BASSINVADERS
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of Markus Grosskopf's BASSINVADERS album "Hellbassbeaters" on January 25th 2008 !
Markus Grosskopf is mostly known as the bass player of Germany's Heavy Metal legend HELLOWEEN, but BASSINVADERS has been a creation of Markus while sitting in a bar and enjoying a few drinks. There it was that he got inspired to an impressive idea: a heavy rock record without any guitars at all. He presented this concept to Frontiers Records in early 2007, who was intrigued with the idea and gave it a go.
And yes, at the end of the day the idea paid off ! "Hellbassbeaters" contains all basic elements a heavy rock record and so much more. You got the strong vocals, rhythmic bass, intoxicating drums and even bass & twin bass solo parts. What you hear is what you get: 100 % genuine heavy / rock record with absolutely no discordant guitar note on it at all. To guarantee a great variety of different influences Markus invited some well-known singing bass players from the German Metal scene to join the band. And they didn't need an extra invitation. In DESTRUCTION's enfant terrible Schmier, SODOM's frontman Tom Angelripper and RAGE boss Peavy, Markus found some real Bassinvaders-friends.
To push it even further Markus invited a few of his bass heroes to play solos on some of the tracks. When he started searching for support making this album excellent he expected to get a cautious response of 2 or 3 musicians. He ended up organizing more than 13 people for a solo appearance on the album. They named themselves - like the album title - the Hellbassbeaters: Billy Sheehan (Steve Vai, ex-Mr. Big, ex-David Lee Roth), Rudy Sarzo (DIO, ex-Ozzy Osbourne, ex-Whitesnake, ex-Quiet Riot), Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, ex-Whitesnake, ex-Ted Nugent), DD Verni (Overkill), Wyzard (Mother's Finest), Dirk Schlächter (Gamma Ray), Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning, ex-Anthrax), Stig Pedersen (D.A.D), Nibbs (Saxon), Tobias Exxel (Edguy), Jens Becker (Grave Digger, ex-Running Wild), Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69), Peter Baltes (Accept), Jan S. Eckert (Masterplan) and Michael Müller (Jaded Heart).
Markus has also invited some guest singers for the songs he wrote: Apollo Papathanasio (Firewind, Time Requiem, Evil Masquerade, Majestic) and the frontman of the legendary Danish stadium rock band D.A.D - Jesper Binzer. While the guest drummers are André Hilgers (Rage, Axxis, Silent Force) and Stefan Arnold (Grave Digger).
This guest list and the killer line-up make the first BASSINVADERS album something very special, but it's not only about the name dropping. Songs like "Boiling Blood", "We Live", "Voices", "Razorblade Romance", "Armageddon" or the storming BASSINVADERS version of the classic Helloween anthem "Eagle Fly Free" are proving that Markus' late night idea won't be just a one-off slap, but the foundation for another "battlefield" for the always smiling bassist.
The album tracklisting includes:
Awakening the Bass Machine; We Live; Armageddon; Romance In Black; Godless Gods; Empty Memories (Breaking Free); Boiling Blood; Far Too Late; The Asshole Song; Dead From the Eyes Down; Razorblade Romance; Voices; Eagles Fly Free; To Hell And Back (Bonus Track Europe)