John Macaluso is one of rock music’s most regarded drummers with a resume that runs from ARK to Yngwie Malmsteen, with his world class drumming being found on some 200 releases to date. However, its only now that John Macaluso has delivered his own project entitled ‘John Macaluso & Union Radio – The Radio Waves Goodbye’ which displays his full versatility as a composer through a collection of 13 tracks that scream quality from start to finish. The music of ‘The Radio Waves Goodbye’ is best described as dark and moody yet is home to a feast of songs that vary in tempo. Obvious influences on the sound can be traced to Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. Yet more significantly drawn from John’s travels around the world studying other cultures music and foreign rhythms. On the albums sound Macaluso states, “I put all these influences together to form the writing style. The music is more keyboard heavy, than guitar based and has a very airy, creepy sound with heavy and sometimes speedy drumming which is actually relaxing at certain high tempos. It is very cerebral from feel to sound”. The lyrical content is dark as well. There are stories told all real life but some told in almost fable ways. Subjects from struggle to Religion, universal, solar system, core of earth, relationships, anger, joy, drugs, fulfillment and emptiness”. Macaluso’s goal with ‘The Radio Waves Goodbye’ was quite simple –My goal in making this album was to make the best album I have ever played on and I have recorded around 200 albums in my career, so it wasn’t easy. This is why it has taken so long (around 18 months), but I have done it. This is my best. I wanted to make music that was true and that I would want to listen too, nothing about following any trend just real expression using all my influence of life. The main thing I wanted to accomplish here was to make an album like it was a snap shot photo of life at the time I was making it. I also wanted to get my favorite musicians and friends that I have worked with through the years on it and have a great time making it. I did this all over the world; I traveled to many different States and Countries to get the players on the record. It took a lot to do it but the performances show and it really shows that genuine friends were working on this record together, you can hear the great time and that the musicians all rose to the occasion and kicked it for me, I gotta thank them all!!! Lyrical influences come highly from the occult and religion blended with spirituality and the way I look at everyday life. It might be a different way of looking at the world but it’s the only way I know. I don’t mean Occult and Religion as a corny doom thing or a preacher man. I am highly influenced in life by the spirit world and the song lyrics tell stories of events an what ifs. Favorite moments: Some are working with my great buddy Vitalij Kuprij. When we wrote and record the instrumental track “T-34”. We spent time at his place in Pennsylvania got on the exact same wave length and kicked a** on this song. We had an amazing time and it shines through on the recording, this track turned out to be one of the best. Also working with Marco Sfogli over in Italy. He lives in a house where you stand on the balcony and overlook Mt. Vesuvius (the Pompeii Volcano). How could you not have a new influence when seing this everyday. The writing sessions were great and the recording even better.