Als William J. Tsamis, der Gründer der legendären Epic-Metal-Meister Warlord, am 13. Mai 2021 im Alter von nur 60 Jahren verstarb, sah es so aus, als sei der vorzeitige Tod einer der kreativsten Kräfte im amerikanischen Metal gekommen.
Doch Warlord meldeten sich zurück, mit neuer Besetzung und einem brandneuen Studioalbum mit dem Titel Free Spirit Soar (auf High Roller Records), das von der Kritik begeistert aufgenommen wurde. Mit Gitarren- und Bassparts von Bill Tsamis, die von den Originalaufnahmen gerettet wurden, lässt das aktuelle Team, bestehend aus Mark Zonder (Schlagzeug), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards) und Giles Lavery (Gesang) (plus Eric Juris an Gitarren und Bass bei zwei Songs), Free Spirit Soar nun ein weiteres Album mit dem Titel From The Ashes To The Archives – The Hot Pursuit Continues folgen – eine limitierte Auflage, die anlässlich der Sommertermine der Band im Jahr 2024 veröffentlicht wird.
Sänger Giles Lavery erklärt: “What we wanted to do with some of these songs was to revisit some of the songs from the Rising Out Of The Ashes record with this line-up (and using Bill’s guitar and bass tracks) – to give fans an idea of how they are going to sound live this year. Please don’t get me wrong, I think Joacim Cans did a brilliant job on the Rising Out Of The Ashes originals, so these new versions are to be seen very much as a companion to the 2002 versions, rather than any kind of ’replacement’ for them. However, the mixes this time around are a little heavier and rawer, and to me it sounds more sonically like it’s the 1980s era Warlord, (a sound which really suits the band) ironically the 1980s is when most of these songs on this new collection were written, long before they were recorded for Lordian Guard… Winds Of Thor for example was part of the very first Warlord demo back in 1982. It may require a little bit of imagination, but it’s almost like, in an alternate reality, IF there had been a follow-up EP to Deliver Us and if we can imagine these songs had been recorded and released in 1986 or so, rather than hearing them for the first time as Lordian Guard recordings or later as Warlord in 2002… this could be a look at „what could have been” from a sonic perspective.“
From The Ashes To The Archives – The Hot Pursuit Continues Tracklist:
1. Invaders (Re-Recorded 2024)
2. Battle Of The Living Dead (Re-Recorded 2024)
3. Winds Of Thor (Re-Recorded 2024)
4. Achilles Revenge (Re-Recorded 2024)
5. War In Heaven (Re-Recorded 2024)
6. Sons Of A Dream (Re-Recorded 2024)
7. Deliver Us From Evil (Re-Recorded 2024)
8. Winds Of Thor (Re-Recorded 2024, Thomas Mergler Mix)
(Vollansicht im Time For Metal Release-Kalender hier)
Label: High Roller Records
Release-Datum: 23.08.2024
Distribution: Soulfood
Formate: CD, LP, MC
Die Vinyl-Version von From The Ashes To The Archives – The Hot Pursuit Continues enthält acht Songs, während auf der CD-Version vierzehn Tracks zu finden sind.
Und wieder einmal hat Giles Lavery alle Details parat: “Tracks 9-14 are tracks that have appeared on the various expanded reissues and compilation albums over the years, some of which are now out of print, and thus we wanted to consolidate what we thought were the best of these unavailable rarities for this collection on the CD format. Of note are the pre-production recordings of some of the Deliver Us tracks from 1983, recorded mere days before the EP was tracked … so these are every bit as good quality wise as what ended up on the EP, however, you can hear many differences between the two versions. In addition and as mentioned, we wanted to have a special compilation for the Warlord live dates in 2024, something that celebrated the band’s past together with the present line-up.“
Mehr Infos zu Warlord und ihrem Free Spirit Soar, dass im Mai erschien, findet ihr hier:
Warlord: veröffentlichen neues Album „Free Spirit Soar“ über High Roller Records
Warlord – Besetzung:
Giles Lavery – Gesang
Eric Juris – Gitarren (Bass bei zwei Songs)
Jimmy Waldo – Keyboards
Mark Zonder – Schlagzeug
Warlord online:
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialWarlord