MICHAEL SCHENKER Wanted To Keep 'Spirit On A Mission' Album 'Very Energetic And Melodic'

Rustyn Rose of Metalholic.com recently conducted an interview with legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked what his goal was for "Spirit On A Mission", the new album from his MICHAEL SCHENKER'S TEMPLE OF ROCK band, Michael said: "I already knew when we finished [2013's] 'Bridge The Gap', what I wanted to do with the next album, and the thing I wanted to do was… on 'Bridge The Gap', I introduced the seven-string [guitar] a little bit, and on the next album, I wanted to do more of that. And that's exactly what we did. And so I asked Wayne [Findlay] to write a few riffs, and then I added my stuff to it and turned it into songs. And, of course, Doogie [White] did incredible vocals. So we basically discovered additional chemistry that is good for bands to have, and for development, and to cover… Because the seven-string adds a sound to it that wasn't really there before. And so now, combining the old with the new, people get a very good spectrum of expressions from… like, being able to put as many emotions and sound things together from the past and to the now as possible and focusing on a balanced album. It's a bit more like a book; you wanna read the book from beginning to end, and make sure that you get always entertained by it. And so that was the focus on this album."

He continued: "I'm very pleased with it, because I like the energy. I wanted to keep it very energetic and melodic and hard and then also even heavy. And I think we captured quite a bit of that."

"Spirit On A Mission" will be made available in the U.K. on March 23. Released by in-akustik, the collection of all-new material features Schenker's TEMPLE OF ROCK band — ex-SCORPIONS drummer Herman Rarebell and bassist Francis Buchholz, ex-RAINBOW singer Doogie White and Wayne Findlay (guitar, keyboards).

"Spirit On A Mission" features twelve 12 classic rock guitar-driven songs that highlight Schenker's distinctive and dynamic guitar playing, valiantly underpinned by the ferocious rhythm section of Rarebell and Buchholz, the same rhythm section that originally performed together on the SCORPIONS' 1979 album "Lovedrive".

The official video for the song "Live And Let Live" from "Spirit On A Mission" can be seen below.

"Spirit On A Mission" track listing:

01. Live And Let Live
02. Communion*
03. Vigilante Man
04. Rock City
05. Saviour Machine*
06. Something Of The Night
07. All Our Yesterdays
08. Bulletproof*
09. Let The Devil Scream*
10. Good Times
11. Restless Heart
12. Wicked*
13. Searching For Freedom (instrumental) (bonus track on deluxe edition + vinyl edition)

All songs are written by:

Music - Michael Schenker
Lyrics - Doogie White

Except* music and lyrics by Michael Schenker, Doogie White, Wayne Findlay