As a hard rock fan you can't get past Europe since their eighth studio album "Last Look At Eden" (2009) at the latest. That sounds strange at first, because the band led the charts worldwide in their first life in the eighties with "The Final Countdown" and filled the concert halls. But it was only after the reunion in 2003 that Europe became what singer Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum had hoped for when founding Force, as they were called until 1982: to be called in the same breath as the hard rock greats of the seventies.
After a stuttering comeback start with too modernistic hard rock, they tore themselves off "Last Look At Eden". And they increased: With "Bag Of Bones" (2012) and "War Of Kings" (2015) the form curve went steeply upwards. The hymns of praise on Tempest, Norum and Co. were polyphonic, and a less self-confident band would certainly be tense in view of the expectations after such great deeds during the recordings of "Walk The Earth".
eclipsed author Michael Lorant is already in a party mood after a few album runs in his native Dortmund when Joey Tempest calls from his adopted home London - in a good mood on his part.
eclipsed: You recorded "Walk The Earth" in London at Abbey Road Studios. You don't live far from it. Is it at all possible to hide everyday life and concentrate fully on the music with this spatial proximity?
Joey Tempest: The other five were far enough away from their home base.
eclipsed: Five? Do you involve producer Dave Cobb as a band member yet?
Tempest: Yes. Dave isn't just our producer. It's as much his album as ours. But to come back to the first question: The recordings lasted two weeks and I was able to concentrate well. London means well with me and also with the band.
eclipsed: You're alluding to the fact that you've now released two live recordings from London.
Tempest: Besides Sweden, we have a particularly fanatical and loyal audience in Great Britain and especially in London.
eclipsed: "Walk The Earth" sounds even more playful than your last three works. Is that because you trust Cobb even more?
Tempest: For the most part yes. On "War Of Kings" we got along so well with him that we included him even more and at the same time approached the album with an open mind. You asked me before the recording sessions how things would go with Europe. A justified question about "War Of Kings", which has been the musical highlight of our career until then. I didn't know what to say to you because I just couldn't do it. But we now have so much confidence in ourselves that we can let it run for a while. We know it can only be good in the end.
