Mark Slaughter, ‘Halfway There’ – May 2017 Release of the Month

Congrats are in order for Mark Slaughter, as the Slaughter frontman's new solo album Halfway There has been voted by Loudwire's readers as the May 2017 Release of the Month. We asked the readers for their most anticipated release of May, and Halfway There pulled head midway through the voting and expanded the lead in the final week. The disc bested Seether's Poison the Parish, Linkin Park's One More Light and Papa Roach's Crooked Teeth, which also put up solid voting totals.

Halfway There is Slaughter's solo follow-up to his independently released Reflections in a Rearview Mirror, which arrived in 2015, and like his previous effort, it has recaptured a bit of the classic-era Slaughter releases. The singer self-produced the effort, working with co-mixer John Cranfield and enlisting famous horror artist "Mister" Sam Shearon to create the cover for the album.

Slaughter says, “My first solo record was kinda getting back on the horse, so to speak. I mean doing everything and recording ... I’m taking on a lot more tasks as an engineer/producer/ writer on all this ... because I’m doing everything. Ultimately at the end of the day, anybody who is a Slaughter fan, will certainly understand that I am a large part of the Slaughter sound and vibe, so obviously if you like that, it’s in there. It’s just that I take a lot more liberties on the solo side that I probably wouldn’t do when it’s a group effort."

He continues, “The record is basically ... I spend a lot of time writing songs and things just grow out of me. I'll be woken up in the middle of the night from nowhere and the song’s just in my head and I just exorcize the demons and there you have it. I guess what it is is, an artist makes art. And I’ve really come to the fact that since we haven’t made a Slaughter record in so long, it’s one of those things that I still have to make the art. That’s what I do. That’s what I love to do, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Among those songs that have just come to the singer are the emotionally charged title track, along with "Hey You," "Devoted," "Conspiracy" and "Reckless."

The album is being released by the EMP Label Group, led by Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, who said of his relationship with Slaughter, “I have been friends with Mark for over 30 years, since he was in Vinnie Vincent Invasion, and there’s a lot of shared history. So when we started talking about the idea of putting this record out, yes, it was a great and natural fit. Mark is such a tremendous talent and songwriter, and the scope of that is truly evident on Halfway There. We’re extremely proud, and excited, to have been able to partner with him on it, and can’t wait for the World to hear it.”

Look for  Halfway There arriving on May 26 (and on May 10 in Japan). You can currently pre-order the album via their EMP merch site.Mark Slaughter will also spend time this year mixing solo dates in between touring legs with the full band Slaughter. See his scheduled solo shows here.

Once again, congrats to Mark Slaughter as his Halfway There solo album has been voted as Loudwire's May Release of the Month.