MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hey my friends,

I just wanted to take the time to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas! I know, you can read that everywhere at the moment, but so what? Enjoy the last few days of the year with your loved ones and some cool Rock Christmas songs (you know there are a bunch of them on Youtube).
Thanks again for reading and supporting this blog. I hope all of you will be with me next year and will make 2014 to an outstanding Rock/Metal year! I'll do my best to keep you updated with my reviews, interviews and live reports. Is there something you miss? Then don't be afraid to write me a message. Rock on!

Thomas

CD-Review: Beautiful Beast - "Kick Down The Barricades"

As you might know there are so many retro-bands out there, who try do bring back the Hair Metal sound of the glory 80's, but none of them does it with so much passion and perfectionism like the German Hair Metal band Beautiful Beast. Bandleader Julian Angel (who is also responsible for songwriting, production and guitarplay) is one of those guys, who really live this lifestyle from that era and has the ability to transport this mood in his music. The latest record "California Suntan" was my summer album of the year in 2012. So, expectations were high on the third album, which will be released on January 24th, 2014.

CD-Review: Johnny Lima - "My Revolution"

How long I've been waiting for this album? It must have been up to five years, because back in 2009 the Californian Melodic Rocker Johnny Lima released his latest record "Livin' Out Loud". In the meantime I had the chance to see him live in 2012 in a smaller venue. Here he performed a few new songs and left me hungry for more. Now he finally is about to release his new effort "My Revolution". Let's see if it was worth the wait!

Album Of The Year 2013: # 05 - 01

Hello my friends,

now the time has come: today I reveal my top five album of the year list! Those five albums are the ones I can always listen to without getting bored.
Some of you wrote me already which records you prefer. For those of you who didn't do it until now: feel free to write me a message or leave a comment under this post. I'm very interested in what YOU are thinking. So, now let's start the final countdown. :)

Album Of The Year 2013: # 10 - 06

Hey folks,

I'm very excited to present you the next five records in my album of the year ranking, covering # 10 to 06 this time. It was a hard decision to choose the order of those 5 longplayers, because the quality from each one of them is excellent.

Album Of The Year 2013: # 15 - 11

Hey folks,

the time has finally arrived. Today I'll start my most important countdown: my album of the year ranking. As I said before, it was an incredible year and every record on this list deserves it to be mentioned there. But before I start I want to clarify some things - just to ensure that nobody is irritated. There are some albums on a higher position, although I gave them once a lower rating. This is for one reason only: time. If I write a review I can give the album a few spins and I also have to be a bit more objective, but I don't have the time to see if an album really grows on me - and this is something some albums did over the last months. These are the ones, which found their way back into my cd-player again and again. So, while choosing the order of this ranking I haven't paid attention to my reviews. It was more a choice from the heart, if you want so. Please keep that in mind. But if you want to talk about numbers I can promise you one thing: every album, which ended up on that list, has at least a review-score from eight out of ten. All the other records didn't made it.  Enough with the talking - here is the first part from the 15 best albums in 2013!

Song Of The Year 2013: # 05 - 01

Hello folks,

my first ranking comes to an end with this post. These are the five best songs in 2013 for me: a bombastic Metal Opera song, a tough Melodic Rocker, an energetic Power Ballad, a feel-good Party-Anthem and finally a dreamy Symphonic Metal Ballad. What about your favorites???

Song Of The Year 2013: # 10 - 06

Hey folks,

it's getting more and more interesting. Here is the second part of my personal song of the year ranking, covering # 10 to 06!
Please don't forget to tell me, which songs impressed you very much in 2013! :)

Song Of The Year 2013: # 15 - 11

Hey friends,

today I want to start my first countdown of this year. So before I'll show you my album of the year list (the most interesting thing for you, I think) I present you my personal song of the year list, starting with # 15 to 11.
I can tell you one thing: it was very hard for me to select 15 songs from the mass of great records this year. To my surprise many ballads made it in that list. Maybe because I was in that mood - don't really know. Ok, I always loved the big rock ballads from the 80's and I think you'll see that tendency in this list. So, let's get right into it!

Special: The biggest disappointments in 2013!

Hey folks,

it's December, that means it's time to look back at this year. What had 2013 to offer? I would say: many amazing records. But before I give you my album/song of the year countdown I want to start with the disappointments this year. Luckily that aren't so many. Feel free to comment and discuss my list. What do you think? What was your fail in 2013?

Special: Forthcoming Rock & Metal Releases in 2014!

Hey Rock & Metal community,

as I promised, here is my short overview of bands, which are working on new albums right now. Please note that this list is about the bands I'm very excited about. For sure, there will be much more stuff in 2014 from other bands. So, let's get started because it is a LOT ;)

Special: One Year Rock & Metal 4 You!

Hey folks,

don't wonder why there aren't many updates on this Blog at the moment. The thing is, these days there aren't so many releases I'm excited about. To me, all the big ones have been released so far.
Speaking about this year ... yeah it's exactly one year ago when I founded this Blog. Some incredible things happend in that time. This year was packed with tons of amazing music, interesting interviews and fantastic live shows. I already said it in my 100th blog post, but I just can repeat myself: I thank each and every one of you readers, who support Rock & Metal 4 You and keep this site rollin'. I also want to thank all the musicians I worked with and last but not least Denys Jaime from MyGlobalMind for giving me the opportunity to move forward with my hobby.
My question to you all is: what do you like to see on Rock & Metal 4 You? Is there something you hardly miss? Feel free to comment or send me a message via the contact box.

Now I want to take the time to tell you exclusively what's coming up next on R&M4U:
In the next few weeks I will give you a short overview of all important bands, who are working on new albums right now and of course there will be another countdown of my personal "Album Of The Year" and "Song Of The Year" - list, as well as the biggest disappointments in 2013.
Oh and get ready for new live reports of Steel Panther, Freedom Call, Rock Meets Classic (feat. Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, ...) and Aerosmith! These are the ones I've got my tickets already. This will be fun!

You see, there's much interesting new stuff coming up, so stay tuned and spread the word. Thank you! :)

CD-Review: Angelica - "Thrive"

The Swedish singer Angelica Rylin is the head of the femal-fronted Metal band The Murder Of My Sweet. Many people see this band as some kind of offspring from bands like Nightwisch and Delain. Just three years after the formation of her main band, Angelica decided to release a first solo album and first of all here is a big warning to all fans of The Murder Of My Sweet and the other acts I mentioned above: "Thrive" is not that kind of solo album you would expect from Angelica - it is a totally different genre, a pure AOR album. Let's see if this works.

Special: Blu-Ray Review - EUROPE live at Sweden Rock / 30th Anniversary Show

In 1983 a young band from Sweden got out to conquer the world. Only three years later they should write one of the biggest rock classics of all time: with "The Final Countdown" Europe were at the top of their game. After the big break in 1992 they did the comeback of the year in 2004. But the sound had changed. Today Europe are a more harder rockin' band with lots of bluesy elements (especially on their latest album "Bag Of Bones"). So, this year the guys celebrated and recorded their 30th Anniversary show at one of the biggest Rock festivals: Sweden Rock! A concert, 30 years in the making - let's see if it's so bombastic like it sounds.

Exclusive Interview with Michael Kiske (Unisonic, ex-Helloween, Place Vendome, Avantasia, ...)

When you ask people about the most iconic and most popular singers in Rock & Metal, you'll definitely get to hear his name very often: Michael Kiske! Back in the 80's he coined the genre of Power Metal with his band Helloween. The two Keeper-Records are still classics to many Heavy Metal fans out there and the teenager at the microphone has become a serious singer and songwriter in many ways these days. In promotion of the new Place Vendome album I had the opportunity to talk with Michael about his current activities with this AOR project, his new band Unisonic, the forthcoming Kiske/Somerville album, Avantasia and of course about his very exciting past. Michael Kiske tells his story. Check out what he had to say!

CD-Review: Lawless - "Rock Savage"

Let's bring back the 80's! That seems to be the idea of the guys from LAWLESS - a new Hard Rock band from the UK with members of DEMON and PERSIAN RISK. I've to admit I've never heard from Paul Hume (Vocals), Howie G (Lead Guitar), Neil Ogden (Drums) and Josh Williams (Bass) before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Let's see if they can set a sign.

CD-Review: Stryper - "No More Hell To Pay"

After a cover album ("The Covering") in 2011 and a record, which consists only of re-recordings ("The Second Coming") earlier this year, the Christian Metal heroes Stryper are back with completely new song material since their 2009 output "Murder By Pride". I enjoyed this album very much, but their new effort "No More Hell To Pay" shows Stryper from a very different side.

CD-Review: Place Vendome - "Thunder In The Distance"

Since the last ten years Michael Kiske is very active again in the music world. After appearences in Avantasia, Avalon and Unisonic, he decided to do another Place Vendome album. You still remember this project? It's some kind of Pink Cream 69 mixed with AOR in the vein of Toto, Journey and Asia. The previous album "Streets Of Fire" (2009) was a little gem. After four long years, the follow-up "Thunder In The Distance" will hit the stores very soon.

Special: JOHNNY LIMA starts Crowdfunding campaign to finance his new album "My Revolution"!

Singer/Songwriter/Producer JOHNNY LIMA is about to release his new album next year and he needs your help: As you might know he is an Independent artist and has to finance every record and every gig on his own. It is no wonder that Johnny chooses the crowfunding path now, although I'm a bit suspicious when it comes to this topic. But this campaign makes sense: it's just some kind of pre-payment here. You get a Limited Edition of the forthcoming album with 15 tracks on it (instead of 10 - 11 songs). Read Johnny's message here and don't forget to support him. If you like Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi, you can contribute this one blindly!

Message from Johnny:

"Hey everyone!! I'm trying to raise some money to help finance the new album so I started a campaign on Indie GoGo. This will be your only chance to get a Limited Edition 15 song CD and may be the only way to get the new album on CD if I can't get a licensing deal with a record company. The official release will only have 10-11 songs on it. So this one is going to be really exclusive and limited and only available through the campaign. Please spread the word!"

http://igg.me/at/johnnylima/x/4944946 

CD-Review: Giulio Garghentini - "Believe"

Until I got the promo of "Believe" I wasn't familiar with the name Giulio Garghentini, although he works since 20 years in the music business. Beside his activities as a vocal teacher he has been part of bands like Mantara and Darkfire (which I also don't know). He also worked for the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" and since 2007 he's the front man of Dream Company - a Bon Jovi cover band. With "Believe" Giulio offers his first solo album and the promotion lines promise a record packed with 10 (Hard) Rock songs, but while listening to the entire album I experienced a lot of surprises.

CD-Review: Wisdom - "Marching For Liberty"

The Hungarian Power Metal band WISDOM released their third effort "Marching For Liberty" these days and somehow this band passed me by in the last years. The cover artwork impressed me very much this time, so now they have my attention. I was prepared for a journey through a fantasy world. Let's see if it was worth the ride.

CD-Review: Harem Scarem - "Mood Swings II"

The Canadian Rockers HAREM SCAREM belong to the endless list of bands, which were rolled over by the wave of Grunge in the early 90's. Sadly the band hadn't a commercial success, but to genre veterans they are a cult band, especially due to their first two releases. Harem Scarem's second album "Mood Swings" was released in 1993, so it is its 20th birthday. What has "Mood Swings II" to offer?

CD-Review: Sinner - "Touch Of Sin 2"

Mat Sinner has become a true instituition in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Beside his activities with Primal Fear, Voodoo Circle or Rock Meets Classic, he partly owes this to his early records with his own band SINNER. Sadly most of these albums are out of stock nowadays and are sold to horrible prices on Ebay. This was reason enough for Mat to re-record some of his best songs from this early days and put it on the new record, called "Touch Of Sin 2".

CD-Review: Hollywood Burnouts - "Kick It Up A Notch!"

The German Hair Spray Rockers from Bavaria are back! After a few line-up changes, Hollywood Burnouts released their second album "Kick It Up A Notch!" these days. Their debut album couldn't impress me much. Due to a bad production and replaceable songwriting without many highlights this band couldn't stand out from the mass of Hair Metal bands. Expectations were low for the new record, but I was totally wrong.

CD-Review: Niva - "Magnitude"

What have Swedish Erotica, Axia or Oxygen in common? They are all bands from Sweden and Tony Niva was part of them. After two solo records he released his third effort "Magnitude" some days ago. It's music from Sweden, so what can we expect? Right, AOR and Melodic Rock with big melodies, tons of hooks and cliches. Here we go!

Exclusive Interview with Mark Sweeney (Wolfpakk)

Just a few days ago the new Wolfpakk album "Cry Wolf" was released. That was reason enough for me to talk to one of the "alpha wolves": Mark Sweeney. Although he is very busy in collecting ideas for the third Wolfpakk album, the Swiss singer/songwriter/producer talks about the new record, his solo activities, critics and much more. Check out what he had to say!

CD-Review: FOX - "Lucifer"

One year ago, former Shakra-singer Mark Fox released the first album with his new band FOX. Since then, many things have changed, because on the new record "Lucifer" Mark comes along with a completely new line-up. All original band members were replaced, due to personal issues. For most bands such a change is a disaster, but for FOX it is a true blessing. Let me tell you why!

CD-Review: Wolfpakk - "Cry Wolf"

Allstar-projects seem to be in trend right now. After Avantasia, Avalon and Charming Grace, Michael Voss (Mad Max, ex-Casanova) & Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) send their second Wolfpakk-album "Cry Wolf" into the race. The two masterminds gather a true armada of guest musicians around them. With members of Primal Fear, Axel Rudi Pell, Iron Saviour, Krokus, Masterplan, Deep Purple, Whitesnake and many more they don't need to hide from other projects. Let's see if this mixture works!

CD-Review: Reckless Love - "Spirit"

The Boygroup in Rock and Metal is back! Boygroup? Yes, right from the beginning of their career Reckless Love seemed like a Teenie-Band to me. Their concept is that simple: put four good looking guys together, let them sing songs, which are more pop than rock ... oh and ensure that the singer is in every video half naked. The target group is obvious. That all seems a bit calculated and to be honest their second album was a slap in the face for every true Hard Rock/Hair Metal fan. But ironically Reckless Love want to be part of that genre. Let's see if they did some things better this time.

Special: Hands Off!

Hey folks,

due to recent events, I just want to clarify something: if you see one of my reviews on other websites except R&M4U and MyGlobalMind, then it has nothing to do with me! I just write for these two websites. Actually I saw one of my reviews on another site - and it's not the first time. I wasn't asked for my permission. The worst thing this time is that this review was placed under an illegal download. This can't be. First of all it's not fair to steal my writing and the second thing is I could get a lot of trouble when my stuff is published on illegal sites. But it also happened already on a "normal" webzine. So, please do me a favor and report stolen reviews to me. Thanks!

And to you guys, who want to steal my stuff: DARE YOU!!! How stupid are you?! Do you really think nobody would recognize this? Don't you have your own ideas? Even if you change three sentences and put your name under the post, it is still my writing and my style! I can prove it! Everybody, who put my stuff on another website without my permission will get a LOT of trouble, I promise you that - and don't think I wouldn't notice it! So, HANDS OFF!!!!!!!!

CD-Review: Arc Angel - "Harlequins Of Light"

How many of you remember Arc Angel? The Pomp rockers around Jeff Cannata released their debut album in 1983. Since then you never heard something new from this band. Cannata was busy in doing a project with James Christian and some solo stuff. Now, 30 years later Arc Angel release their second album "Harlequins Of Light" and the most important question is: Does it make sense to bring this band back to life after all those years?

CD-Review: Find Me - "Wings Of Love"

The new Melodic Rock project FIND ME seems to be a revelation to many people out there - at least if you look at the promo notes and some review ratings. "Wings Of Love" is called "the perfect Melodic Rock album" or "the new Melodic Rock dream" with 10/10 ratings. I checked if all those advance laurels are true or if it's just a hype.

Exclusive Interview with MAT SINNER (Sinner/Primal Fear/Voodoo Circle)

Mat Sinner is a true workaholic: he just finished the tour with Voodoo Circle, a new Sinner album will hit the stores in the end of August, more stuff from Primal Fear is also on the way and if this wasn't enough, recently a new "Rock Meets Classic" tour was announced, which comes along with a stunning line-up next year. So, I had many, many reasons to talk to Mat about all his activities and most of all about the fortcoming "Rock Meets Classic" tour. One thing is  sure: we will hear a lot of this guy in the next few months. Check out what he had to reveal!

CD-Review: Mistress - "Loveteaser"

Have a look at this cover artwork, the band name and the title ... what do you think? Which genre could that be? Right, Mistress belong to the flood of new 80's Hard Rock / Hair Metal bands. These guys are from New Zealand. This country isn't known for this US-Hard Rock style, so let's see if Mistress do something new with the genre.

CD-Review: Dion Bayman - "Smoke And Mirrors"

With Dion Bayman another musician tries to find his place in the melodic rock circus. This is not easy when you look at the list of bands, who dominate this genre. After listening to "Smoke And Mirrors" I can only say that this Australian guy don't need to hide from his competitors. I'll tell you why!

Live-Report: ALICE COOPER - Raise The Dead Tour (Lichtenfels, 04.08.2013)

He's back ... Alice Cooper visited Lichtenfels during his "Raise The Dead Tour" on August 4th, 2013. Alice Cooper influenced generations of musicians and fans with his shock rock and theatralic shows. No doubt, he is one of the last living legends in rock and with his 65 years he is still full of energy.

Special: Interview with Thomas Schwarzkopf @ "Rock Discussions"

Hey folks,

I just wanted to share the following link with you:

http://rockdiscussions.blogspot.it/2013/07/mr-thomas-schwarzkopf-rock-metal-4-you.html

It's an Interview with me about this Blog, my work for MyGlobalMind and my opinion about music business.
It was much fun to do this, because usually I'm asking the questions. So if you want to know a bit more about R&M4U and the man behind it - take a look! :)

Thanks to "Zorro" (the mastermind behind the Melodic Rock projects Shining Line and Charming Grace) for doing this interview with me and the idea of supporting webzines and music journalists. Pretty cool thing!

CD-Review: Charming Grace - "Charming Grace"

Hey folks, here we go again with another review of an AOR project. Yeah, I know what you may think now: "AOR again?". This is not just an AOR blog, but at the moment there are so much of this releases in the pipeline and I get lots of requests from bands of this genre to review them. Same with Charming Grace - a new project from Pierpaolo "Zorro 11" Monti (drums – Shining Line, Lionville), Davide "Dave Rox" Barbieri (lead vocals & keyboards – Wheels Of Fire) and Amos Monti (bass - Shining Line, Lionville). You see we deal with very experienced musicians here and I loved the Shining Line record in 2010, let's see what this indirect follow-up has to offer.

Special: Sabinas Rex - A Rock Opera

Some days ago I received a promo package from Vlado Kormos, the mastermind behind Sabinas Rex, which is supposed to be a Rock Opera. The special thing is that this album isn't available yet. You can't buy it, for now it's just a promo release to get attention from new sponsors or investors. So this isn't a typical review this time and I won't give a rating here, because it isn't the final product. Please keep that in mind. I'll tell you what is good about it and what should be improved till the final release. I think this is a fair deal.

Exclusive Interview with ROBIN BECK

After listening to her new fabulous album "Underneath" I just had to ask her some questions: the legendary Robin Beck! She is an icon in the melodic rock scene with a fantastic voice, but most of all she seems to be a very, very kind, helpful and open-minded person. Check out what she had to say about her new album, her relationship to husband James Christian and her thoughts about the early success with the hit single "First Time" in a very personal interview.

CD-Review: BlackRain - "It Begins"

Did you ever heard from the French Glam/Sleaze rock band BlackRain? I wasn't familiar with these guys. Ok, I knew the cover artwork from their debut "License To Thrill", but I never gave them much attention - which was a big mistake! With their third album "It Begins" they really want to show the world what they are made of ... and I was really surprised - in a positive way.

CD-Review: Newman - "Siren"

In the last few days we've to deal with a real flood of AOR releases. For sure, this is no wonder, because those records fit very well to the summertime with their feel good vibes. After James Christian and Robin Beck we have another very consistent AOR musician in the line: Steve Newman. Since 1997 this guy produces one album after another, so with "Siren" he finally offers his 11th piece of work. Let's see if we find any innovations.

Guitar player Dave Dalone leaves H.E.A.T.!

Some minutes ago the melodic rockers of H.E.A.T. announced that their guitarist Dave Dalone quit the band to pursue new musical challenges. It's the second leave of an original band member. Singer Kenny Leckremo left the band in 2010 already.
For now,  H.E.A.T. will continue as a five man band. The situation won't affect upcoming shows nor the upcoming recording of the fourth album, which is due to release in early 2014. Read the full statement from Dave below:

"I've always been a great fan of melodic rock. For me, H.E.A.T started out as the passion project of my dreams, and turned into the great and strong melodic rock band that it is today.

I want to thank each and everyone involved and all of the great fans that made this journey possible for me. I have been to places, met so many nice people, experienced great moments that will stay in my heart forever.

I leave this band because, I have always believed in the fact that you should always stay true to your heart and follow your dreams, no matter what! I still have great faith in H.E.A.T and nothing but love for all of the members in the band, they will always be my brothers

Thank you everyone and Keep on Dreaming".
- Dave Dalone

CD-Review: Robin Beck - "Underneath"

Most of you will still remember the Coca Cola advertisement with Robins song "First Time", which was a huge success for the American singer. In the last 25 years Robin Beck released another 6 albums, but sadly she couldn't repeat the success she had with her Nr.1 hit from 1988. Now she is back and yes, Robin did lots of things right this time. I'll tell you why!

CD-Review: James Christian - "Lay It All On Me"

Every lover of melodic rock/AOR should know his name: James Christian is a highly respected singer in the genre. Since his start in 1988 he released some albums with his band House Of Lords, which became classics to many fans out there (just think of "Sahara" from 1990). He also released two solo albums yet. Now it's time for his third solo effort. So expectations are high, can he fulfill them?

CD-Review: Pat Travers - "Can Do"

Frontiers Records is about to release the new album by guitarist Pat Travers on July 5th, 2013. One moment ... Pat Travers? Never heared of him before. A look at the promo sheet tells me he is active since 1976 and he released something around 30 releases with his band until now. So this is pretty much and I'm really happy I haven't listened to those 30 albums before - otherwise I may have heared most of the stuff on "Can Do" before, I think.

Live-Report: BON JOVI (Berlin - Waldbühne, 18.06.2013)

During their "Because We Can" world tour, the stadium rockers BON JOVI visited also Berlin on June 18th, 2013. They played for the first time after 13 years in the capital of Germany. In 2000 the "Waldbühne" was also choosen as the event-location, but this time there were different circumstances.

CD-Review: Magnus Karlsson - "Free Fall"

If you like Melodic Metal you should be familiar with the name Magnus Karlsson. This guy is the mastermind behind the Allen/Lande project as well as The Codex, Kiske/Somerville or Last Tribe ... and of course don't forget his full-time job as the guitar player of the power metal band Primal Fear. With all these activities you might think his timetable is full enough, but Magnus seems to bubbling over with creativity. He released his first solo album "Free Fall" a few days ago and even this is a solo record Magnus invited lots of guest singers on this one.

Exclusive Interview with ELIZE RYD (Amaranthe)

If you currently search for one of the hottest acts in Metal, then you don't get away from Amaranthe. This band is a little phenomenon, because they don't fit in a special sub-genre, but nevertheless they are one of the most successful metal bands at the moment. With their latest release "The Nexus" Amaranthe seem to be unstoppable and are currently touring in the whole world. So I was really happy about the chance of having a little chat with the female vocalist of this band - the lovely Elize Ryd!

Exclusive Interview with HELGE ENGELKE (Fair Warning, Dreamtide)

The German cult-band Fair Warning released their incredible new album "Sundancer" some days ago. This should be reason enough to ask guitar-player Helge Engelke some questions about Fair Warnings new activities. Be ready for a very detailed interview with one of the finest guitarists from Germany.

CD-Review: Dark Moor - "Ars Musica"

Symphonic Metal fans have a reason to celebrate: the Spanish Symphonic Power Metalers of Dark Moor are about to release their 9th album in two weeks and I must confess that I've never heard of this band before ... but the beautiful cover artwork of their new record "Ars Musica" aroused my interest, as well as the many positive reactions to their new material. So, I didn't really know what to expect, but often this is a good sign, because I often experience great surprises if I can listen to something without any expectations.

Crowdfunding in music industry - a Blessing or a Curse?

Hey folks,

today I want to discuss something, which is far away from reviews, interviews and all that stuff. Due to recent events I want to talk about Crowdfunding. This subject is highly topical at the moment, especially in the last few weeks where well-known bands like Crashdiet or ReVamp made use of it.

For those of you, who haven't heard about "Crowdfunding" yet: it's nothing more than a money collection campaign. Artists ask you for your money to finance one of their projects and in return you'll receive some goodies like a special T-shirt, autographed poster or something like that. It's your choice which things you want to have and how much money you like to spend, but each goodie has a fixed price. This concept is used everywhere, whether if it comes to music, movie or game industry. "Kickstarter" and "Indiegogo" are typical platforms for this.