CD-Review: Gotthard - "Silver"

25 years in musicbusiness is a very long time and not every band formed in the early 90's is still around these days. But the Swiss guys of GOTTHARD stood the test of time. With "Silver" they celebrate their 25th anniversary - and it was a very moving quarter century. Started as a Hard Rock band in a time where this kind of music was simply dead, Gotthard quickly became one of the top acts of Switzerland with various number one records in their home country. In the late 90's they changed their musical direction from Hard Rock to more radiofriendly Soft Rock, just to hit everyone in the face in 2005 with a newborn, fresh heaviness on their outstanding record "Lipservice" (one of my all-time favorites).

Album Of The Year 2014: # 15 - 11

Hello my friends,

2014 was an incredible year for our beloved genre. So many fantastic records hit the stores, you just can't count them and I think not one single "best-of list" does justice to the huge flood of Rock and Metal releases. Every single ranking list just captures a little glimpse, depending on various musical tastes - and so it is with my album of the year top 15 list. This ranking is a very subjective one, those records are the ones that found their way back into my CD-player over and over again and so I don't care about the scores I've given those albums. All records in this list have at least a final rating with 8 out of 10 points, but that's it. This list comes just straight from the heart.

And now let me give a huge THANK YOU to you people out there! Yes YOU, the readers of my blog and the ones, who supported "Rock & Metal 4 You" since the very beginning. You are the reason why I can do what I love to do. How much worth is a webzine without its readers? So thanks for stopping by from time to time and reading my stuff. Very special thanks go also to Denys Jaime from MyGlobalmind Webzine and to all the great musicians I had the pleasure to work with in 2014! The list is pretty long, so I can't thank everyone individually, but you know who you are! :)

I can't wait for the things to come next year with all of you guys! With that said I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hopefully some great records found their way under your Christmas tree. ;)
And now let's start with the first part of my album of the year ranking!

Special: TOP 15 Songs Of The Year 2014!

Hey folks,

various websites and magazines are publishing their "best of 2014" lists these days, so I'd like to jump on that train too and today I'll reveal the 15 best songs of 2014. For sure this is my personal taste, so maybe you guys have other favorites. Would be nice if you could put your top 5 songs of the year into the comments under this post. I'm very interested in what you think! All in all I must say that 2014 offered tons of great songs, but there are particular tracks that really stuck in my head the whole year. Those are the ones that are worth to be mentioned here.

Live-Report: GOTTHARD - "Bang!"-Tour 2014 (Berlin, November 3rd 2014)

It's been two years now since I saw the Swiss Hard Rockers of Gotthard live again and I was really excited to see them this year, especially Nic Maeder and his development within the group. So during their "Bang!"-Tour Gotthard visited Berlin on November 3rd and together with their support act Hardcore Superstar they proved once more why they are one of the best live acts in the world.

Exclusive Interview with NIC MAEDER (GOTTHARD)

If there is a man, who was not to be envied in 2011 it has to be GOTTHARD vocalist NIC MAEDER. After the tragic death of Steve Lee he had big shoes to fill - and he succeeded.
Now in 2014 he is an integrated band member, that gives the Swiss superstars a more fresh and younger note. The forthcoming record "Bang!" proves it (Review is coming soon). So it was time for me to talk with this very charismatic guy about the new album, the pressure of being the new Gotthard singer and his past. Here is what he had to say. 

Album/Song of the year 2012 - # 08!

Are you curious? I'm sure you are ... otherwise why should you stop by again? ;)
Did I mention one of your favorites already???

# 08

GOTTHARD - Live Review Bamberg, 16.11.2012

Hey folks,

this is the first Live-Review I'm doing here ... and Gotthard are one of my favorite Bands. So let's see if they are as good as always without Steve Lee ... or not.