gotthard

(*/10) Swiss rock outfit Gotthard belongs to the spearhead of European hardrock, celebrating big success with longplayers that went right into the charts. While step by step gaining a lot of new fans, Gotthard’s sound also shifted in parallel more towards very melodic rock music that also includes a certain pop appeal. What falls into oblivion is the fact that Gotthard’s start was a very rocking one with a debut that still belongs to my personal favorites. Simply entitled “Gotthard”, the album contains songs that are rooted in classic rock with bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow having been inspiration for starting this powerful rock outfit.

And since rock music was and is the passion of Gotthard co-founder Leo Leoni (he started the band together with Steve Lee who died in a motorcycle accident in 2010) the guitarist always wanted to go back to this powerful sound that was captured on the debut and the sophomore album, entitled “Dial Hard”.

Last year “Gotthard” had its 25^th anniversary, a good reason to realize an idea, Leoni had since quite some years. Celebrating not only the debut album but also the hard rocking appeal of the first three discs led to CoreLeoni.

“The Greatest Hits Part 1” was born and it features songs from the first three Gotthard records. Each of the tunes has been newly recorded and went through some refreshment. In general I can say that the album has a rougher expression and comes with a few more edges than what we have heard on the latest Gotthard releases. Not only due to songs like “Firedance “ and “Downtown” the album sounds more down-to-earth. It’s the rock’n’roll vibe that’s embedded in each of the re-recorded numbers , adding some rock power. In addition it’s the voice of shooting start Ronnie Romero that gives each of the tunes on this compilation a special feel. This man has an excellent voice, which we know already from Lords Of Black and Rainbow, providing some roughness to these early Gotthard classics.

Next to the known Gotthard smashers also one new track made it on this compilation. “Walk on Water” is an exciting hardrocker that fits perfectly into the context of this “Best of…” release.

“The Greatest Hits Part 1” is a well-crafted album that goes back to the roots of Gotthard and it leaves some open questions about what’s next. Is this release a one-time thing and what’s the effect of CoreLeoni on Gotthard? Future will provide us with answers and in the meantime I would say: Let’s enjoy these re-done rock classic on “The Greatest Hits Part 1”.

(*/10)

Tracklist: 

1. Love Theme From "The Godfather"Firedance
2. Downtown
3. Higher
4. Get It While You Can
5. In The Name
6. Let It Be
7. All I Care For
8. Walk On Water
9. Here Comes The Heat
10. Tell No Lies
11. Ride On
12. Anytime Anywhere
13. El Traidor (Bonus Track – CD edition only)

Label: Frontiers Music

Genre: Hardrock

Release Date EU: February 23rd, 2018

Swiss-based hardrockers Gotthard recently released a new album called "Silver", a record that also celebrates 25 years of the quintet from the Tessin.

The celebration continues with Gotthard embarking on a tour through Europe, playing shows mainly in Germany with some more gigs in Spain, Italy and so on. The third concert on this tour brought the guys to Ulm, Germany. As exciting as the headliner show is the special guest that joins the Swiss on this tour. Legendary Danish metal institution Pretty Maids is part of the game as well and it was up to them to raise temperature in the Ratiopharm arena. The venue is actually the home base for the local basketball team but this night it was turned into a convert hall with a surprisingly good acoustic.

To my surprise the show wasn't sold out, a fact that might has to do with the show in Ravensburg two days earlier, a city that's just 40 minutes away from Ulm.

Anyhow, Pretty Maids started the night through metal at 20:00 and it was obvious that the Danes had quite some fans in the audience. Solid riffing from Ken Hammer, a great voice of Ronnie Atkins and a bass player being in constant motion dominated a set of almost 60 minutes. What made Pretty Maids even more powerful was the keyboarder Chris Laney who took the rhythm guitar once in a while.The new songs worked as a springboard for what came in the last third of the show. The new tunes are good but the old ones are great. "Back to Back", "Red Hot and Heavy" and "Future World" are classics in metal and it wasn't a surprise that the crows celebrated every single note played. Talking about "Future World", the album celebrates its 30th anniversary and how great would a classic Pretty Maids set be for the old school fans.

All in all the Danes ignited a metal firework and was more than just a special guest. Horns up.

After a stage rebuild it was time for Gotthard. The show was a journey through 25 years of Swiss-made hardrock and after having had some mainstream years the band went back to their roots with playing harder stuff again. No doubt, catchy melodies are still in focus but also the guitars are back in forefront which makes the tunes again more exciting for headbangers.

The stage scenery was kept very straight-forward. The drum kit was surrounded by wall of speakers with a big lettering of "Silver" right in front. A big 'Gotthard' backdrop completed the picture and it was obviously the music that should get the attention rather than a lot of frills and decoration. 

“Silver River” and “Electrified” have been two great songs to start the show with and also the Billy Joe Royal cover “Hush” is a fix part of each Gotthard show. Fans were enjoying each of these songs and the concert became more a Saturday night party.

Half way down the road the quintet added an acoustic part to their show, which was OK, but it also felt like a break in an energizing rock'n'roll night. Furthermore this night became an unforgettable one for at least one girl who was invited for a dance on stage with frontman Nic Maeder during “Miss Me” was played. Up to this moment in time the show was good and solid but the real moment of turning the hall into a madhouse was with "Top of the World" when the crowd joined the chorus as being a big choir and also clapping hand filled the Ratiopharm arena.

Setlist Gotthard:

1. Silver River
2. Electrified
3. Hush
4. Stay With Me
5. Mountain Mama
6. Remember It's Me
7. Feel What I Feel
8. Sister Moon
9. What You Get
10. One Life, One Soul (acoustic)
11. Let it Be (acoustic)
12. Angel (acoustic)
13. Heaven (acoustic)
14. Miss Me
15. Firedance
16. Everything Inside
17. Top of the World
18. Lift U Up
19. Medley (Come Together, Make My Day, She Goes Down)
20. Anytime, Anywhere

Setlist Pretty Maids:

1. Mother of all Lies
2. Kingmaker
3. Face the World
4. Rodeo
5. I.N.V.U.
6. Bull's Eye
7. Little Drops of Heaven
8. Back to Back
9. Red, Hot and Heavy
10. Love Games
11. Future World

Location: Ratiopharm Arena, Ulm, Germany

Date: February 11^th, 2017

(8/10) Every two to three years it’s Swiss hardrockers Gotthard releasing a new longplayer. “Bang!”, the latest album of the quintet, saw the light of day in spring 2014 and as expected it went right into the charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In their home country, like earlier releases, also "Bang!" reached pole position.

2017 becomes a year that focuses on ‘silver’. “Silver” is the title of the tenth Gotthard longplayer, an album that features 13 new songs. The meaning behind the title isn't that the guys don't want to go for gold anymore. The album is actually a celebration of Gotthard's 25^th anniversary - which mean 'silver wedding' party.

The new record is a continuation of “Bang!”. Already on the latest album the five-piece from Lugano became harder again. Hardrock and classic rock were ruling over soft and sweet ‘ear flatterers’. “Silver" continues with this trend, bringing Gotthard back to melodic hardrock that finds a good balance between hard and catchy.

“Silver River”, the opener, kicks it off. The song features great classic rock that comes with good hooks and 70’s rock approach that is framed in a contemporary production. “Electrified” follows and strengthens the earlier said. The track has a cool groove and belongs to the highlights on the album.

“Stay With Me”, the first single, starts slow and easy. It feels like the listener reached the first ballad, but the tune builds up to a midpace melodic rock song with a well-done interaction between loud and soft. “Beautiful” rounds off a good overview of what can be expected from “Silver”. The song hits more the mainstream with catchy melodies and a perfect sound - just made for some radio-airplay.

That Gotthard can write good ballads isn’t something new. “Not Fooling Anyone” is the name of one of the acoustic tracks on this longplayer. Even though I have to admit that I prefer the rock songs I also have to say that this ballad is loaded with a lot of emotional depth which makes it to a better one.

A tune that’s different is “Miss Me”. Actually it’s a pretty interesting one, reminding me partly of Whitesnake. It starts slow and grooving and I was waiting for the moment when it switches into a loud rocker, something that didn’t happen. It feels a bit like driving a car with the hand-break on. It doesn’t matter that much since “Tequila Symphony No.5” unveils again the rocking roots of the five-piece band.  Another song that belongs to this category is “My Oh My” which has nothing to do with the Slade hit. It’s one of the hardest tracks on the album and belongs to my favorites. Very well done and very much recommended. The closer “Blame on Me” marks already the end of the album and it’s another awesome hardrocker – an energetic ending of an excellent album.

“Bang!” came with some ‘experiments’ like the 10 minutes “Thank You” and the duet called “C’est la vie”. The new longplayer goes without all this. Gotthard boils it down to the essence which is very well-crafted melodic hardrock built on 70’s classic rock.  “Silver” became a fresh and rocking longplayer that offers almost an hour of pure entertainment. I assume that “Silver” becomes ‘gold’, at least in Switzerland.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Silver River
2. Electrified
3. Stay With Me
4. Beautiful
5. Everything Inside
6. Reason for This
7. Not Fooling Anyone
8. Miss Me
9. Tequila Symphony No.5
10. Why
11. Only Love is Real
12. My Oh My
13. Blame on Me

Label: G. Records

Genre: Hardrock

Release Date EU: January 13^th, 2017

Swiss based hardrocker Gotthard will be on tour in the beginning of 2017, promoting their upcoming album "Silver" which will be released on January 13th, 2017. Support act for this tour is nobody less than the iconic Pretty Maids, who recently released with "Kingmaker" a brilliant new longplayer. Sounds like a package you shouldn't miss.

Here are the dates:

GER - 2017-02-09 Ravensburg OberschwabenKlub

GER - 2017-02-10 Regensburg Airport Obertraubling

GER - 2017-02-11 Ulm Ratiopharm Arena

GER - 2017-02-13 Frankfurt am Main Batschkapp

GER - 2017-02-14 Hamburg Markthalle

GER - 2017-02-15 Hannover Capitol

GER - 2017-02-17 Osnabrück Hyde Park

GER - 2017-02-17 Oberhausen Turbinenhalle

GER - 2017-02-19 Freiburg Zäpfle Club

GER - 2017-02-22 IT Milano Alcatraz

GER - 2017-02-24 ES Bilbao Santana 27

ES - 2017-02-25 Madrid La Riviera

ES - 2017-02-26 Barcelona Razzmatazz 2

GER - 2017-03-02 München Tonhalle

CH - 2017-03-03 Bern Festhalle

CH - 2017-03-04 Zürich Samsung Hall

AT - 2017-03-06 Wien Gasometer

GER - 2017-03-07 Nürnberg Löwensaal

GER - 2017-03-08 Saarbrücken Garage

GER - 2017-03-10 Balingen Volksbankmesse

CH - 2017-03-11 Lausanne Sale Metropole*

CH - 2017-03-12 Lausanne Sale Metropole*

GER - 2017-08-25 Haddeby Baltic Open Air*

* without Pretty Maids

(8/10) Listening to music from Swiss Gotthard was a pleasure for me from the first album onwards. Yes, indeed, the guys had a period when they became a bit too catchy and mainstream. But since a few records they found back to their old strength which is combining crunchy riffs with great melodies. The latest studio album "Bang!" is a good example herefor.

Especially the last four years have been a tougher period for the band after having had the tragic loss of singer Steve Lee. This brought Gotthard into a situation to re-think if they should continue or stop with the band. Last but not least they continued which was a good decision. The live 'offical bootleg' is a big thank you to all the fans that supported Gotthard in the last four years. They have been the main factor for still having the band.

"Live & bangin'" contains 17 tracks and is available only the Gotthard fanshop. 

The album was recorded in 2014 and captures a show the band played in Baar, Switzerland as a part of the "Bang!" tour. The setlist pays special attention to the new songs like "Bang!", "Feel what I feel" and the bit different "C'est la vie". But also older stuff like "Sistermoon" from the "Defrosted" album has been performed. It goes without saying that band hymns like "Lift u up" and Anytime anywhere" have been played as well.

The sound of live recordings is always a point of discussion. Not this time. The production is done very well, which means that "Live & bangin" comes with a very good sound that reflects the live atmosphere in an excellent way. I was often reminded to the show I have seen from the Swiss guys in De Boerderij, Zoetermeer in 2014. Very well done and very authentic.

In the end "Live & bangin'" is exactely what Gotthard mentions on their homepage. It is a big thank you to the fans. It's a live album that is pretty cool; a record that gives you a good time and just makes fun. Thumbs up.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Let me in Katie
2. Bang!
3. Get up 'n' move on
4. Sister moon
5. Right on
6. Master of illusion
7. Feel what I feel
8. The call
9. Remember it's me
10. What you get
11. The train
12. C'est la vie
13. That's it (Car crash)
14. Mountain mama
15. Lift u up
16. Thank you
17. Anytime anywhere

Label: G. Records

Genre: Hardrock

(8/10) 'The devil is in the detail' is a saying and The Poodles decided to use this as a base for the name of their newst longplayer. "Devil in the detail" became the name of the sixth album and The Poodles managed being able to handle all those details that decide on success are failure.

"Devil in the detail" isn't a failure at all. The band presents themselves in good shape and offers 12 songs that are melodic metal/hardrock that can be compared with the latest release from Gotthard. This means that there isn't a lot that changed with the sound of the 2005 founded band, but they developed the details (again this word :))

The opening double header "Before I die" and "House of cards" is well chosen. Heavy riffs are combined with good hooklines that are a pleasure to listen to. "The greatest" is the first track that takes out the heaviness a bit. It is a normal rock song with a good quality, even though it isn't the best on the album. It's very much mainstream.

The partly funky "(What the hell) Baby" stands out a bit more. It has a big pop appeal  and it is sugar sweet. And since we love sugar there is no way to escape from the track. A song that follows a kind of the same pattern is "Stop". The hookline is very well done and the straight-forward rhythm does the rest. In my point of view a real winner on the album.

A tune you should check out as well is "Creator and breaker". The number has a good groove and a melodyline that sticks from the very first moment. This is actually something that goes for all of the songs. You get into them from the very first moment on and we talk about haunting melodies, since the tracks are catchy.

A word about the sound. Mats Valentine has been responsible for the production and he gave the album an powerful sound and made it a really rocking one.

"Devil in the detail" is an excellent melodic metal/hardrock album that gives you good time and is the soundtrack for your next ride into the sunset.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Before I die
2. House of cards
3. The greatest
4. Crack in the wall
5. (Way the hell) Baby
6. Everything
7. Stop
8. Need to believe
9. Alive
10. Life without you
11. Creator and breaker
12. Borderline

Label: Gain Music

Genre: Melodic Metal

(7/10) Maxxwell took two years to work on the new album and the result is availabale now. The name of the new disc is "Tabula rasa" and in one or another name this is also what the band did an the last 24 months.

The guys from Switzerland almost reinvented the band by turning things upside down. Maxxwell was known for hardrock made in Switzerland. In that sense they didn't differ that much from bands like Gotthard. Maybe they have been a bit less mainsteam than the Swiss hardrock figureheads, but they served the same target group. The new album still keeps this approach in songs like "Never let you go", but they also added more elements to their music. The whole new album has a much bigger alternative metal orientation than the earlier releases. It almost sounds sometimes like a hard version of Nickleback and comes close to bands like Alter Bridge. One factor in this is the new singer Gilberto Melendez. He has a quite wide vocal range and his voice fits perfect to the sound.

The first thing that is reflecting the before mentioned is the crunchy guitars on tracks like "Partykings" and "Cause I'm lovin' you". Those tracks rock very well and are much more heavy than I have expected. Another song I like is the grooving "Man of steel". Melendez can show his entire capabilities. I like his rougher vocals combined with a crispy riff and a good hookline.

Also from a lyrical point of view things changed. I don't think that you hear titles like "Fuck it!" that often from Swiss bands. Talking about Alter Bridge earlier - this is one of the tracks that shows what I mean.

A tune that also works pretty well is "Backstabber" in which Maxxwell gets support from rapper Polemikk. The results grooves like hell and I think it was a successful experiement - as long as it stays with one song.

The album sounds refreshing and the transformation into the new Maxxwell went very well. A positive surprise.

(7/10)

Tracklist:

1. Partykings
2. Fuck it!
3. Nothing changes my mind
4. Trails of hate
5. Cause I'm lovin' it
6. Gone forever
7. Fallin' down
8. Man of steel
9. Never let you go
10. On your face
11. Backstabber (feat. Polemikk)
12. Run or hide

Label: Fastball

Genre: Aletrnative Rock

The Hardcore Superstars are on tour through Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria.  They are the support for Gotthard. Here are the dates:

Time again for Swiss hardrockers from Gotthard to play another gig in De Boederij in Zoetermeer. This was the first time after two years that they came back to The Netherlands. The band had already a few shows in Holland during the last years and played even festivals like the Arrow Rock festival in 2008  and Bospop in 2004. But Gotthard never reached the status which they have in countries like Germany and Switzerland where they also fill easy bigger venues. 

A couple of days ago I had the chance to talk to Marc Lynn from Swiss hardrockers Gotthard. The band will release their new album on April 4th. Marc talked about the new album and the coming shows for this year. Enjoy reading and enjoy the new album (review soon on MHMB).

Markus’ Heavy Music Blog: Hello Marc, good to have you on the phone. Hope you’re doing fine.

Marc Lynn: Hi Markus. Yes, thanks. I’m fine.

MHMB: You have a new album out pretty soon. I can imagine that this feeling gives a good time. What have been the first reactions you got till now?

Marc: So far we just got good reaction. The new album sounds fresh and rocks. We often heard that “Nic has arrived”. “Bang!” combines the older Gotthard with the sound of the latest releases. Actually the sound and the production of the new album was mentioned often as being really good. Those are the first reaction we got so far.

MHMB: I fully agree. It really feels like Nic found his place in the band and that Gotthard is rocking as one unit.

Marc: Yes, right. Time is an important factor in here. We had two years time to get to know each other. Not only from a human perspective, but also from a musical point of view. On “Firebirth” we used a lot of ideas and experiences based on 20 years of songwriting. But now, after knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses better, we got new possibilities which lead to a more open and flexible songwriting. It’s a pretty good mix at the moment.

MHMB: When I heard the album for the first time I was reminded to the Gotthard debut, since “Bang!” became also a hard rocking record. Was it a conscious decision to focus more on rock or did it just happen?

Marc: This was definitely what we wanted. I think, that “Firebirth” was harder when it comes to the sound, while “Bang!” is more rocking when it comes to the songs. With Gotthard it always goes a bit in all directions. Our aim is to not get boring. We want to surprise always with unexpected and new things. This is even more important for us, since we have a broad and diverse fan base. Gotthard is always positioned somewhere between pop, rock and heavy, without belonging to only one of those areas. So we decided to do what makes fun to us. In addition to that we had with Charlie Bauerfeind also a co-producer who is more in heavy metal. This added of course new elements to our sound. He challenged us esp. with the drums and bass. Thinking e.g. about myself I can say that I moved from the melodic way of bass playing more towards a grooving bass.

MHMB: I think one example for doing what makes fun to you guys is “C’est la vie”. A song with a French title and accordion sounds. Those are really new ways and it sounds cool.

Marc: I agree. If you’re trying something new you have to stand behind it and you have to do it with full power. And since we have with Leo, Nic and Freddy three guys who are good in French it was a natural thing. Furthermore the expression is a well known one. Everybody knows what it means. The decision for the accordion was based on the lyrics. Since the song got a French title we also wanted to transport a bit of the French feeling and the accordion supports that perfectly. “C’est la vie” also shows that our approach was ‘who dares wins’. We wanted to write special songs and those have been the ones which have been ready first. Next to “C’est la vie” it was also “Thank you” and “Bang!” which are different. The last mentioned one for the reason, that we haven’t had a shuffle in this speed so far. It is almost a bit of a ZZ Top style. With “Get down” we had already the boogie style, but never that fast as we have it now with “Bang!”. “Thank you” is special since it is a ten minutes epos and we said to ourselves “we never did that so far, but why not”. Another special tune is “Spread your wings” in which we combine blues, with rock and metal. And we have with “Maybe” a duet on the album with an unknown singer. For this album we didn’t think too much, we just used the freedom to do what we think is good.

MHMB: How have you guys done the songwriting this time?

Marc: Most of the tracks have been written by Leo, Freddy and Nic. They have been in the lead for writing the new songs. One song was also written by myself. It’s the bonus track “I want it all” and will be on the digi packs. In general I can say that everybody contributes to the songwriting, but Leo and Nic always had great ideas which we than continued to work further on. Nic was also quite busy this time since he did all the lyrics himself. All went really professional. And not only the songwriting, but also the cooperation with Charlie. We had lots of fun which we of course combined with serious work. It was great to work together with someone who knows what he does.

MHMB: How did you get into contact with Charlie?

Marc: Actually we had already a loose contact with him, since he mixed “Homegrown – Live in Lugano”. So we knew each other and after briefly talking about a further cooperation and checking a few options we had the feeling that it will work out very well.

MHMB: As we talked already earlier about there is with “Maybe” a duet on the album with Nic and Melody Tibbets. Since I never heard about her before the question is how that cooperation was established?

Marc: She is really unkown. Not even myself heard her name before. In the end it was a coincident. We were looking for new voices for the background vocals and Melody was recommended to us. And when she did the backing vocals for “Maybe” she started once too early or too late with her part. Funny enough this sounded really good. All of a sudden we had the thought to try a duet. Since Nic’s and her voices fits perfect together we decided to go for the duet and give a new talent a chance.

MHMB: With Zoetermeer, Antwerp and Zuerich there are three shows coming in April. Are those warm-up shows?

Marc: We have the release show for the new album in Zuerich in April. This gig is for sure extremely important for us. That’s why we have decided to play the two warm-up shows. Next to that we promised to play a show in Antwerp since we had to cancel the last one due to illness of Nic. And due to the fact that we are then already in the Benelux we decided to add Zoetermeer. We have been there a few years ago. It’s a cool venue and a great atmosphere. That’s why we have decided to play there again.