ProStudioMasters.com

Right in time for his 40th anniversary as a solo artist and his 50th birthday as a musician, Michael Schenker resurrects the immortal Michael Schenker Group. Immortal is also the name of his new album, recorded by likely the strongest line-up in his long history. It's a lightning bolt of an album that sounds fresh, bloodthirsty, and agile. “Immortal” showcases the gargantuan vocal talents of Chilean hard rock prodigy Ronnie Romero (Rainbow), backed by singers Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Deep Purple) as well as Schenker’s brother in arms, Michael Voss (Mad Max) who again produced the record alongside Michael Schenker – flawlessly, punchy and at full steam as if their very lives depended on it. Next to Michael Schenker caressing his iconic black and white Dean Flying V, we hear bass player Barry Sparks (Dokken), keyboard player Steve Mann as well as the three drummers Bodo Schopf, Simon Phillips (ex-Toto) and Brian Tichy (ex-Whitesnake) pumping gallons of fresh blood through the tracks. And that’s not all, keyboard wizard extraordinaire Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Black Country Communion) gives the listener a baptism of fire in the blistering, heavy-hitting opener “Drilled to Kill”, powered by Ralf Scheepers’ unbelievable vocal tornado. “That’s what makes it easy. I was the only one who had to take four eight-hour boat trips from England to Holland, and from there I drove to Germany to reach the recording studio during the lockdown. I did it even though it meant going into quarantine for two weeks every single time. Nothing I can recommend,” he explains, “but it was absolutely essential and unavoidable so we could finish the album.”