Artist: MOB RULES
Album: RADICAL PEACE LTD. EDIT. (DIGI)

Year: 2009
Media type: CD

When the Northern German melodic metal band MOB RULES release their sixth studio album “Radical Peace” on November 13th, 2009 through AFM, the whole scene will listen up. MOB RULES are a prime example that this style of music has to offer far more than clichйs and platitudes. “Radical Peace” presents a multitude of stylistic variations and effective surprises in a genre that clearly and knowingly is not watered-down with pseudo modern frippery. Mainly the closely connected interaction of deep melodic singing, two powerful guitars, atmospheric keyboard passages and a pressing fundamental rhythm is hardly found with any other European band. Beyond that, MOB RULES have established a very good reputation with their five previous albums that they think outside the typical Hard’n’Heavy box: with critical lyrics about environmental pollution, the politics of the Catholic Church in medieval times or about alarming political situations in the Middle East on the early albums, MOB RULES shine once more with fascinating and witty stories.

Besides the first single ‚Astral Hand’ (Release: October 9th, 2009), which was inspired by the well-known Michelangelo fresco ‘The Creation of Adam’ in the Vatican und already had its baptism of fire at the Wacken Rocks Seaside, at the Bloodstock Festival in the English Derby and at the Ginetarock-Festival in Spain, there are numerous songs which deserve a special reference. The opener ‘Children Of The Flames’ with its hymnal refrain and a doomy guitar-outro advances musically and regarding its content (it deals with the death camp doctor Josef Mengele and his disgusting experiments with imprisoned children) into areas of Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). The two following tracks ‘Trial By Fire’ and ‘Warchild’ show how cunningly MOB RULES connect their stories with epic musical structures and modern guitar riffs.

In the centre of the album stands the 18 minute long epic ‘The Oswald File’. The song deals thematically with the assassination of John F. Kennedy and asks the question whether the suspected (and later killed) Harvey Lee Oswald really was the fatal shooter of Kennedy. With this song, MOB RULES continue the concept of political memorable moments in world’s history that they started on “Ethnolution A.D. “ in 2006. “It is known that Kennedy played an important role in the reconstruction of Germany”, explains guitarist Matthias Mineur the initialization of the track. Singer Klaus Dirks adds: “At the moment, this topic has gained new relevance through the new US president Barack Obama, who is celebrated as the quasi heir of Kennedy. And as luck would have it, Obama is coming to Berlin on a state visit four days prior to the release of Radical Peace.” Then you automatically have to think about the legendary speech of Kennedy with the unforgettable words “Ich bin ein Berliner”, which are used as introduction of ‘The Oswald File’.

“Radical Peace” is not only thematically but also musically the most consequent creation of the band. Unmistakeable is the, in contrast to the past, harder direction of the new album which does not set aside the essential features of the typical Mob Rules-sound. “Already while writing the songs it became clear that the new songs will be more dynamic and gripping than our other releases. We already allowed for this fact during sound production”, singer Dirks states. Together with sound engineer Markus Teske, who has mixed and mastered the new album in his ‘Bazement Studio’ in Hьnstetten, MOB RULES managed a contemporary sounding and energy loaded album.


TRACKLIST:

01. Children Of The Flames
02. Trial By Fire
03. Warchild
04. Astral Hand

The Oswald File (Ethnolution Pt II: A Matter Of Unnecessary Doubt)

05. Chapter I (Prologue)
06. Chapter II (Desperate Son)
07. Chapter III (11:30 a.m.)
08. Chapter IV (Unnecessary Doubt?)
09. Chpater V (A Dead Manґs Face)
10. Chapter VI (Did You Reach The Sun?)

11. Waiting For The Sun
12. The Glance Of Fame

Bonus on Ltd. Digi Pak: Video clip “Astral Hand”

LINE-UP:

Klaus Dirks - vocals
Matthias Mineur - guitar
Sven Ludke - guitar
Markus Brinkmann - bass
Sascha Onnen - keys
Nikolas Fritz - drums