Only Heavy Metal

Legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker's MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST project has recruited drummers Simon Phillips and Bodo Schopf following the recent passing of Ted McKenna. Simon, who played on the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP debut album, will return as the main drummer on the upcoming second MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST LP. Due to his schedule, he is unable to be the live drummer for the upcoming U.S. tour. This role will be completed by Bodo Schopf, who played on "Perfect Timing" and "Save Yourself". With the sudden passing of McKenna, Bodo will be featured on the upcoming record but in a smaller role as he had the important job of preparing for the U.S. tour.

2019-03-28 - Following on from the release of their successful debut album »Resurrection«, MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST have completed the recordings for their second studio album, which is scheduled to be released on August 23rd this year worldwide through Nuclear Blast.

“Based on the fun that we had recording »Resurrection«, the success of the album and the surrounding tours we undertook that were just fantastic, I was deeply inspired to make a start on writing new songs for a new MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST album“, says Michael Schenker and explains: „It is even a step up from »Resurrection« with amazing input from all singers and all musicians - I could not ask for a better result. The songs are blazing, snappy, energetic, melodic and with drummers like Simon Philips and Bodo Shopf we got amazing results. This time we even managed to record three great mid-tempo songs with all singers involved, singing their hearts out.“

The album will be titled »Revelation«. “The album title and cover concept expresses things that have happened in my past as well as what is still happening at the present time. It’s about passion and purity versus greed and corruption. There is much to say. It’s about time I let people know about some of this…”, comments Michael Schenker.

»Revelation« was produced by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss. It was recorded and mixed by Michael Voss at Kidpool Studio Greven & Kidwood Studio Münstertal, Germany (December 2018 - March 2019). “Michael Voss is a fantastic musician with great input as a co-producer. Our chemistry is something else. We have a way of working together that is extremely creative.“

The album was mastered by Christoph 'Doc' Stickel for CS Mastering/Vienna, Austria.
Additional recordings were completed as follows:
Simon Phillips's drums recorded by Jason Mariani at Brotherynstudios in Ojai, CA.
Bodo Schopf's drums recorded by Rolf Munkes at Empire Studios, Bensheim, Germany.
Graham Bonnet's and Robin McAuley's vocals recorded by Jimmy Waldo at "Where's That Track Studio" in Los Angeles, CA.

Besides the four vocalists Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley and Doogie White, Michael Schenker also reveals a guest singer on one track. „An incredible thing happened; we had this song that was ready to be worked on and Michael Voss suggested Ronnie Romero from Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW, who Voss had worked with in the past, to sing on this song as a guest. What came out of it was classic. Amazing vocals with blazing music that absolutely rocks! We are ready to present this unique album to the world and I am very much looking forward to getting this album out there. Our label Nuclear Blast is totally happy with this record and I was especially happy getting a message from Markus Staiger, the founder of Nuclear Blast, saying how much he loves this album.“

Recently, the band announced that after they will be welcoming back Simon Phillips and Bodo Schopf - who each played drums in MSG - to the MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST line-up. Simon who played on the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP debut album will return as the main drummer on the upcoming second album. Due to his schedule however, he is unable to be the live drummer for the upcoming US tour. This role will be completed by Bodo Schopf, who played on "Perfect Timing" and "Save Yourself". With the sudden passing of Ted Mckenna, Bodo will be featured on the upcoming record but in a smaller role as he had the important job of preparing for the US tour.

Michael states, "We are very grateful to Bodo for being a team player and working out with Simon what needs to be done in order for us to continue as smoothly as possible and also to Simon for helping us to make it all possible. Bodo is the perfect choice to continue as the permanent drummer for Michael Schenker Fest. It is a perfect balance between the musicians from the past. It includes everything as a family to continue MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST."

MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST - reveal „Revelation“ cover artwork + announce new album release date for September 20th!
MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST - album details! - 2019-06-05

2019-06-05 - Following on from the release of their successful debut album »Resurrection«, MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST have completed the recordings for their second studio album, which is now scheduled to be released on (attention, new date:) September 20th this year worldwide through Nuclear Blast. The album pre-order will start on June 14th.

Today MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST reveal the cover artwork for »Revelation«,which was created by Zsofia Dankova (POWERWOLF a.o.). “It is a fantastic artwork and a great cover. A picture tells all!“, says Michael Schenker and adds: "The album title and cover concept express things that have happened in my past as well as what is still happening at the present. It’s about passion and purity versus greed and corruption. There is much to say. It’s about time I let people know about some of this…”.

“Based on the fun that we had recording »Resurrection«, the success of the album and the surrounding tours we undertook that were just fantastic, I was deeply inspired to make a start on writing new songs for a new MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST album“, says Michael Schenker and explains: „It is a step up from »Resurrection« with amazing input from all singers and all musicians - I could not ask for a better result. The songs are blazing, snappy, energetic, melodic and with drummers like Simon Philips and Bodo Schopf we got amazing results. This time we even managed to record three great mid-tempo songs with all singers involved, singing their hearts out.“

Besides the four vocalists Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley and Doogie White, Michael Schenker also reveals a guest singer on one track. „We had this song that was ready to be worked on and Michael Voss suggested Ronnie Romeo from Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW, who Voss had worked with in the past, to sing on this song as a guest. What came out of it was classic. Amazing vocals with blazing music that absolutely rocks! We are ready to present this unique album to the world and I am very much looking forward to getting this album out there. Our label Nuclear Blast is totally happy with this record and I was especially happy getting a message from Markus Staiger, the founder of Nuclear Blast, saying how much he loves this album.“

2020-08-10 - Michael Schenker is currently in the final stages of recording a brand new MSG album, which is set to be released on Nuclear Blast on January 8th, 2021. The album title will be „Immortal“, a perfect statement to describe Michael Schenker's legacy and to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a musician. „It's going very well. We have a lot of guest musicians, who will undoubtedly help to make it an exceptional success“, says Michael Schenker. He also adds: „First of all I want to say that I am very grateful to any musicians that have helped to create a fitting tribute to my long career on this special release. I want to thank all of them for their incredible contribution.“

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 a.o.), along with Michael Voss (MAD MAX a.o.), Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR) and Joe Lynn Turner (ex-DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW a.o.) singing on two tracks each. Besides Michael Schenker himself, the album was recorded with Steve Mann (keyboards), Barry Sparks (bass, DOKKEN etc.), as well as the three drummers Bodo Schopf, Simon Philipps (ex-TOTO) and Brian Tichy (ex-WHITESNAKE). „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. „Derek and myself trading solos, it sounds unexpected and beyond my expectation. Absolutely fantastic!“

„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.“

MICHAEL SCHENKER – reveals cover artwork of the upcoming MSG album "Immortal"
MICHAEL SCHENKER – reveals cover artwork! - 2020-08-28

2020-08-28 - Michael Schenker has completed the recording of a brand new MSG album, which is set to be released on Nuclear Blast on January 8th, 2021. The album title will be „Immortal“, a perfect statement to describe Michael Schenker's legacy and to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a musician.

Today, Michael Schenker reveals the cover artwork of „Immortal“, created by Zsofia Dankova (POWERWOLF a.o.).

2020-11-20 - 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 etc.) engage in an exciting battle of guitar vs. keyboard.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 (black, black/white marbled, red/black marbled)
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. The cover artwork of „Immortal“ was created by Zsofia Dankova (POWERWOLF etc.).

„Immortal“ will continue the tradition of the previous two MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST records „Resurrection“ and „Revelation“ featuring a big list of friends and guests. The album's main vocalist will be uprising Chilean born talent Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW etc.), along with Michael Voss (MAD MAX etc.), Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR) and Joe Lynn Turner (ex-DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW etc.) singing on two tracks each. Besides Michael Schenker himself, the album was recorded with Steve Mann (keyboards), Barry Sparks (bass, DOKKEN etc.), as well as the three drummers Bodo Schopf, Simon Philipps (ex-TOTO) and Brian Tichy (ex-WHITESNAKE). 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. 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: „It will include the MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST - Bang Your Head – Blu-ray, which was 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.“

There are few rock guitarists on this planet who have had such a lasting influence on so many renowned musicians as Michael Schenker. With his outstandingly fluid style, inexhaustible wealth of ideas and instinctive feel for hooks and melodies, Michael Schenker is a living legend who, despite his longstanding and distinguished history, still impresses with his unflagging energy and drive. The blond stringsman from Sarstedt (Germany) began his international career in the early 1970s with the Scorpions, achieved worldwide fame after joining British rock group U.F.O. and then seamlessly continued his exceptional global success story under his own name, as well as with acts such as Michael Schenker Group (MSG for short), Temple Of Rock and Michael Schenker Fest. Schenker and his career, which has spanned more than fifty years, are absolute exceptions in the otherwise short-lived music industry.

Now his latest MSG album is about to be unleashed, scheduled for release on Atomic Fire Records on 27 May 2022 under the programmatic moniker of “Universal”. His latest offering will feature all the strengths of this exceptional musician: first-rate songs with anthemic melodies, catchy guitar riffs and inspiring solos. As we have come to expect from him, Schenker has once again enlisted a number of prestigious fellow musicians for the recording of his new studio production, among them, as main vocalist, Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Vandenberg), who will also be MSG’s frontman on their upcoming tour, Michael Kiske (Helloween) and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), keyboard player Steve Mann (Lionheart), drummers Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy), as well as legendary bassists Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath), Barry Sparks (Malmsteen, Dokken) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Zakk Wylde), with Tony Carey as a very special guest. But more about that later.

First, let’s talk about the basic parameters of the new recording: Like its predecessor “Immortal” (2021) and the Michael Schenker Fest albums “Resurrection” (2018) and “Revelation” (2019), “Universal” was produced by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss (Lessmann/Voss, Mad Max) at Voss’s Kidroom Studio, which has become something of a creative home-away-from-home for Schenker. “Michael Voss is happy to wait until I have worked out an idea and takes the time to really get to know the song, simultaneously developing ideas for the vocals,” Schenker describes the fruitful collaboration which has one cog intermesh with the other. “Then we work out the drums, bass and some keyboard parts together. He always has plenty of great ideas up his sleeve.” Compositional highlights abound on “Universal”, from the haunting opener ‘Emergency’ and the subsequent ‘Under Attack’ with its casually driving groove to ‘The Universe’, featuring an atmospheric duet by Ronnie Romero and Gary Barden, ‘Wrecking Ball’, performed as brilliantly as ever by Ralf Scheepers, and ‘London Calling’ with its homage to the British capital’s musical spirit.

The rock anthem ‘A King Has Gone’ and its intro ‘Calling Baal’ both have a special significance: The track, sung by Helloween frontman Michael Kiske, is a tribute to the immortal Ronnie James Dio, in particular to his performance on the 1976 hard rock classic Rainbow Rising. For this reason, Schenker has brought together an original Rainbow rhythm section consisting of Bobby Rondinelli and Bob Daisley, additionally enlisting keyboardist Tony Carey, who also played on Rainbow Rising, for a terrific Moog synth intro – a direct reference to the iconic intro of the 1976 album opener ‘Tarot Woman’. The impressive result ‘Calling Baal’/‘A King Has Gone’ is already considered to be one of the most important and successful songs in Schenker’s career to date, both musically and lyrically.

In line with all these highlights, the spectacular album cover designed by Zsofia Dankova (Powerwolf, among others) features Schenker in a futuristic spaceship, floating high up in orbit. The artwork is based on the guitarist’s own visions: “I had the original idea for the album cover a few years ago, but only now does it seem to fit perfectly. So I sent some older sketches to my label Atomic Fire Records, and based on this the final artwork and album title were created.”

No doubt about it: The title, artwork and new songs suit MSG as perfectly as his characteristic Flying V suits Michael Schenker!

MSG TOUR 2022
Michael Schenker * Ronnie Romero * Steve Mann * Barend Courbois * Bodo Schopf
27.04.2022 FI – Helsinki, Vanha Yo-talo
29.04.2022 SE – Stockholm, Fryshuset Klubben
30.04.2022 NO – Oslo, Vulkan Arena
01.05.2022 DK – Kopenhagen, Amager Bio
03.05.2022 NL – Zoetermeer, De Boerderij
04.05.2022 GER – Bochum, Zeche
05.05.2022 CH – Pratteln, Z7
06.05.2022 GER – Speyer, Halle 101
07.05.2022 FR – Cleon, La Traverse
10.05.2022 ES – Madrid, La Riviera
11.05.2022 ES – Barcelona, Razzmatazz 1
12.05.2022 ES – Pamplona, Totem
14.05.2022 IT – Fontaneto d’Agogna (NO), Phenomenon
15.05.2022 IT – Rom, Largo Venue

More MICHAEL SCHENKER dates:
18.06.2022 BE Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting
19.06.2022 FR Clisson – Hellfest
26.08.2022 UK Glasgow – Queen Margaret Union
27.08.2022 UK Newark – Stonedead Festival