Gelap Pekat

German metallers AXXIS — who will soon celebrate their 20th anniversary — will release their new studio album, "Utopia", on August 28 via AFM Records. The CD will be available as a standard jewel case version with 11 new songs and in a limited digipack format, which will include two bonus tracks (including the "20 Years Anniversary Song" with a running time of over 12 minutes!).

Commented the band: "Our personal highlight is the '20 Years Anniversary Song'. Good old friends and companions join us in this song with their great performance. Andi Deris (HELLOWEEN), Schmier (DESTRUCTION), Rolf Stahlhofen (ex-SÖHNE MANNHEIMS), Doro, Claus Lessmann (BONFIRE), David Readman (PINK CREAM 69) and our longtime friend Walter Pietsch (ex-AXXIS)!"

"Utopia" track listing:

01. Journey To Utopia
02. Utopia
03. Last Man On Earth
04. Fass Mich An
05. Sarah Wanna Die
06. My Fathers’ Eyes
07. The Monsters Crawl
08. Eyes Of A Child
09. Heavy Rain
10. For You I Will Die
11. Underworld

Bonus tracks:

12. Taste My Blood *
13. 20 Years Anniversary Song

Added vocalist Bernhard Weiß: "Recording-wise, we put a lot of power into the guitar sound. Different amps, mics and different guitars for each song. Everything should fit perfectly to the songs. At the same time Harry was focused on his key arrangements with new sounds and equipment. He recorded millions of keyboard tracks and it was not easy to decide which ones we should leave or erase.

"This time, the songs were pre-destined for a lot of musical stuff. By the end of the day, the sound is really FAT. 'Utopia' is a step further, with less female vocals, more guitars, more keys, more bass and more musical parts. YES, these songs forced us to go this way. All in all, it's a really compact album and I'm looking forward to see [everyone's] reactions."

The new AXXIS album will also be made available on 150g black vinyl (which will include the standard track listing).