GOTTHARD To Release 'Starlight' Single

Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD will release a new single, "Starlight", on Friday, April 20. The title track will be made available in two versions: a rock and an acoustic variation.

"Starlight" was one of the first songs that the band wrote with new singer Nic Maeder.

"The chemistry between us worked immediately," says guitarist Leo Leoni. "It is really unusual to be able to sit down together and straightway write a song which is later the single."

"Right from the get-go, we had a really laid-back atmosphere between us," agrees Nic. "It was therefore not hard to come up with good ideas. It was really good fun from the start!"

A 30-second preview of "Starlight" is available below.

"Starlight" comes off GOTTHARD's new album, "Firebirth", which will be released on June 1 via Nuclear Blast/Warner Music. The CD was produced at the band's own Yellow House Studios in Lugano, Switzerland, with guitarist/songwriter Leo Leoni and Paul Lani (who has previously worked with GOTTHARD on several of their earlier albums, including "G-Spot" and "Homerun") at the helm.

"Firebirth" marks GOTTHARD's first release with Maeder, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and "Down Under."

"Firebirth" track listing:

01. Starlight
02. Give Me Real
03. Remember It's Me
04. Fight
05. Yippie Aye Yay
06. Tell Me
07. Shine
08. The Story Is Over
09. Right On
10. S.O.S.
11. Take It All Back
12. I Can
13. Where Are You? (dedicated to Steve Lee)

GOTTHARD vocalist Steve Lee was killed on October 5, 2010 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada.

The "Firebirth" album cover depicts the firebird Phoenix, which symbolically rises "from the ashes to the sky" — this line expresses what each GOTTHARD fan feels and underlines the turbulent time that GOTTHARD has gone through in the past months.

Commented Leoni: "We are delighted with the new album. Songwriting with Nic and Freddy was a real explosion of inspiration and new ideas! Regarding sound and production, we have returned to our roots and we deliberately produced it with a pure — and for GOTTHARD — typical sound. For us, 'Firebirth' is the comeback album with the rating: back to basics!"

Added Marc Lynn: "Collaboration with Nic was unbelievable — it feels that we have known each other forever and the euphoria in the band is now burning like a new fire. It is a true rebirth of the zest of 20 years ago, when the band took off 'to conquer the world.' Producing this album with the new lineup was a real 'birth of fire' — we are very proud of our new baby."

GOTTHARD's first recording with Maeder, a song called "Remember It's Me", was made available late last year as a free download via the GOTTHARD web site and was met with a firestorm of enthusiasm and positive feedback.

Stated Maeder: "It was absolutely amazing to experience the positive feedback from the GOTTHARD fans and the media after the release of 'Remember It's Me'. Now I am looking forward to the reaction to our first album together. The chemistry in the band feels fantastic and we are very much looking forward to being onstage in a couple of weeks and rocking with the fans."

GOTTHARD's first live shows with Maeder will take place in May in South America before the band makes several European festival appearances. The new group's German live debut will take place on July 14 at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen.