Музыка и песни Empire, The / Empire, The

digipack. New line-Up: Rolf Munkes (guitars), Tony Martin (vocals), Neil Murray (bass), Don Airey (keyboards), Gerald Kloos (drums), Anders Johansson (drums on 2 tracks). Straightly after the release of the highly acclaimed 2001 debut album "Hypnotica" by EMPIRE who are centred around guitarist, producer & song-writer Rolf Munkes (ex-VANIZE), Rolf straightly began to work on songs for the follow-up album - again with the help of drummer and co-producer Gerald Kloos. Because of the great drum work of Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL) on selected tracks on "No More Obscurity" (the guitarist's solo-effort under the ROLF MUNKES banner) and EMPIRE´s "Hypnotica" it became obvious to invite him again to collaborate on "Hypnotica's" successor entitled "Trading Souls" on two tracks. For "Trading Souls", Munkes made a well defined decision against any guest singers. This time he wanted to work with only one singer on the whole album as the debut had featured two - Mark Boals (ex-MALMSTEEN) and Lance King (ex-BALANCE OF POWER). Luckily, Rolf found one of the best: Tony Martin who recorded several albums with BLACK SABBATH and was a constant member of their line-up for several tours around the globe. After Tony and Rolf had finished the recordings of his vocal parts in Rolf's studio they were totally amazed by the results. Martin's impressive vocal range and flexibilty pushed every single song to a higher level. An extraordinary singer, without any doubt! To complete the rhythm-section, Neil Murray (ex-WHITESNAKE) again entered Rolf's studio. Rolf says: "We had a really relaxed and funny recording session and a great time. Neil already played on the first Empire CD. It was my biggest wish to have him again playing on "Trading Souls". And he did!! He was as usual very pro, quick and great in doing his bass parts for the new CD." Don Airey (ex-RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, SILVER) was heavily touring with DEEP PURPLE when Rolf asked him to play on "Trading Souls": "I remember that he was in Milwaukee that day. He told me he would have some days off between the USA and European parts of the tour where he would be able to record the stuff. So I sent him the songs to his studio where he recorded his parts." The last recordings added were Rolf's guitars. To mix the CD, Rolf joined forces with Stefan Kaufmann (U.D.O.) and spent two weeks at Kaufmann's Roxx Studios near Cologne, Germany. The result can be heard on "Trading Souls", a modern and great sounding hard rock album with songs performed by some of the world's most leading musicians. Style: Hard Rock

Record Label: Cherry Red Style: Rock

EMPIRE is the Hard Rock band of German guitarist Rolf Munkes (ex Majesty, ex Razorback, Crematory) which has released four exceptional albums in between the years of 2001 and 2007. On these releases, Munkes was accompanied by numerous high-class musicians. In 2017, German label Pride & Joy Music will re-issue all four releases in a revised version. The Raven Ride which will be released on August 25th, 2017 will now include one bonus track. The history of EMPIRE began in the year 2001 with the release of the album Hypnotica (Lion Music) which featured both the American singers Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) and Lance King (ex Nightmare) on vocals. The line-up at the time was completed by Neil Murray (bass, ex Whitesnake, Brian May Band, Black Sabbath etc.), Gerald Klos (drums), Anders Johansson (drums, ex Stratovarius) and Don Airey (keyboards, ex Rainbow, Deep Purple). Rolf Munkes produced Hypnotica himself; the mix was handled by Stefan Kaufmann (ex Accept, ex U.D.O.). Only one year later, Trading Souls , the band s second album came out on Lion Music. The CD once again was produced by Munkes with the mix being handled by Kaufmann. On this release, singer extraordinare Tony Martin (ex Black Sabbath) replaced King and Martin on the vocal spot. Tony Martin also sang on the up until now most successful CD from EMPIRE, The Rave Ride , which was released in 2006 on German label Metal Heaven. Besides of Munkes, who, for the first also produced and mixed this release himself at his own Empire Studios in Bensheim, Germany, Neil Murray took again care of the bass work whilst the drums this time were handled by ex-Rage/ex-Axxis drummer André Hilgers. In 2007, the so far last album of EMPIRE saw the light of day. Chasing Shadows was once again released on Metal Heaven and the first record feat. former Rainbow singer Doogie White in the line-up. Mike Terrana (ex Rage, ex Axel Rudi Pell, Tarja Turunen) joined the group on drums. Line-up: Tony Martin (Vocals, ex Black Sabbath), Rolf Munkes (Guitars, Crematory, ex-Razorback), Neil Murray (Bass, ex-Whitesnake u.v.m.), André Hilgers (Drums, Axxis, ex-Rage) Record Label: Pride & Joy Music Style: Hardrock