Finger Death Punch Back in the Studio Recording New Album

Five Finger Death Punch are at The Hideout with Kevin Churko recording their new album.  The band was quoted as saying that they need to keep the 'creative muscle' alive and true to their word, they're working on Album #4 with writer/producer, Kevin Churko.  Churko co-wrote and produced the last two albums American Capitalist and War Is The Answer.  Both albums have sold-through Gold (500,000 in the U.S.).  For more details on FFDP's take on staying creative in the business of rock, check out Blabbermouth

Gemini Syndrome's New Album Co-Written and Produced by Kevin Churko

Metal-ers, Gemini Syndrome, are getting ready to release their debut album, co-written and produced by Kevin Churko.  Recorded at Churko's The Hideout, songs include the lead track and video, Pleasure and Pain, along with Left of Me, Babylon and Take This, among others.  Pain is reacting very well with fans and the band has taken its act on the road with Mushroomhead, in the States.  You can check out Gemini Syndrome's tour schedule, here.

In This Moment and Five Finger Death Punch Get Some Nods from the Press, Retail

As In This Moment continue to face-off against other rock bands at radio, it apparently has not gone unnoticed by Amazon.  The global retailer has anointed ITM as one of the Rising Stars of 2013.  The "Blood" album is elevating the band to the next level and opening the door even wider for female hard rock lead vocalists.

Also in the arena of hard rock, Five Finger Death Punch have been chosen by Artist Direct as having one of the Most Anticipated Albums of 2013.  The current release, "American Capitalist," continues to give its core fans the veracity it looks for in metal, while steadily growing it's audience.

Writer/producer, Kevin Churko, works with both bands and Churko is currently working with FFDP on their next album, due out later this year.

Five Finger Death Punch Grabs Gold Again with 'American Capitalist'

Five Finger Death Punch's latest album, American Capitalist, has been certified Gold in the United States.  ('Capitalist' was certified Gold in Canada, earlier this year.)  American Capitalist is 5FDP's third Gold album in as many releases and should cross the 500,000 in sales in the U.S. very soon, if it hasn't all ready.  Coupling strong support at radio with songs such as 'Under and Over It' and 'Coming Down,' and successful touring, the album hit the half-million mark in the shortest period of time of all the group's releases.  The album was co-written and produced by Kevin Churko.

In This Moment's "Blood" Debuts at #15

In This Moment scores its first top 20 album with "Blood."  ITM opens at number 15 on the Billboard top album charts.  Kevin Churko co-wrote and produced the new release.  Key touring (including with Five Finger Death Punch) certainly helped fuel sales of the band's new album.

Airbourne is in Las Vegas writing with Kevin Churko for the band's new album.  The Aussie rockers are looking to build on their success from their last album, "No Guts. No Glory."  Writing sessions are at Churko's Hideout studio.

Rapper MattyB's video, "That's the Way" explodes on youtube

Kevin and Kane Churko (Five Finger Death Punch) are working with eight-year-old rapper, Matty B. The Georgia rapper has a growing fan-base that has only swelled with the young man's new video and song, "That's the Way." With over 1.2 million youtube views - and counting - it's starting to look like MattyB is the real deal.

Lorenzo Recording Follow-Up to "Love Shape Bruise"

In between live shows and lending band members out for other projects, Lorenzo has finally found time to begin recording their follow-up to "Love Shape Bruise." Recording in an apartment in South Carolina (the band members live in various parts of the Southeast), what is emerging is a tougher and very meaty Lorenzo, but still keeping the Lorenzo sound. Once tracks have been laid down, Kane Churko (Kevin Churko's son) will be called in to mix at least part of the record for a second or third quarter release.