Hena Habegger | Hard Rock Hideout

The first anniversary of the disastrous earthquake in Japan will be on March 11^th, 2012. The aftermath of this catastrophe is still apparent, and to the present day the Japanese people are facing the impact of the events. The population of the affected area has not been able to completely return to their everyday live and the people are still grateful for our help.

Some of Europe’s leading Rock artists have united to join a campaign initiated by singer Tommy Heart (Soul Doctor, Fair Warning) and recorded a tremendous new version of the classic Beatles song “Help”. The EP “Help! For JAPAN” will be released in Europe on the German label Avenue Of Allies in early March 2012. All income from the sales of this project will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

This EP includes the following four songs:

1. HELP!

2. HELP! (Tommy Heart Version)

3. HELP! (Guitar Version)

4. HELP! (Extended Version)

The musicians: Don Airey (Keyboards & Piano, Deep Purple), Leo Leoni (Guitar, Gotthard), Neil Murray (Bass, ex Whitesnake), Hena Habegger (Drums, Gotthard)

The singers: Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), Bob Catley (Magnum), Andi Deris (Helloween), Torstein Flakne (Stage Dolls), Marc Storace (Krokus), David Readman (Pink Cream 69), Claus Lessmann (Bonfire), Oliver Hartmann (Hartmann), Bernhard Weiss (Axxis), Michael Kiske (Unisonic), Tony Mills (TNT), Carsten Lizard Schulz (Evidence One) and Tommy Heart (Soul Doctor, Fair Warning),

The solo guitar players: Cede Dupont (Downspirit), Kyoji Yamamoto (BowWow), Helge Engelke (Fair Warning), Roland Grapow (Masterplan), Leo Leoni (Gotthard), Henny Wolter (Nitrogods), Robert R. Rodrigo (Airless)

All “HELP!” versions produced and mixed by Tommy Heart, Tommy Remm & Rene Schostak (Valicon).
Vocal Arrangement by Tommy Heart.
Solo Guitar Arrangement for “Help” (Guitar Version) by Helge Engelke.
Audio mastering by TMM/Tom Müller Berlin/Germany.
Cover artwork “Help! For JAPAN” designed by Kai Swillus.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/help.charity

http://helpforjapan1.wordpress.com

Quite possibly one of the best discs of 2005 is Lipservice, the 10th release by Swedish rockers Gotthard. Gotthard is well known in the UK and Europe, but continue to go unnoticed in the United States. It is really a shame, because a record this good should really be heard by the masses.

“Lipservice” has gone Double Platinum in Switzerland and continues to sell well everywhere but in the United States.

Gotthard has a sound that falls somewhere between Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, but”Lipservice” is a stronger release than either of those bands have put out in years.

Whether you want some rocking pop metal songs or some power ballads, “Lip Service” has it all.

“All We Are”, and “Dream On” start this disc off right by rocking. “Lift You Up”, should have been a massive hit here. “Everything I Want“, is an awesome Def Leppard like power ballad, and “Cupid’s Arrow” sounds a lot like a Whitesnake track musically.

“I’m Alive” is an excellent heavy track with a killer vocal by Steve Lee. “Stay For the Night” and “Anytime Anywhere” could have both been radio hits. Both tracks have a sound that is similar to House of Lords.

“Said and Done” is another quality rock track with excellent guitars of Leo Leoni and Freddy Scherer.

“Nothing Left At All” is an acoustic guitar, piano based ballad that could have been another big hit.

There is a lot to like on Lip Service. This is a very upbeat and clean sounding record. It has a good mix of excellent vocals, and great sounding guitars, crafting one of the best Hard Rock/Melodic metal discs I have ever heard. Fans of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and the Scorpions are going to like this disc a lot. All other should at least give this a listen too.

Here are a couple of videos from Lip Service for you to check out!

Lift You Up