Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

Produced once again by Markus Teske (VANDEN PLAS, SPOCK'S BEARD, OASIS), the CD marks the recording debut with the group of guitarist Sven Lüdke (ex-MURDER ONE) and bassist Markus Brinkmann. According to a press release, "next to typical MOB RULES characteristics, such as creative intros, gritty guitar riffs and driving rhythms, the new album also holds a few surprises in store. Such as the recording's centrepiece, the monumental four-part opus, 'Ethnolution', which is is certain to go down well with MOB RULES' large following. The offering alternates between progressive approaches that touch on QUEENSRŸCHE in terms of atmospheric density, almost thrashy guitar riffs and a raging finale that deserves the term 'anthem.' Never before have MOB RULES combined their whole diversity as convincingly in one single song, the haunting number's lyrics dealing with the ethnological development of the human race."

The Northern German Melodic Metal force MOB RULES signed a contract with AFM in late July. The new, sixth album “Radical Peace” will be released in November, prior to this the single “Astral Hand” will be unleashed in October.

“We are happy that we signed with the label of our first choice”, states the band. “The well-known professional work of the company and their high-class artist-roster go well with us and our musical direction.”

AFM are happy with the signing, too: “With MOB RULES we welcome one of the best and most consistent German Melodic/Power Metal bands. We are convinced that we can support the band on their further way up. Furthermore we can announce one of the Metal highlight of 2009 in “Radical Peace”, the band´s heaviest and most diverse album so far. Expect some spectacular surprises!”

Noteworthy for this appraisal is the twenty-minute epic “The Oswald File”, which deals with the assassination of John F. Kennedy and brings up the question whether the suspected (and later killed) Harvey Lee Oswald really was the one who shot Kennedy. With this song MOB RULES continue the concept of important political events in world’s history that they started on the previous album
“Ethnolution a.d.”.

This fall MOB RULES will be present on stage some more times, amongst others at the Wacken Rocks Seaside in Aurich, Germany (August 28th), as headliner of the “Börsencrash Festival” in Wuppertal, Germany (October 16th) and at the big album release concert in the band´s hometown Wilhelmshaven on November 27th, 2009.

German metallers MOB RULES will release a new EP, "Astral Hand", on October 9.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Astral Hand
02. Astral Hand (Radio Edit) *
03. Astral Hand (Instrumental) *
04. Man On The Run *#
05. Hold On 2009 (Unplugged Version) *

* exclusive bonus tracks which will not appear on the band's new album, "Radical Peace"
# unreleased track from the "Among The Gods" session.

German metallers MOB RULES will release their sixth album, "Radical Peace", on November 13 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at Bazement Studio with longtime engineer Markus Teske (VANDEN PLAS, SPOCK'S BEARD, OASIS). A single, "Astral Hand", preceded the full-length CD on October 9.

"Radical Peace" track listing:

01. Children Of The Flames
02. Trial By Fire
03. Warchild
04. Astral Hand

The Oswald File (Ethnolution II: A Matter Of Unnecessary Doubt)

05. Chapter I (Prologue)
06. Chapter II (Desperate Son)
07. Chapter III (11.30 a.m.)
08. Chapter IV (Unnecessary Doubt?)
09. Chapter V (A Dead Man..s Face)
10. Chapter VI (Did You Reach The Sun?)
11. Waiting For The Sun
12. The Glance Of Fame

According to a press release, "Radical Peace" "presents a multitude of stylistic variations and effective surprises in a musical direction that is clearly and consciously not watered-down by pseudo-modern frippery. [MOB RULES'] tight interaction between deep melodic vocals, two powerful guitars, atmospheric keyboard passages and a driving basic rhythm is rare among European bands. Beyond that, MOB RULES have established an excellent reputation based on their five previous albums, which the band themselves consider to be outside the typical hard 'n' heavy pigeonhole: with critical lyrics about environmental pollution, the politics of the Catholic Church in medieval times and the alarming political situation in the Middle East on their early albums, MOB RULES shine again with fascinating and witty stories."

The press release continues: "Alongside the first single, Astral Hand, which was inspired by the well-known Michelangelo fresco 'The Creation of Adam' in the Vatican and already had its baptism of fire at the Wacken Rocks Seaside festival, the Bloodstock Open Air in Derby, England, and the Ginetarock festival in Spain, there are a number of tracks which deserve a mention. Musically as well as in terms of its content (the song is about death camp doctor Josef Mengele and his appalling experiments on concentration camp children), the opener 'Children Of The Flames' with its anthemic chorus and doom-laden guitar outro nonchalantly ventures into the realms of Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN). The two subsequent tracks, 'Trial By Fire' and 'Warchild' prove how intelligently MOB RULES connect their stories with epic musical structures and contemporary guitar riffs.

"The focal point of the album is the 18-minute epic 'The Oswald File'. This number is about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and raises the question whether the alleged killer Harvey Lee Oswald (who was later shot himself) really was responsible for Kennedy's death. With this song, MOB RULES continue their concept of memorable political moments in world history, which they started on 'Ethnolution A.D.' (2006)."

"We all know that Kennedy played an important rôle in the reconstruction of Germany," guitarist Matthias Mineur says of the track. Vocalist Klaus Dirks adds: "At the moment, this topic has gained new relevance through the new U.S. president Barack Obama, who is celebrated as Kennedy's quasi-heir. And as luck would have it, Obama will be coming to Berlin on a state visit four days before the release of 'Radical Peace'." This automatically brings to mind Kennedy's legendary speech featuring the unforgettable words "Ich bin ein Berliner," which were used as the intro to "The Oswald File".

Not only thematically but also musically, "Radical Peace" is MOB RULES' most uncompromising release to date. The direction of the new album is unmistakable, sounding much tougher compared to their previous offerings without compromising the essential features of the typical MOB RULES sound. "Even as we were writing the songs, it was clear that the new material would be more dynamic and haunting than our other releases, a fact that we allowed for during the studio production," says Dirks.

metal militia a écrit : PArmi les anciens albums lesquels valent le coup?

metal militia a écrit :je me le suis pris la semaine dernière. C'est mon premier album de Mob Rules, et bien je peux dire que c'est une sacrée réussite.
PArmi les anciens albums lesquels valent le coup?

norde a écrit :Temple Of Two Suns vaut le coup aussi.

On October 19th, German melodic metallers MOB RULES will release their seventh studio album called Cannibal Nation via AFM Records.

The cover artwork has been unveiled above and the tracklisting follows:
'Close My Eyes'
'Lost'
'Tele Box Fool'
'Ice And Fire'
'Soldiers Of Fortune'
'The Sirens'
'Scream For The Sun (May 29th 1953)'
'Cannibal Nation'
'Sunrise'

Bonus track on ltd. ed. digipak: 'Children Of The Flames' (Live In Atlanta)

According to a press release, Cannibal Nation is a varied, hook-oriented and energetic record. By building their own studio, a whole lot of new possibilities opened to the band. So the Dwelling Mound studio of guitarist Sven Lüdke became the place for Mob Rules to compose their new material. The result: every song on Cannibal Nation appears sophisticated and right on point. From the prog metal-influenced opening track 'Close My Eyes' to the following 'Lost' with its strong hookline, the first single 'Ice & Fire' (inspired by the story of the abducted Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt), which features atmospheric orchestral parts by Michael ´Miro` Rodenberg (AVANTASIA), to 'Scream For The Sun' (lyrically dealing with the first ascent of Mount Everest) and the album's final song 'Sunrise', every track was arranged with passion and reason. With 'Tele Box Fool' also a song whose lyrics critisize today's dull TV/media culture, can be found on the album.