Walk the Earth

Walk the Earth
Studio album from Europe
Publication (s)	20th October 2017
admission	2017
Label (s)	Hell & Back Recordings
Format (s)	CD , LP
Genre (s)	Hard rock
Title (number)	10
running time	41:02
occupation	Singing : Joey Tempest Guitars : John Norum Bass : John Levén Keyboard : Mic Michaeli Drums : Ian Haugland
production	Dave Cobb
Studio (s)	Abbey Road Studios , London
chronology War of Kings (2015) Walk the Earth -

Walk the Earth is the title of the eleventh studio album by the Swedish hard rock band Europe , released in 2017 . It was designed by Dave Cobb (u. A. Rival Sons ) produced .

background

With the album War of Kings in 2015, the band had further developed their sound. The strong bonds with bands like Deep Purple , Rainbow , UFO or Led Zeppelin were clearly recognizable, but overall the album offered more heaviness and force than the Bag of Bones , released in 2012 . Keyboardist Mic Michaeli in particular was given more space for his instruments; instead of relying almost exclusively on the Hammond organ , as was the case with Bag of Bones , he varied the sound spectrum primarily through the use of a mellotron , but also synthesizers . With the album Europe had reached number 23 in the German music charts and number 50 in Great Britain .

For the recordings of the follow-up album, the group engaged again after the success of War of Kings , the producer Dave Cobb, who went with the group to Abbey Road Studios in London . The band gave him more influence for the new work than was the case with War of Kings . He not only brought in his experience as a producer, but also as a songwriter . He worked as the ballad Pictures other chords in the piano - solo , arranged the big choirs Kingdom United and the rhythm in the outro of the song The Siege.

Drummer Ian Haugland said of the musical direction of the album:

“We processed a lot of seventies influences - David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple. All artists we grew up with. It's a nice mix and I also think this album has a stronger backbone, a more pronounced identity. There were a lot of great songs on War Of Kings , but Walk The Earth is even more focused. In terms of sound, it sounds warmer and more analogous, which we really like. "

- Ian Haugland : New album in October, released on July 26th 2017 on the Rocks magazine website

The cover - artwork has been approved by the US designed Mike sports artist. Walk the Earth was released on October 20, 2017 and has appeared on online music services as well as compact discs and records . As a singles title song and were Turn to Dust extracted. Turn to Dust was released on April 13, 2019 as a special edition for Record Store Day on white vinyl . The music video for this song is an animated film for the first time in the band's career .

Track list

Walk the Earth
No.	title	Songwriter	Guest musician	length
1.	Walk the Earth	Aaron Raitiere , Dave Cobb, Joey Tempest , Mic Michaeli	Jamie Larsson	4:15
2.	The victories	Chris Difford , Cobb, Tempest, John Norum , Michaelmas		4:00
3.	Kingdom United	Boo Hewerdine , Difford, Cobb, Tempest		2:51
4th	Pictures	Raitiere, Cobb, Tempest		4:48
5.	Election Day	Adam Lamprell , Difford, Cobb, Tempest, Michaelmas		4:06
6th	Wolves	Cobb, Tempest, Norum
7th	Gto	Cobb, Tempest, Norum		3:55
8th.	Haze	Cobb, James Fucci , Tempest, Norum		3:29
9.	Whenever you're ready	Raitiere, Cobb, Tempest		3:49
10.	Turn to Dust	Raitiere, Tempest, Michaelmas	Kevin Kirs-Verstege ( cello ), Norwegian Blue Mass Choir	6:50
Overall length:				41:02

reception

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Walk the Earth   DE 40 October 27, 2017 (1 week)   UK 69 11/02/2017 (1 week)

In his review for Rocks , Thomas Zimmer found an anthem to be “a must for every album” . Walk the Earth strides "majestically the familiar Europe-Terrain", which ranges "from the organ to the reef to the mighty Joey Tempest singing". But after that a "sometimes quite weird roller coaster ride" begins, in which the band repeatedly explores the limits of what is reasonable for their audience. There is a “rugged riff in contrast with a drinkable refrain,” plus a few “surprising breaks and an oriental atmosphere” on The Siege. The band cited Bowie in Pictures, and Wolves was "probably the darkest piece of music that you have tried in your career." In the end, Turn to Dust " builds itself up on a classic basic organ very effectively around a constantly repeated theme to form an impressive catchy tune - highly melodious, but completely sugar-free." Zimmer awarded four out of six possible points.

Alexander Kolbe, on the other hand, said in his review of the same issue that the title song presented in advance had “made you want more with its powerful Led-Zep groove, but above all with its hymn-like habit”, but was “only partially representative for the rest of the record . "The Swedes are" more than ever on melodic understatement in muted colors, "and it almost seems as if they are" embarrassed by their hits from earlier today. "Singing melodies in pieces like Kingdom United , Haze and Wolves " have to be played with the. " Lupe ”, John Norum's riffs would have“ stood out more prominently. ”The Kolbe album was worth three and a half of six possible points.

Alexandra Michels wrote for Rock Hard that Europe had recorded "a bombshell album" at Abbey Road Studios. The group goes on ? Walk The Earth? an "earthy, classic hard rock sound" that reminds "of the greats of the seventies like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin". The listener is given “bombastic hymns” “pretty tough stuff” and “for the first time a recognizable political influence”. With Pictures , “an impressive ballad” was also achieved, which continues “ The Final Countdown Story”, which is the only one Connection "to the Glam Metal era of the band".

For Metal Hammer , Frank Thießies noted that the band never forgot their "ability to write well-rounded songs" through their second collaboration with "Authentizitäts-Sound-Garant" and producer Dave Cobb (Rival Sons, All Them Witches, Jason Isbell) have, and yet with all the “old age (re) discovered connection to earth” sometimes the times of Out of This World (1988), when the band didn't know “where to go with all the ingenious melodies and hooks ”, are sometimes back. “Ballad Pictures reminds me most clearly of “ that golden era; ”but other pieces ( The Siege, Election Day, Wolves ) left -“ stronger than on War of Kings - between howling Hammond and hard rock Hinduism ”again and again“ Signs of that earlier compositional grip ”. If the band were to “once more unrestrainedly condense and understand concentrated hit potential as an expression of artistic unbelievability”, one could expect “one day, perhaps again, a truly heavenly work of olds” from the band.

Web links

• Walk the Earth on YouTube , accessed October 28, 2019.
• Turn to Dust on YouTube , accessed October 28, 2019.
• Walk the Earth at Discogs (English)
• Walk the Earth at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 27, 2019.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Majestic Metamorphoses in: Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock. Issue 02.2015, pages 38 & 39
2. ↑ Official German Charts , accessed on October 28, 2019
3. ↑ Europe in the Official UK Charts , accessed October 28, 2019
4. ↑ ^{a b} The new desire for adventure in: Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock, issue 06.2017, pages 34 & 35
5. ↑ Europe in the German single charts on OfficialCharts.de, Europe in the Official UK Charts
6. ↑ ^{a b} Now with fewer carbohydrates - Review in Rocks - Das Magazin für Classic Rock, issue 06.2017, page 123
7. ↑ Rock Hard, Issue 366 , accessed October 28, 2019
8. ↑ Review of the Metal Hammer (online) , October 20, 2017, accessed on October 28, 2019