As previously reported, RICHIE KOTZEN's new album, Into The Black, was released in Japan on October 25th, and will be available in Europe via Frontiers on December 8th.

The singer/guitarist has issued his personal comments on the tracks that appear on Into The Black:

'You Can't Save Me' - "This is the first song I recorded for the CD... the first 3 songs were this one, 'Fear' and 'The Shadow'... 'You Can’t Save Me' sets the tone for the entire record... I’m not sure where the inspiration came from, but obviously I was a bit pissed at something... It was one of those songs that really wrote itself... I started with the riff and then just began to sing..."

'Misunderstood' - "This was the 4th song I wrote for the CD... it is really about the effects substances have on your mind... When you're high, you tend to talk about things and say things you would never say... You begin to believe in things that to a sober mind would have no bearing whatsoever..."

'Fear' - "This song is about running out of options... Losing site of goals and surrendering to defeat... It's sort of a sad song lyrically but it's a place that I'm sure many people come to in life if even only for a moment."

'The Shadow' - "This song is about inner voices... Also about feeling alone... Living in a bit of a fantasy world and feeling misunderstood on all levels..."

'Doin' What The Devil Says To Do' - "This song is about mistakes... Also about knowing what the right choice is but for whatever reason you keep on making the same mistake over and over again even though you know your doing it..."

'Till You Put Me Down' - "This is a break up song... basically says that I’m going to stay with you even though I know it's bad... Saying I won't leave until you leave me sort of thing."

'Sacred Ground' - "This song is about being lost whenever you are without the one you love... I suppose it's a bit of a love song even though it sounds sort of creepy."

'Your Lies' - "This song is another sort of desperate love song... More or less saying that you surrender to whatever the other person gives you."

'Living In Bliss' - "I wrote this song a long time ago... There were several different versions of this song until I settled on the version on the CD... It is another break up song... Basically talking about how bad the relationship was and how much better off you are without."

'My Angel' - "This is one of those disfunctional love songs where you are admitting fault in how you are, but also admitting you can't change."