Meat Loaf's new album ‘Hell In A Handbasket’ To be released 30th September 2011

Music comes no bigger than Meat Loaf. After 40 years and selling over 100 million records, among them one of the biggest albums of all time, Meat Loaf has been a larger than life presence in music with his unique songs and stellar collaborations. Bat Out of Hell is still the number one selling international album in Australia with over 1.6 million copies sold and awarded Platinum status 23 times.

And now, Meat Loaf does it all again with the release of his new album Hell In A Handbasket, to be released in Australia on 30th September 2011, ahead of his national Australian tour that kicks off on the 4th of October in Wollongong.

Like most Meat Loaf albums, Hell In A Handbasket is a BIG album with every song delivering a message that alludes to the theme of the album. Meat Loaf describes it as "the most personal record I've ever made. It's about how I feel the world's gone to hell in a handbasket. It's really the first record that I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment."

Produced by Paul Crook, Hell In A Handbasket once again features some interesting collaborations and special guests. Public Enemy’s Chuck D contributes an original rap mixed into a cover of Tom Cochran’s ‘Mad Mad World’. Entitled ‘The Good God’s a Woman And She Don’t Like Ugly’, it’s every bit as interesting as the titles alludes to. Meat Loaf said, “Chuck D is the rapper’s rapper. He is the original, and every rapper that has come after him wants to be like him. For us to have him on this record is a major coup and I am so impressed with what he wrote!”

Lil Jon, another well-known rap artist who appeared in Celebrity Apprentice alongside Meat Loaf, appears on ‘Stand In the Storm.’

Certainly, no album would be complete without long time duet partner Patti Russo who features on two songs: ‘Our Love And Our Souls’ and a version of The Mammas and The Pappas classic ‘California Dreamin’.’

For a small taste of the new album, the first single ‘All Of Me’ is at radio now.

Meat Loaf will arrive in Australia mid-September 2011 to prepare for his national tour. The AFL and Carlton Draught have also announced that Meat Loaf will be the headline special guest performer at the 2011 Toyota AFL Grand Final on Saturday October 1st at the MCG.