Tag: D.C. Cooper
1 Royal Hunt – Show Me How To Live (2011)
Royal Hunt is back with their eleventh long player Show Me How To Live. Show Me How to Live features the return of D.C. Cooper (Silent Force) on vocals. DC Cooper’s parting from Royal Hunt was not an amicable move back in the late 90’s, so I am glad the gentleman in Royal Hunt could mend the fences. D.C. Cooper has an outstanding voice, and after giving Show Me How To Live a few spins, I can clearly say, it sounds like he never left.
Don’t misunderstand my excitement with D.C. Cooper returning to Royal Hunt. I thought Mark Boals and John West both did a great job singing for this band. I liked Royal Hunt’s last album X a lot. I don’t know what it is, but there seems to be magic when André Andersen and D.C. Cooper record together.
Show Me How To Live is a tight record packed with melodic, and progressive edged tunes that are a pure pleasure to listen to.
The album starts off with a powerful rocker “One More Day” which is also the main chorus of the song. With Jonas Larsen’s excellent guitar work, and the catchy lyrics, I have found this song to be extremely infectious.
“Another Man Down” (See video below) is a duet with Michelle Raitzin. Raitzin’s vocals are a very good match for D.C. Cooper.
Every time I play “Hard Rain’s Coming” I want to hit repeat. Not only is this one of the best songs on Show Me How To Live, it may also be one of Royal Hunt’s best.
The album’s title track “Show Me How To Live” is a ten minute melodic monster. The musicianship is so incredible you forget that you are listening a song this long.
With only seven songs, I wish Show Me How To Live had a few more tunes, but with 42 minutes of music that is THIS good, I am still quite satisfied.
Royal Hunt fans, do yourself a favor and pick this CD up. You won’t be disappointed!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
01. One More Day
02. Another Man Down
03. An Empty Shell
04. Hard Rain’s Coming
05. Half Past Loneliness
06. Show Me How To Live
07. Angel’s Gone
Royal Hunt is:
André Andersen – keyboards
D.C. Cooper – vocals
Allan Sørensen – drums
Andreas Passmark – bass
Jonas Larsen – guitars
1 Royal Hunt To Release “Show Me How To Live”
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of ROYAL HUNT 11th studio album entitled “Show me How to Live” on November 29th in North America and December 2nd in Europe.
Royal Hunt have been recently rejoined by DC Cooper, the American singer that marked the two most successful releases of the band in the 90’s : « Moving Target » and the concept album “Paradox”. “We started chatting on Skype from time to time and that’s how the idea of doing on a mini tour came about”, tells Royal Hunt founder, songwriter and keyboards player Andre Andersen. “After playing some shows we realized that the chemistry was still there and we decided to continue… recording a new album – first…”. And you can certainly hear the results on “Show Me How to Live”. The new material is described as “highly melodic with rich, lush arrangements and stellar production”, this will certainly please the fans of neoclassical yet progressive music. Andersen continues “The new songs are continuing right from where we left it in the first place, so far it sounds great. It will have some qualities of our previous albums “Moving Target” and “Paradox”, but you can certainly expect some cool updates and new twists!”
Founded in Denmark in 1989 by Andre Andersen, Royal Hunt has gone through numerous personnel changes since the inception. Though certainly the two albums that they have released with American singer DC Cooper; are the ones that mostly stood the test of time: “Moving Target” in 1995 and the subsequent concept album “Paradox” in 1997.
While Andre Andersen – a musical genius who can virtually play any instrument, compose, write lyrics and produce all at the same time – is undoubtedly the powerhouse force that drives the entire ensemble forward like a bulldozer, it’s also sure that DC is one of the top singers in the entire hard rock world. The extension and warmth of his vocals are the key elements that can bring back Royal Hunt to the throne of nowadays Hard Rock scene.
Once again recorded and produced at NorthPoint Studios in Denmark, “Show Me How To Live” brings back Royal Hunt at force 10 with an highly melodic sound and rich, lush arrangements and stellar production. With the amazing new line-up, the fans as well as the critics, are about to get a fresh taste of the powerful and rejuvenated ROYAL HUNT!
“Show Me How To Live” final track listing includes:
Introduction; One More Day; Another Man Down; An Empty Shell; Hard Rain’s Coming; Half Past Loneliness; Show Me How To Live; Angel’s Gone.
As a companion to the new album release, Frontiers Records will also release on the same day a double DVD entitled “Future Coming From the Past”. This double package serves as a celebration of the return of singer DC Cooper to the line-up, and makes finally widely available two very rare items which were only released in Japan back in the day.
The first DVD is entitled “1996” and was recorded live in Japan just after the release of the band’s “Moving Target” album. “1996” is an excellent summary of Royal Hunt’s career up to that point. The band offers a great mix of songs from their first three studio albums. The band was in top form for this show, with DC leading the way.
The second DVD “Paradox – Closing the Chapter” was recorded in 1998 and marked the end of the original DC Cooper era for Royal Hunt. It is essentially a complete live performance of the band’s amazing studio album “Paradox”, their most successful album to date. It is a very solid performance and DC delivers the goods, while the band’s playing is superb. To complete the package is a 50 minute documentary which shares stories of life in a Rock band.
“Future Coming From the Past” table of contents include:
DVD1 – 1996
– Concert: Flight; 1348; Wasted Time; Stay Down; On the Run; Stranded; Keyboard Solo; Martial Arts; Far Away; Last Goodbye; Land of Broken Hearts; Makin’ a Mess; Clown in the Mirror; Guitar Solo; Step by Step; Drums & Bass Solo; Running Wild; Epilogue; Age Gone Wild; Ten to Life; Legion of the Damned; Kingdom Dark; Time.
Total length 150 mins.
DVD2 – Closing the Chapter (Paradox):
– Concert: The Awakening; River of Pain; Tearing Down the World; Message to God; Long Way Home; Time Will Tell; Silent Scream; It’s Over.
– Documentary.
Total length 100 mins.
Format: NTSC Region Free – Screen 4:3 – Stereo
While Andre Andersen says “We’re taking it one step at the time – let’s finish the new album first, release it and see how the reaction of our fans is”, you can anyway certainly expect to see ROYAL HUNT playing in a town near you in the first months of 2012.
ROYAL HUNT current lineup includes:
André Andersen – keyboards
D.C. Cooper – vocals
Allan Sørensen – drums
Andreas Passmark – bass
Jonas Larsen – guitars
