Michael Schenker has completed the recording of a brand new MSG album, Immortal, which is set to be released via Nuclear Blast on January 29th, 2021. The album title is a perfect statement describing Michael Schenker’s legacy and to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a musician. Today, the band has released a lyric video for their first single “Drilled To Kill,” a heavy up-tempo track which is also the opening song on the album. The track features the legendary PRIMAL FEAR singer Ralf Scheepers on vocals, whilst Michael Schenker and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion, Sons of Apollo.) engage in an exciting battle of guitar vs. keyboard.
The album was predominantly recorded at the Kidroom Studio in Germany, with Michael’s long time partner Michael Voss who co-produced the album and also sings on two tracks.
“It is always a pleasure to work with Michael Voss, who works around the clock and is a phenomenal musician and producer. He was composing the melody and lyrics for a power ballad I had written the music for, and he ended up singing along. It turned out so amazing, I did not think anyone else could have done a better job for this song. Truly great.“
Immortal will continue the tradition of the previous two MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST records Resurrection and Revelation and feature a big list of friends and guests. The album’s main vocalist will be uprising Chilean born talent Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Lords of Black, Vandenburg), along with Michael Voss (Mad Max, Wolfpakk), Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) and Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Deep Purple, Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen) singing on two tracks each. Besides Michael Schenker himself, the album was recorded with Steve Mann (keyboards), Barry Sparks (bass, Dokken, Ted Nugent, etc.), as well as the three drummers Bodo Schopf, Simon Philipps (ex-Toto) and Brian Tichy (ex-Whitesnake, Lynch Mob).
“Brian was thrilled to be part of it. He is a master of groove and ended up playing on six songs. I could not believe it: This man is something else. He is a true natural and very original. With his input, it made the album very solid and complete. So guess what – I am very happy“, smiles Michael Schenker.
The newest addition to the record is keyboard player Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater, ex-KISS, etc.), who plays on the album’s opening track, featuring German power machine Ralf Scheepers on vocals.
Immortal will feature ten tracks, including the magnum opus “In Search Of The Peace Of Mind”.
“I wrote this song when I was 15-years-old, it was my first ever written piece of music which I recorded with Scorpions on our first studio album Lonesome Crow. in 1970, getting released in 1972 – when I had already left Scorpions to join the British rock band UFO in June of 1972 – when I was 17. We re-recorded this song for my 50th anniversary as a celebration and it turned out to be an epic; with an extra extension at the end of the song, which turned out absolutely fantastic with Simon Phillips on drums, doing his usual amazing stuff.“
The result is a true highlight and features even more surprises:
“Gary Barden sings the first verse, continued by Ronnie Romero – and in the end we have Ronnie, Doogie White, and Robin McAuley screaming their heads off, as a tribute to my 50th anniversary. Absolute amazing. Thanks to the guys for doing this!“
The limited first edition of this upcoming MSG album will feature another unique extra:
“We have the MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST – Bang Your Head – Blu-ray, recorded during our headline show in Balingen/Germany two years ago: Unfixed, raw, pure and great! There’s a couple of small mistakes, but because the show and recording went so well, I decided to keep it the way it went on the night. It’s live, magic and pure.“
Pre-order the album here: http://nblast.de/MSG-
Today, MSG also kick off the pre-order for Immortal, which will be available in the following formats:
- CD
- CD/Blu-ray Digipak (incl. Michael Schenker Fest Live @ Bang Your Head festival)
- Earbook (incl. album CD + live Blu-ray & live 2CD)
- PIC-LP
- LP
The tracklist reads as follows:
01. Drilled To Kill
02. Don´t Die On Me Now
03. Knight Of The Dead
04. After The Rain
05. Devil’s Daughter
06. Sail The Darkness
07. The Queen Of Thorns And Roses
08. Come On Over
09. Sangria Morte
10. In Search Of The Peace Of Mind