Gotthard release new CD «Need to Believe»
Rock history at its best: GOTTHARD, this exceptional Swiss group is taking things a step further – defining Rock in a new way. They are attracting attention from no less a personage than Canadian producer Rich Chycki (Aerosmith, Rush), who phoned the GOTTHARD management and declared that he thought the group was great and that he really would like to work with them. A few days after hearing them, he travelled to Tessin to start collaboration with them on their new songs.
With more than two million records sold, it’s clear that GOTTHARD know how to rock – but they never rest on their laurels! Three times triple platinum, four times double platinum, four times platinum, one gold single and the official anthem for the Swiss Olympic team in the summer of 2004, along with the official fan anthem of the Swiss national football team for the European Football Championships in 2008, plus a series of sell-out concerts, including the Zürich Hallenstadion and the celebrated German Tour with DEEP PURPLE, where they played to audiences of more than 75,000. These are some of the high points up to now of the most successful Swiss group to date.
Of course it is not only the statistics which cause GOTTHARD to stand out. They have loads of charm, style and timeless authenticity; this is what makes them so original worldwide. With lead singer Steve Lee they front one of the best voices of all time. His characteristic voice which gets deep under your skin charms both the public and his fellow musicians. No surprise then that he has worked with great names in music: an orchestral project with the well-known Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE) and an impressive duet with operatic diva Monserrat Caballe (“One Life, One Soul”).
GOTTHARD have managed, even in times of recession and falling CD sales, to forge ahead. They have continued to win over the public and increase their recognition factor.
Many of the tracks on “Need to Believe” are clear statements that GOTTHARD is a rock band with no compromise. Numbers like the dazzling “Shangri-la” or the anthem-like “Need to Believe” demonstrate the massive contribution GOTTHARD makes to the music scene. And with emotional ballads like “Tears to Cry”, they show their sensitive side once more, which has been their strength from the very beginning.
The album title “Need to Believe” was a deliberate choice. As Steve Lee explains: “We wanted to give encouragement, particularly now in this time of crisis it is important to believe in something. It isn’t just coincidence that the saying “Faith can move Mountains” exists. If you think positive and don’t give up, you’ll win in the end. That always was the motto of GOTTHARD”.
In short: this is an album whose title becomes a motto: GOTTHARD represents the next rock generation, who want to do their own thing without outside influence and thus have been able to establish themselves and to enrich the music world.
And not only that: in April 2010, the film “Max Schmeling” will mark the first international film premiere with a GOTTHARD song on the soundtrack!
So there it is – whether in the musical sense or the geographic one – the biggest and best embodiment of Switzerland – ‘GOTTHARD”.
