Roland Grapow-guitars Michael Vescera-vocals Mike Terrana-drums Barry Sparks-bass Ferdy Doernberg-keyboards
NO DOUBT:Roland Grapow is one of the most sucessful metal guitarrists of the 90`s worldwide.As a member of Hamburg´s Helloween as well as a solo artist he will leave a lasting impression as an instrumentalist and composer over the last 10 years.
After his extremily sucessful-specially in Japan and South America-solo debut in´97 "The Four Seasons Of Life the man from Hamburg now presents his second album "Kaleidoscope".A work that again is noted by the international community of rock musicians.
" Kaleidoscope" differs from its predecessor by having a broader stylistic spectrum as well as even more originality.The eleven songs on the album cover the complete range of uptempo tracks("Reacching Higher" and " Walk On Fire" ),groovy rock songs("Hidden Answer" and "Under The Same Sun") and slow ballads("A Heartbeat Away" and "Angel Face").Ironically the only instrumental track of the opus i titled "Listen To The Lyrics" and marvels with many technical details and an intelligent arrangement.The album´s final polish are strong heavy tracks like "Kaleidoscope" or "The Hunger".
Besides this really well made variety of songs Grapow presents on "Kaleidoscope" na exquisite collection of great solo artists whose names cause connoisseurs of the scene to click their tongues.Grapow won Michael Vescera over as singer(formerly Loudness/Yngwie Malmsteen).Drummer Mike Terrana used to be in service for Sweden´s speedfinger,while he has also toured with Axel Rudi Pell and Gamma Ray and has worked in the studio with the newcomers Metalium.Together with the exceptional bass player Barry Sparks(Michael Schenker Group) Terrana gives the eleven songs a boisterous groove.Keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg,head songwriter of Rough Silk from Hannover completes the present line-up.
In addition to the musical contributions made by the aforementionade musicians,special guest and keyboard player Jens Johansson(Dio,Yngwie Malmsteen,Stratovarius) delivered two spectacular solos("Listen To The Lyrics" and "Reaching Higher").On the special guest list also appears Grapow´s dog Tammy which howled a heart-warming intro on " Reaching Higher".
Roland Grapow himself composed,arranged and produced his second solo album.Most of the material he wrote during Helloween´s 1998 "Better Than Raw" World Tour.The songs were recorded at his Crazy Cat Studio in Hamburg engineered by Michael Tibes(also Helloween,Cucumber Men,Selig).For the finishing touch Grapow traveled to the U.S. immediately after recording to have his album mixed by sound genius Michael Wagener(Ozzy Osborne,Metallica,Skid Row amongst others) at WireWorld Studio,Nashiville,TN.
In order to nip any rumours in the bud:Grapow has no intention to leave the speed metal elite of Helloween,which he joined at the beginning of the 90’s and where he establish his reputation as a brilliant guitar player and excellent songwritter.His abilities contributed to the band´s platinum and gold albums like PINK BUBBLES GO APE(1991),CHAMELEON(1993),MASTER OF THE RINGS(1994),TIME OF THE OATH(1996) AND BETTER THAN RAW(1998) and helped to make them a worldwide success.
On his second solo album "Kaleidoscope" Grapow shows us a little different,more versatile side of him.The man from Hamburg does not suffer from one-dimensionality or style blindness.All tracks distinguish themselves by absolute concentration on singing and melody without losing any of their energy power.The musicians fitted naturally into Grapow´s compositions but nevertheless left their own individual marks.
The best part:The Grapow Band soon will present itself on stage.One show at the 1999 Wacken Open Air August has been confirmed already and there might be some more concerts around this time.You can look forward to this already!
TRACKS:
Walk On Fire * Under The Same Sun * The Hunger * A Heartbeat Away * Hidden Answer * ’Till The End * Kaleidoscope *Angel Face * Listen To The Lyrics * Reaching Higher * Lord I´m Dying
