The track is taken from second album “Spirit On A Mission” and will be released as a single to promote the band’s upcoming European and UK tour dates – on which they’ll play the track for the first time.
Schenker has also confirmed that the band will film their concert at Joy Eslava, Madrid, on November 19, for a DVD release early next year.
He reports: “We chose Madrid because of the immense support we’ve received there in the past. The crowds have always been very special to me – their passion is second to none, and we hope to capture the energy and excitement of the audience and the band.”
The outfit’s current tour schedule include headline European shows, UK support slots with Judas Priest and a headline run in the UK. Schenkerrecently spoke about making a third album with the Temple Of Rock lineup, saying it’s become a “very stable band.”
1. Live And Let Live 2. Communion 3. Vigilante Man 4. Rock City 5. Saviour Machine 6. Something Of The Night 7. All Our Yesterdays 8. Bulletproof 9. Let The Devil Scream 10. Good Times 11. Restless Heart 12. Wicked
Guitar legend Michael Schenker is storming back with a brand new corker of an album, along with his TEMPLE OF ROCK band. Michael describes how he came up with the title for the new album –
“A while ago I was asked how I wanted to be remembered, and I said ‘as a spirit on a mission, spreading the joy of music from a place of pure self expression.’”
During the recording of the album, the studio was broken into and original recordings and guitars were stolen. But that didn’t deter the band, despite making more work, it also made the material stronger.
“Bridge The Gap” was the last album released by the band in 2013 and for this next outing Michael knew exactly what he wanted for “Spirit On A Mission”, including some 7-string guitar for a low, heavy sound.
All the songs were co-written by Michael and vocalist Doogie White, with guitarist and keyboard player Wayne Findlay this time taking on a bigger role by co-writing five songs. “Spirit On A Mission” is the second TEMPLE OF ROCK album to feature the former SCORPIONS rhythm section, Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz.
The album kicks off with my favourite track ‘Live And Let Live’, also the current single, with its fast tempo, full of that classic Schenker sound and heavy riffs, complimented perfectly by Doogie‘s vocals, full of energy. It’s a real feel good song, with a great solo halfway through and also an outro solo. I can’t put my finger on why, but the only song that didn’t stand out immediately for me was the second track, ‘Communion’, but after only a couple of listens, that soon changed.
The first single to be released from the album was third track ‘Vigilante Man’ – another stand out one. Michael‘s vision of “keeping the fast songs rolling like a train with lots of energy” was certainly spot on with this catchy tune full of melody. Next up is ‘Rock City’, the whole arrangement of the song REALLY reminds me of early WHITESNAKE and UFO. Maybe that is no mistake as Michael has also stated that some of the songs have writing more like in his UFO days.
At 5.59, the longest track on the album is ‘Saviour Machine’ – a great heavy one complete with melodic solo in the middle. ‘Something Of The Night’ is excellent, the opening guitar evokes ‘The Flight Of The Bumblebee’, maybe a little Rimsky-Korsakov is reincarnated in Michael! Guitar buffs will love this track I’m certain, Michael‘s skill on the fretboard is just fantastic, especially the Howler sound used here. Combine that with Doogie‘s excellent vocals and it results in the ultimate listening pleasure.
‘All Our Yesterdays’ has a slightly different feel to it, heavy but also flowing, again with great vocals. ‘Bulletproof’ has some great chugging riffs, with a short Flamenco sounding guitar break in the middle of the song. Moving onto ‘Restless Heart’, another fast tempo track with great riffs, what else can you expect really from a band with Michael Schenker at the helm!
Concluding this epic album with a great song in ‘Wicked’, the pace doesn’t let up and is full of melodic heaviness. The professionalism and skill of all the longstanding musicians shines through on this album, along with the outstanding production by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss. Definitely a ‘must’ in any classic rock music lover’s collection.
“Spirit On A Mission” will be released on CD, Deluxe Edition (CD + DVD), Deluxe 180 Gram Vinyl (Special DMM-Cut) and Digital Download.
Michael Schenker says the deaths of some of his musical heroes made him want to work in a band environment again, according to classicrock.com.
The guitar icon releases his third album with his Temple Of Rock project on March 23. Entitled “Spirit On A Mission”, the record features bassist Francis Buchholz, drummer Herman Rarebell, frontman Doogie White and keyboardist/guitarist Wayne Findlay.
After years of operating as a solo artist, former Scorpions and UFO man Schenker says he was moved by the deaths of Gary Moore and Ronnie James Dio to go back to his rock band roots.
He tells Metalholic he got all of his experimentation out of his system in his years as a solo artist and realised he was ready to work as part of a band again.
He adds: “I’m going backwards, I’m going upside down. I was focusing on becoming a great guitarist and more of a solo thing. I got all my things out of my system, all the things I wanted to do. All the musical experiments, because no touring band would have wanted to do that.
“People are passing away, like Gary Moore, Ronnie James Dio, Johnny Winter and so many people. It’s gonna be just a memory, this incredible era that has lasted 50 years now.
“I just wanna put this to the foreground one more time.”
The recording sessions for “Spirit On A Mission” were thrown into disarray last year when computers containing much of the recorded material were stolen from a studio in Germany.
But the songs are now ready to go and Schenker says he is thrilled with the results.
He says: “I’m very pleased with it, because I like the energy. I wanted to keep it very energetic and melodic and hard and then also even heavy. And I think we captured quite a bit of that.”
“Spirit On A Mission” Tracklist:
Live And Let Live
Communion
Vigilante Man
Rock City
Saviour Machine
Something Of The Night
All Our Yesterdays
Bulletproof
Let The Devil Scream
Good Times
Restless Heart
Wicked
Searching For Freedom (bonus track)
Award-winning, legendary rock guitarist Michael Schenker willrelease a new studio album entitled “Spirit On A Mission” in the UK on Monday23rd March.
Released by in-akustik, the album of all-new material features Schenker’sTemple of Rock band including ex-Scorpions Herman Rarebell (drums) and Francis Buchholz (bass), ex-Rainbow’s Doogie White (vocals) and Wayne Findlay (guitar, keyboards). The album will be released on CD, Deluxe Edition (CD+DVD), Deluxe 180 gram vinyl (special DMM-Cut), and digital download.
The album features 12 classic rock guitar-driven songs that highlight Schenker’s distinctive and dynamic guitar playing, valiantly underpinned by the ferocious rhythm section of Rarebell and Buchholz, the same rhythm section that originally performed together on the Scorpions’ 1979 album Lovedrive.
Michael remembers how he came up with the name of the new album – “A while ago I was asked how I wanted to be remembered, and I said ‘as a spirit on a mission, spreading the joy of music from a place of pure self expression.’” Check out the promo video of the new single “Vigilante Man” HERE.
Spirit On A Mission shows a re-energised guitarist at the top of his game, surrounded by some of the best musicians in rock. The first single, “Vigilante Man”, is released Monday 19th January.
SPIRIT ON A MISSION – TRACKLISTING
1. LIVE AND LET LIVE
2. COMMUNION
3. VIGILANTE MAN
4. ROCK CITY
5. SAVIOUR MACHINE
6. SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT
7. ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
8. BULLETPROOF
9. LET THE DEVIL SCREAM
10. GOOD TIMES
11. RESTLESS HEART
12. WICKED
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Artist: MICHAEL SCHENKER’S TEMPLE OF ROCK
After years of operating as a solo artist, former Scorpions and UFO man Schenker says he was moved by the deaths of Gary Moore and Ronnie James Dio to go back to his rock band roots.
“I just wanna put this to the foreground one more time.”
Click image to watch the video
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