The rock anthem ‘A King Has Gone’, taken from MSG’s new album ‘Universal’, and its intro ‘Calling Baal’, also available on ‘Universal’, both have a special significance: The track, sung by Helloween frontman Michael Kiske, is a tribute to the immortal Ronnie James Dio, and in particular to his performance on the 1976 hard rock classic Rainbow Rising.
For this reason, Michael Schenker has brought together an original Rainbow rhythm section consisting of Bobby Rondinelli and Bob Daisley.
Listen/stream/download the song here: https://msg.afr.link/AKingHasGone
Michael Schenker additionally enlisted keyboardist Tony Carey, who also played on Rainbow Rising, for the terrific Moog synth intro ‘Calling Baal’ – a direct reference to the iconic intro of the 1976 album opener ‘Tarot Woman’.
The impressive result ‘Calling Baal’/’A King Has Gone’ is already considered to be one of the most important and successful songs in Schenker’s career to date, both musically and lyrically, and can be enjoyed in its entirety on MSG’s new studio album ‘Universal’!
‘Universal’ will be released on May 27th, 2022, via Atomic Fire Records and is available as Digipak CD (incl. 2 bonus tracks), colored vinyl, Earbook (CD incl. 2 bonus tracks) and digital album, featuring the following tracks.
CD + LP + Digital
- Emergency VIDEO | LISTEN
- Under Attack
- Calling Baal
- A King Has Gone
- The Universe
- Long Long Road
- Wrecking Ball
- Yesterday Is Dead
- London Calling
- Sad Is The Song
- Au Revoir
CD + Earbook bonus tracks:
- Turn Off The World
- Fighter
The pre-order has started and is available here: https://msg.afr.link/UniversalPR
MSG just kicked off their European leg of the “50th anniversary Universal – World Tour”!
There are few rock guitarists on this planet who have had such a lasting influence on so many renowned musicians as Michael Schenker.
With his outstandingly fluid style, inexhaustible wealth of ideas and instinctive feel for hooks and melodies, Michael Schenker is a living legend who, despite his longstanding and distinguished history, still impresses with his unflagging energy and drive.
The blond stringman from Sarstedt (near Hanover) began his international career in the early 1970s with the Scorpions, achieved worldwide fame after joining British rock group U.F.O. and then seamlessly continued his exceptional global success story under his own name, as well as with acts such as Michael Schenker Group (MSG for short), Temple Of Rock and Michael Schenker Fest. Schenker and his career, which has spanned more than fifty years, are absolute exceptions in the otherwise short-lived music industry.
Now his latest MSG album is about to be unleashed, scheduled for release on Atomic Fire Records on 27 May 2022 under the programmatic moniker of ‘Universal’. His latest offering will feature all the strengths of this exceptional musician: first-rate songs with anthemic melodies, catchy guitar riffs and inspiring solos.
As we have come to expect from him, Schenker has once again enlisted a number of prestigious fellow musicians for the recording of his new studio production, among them, as main vocalist, Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Vandenberg), who will also be MSG’s frontman on their upcoming tour, Michael Kiske (Helloween) and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), keyboard player Steve Mann (Lionheart), drummers Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy), as well as legendary bassists Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath), Barry Sparks (Malmsteen, Dokken) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Zakk Wylde), with Tony Carey as a very special guest.
MSG is:
Michael Schenker | Lead Guitar
Ronnie Romero | Vocals
Bodo Schopf | Drums
Steve Mann | Keyboards/Guitars
Barend Courbois | Bass
Taken off the album “Universal” (May 27th, 2022) 🎧 Stream, get it here: https://msg.afr.link/universalYT
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