Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Europe’s founder/guitarist and solo artist John Norum has signed a record deal with Frontiers Music Srl. He will shortly enter the studio to record his tenth solo album, marking an exciting new chapter in his career.

His distinctive singing and guitar playing style, characterized by melodic solos with a characteristic writing style, highlights his ability to balance bluesy influences with classic hard rock. His virtuosic, soulful, and imaginative playing makes his solo work a rewarding listen for both fans and newcomers.

John Norum released his first solo album “Total Control” in 1987 and has made nine solo albums in total since then. His latest album, “Gone To Stay”, came out in 2022.

John has been working with Deep Purple’s frontman Glenn Hughes, Don Dokken and many other top-notch musicians over the past years so international guest appearances are expected on the forthcoming album. 

He will play live both as a solo artist and with Europe in 2026. Europe are currently recording their twelfth studio album and planning their “The Final Countdown” 40th anniversary tour.

John expressed his enthusiasm for the signing, by saying: “I’m thrilled to start my new solo project with the great people at Frontiers Music, a label I’ve known and appreciated for many years, and with whom I’ll be working on the release of my 10th solo album. I’m super excited about the new songs, and I can’t wait to get into the studio and start recording!”

Aldo Lonobile, Head Of A&R Europe at Frontiers Label Group, commented: “We’re excited to welcome John Norum to the Frontiers Records family! An iconic guitarist and a true rock pioneer, John has crafted timeless anthems, and we can’t wait to join forces for the next chapter of his career!”

Norwegian born and adopted by Sweden, John Norum grew up in a strong musical family. At the age of 10, he started learning guitar and, at 12, he founded his first band Dragonfly. At the age of 14, he was inducted into the professional music world, and he started recording and playing live with Swedish rocker Eddie Meduza.

At 16, he was the guitarist and singer in the band WC with drummer Tony Niemistö (aka Tony Reno). Their following project Force was born when his friend Joakim Larsson (aka Joey Tempest) joined the band as a singer. 

John helped the band shape their sound and with bass player John Léven joining the band, Force became Europe on the Lucia Rock in 1982, a competition for emergent rock bands held by Aftonbladet and Thomas Erdtman. The band won the contest and a contract with Hot Records for the recording of their first album “Europe”, which started their worldwide success.

With Europe, John has recorded 9 studio and 5 live albums, toured the world and was awarded several times for best band and best album, as for Comeback of the Year in 2015 by Classic Rock Roll of Honour and for Best hard rock / metal album “Walk The Earth” by Swedish Grammis in 2018, when Europe was also inducted into Swedish Music Hall of Fame.

John’s parallel solo projects started in 1987, after taking a break from Europe and moving to the USA, where he lived until Europe’s reunion in 2003. In the US, he collaborated with well-known artists such as Glenn Hughes and Don Dokken and played in the American rock group Dokken. Many other collaborations are counted along the years with artists such as Michael Schenker and Mikkey Dee.

As a solo artist, John counts 9 studio albums, a live album, a studio album with Don Dokken and one with Dokken. His distinctive singing and his guitar playing style that blends classic hard rock, blues and neo-classical influences and combines powerful riffs and melodic solos, are widely and consistently appreciated.  

2026 will see the release of his 10th solo album along with Europe’s 12th studio album and a massive world tour to promote his new works and the 40th anniversary of “The Final Countdown”.