UFO - Finally scandal-free!

UFO

A normal band will never become from the once rock'n'roll lifestyle shaken UFO probably. But since the US guitar witch Vinnie Moore joined the band in 2003, the English hard rock rocks have been on a consolidation course. The latest album "A Conspiracy Of Stars" is further proof of this.

In the beginning the cooperation of UFO with Vinnie Moore seemed to take getting used to. On the one hand there was the down-to-earth ex-Vicious-Rumours guitarist, on the other there was the infamous troupe, who - due to excessive alcohol and drug consumption - did not leave out any fat cups. However, their "powerful" singer Phil Mogg has become much calmer, and the scandalous duo Pete Way and Michael Schenker have been permanently removed from the band structure. Way briefly helped out Ozzy Osbourne, but even the Madman found the endless celebration too much. O-tone Ozzy: "Keeping up with Pete for a whole tour - nobody can do that."

YUSUF/CAT STEVENS - On velvet paws to the blues

Eight years after his comeback, the man who was once Cat Stevens has returned with the edgy album "Tell 'Em I'm Gone", indulging in blues, R&B and folk rock. The 66 year old Englishman with Greek and Swedish roots wants this to be understood as a homage to the music of his youth.

Last year, Yusuf, who is the only one who triggers an impulse among people over forty under his old stage name Cat Stevens, was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. The overdue recognition of a musician who had a lasting influence on the sound of the seventies with his ingratiating folkpop. With his new record - the third since his comeback in 2006 - he pays homage to the blues. eclipsed met Yusuf in Berlin.

eclipsed: What do you associate with the blues?

BLACK STAR RIDERS - Instinct-controlled

With "The Killer Instinct", the Thin Lizzy successor organization Black Star Riders impressively proves that it is not a flash in the pan. Their second recording is a classic rock album as it is written in the book. eclipsed met the main songwriters Damon Johnson and Ricky Warwick at the "Planet Hollywood" in the Duisburg city centre.

A good two years ago, Scott Gorham and singer Ricky Warwick were waiting for us in a Munich hotel. They told us about their new band Black Star Riders who had started to continue the Lizzy legacy with new music. But not as Thin Lizzy, because new music under this name would be a No-Go without the late Phil Lynott. Warwick now sits opposite us again, but instead of Gorham his guitar partner Damon Johnson takes over the main part of the conversation.

eclipsed: Where's Scott?

BEARDFISH - The province trembles

I beg your pardon? "+4626-COMFORTZONE"? The title of the new Beardfish album comes with a little riddle. The number code is Sweden's telephone country code and the prefix of the coastal town of Gävle, home of Beardfish. So far, so good. But what about this "comfort zone"?

Since its founding in 2001, the retroprog group Beardfish has produced seven recordings. In doing so, they often rushed back and forth in a mad way between classical prog, Canterbury echoes and Zappa attitudes. Her last work was 2012 "The Void", a work that was increasingly enriched with metal tracks. Now the four Swedes present with "+4626-COMFORTZONE" a well thought-out concept album, on which they get rid of a lot of frustration. Singer/keyboarder/guitarist Rikard Sjöblom explains why.

eclipsed: For me, the basic theme is as follows: Growing up in a provincial town whose citizens are sometimes hostile towards foreigners. Is that right?

SYLVAN - Life crises from the old blow

The Hamburg art rockers Sylvan do not bake small rolls. Like her showpiece work "Posthumous Silence" (2006), the new album "Home" is a large-scale concept work. It joins the ranks of concept albums like Pink Floyd's "The Wall", Marillion's "Brave" or Steven Wilson's "Hand. Cannot. Erase" existential crises, individual destinies to the topic have.

SCORPIONS - The never-ending story

Internationally, there are three sustainably successful musical flagships from Germany: Rammstein and the Scorpions. After a few years of alienation, the hard rock heroes from Hanover are again considered a rock jewel at home. And will be honored for 50 years of band history accordingly. So also from us - with an eclipsed shopping list XXL.

COLOUR HAZE - The Gods Must Be Happy

Twenty years Colour Haze have been on their backs. During this time the Munich band around singer and guitarist Stefan Koglek played their way into the top ranks of the international stoner rock scene with a series of great albums. A position that she consolidates with her latest recording "To The Highest Gods We Know". Between bringing the new generation to bed, the trouble with the local cultural department (which forces the band to leave the building with the newly furnished studio after a short time) and the work for their own record label (Elektrohasch), Stefan Koglek finds the time to chat about the band and their latest studio work.

eclipsed: The recordings for your last album "She Said" were accompanied by many difficulties. How'd "To The Highest Gods We Know" go?

EDGAR FROESE - Silence in the Schwäbische Straße

In contrast to the German Krautrock bands like Amon Düül II, CAN, Kraftwerk or Faust, who started at the same time, Tangerine Dream always had the one central star, the Kraftzentrum, which fired the fate of the internationally celebrated electronic pioneers. Therefore it is clear with the death of Edgar Froese: After 47 years the story of Tangerine Dream has now come to an end.