There can be no doubt that Freedom Call, in addition to their many other irrefutable fortes, are also a first-rate live act. Their concerts see the melodic metal outfit from Southern Germany deliver a veritable a riot of musical zest, positive energy and personal optimism. So it's not surprising that vocalist/guitarist Chris Bay and his team have been wanting to add this dynamic flair to one of their studio productions without neglecting their familiar love of detail – which the band from Nuremberg have skilfully accomplished on Land Of The Crimson Dawn. "The new tracks simply have more of that rock'n'roll feel," says Bay, "everything sounds much rawer, there's more focus on the guitars than before, and the musicians had more freedom during the recordings than they used to have." This added independence has paid off for Freedom Call: Land Of The Crimson Dawn is definitely one of the band's most dynamic productions since their 1999 debut Stairway To Fairyland, combining the passion of their live shows with carefully intricate arrangements and technical finesse. The new album will be available from Steamhammer/SPV on 27 February 2012 (Germany: 24 February 2012; USA: March 2012) in three versions: as a jewel case featuring 14 songs, as a limited double CD including six additional bonus tracks – which have chums such as Powerworld, Secret Sphere, Downspirit, Manimal, Neonfly and Hannes Braun (Kissin' Dynamite) deliver their versions of popular Freedom Call numbers – and on double vinyl LP.

For Chris Bay, Freedom Call mark 2012 is more than ever before a homogenous unit, despite the departure of drummer and co-founder Dan Zimmermann: "We've played together on stage in the current line-up since 2007 as Daniel wasn't available for tours any more due to his numerous commitments with Gamma Ray." Klaus Sperling (ex-Sinner, -Primal Fear), who joined Freedom Call to replace Zimmermann, has seamlessly blended into the band structure consisting of Chris Bay, guitarist Lars Rettkowitz and bassist Samy Saemann, oozing the Freedom Call philosophy with each of his masterly drumbeats. At the same time, the musicians admit that the loss of Zimmermann, who still participated in the production of
the predecessor album Legend Of The Shadowking as a drummer and co-composer, came as a major challenge to them: "Of course we wanted to prove to ourselves and the public that this new line-up hasn't lost any of Freedom Call's strengths."

A standard which the four band members have been able to live up to: again it's the extremely melodic and powerful songs which Freedom Call score with in 2012, the opener 'Age Of The Phoenix' – which the cover artwork by Jens Reinhold is based on –, the haunting 'Rockstars' and the anthemnic 'Crimson Dawn'. That Freedom Call have picked up the thematically slightly more sinister mood of Legend Of The Shadowking only on the melancholy 'Eternity' is due to the overall lyrical direction of the new album. Bay: "It's about Cyberworld in general. Not exclusively about 'World Of Warcraft', but a newly created world, a dimension full of fascination and illusion. We've written about the phenomenon that more and more
people are looking for a second – in this case virtual – world which they can hide in. This also includes a critical status analysis on 'Killer Gear'. Generally, the album reflects more the joy of music for music's sake."

Land Of The Crimson Dawn was produced by Bay and Stephan Ernst, whose expert aural skills ensured general satisfaction all around in the mix of the 2011 DVD Live In Hellvetia. "Stephan doesn't actually come from the metal scene, which allowed him to approach our songs without bias. For example he ensured that the arrangements aren't packed to the rim but leave the listener room to breathe, which makes everything sound more authentic and more oriented to our live sound."

Talking of live: Freedom Call are set to tour as early as March, presenting all their tried-andtested virtues and the strongest numbers from their latest album release – to the joy of their fans this time purely in the real world!

www.freedom-call.net