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Geoff Downes' sentences on the death of John Wetton, which do not conceal the difficult character of his friend, clearly show that the rock guild has not only lost a creative musician, but also a man with rough edges, who often did not mince his words. It is no coincidence that one of his solo albums is called "Battle Lines" (1994). When I talked to him about two years ago on the occasion of the last Asia album "Gravitas", he could hardly stop himself from commenting on the performances of the previous guitarist Steve Howe in the last Asia years after the reunion. Instead of praising the then new guitarist Sam Coulson as usual and keeping silent about his colleagues who had left, there was hardly any need for an energetic question and John started banging his head off.

When the Black Star Riders emerged from Thin Lizzy in December 2012, skepticism was called for: Would the last Lizzy version - minus drummer Brian Downey and keyboarder Darren Wharton, but with original Lizzy Scott Gorham and songwriter team Damon Johnson/Ricky Warwick - exist as an independent band? "All Hell Breaks Loose" (2013) wiped away all concerns in May 2013. Not denying the band's origin, the riders created a hookline-saturated hard rock album. "The Killer Instinct" (2015) finally made it clear that they weren't a flash in the pan. It was the first collaboration with producer Nick Raskulinecz. After Gorham, Johnson and Warwick had devoted themselves to their passion Thin Lizzy again last year with Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton, Judas Priests Scott Travis and Darren Wharton, they have now recorded "Heavy Fire" with Raskulinecz and the proven BSR rhythm team Jimmy DeGrasso (dr) and Robbie Crane (b).

The man is always on the move, but there is no whining, there is whining: Wille Edwards is a rough-and-ready singer à la John Mellencamp, guitarist in best Ry-Cooder manner and mastermind of the trio Wille And The Bandits founded in 2007. "I am an urban hippie despite my beloved wife and equally beloved two-year-old daughter," laughs the 33-year-old. "It's incredible fun for me to stand on a stage somewhere in the world every evening to confront myself with myself for two hours. That's a lot of work. And it is the most beautiful state I know of, packed with emotions, energy, ecstasy. You can't get closer to your ego anywhere."

eclipsed: "Steal" is according to your statement your "strongest album so far". That's what pretty much every musician says about his new work. How do you understand that in concrete terms?

The prophet has no honor in his own country. When on Monday, January 23, the news of the death of Jaki Liebezeits the day before went through the media, many Germans heard this name for the first time. After all, now they've even heard him. The percussionist and drum philosopher Jaki Liebezeit was no less than one of the most influential German musicians of the 20th century.

WolveSpirit continue to live their dream of the rock commune. Guitarist Rio and his organ-playing brother Oliver Eberlein still live with their singer, the US-American Debby Craft, in a shared flat near Würzburg - short ways to try out ideas. Founded eight years ago, they first really caught the eye in 2013 with the record "Dreamcather". They captured the rock of the late sixties and early seventies here in an original way. With "Free" two years later, they were able to add another shovel to their repertoire and thus raised expectations for their new album "Blue Eyes".

eclipsed: You don't just call an album "Blue Eyes". What's behind all this?

Oliver Eberlein: That's right, the album title is no coincidence. Debby had written this song "Blue Eyes" and only a few months later she fell in love with a man with blue eyes. It also went well with the rest of the album, which is about loving, falling in love again, daring something new.

THE YARDBIRDS - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (live) (2:49)
Album: Live At The BBC (2017)
Label/Distribution: Repertoire/H'Art
www.theyardbirds.com

Jimmy Page had just taken over from Jeff Beck. They play this Bob Dylan number, which originally appeared a year earlier on his "Blonde On Blonde" album, in a more racy and pop version at these BBC sessions. A little later Page took over completely: New Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.

With the sampler "She Rocks, Vol. 1", released in January on Steve Vai's label Favored Nations, the guitar virtuoso fulfilled a heart's desire and chose recordings from eleven of the most interesting female rock guitarists today. In addition to the goal of promoting talent, this project was based on the realization that women who play the guitar are still not regarded as serious musicians by the general public. There might be some truth to that assumption: In the "Rolling Stone" special edition "Die 100 größten Gitarristen aller Zeiten" (2003) only two women appear: Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt. The "Guitarist" special issue "Rock Guitar Heroes" (2012) is also disappointing from a female point of view, as it only mentions the Australian Orianthi. This blatant disproportion could be interpreted as a sign of sloppy research work.

eclipsed: Your new album is named after a strange ritual from ancient Greece in which young men supposedly turned into werewolves. Is there anything current in the werewolf motif?

Martin Lopez: We are fascinated by the great old themes of humanity, because these basic themes are ultimately timeless: religiously based wars are an example. Against this background it is not difficult to relate our songs to the present. If one refers to past epochs, it becomes all the clearer that the main problems of mankind have not changed much. It is probably instincts that prevent us from carrying each other and supporting the weaker. In the end, the inner predator prevails, subduing or killing others. Even if we walk around with suits and smartphones today, we are doing the same thing as people 3000 years ago, when there were slaves and kings ...