ROGER STAFFELBACH – The Quest
Release date: May 12, 2023
Swiss guitar artist Roger Staffelbach (Artension) has been one of the respected exponents of neoclassical power guitar since the mid-1990s. Over the years, he has worked together with various greats of his guild, including vocalist John West (Artension, Royal Hunt), Keyboarder Vitalij Kuprij (Artension, TSO), bassist John Onder (Michael Schenker), guitarist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and drummers Mike Terrana (Rage, Tarja) and Dani Löble (Helloween) to name a few.
As with all his band releases since the strong 1996 Artension debut „Into the Eye of the Storm“, Roger is on par with his idols with his first instrumental album „The Quest“ (May 12, 2023) – from precise shred riffing and seamless melodic leads to soulful concert guitar passages. In doing so, he develops his very own stylistic touch.
„The Quest“ was created with the support of a top team, namely Ariel Perchuk on keyboard, Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Artension, Sadus) on bass and drummer John Macaluso (Michael Romeo, Ark, TNT, Yngwie). Guitars were recorded with Roland Grapow (Masterplan ex-Helloween) the album was mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni (Michael Romeo, Ancient Bards, Rhapsody, DGM, Labyrinth).
Offering 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), „The Quest“ is a virtuously played, melodically stirring solo work for lovers of melodic and neo-classical electric guitar art.
Click HERE for audio samples, videos and online stores.
ROGER STAFFELBACH – album out next Friday!
ROGER STAFFELBACH’s instrumental album ‚The Quest‘ will finally be out on Limb Music (digital) and No Dust Records (CD) next Friday (May 12th).
This album will undoubtedly become a collector’s item the moment it is released. It was created with the support of a top team and offers 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.
The soundscapes of ‚The Quest‘ were created in teamwork 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 line-up 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, Ark, TNT, Yngwie.). For the recording of his own tracks, Roger relied on the craft of colleague Roland Grapow (Masterplan and longtime guitarist of Helloween). Roland supported Roger with his expertise as an engineer. „It was a great experience. He gave me good input, and we worked out a few ideas together as well.“ Completing the overall work with mixing and mastering was Simone Mularoni (Michael Romeo, Ancient Bards, Rhapsody, DGM, Labyrinth).
➡️ Pre-save link ‚The Quest‘ ⬅️
➡️ Audio samples, videos & online stores ⬅️
➡️ ‚The Quest‘ video on YouTube ⬅️
WONDERS – first single & video out now!
The first digital single and video ‚One Million Miles‘ from the new WONDERS album ‚Beyond The Mirage‘ (release June 16, 2023) is out now!
Quote by Pietro Paolo Lunesu (guitars):
„‚One Million Miles‘ is the first song I wrote for the new WONDERS album, a concentrate of power and melody destined to be played in big arenas and stages. I’m sure the melodies of this song will catch the attention of new fans!“
Quote by Bob Katsionis (keyboards, production, mix):
„Creating this video was not an easy task as we faced various logistical challenges. The Lunesu brothers and Marco & Luca were all on separate tours making it impossible for us to get together in Greece like we had on our previous video shootings. However, we were able to create a stunning and captivating video that perfectly captures the spirit of ‚One Million Miles‘ and shows the passion and energy of our performance. A fast-paced and melodic song full of power and emotion. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it!“
➡️ Audio samples, videos & online stores ⬅️
For fans of the entire spectrum of Melodic Heavy Metal – from Angra to Stratovarius.
WONDERS announces first single & video!
Here’s the video teaser for their first single and video entitled „One Million Miles“! Both will be released on May 5 via your favorite streaming platforms and on YouTube.
The new album „Beyond The Mirage“ will be out on June 16, 2023.
➡️ YouTube Video Premiere ⬅️
PRYDAIN – The Gates of Aramore is coming June 2, 2023!
Austin Dixon had been working on the song ideas for PRYDAIN over several years, but the real work began to happen during the Covid pandemic. Since no suitable musicians with the talent and enthusiasm for melodic power metal could be found locally and the Covid lockdown was also having ist effects, Austin started approaching some of his favourite musicians via internet in order to bring his songs to life.
First guy aboard was Pyramaze keyboardist Jonah Weingarten. Austin says „I’ve loved Pyramaze since their wonderful album ‚Legend of the Bone Carver‘. His orchestrations really helped bring the visions of my guitar riffs and structures to life.“
Katagory V mastermind Dustin Mitchell, another local Utah musician, contributed some initial bass tracks, and Firewind’s Bob Katsionis „has been on my radar since he blew me away live in Salt Lake City a few years ago with his dual-shred solos between guitar and keyboard, so I reached out.“
Bob agreed to produce and mix Prydain. He also brought in fellow Greek countryman Mike Livas (Silent Winter, Keepers of Jericho, Timo Tolkki) to sing. Next, Austin dared to approach three of his favourite guitarists to see if they would each contribute a solo: Mikael Dahl (Crystal Eyes), Jimmy Hedlund (Falconer), and Jens Ludwig (Edguy). „To my surprise, they were all up for it right away! This collaboration with so many of my heroes is the coolest aspect.“
Line-Up:
MIKE LIVAS – Vocals (Silent Winter)
AUSTIN DIXON – Lead & Rhythm Guitars (Sonic Prophecy)
JONAH WEINGARTEN – Keyboards & Orchestration (Pyramaze)
BOB KATSIONIS – Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Bass (ex Firewind, Wonders, Outloud, Stray Gods, Warrior Path)
Honored Guests:
Mikael Dahl (Crystal Eyes) – guitar solo
Jens Ludwig (Edguy) – guitar solo
Jimmy Hedlund (Falconer) – guitar solo
Dustin Mitchell (Katagory V) – bass guitar
John Yelland (Judicator) – additional vocals
David Åkesson (Qantice, Moonlight Agony, Symphonity) – additional vocals
➡️ Audio samples, videos and online stores ⬅️
➡️ YouTube Video ⬅️
More about ROGER STAFFELBACH
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).
ROGER STAFFELBACH has been one of the respected exponents of neoclassical power guitar since the mid-1990s. The genre was largely defined in the 1980s by pioneers such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine. 1986, Staffelbach dove into a „completely new universe“ as a 14-year-old when he first listened to Yngwie’s „Trilogy“ album, which encouraged him to switch from trumpet to electric guitar. His father, however, did not fund the purchase of an Aria Pro II Flying V unless Roger would prove him he could play something significantly melodic on a rocked-down acoustic guitar. The culmination of his years of studying was a course of study at the renowned GIT, the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles.
Over the years of his music career, he has come together with various greats of his guild, including bassist John Onder (Michael Schenker), guitarist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), drummers Mike Terrana (Rage, Tarja) and Dani Löble (Helloween), and multi-instrumentalist Shane Gaalaas (Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie) to name a few.
Artension’s chemistry, and with it the foundation of an illustrious seven-album career, was based on Roger’s longtime partnership with pianist Vitalij Kuprij (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and singer John West (Royal Hunt) – a perfect fit for Shrapnel Records, the label of Mike Varney, wo had discovered Malmsteen and MacAlpine.
In addition, there were two albums with Angel of Eden („The End of Never“) and Artlantica („Across the Seven Seas“) in collaboration with Italian keyboardist Mistheria (Bruce Dickinson), who also enlisted Roger for his solo albums „Dragon Fire“ and „Gemini“ as well as for the two long players of the Vivaldi Metal Project.
➡️ Check out even more about Roger here ⬅️
➡️ Here’s the first video from the album ⬅️
WONDERS new album pre-order and tracklisting
„Beyond The Mirage“ is up for pre-order now! The upcoming album contains 10 songs + 1 bonus track on CD only!
Skillful, progressive, catchy Power Metal, partially played with speed elements.
For fans of the entire spectrum of Melodic heavy Metal – from Angra to Stratovarius.
Tracklisting:
01. One Million Miles
02. Breaking The Chains
03. Here I Go Again
04. Hold Me, Save Me
05. Once Upon A Time
06. In & Out Of Time
07. Coming Home
08. All My Dreams
09. Into The Light
10. The Time Of Your Life
CD only Bonus Track:
11. Come On
„Beyond The Mirage“ will be released on June 16, 2023.
Pre-order now
Audio samples, videos and online stores
ROGER STAFFELBACH – first videoclip release
Follow ROGER STAFFELBACH on his journey through space and time in the epic new video for ‚The Quest‘!
Quote by Roger:
„When the idea of shooting a video came up i was looking up Frank Kollbrunners work and spotted a trailer of a video animation which had that dystopian kinda vibe. Luckily, it was still available to me so we could build the video around that theme. I think it turned out just great and exceeded my expectations by far, it also fits the music perfectly.“
‚The Quest‘ will be released on May 12th, 2023.
CD release by NO DUST RECORDS
Worldwide digital release by LIMB MUSIC
➡️ Audio samples, videos & online stores ⬅️
Release date: June 2, 2023
Release date: May 12, 2023