ROGER STAFFELBACH – first single out now!

‚The Quest‘, the first outtake from the upcoming eponymous album by ROGER STAFFELBACH is out now! Listen to this outstanding melodic metal instrumental piece here.

„After all the work involved in this album I’m happy to see ‚The Quest‘ being released as a single today. I love the diversity of this album, this track pretty much stands for the more higher paced kinda tracks on this record“, says Roger.

‚The Quest‘ will be released on May 12th, 2023.
CD release by NO DUST RECORDS
Worldwide digital release by LIMB MUSIC

You find audio samples & online stores here.

SYMPHONITY – EUROPEAN TOUR 2023

SYMPHONITY announce their European Tour 2023 supporting Rhapsody Of Fire and performing their new album „Marco Polo: The Metal Soundtrack“.

Tourdates:
14/04/23 GER Leipzig, Hellraiser
15/04/23 DK Roskilde, Gimle
16/04/23 GER Hamburg, Logo
18/04/23 PL Lublin, Studio Im. Budki Suflera
19/04/23 PL Warsaw, Proxima
20/04/23 AT Vienna, Viper Room
21/04/23 CZ Zlín, Masters of Rock Café
22/04/23 IT San Dona, Revolver
23/04/23 IT Milano, Legend Club

SYMPHONITY audio samples, videos & online stores/streaming platforms

Melodic Power Metallers WONDERS release new album

After „The Fragments of Wonder”, WONDERS’ 2021 debut album, enlightened our world with outstanding, sensational pieces of work, we are happy to announce the successor “Beyond The Mirage” to be released soon on LIMB MUSIC! The new album brings back powerful anthems, skillful guitar play, progressive patterns, and a great voice.

Pietro sums up the ambitions of the second WONDERS record: “This time the idea has been to create an album even more powerful than the previous one, promoting the true and total powers of WONDERS. The new album is characterized by speed power metal songs with guitars, keyboards, and drums playing a key role. Of course we did not put aside our AOR/melodic rock influences creating the mid tempo songs to highlight the melodies.”

The Line-Up is:
MARCO PASTORINO – vocals (Temperance, Cristiano Filippini’s FLAMES OF HEAVEN, Virtual Symmetry, ex-Secret Sphere)
PIETRO PAOLO LUNESU – guitars (Even Flow)
LUCA NEGRO – bass (Temperance)
BOB KATSIONIS – keyboards (ex-Firewind, ex-Serious Black, ex-Revolution Renaissance, Outloud, Warrior Path, Stray Gods, Prydain)
GIORGIO LUNESU – drums (Even Flow)

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PRYDAIN release artwork and tracklisting!

Following up our last weeks’ announcement, PRYDAIN’s debut album „The Gates of Aramore“ will be released on June 2, 2023.

You can expect ten Epic Power Metal songs with vibrating guitar duels, virtuoso keyboard parts, awesome vocals, driving grooves, catchy melodies – and a storyline consisting of an ancient kingdom beyond space and time.

Outstanding cover design by renowned artwork wizard Uwe Jarling (Heavens Gate, Roger Staffelbach, Grave Digger, Stray Dogs).

Guitarist and songwriter Austin Dixon says:
„I first discovered Uwe from the amazing cover art he did for the new Grave Digger album. I reached out to him to discuss ideas and he had this amazing piece he was working on with these knights battling and an epic dragon and it just seemed perfect for the feel I was going for with PRYDAIN.
I immediately began writing a song inspired by this cover art, which became the penultimate track on the album, ’Kingdom Fury‘. This song turned out so cool and tells the story of the cover art, so check that out if you’re interested!“.

Here’s the tracklisting:
01. Sword & Sorcery
02. The Gates of Aramore
03. Lands Beyond
04. Sail the Seas
05. Quest of the Fallen
06. Way of the Forest
07. Ancient Whispers
08. Blessed & Divine
09. Kingdom Fury
10. Magic & Mystery

The CD version will include an exclusive bonus track.

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Austin Dixon’s PRYDAIN signs worldwide deal with LIMB MUSIC

Another metal masterpiece sees the light of day on LIMB MUSIC:
Austin Dixon, guitarist and founding member of US power metallers SONIC PROPHECY, fulfills a lifelong dream with PRYDAIN – „The Gates of Aramore“.

He has always been fascinated by the idea behind artists‘ projects like the albums of AVANTASIA, the AINA rock opera „Days of Rising Doom“ or Arjen Lucassen’s „Star One“.

The studied musician from Farr West, north of Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah, has developed the song ideas for PRYDAIN over several years and now, thanks to the help of the Greek multi-talent Bob Katsionis (ex Firewind, ex Serious Black, Wonders, Outloud, Stray Gods, Warrior Path), he has put them into practice together with strong musicians, resulting in an Epic Power Metal album that contains all the necessary ingredients: Vibrant guitar duels, virtuoso keyboard flights of fancy, pithy vocals, driving grooves, catchy melodies – and a storyline from an ancient kingdom beyond space and time.

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ROGER STAFFELBACH cover artwork

This is the cover artwork of the upcoming instrumental album “The Quest” by ROGER STAFFELBACH, made by Uwe Jarling (Heavens Gate, Grave Digger). When Roger went through Uwe’s impressive body of work, a design called “World Thief” caught his attention and together they worked on it to create what now is to be the final masterpiece.

„I immediately had the idea to replace that machine [on the original design] with my guitar and have me implied somewhere around it. We then worked on the details, exchanged ideas back and forth until we had the final design. It was a fun and very creative cooperation which exceeded by far my expectation how the final artwork would look like, ’stunning‘ I think is the best word to describe this impressive piece of art“, Roger says.

„The Quest“ will be released on May 12, 2023.
CD release by No Dust Records
Worldwide digital release by Limb Music

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ROGER STAFFELBACH album out in May!

On May 12, 2023, „The Quest“, the instrumental album by ROGER STAFFELBACH (Artension, Artlantica, Angel of Eden), will be released on Limb Music (digital) and No Dust Records (CD).

The album contains eight classy, colorful original compositions as well as two vivid interpretations of great compositions: Antonio Vivaldi’s „Summer Presto“ from the „Four Seasons“ and the Aria from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major and offers a refreshing mix of virtuoso guitar playing and rousing melodies.

„The Quest“ is the result of Staffelbach’s years of experience as a musician and composer. Roger has always relied on inspired teamwork with valued playing partners and so the soundscapes of „The Quest“ were also created together with a creative keyboardist. „I admire pianists and keyboardists for their talent and virtuosity.“ Argentine Ariel Perchuk served as arranger on Roger’s compositions from South America. „Ariel was a big Artension fan and at one point sent me some material of his. I was thrilled by his style.“

Virtual tinkering, such as with programmed drum tracks, was not an option for Roger. He consistently went the traditional route and relied on a real band lineup for „The Quest“: „It was important to me to record everything as organically as possible.“

Besides Ariel, a seasoned rhythm section brought life to the album: bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Artension, Sadus) and drummer John Macaluso (Michael Romeo, TNT, Ark, Yngwie).

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