Year : 1985 (High Roller Records Edition 2021)
Style : Heavy Metal , Hard Rock
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 111 mb
Bio:
Formed in Witten/Bochum, Germany in 1967 - Disbanded in 1987 (followed by "Risk").German band FAITHFUL BREATH was formed in Bochum in 1967, founded by Heinz Mikus (vocals, guitar) and Horst Stabenov (bass) when they left MAGIC POWER in order to set up a new band. They were joined by Reinhold Immig (guitar), Walter Scheuer (guitar) and Jürgen Fischer (drums).The choice of band name came from another person though, namely Georg Grebe (bass); who was briefly involved with the band as a replacement for Stabenov while he was away for a few weeks. A musician called Boggie Kopec was also briefly involved with the band at the start, and some time later in 1967 Ulrich Bock (saxophone) joined for a somewhat longer tenure.In 1969 Immig left, and a few months later Fischer was out too. Immig was never replaced, and it took the band two years to get a replacement for Fischer, namely Jürgen Weritz (drums), who joined the band in 1971.When 1972 was written on the calendar Block had left the band for health reasons, and at the end of the same year Scheuer left the outfit as well; replaced by Manfred von Buttlar (keyboards), formerly of MAMA WERWOLL.The addition of von Buttlar saw the band change musical directions, and they started exploring a more typical symphonic rock oriented sound at this time. When they entered the recording studio in 1973 the result of this was a fine progressive rock album named "Fading Beauty". Renate Heemann (backing vocals) was briefly involved with the band at this point in time.1977 saw FAITHFUL BREATH enter the recording studio again, this time as a five-piece following the addition of Jürgen Renfordt (vocals). The results of this session was the single "Stick in Your Eyes / Back on My Hill" issued in 1977 and then the full length production "Back on My Hill" released in 1980. After this second album FAITHFUL BREATH disbanded.Mikus and Stabenov continued working together though, and when they hooked up with Uwe Otto (drums) they revived their old band name, now pursuing a more distinct heavy metal sound similar to ACCEPT - a style the band would continue exploring in the 80's.1981 saw the release of the first heavy metal album by FAITHFUL BREATH, "Rock Lions". Otto left shortly after, and when the band issued their fourth production "Hard Breath" in 1983 Jürgen Düsterloh (drums) had hooked up with the band. 1984 saw the addition of Andy Honig (guitar) to the line-up, and the release of their fifth album "Gold 'n' Glory". Shortly after Stabenov and Honig left, with Thilo Herrmann (guitars) and Peter Dell (bass) joining the band prior to the recording of their 1985 production "Skol". 1986 saw the band releasing a live album simply named "Live". At that point in time the members felt that it was time to start using another moniker, and in 1987 FAITHFUL BREATH ceased to exist - and the foursome continued on as RISK.
Album:
Sixth full-length album remastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in May 2020.This outfit are the second oldest heavy metal outfit on German soil after Scorpions. Line up those pints of various kinds of German beer quickly! Cheers! A few minutes’ time off until you finish all those…all right now, those of you who are still relatively sober, or cheerfully inebriated can continue reading, but please don’t forget to take regular breaks in order to carry on drinking. Cheers again, or rather Skol! So our friends here were also having a pretty good time during the 70’s and beyond spreading their friendly progressive rock anthems for nearly ten years before they decided that they might as well take a turn towards the more fashionable heavy metal, the way their peers The Scorps did, only much earlier.This decision took more tangible proportions in 1984 when “Gold’n Glory” was released, an infectious hard’n heavy slab giving their colleagues a good run for their money, including Scorpions again and Accept. Consolidation of their growing reputation was necessary, and the album review here became a fact. Another solid collection of boisterous heavy metal anthems, it saw the guys marching confidently alongside myriad other similar practitioners. Alhough the influences from the two mentioned bands are more than obvious, there’s nothing like the good old catchy hard’n heavy hymn which “Start it Up” (yes, the opener) epitomizes so well with the bouncy rhythms, the screamy leads and the staple catchy chorus. Heinz Mikus has never been the most emotional performer behind the mike, but his semi-attached clean baritone works just fine accompanying the feelgood, unpretentious musical approach. “Double Dealer” speeds up moving the heads, the band nearly reaching the aggressive swagger of Scorpions’ “Dynamite”. “Lady M.” swings towards Motorhead-like boogie, a frolic roller-coaster with loads of energy; and “Rock Rebels” tries to justify the “rock” part of its title by toning it down a bit with bits and pieces of cheese showing up on the sides. “We Want You” is a bouncy heavy ballad of epic proportions, and “Inside Out” is the next in line uplifting heavy rocker. “Crazy in Metal” is the least “crazy” piece here, actually, a mild hard rock pleaser, but “Backstreet Heroes” is a nice vigorous power/speedster with aggressive, hyper-active guitars that are well translated on the title-track , a sure speed metal winner, a variation the guys developed very well a mere few months later.What the band were doing was pretty acceptable, mind you, well conformed with the tastes and trends on the field, but apparently the success and profits had already been distributed among the big players from the heavy metal sector prompting our friends to seek gold’n glory elsewhere. They very sagaciously felt in which direction the winds were blowing, and embraced the more aggressive speed/thrashy currents by also changing their moniker to Risk. A “risky” decision for sure, but one that brought many fine moments for the speed/thrash metalheads around the world who were listening to “the daily horror news” and were warding off dangerous “hell’s animals” thanks to these highly energetic, also biting and ferocious, tunes.The thrashy period from the band’s career kind of overshadowed their feats as heavy metal defenders, but I’m sure there are quite a few fans, including Mikus and Co. themselves, out there who fondly remember those days when playing the good old heavy metal wasn’t a risky proposition at all, and when moshing around was usually accompanied by loads of beer and other intoxicating booze. Skol!
Line-Up:
Heinz ''Heimi'' Mikus - Vocals, Guitars - See also: ex-Risk, ex-The Magic Power
Thilo Hermann - Guitars, Vocals (backing) - See also: ex-Höllenhunde, ex-Grave Digger, ex-Holy Moses, ex-Running Wild, ex-Glenmore, ex-Risk
Peter Dell - Bass, Vocals (backing) - See also: ex-Risk
Jürgen Düsterloh - Drums, Vocals (backing) - (R.I.P. 2014) See also: ex-Risk
Tracklist:
01. Start It Up 04:04
02. Double Dealer 03:36
03. Lady M. 02:31
04. Rock Rebels 03:49
05. We Want You 05:01
06. Inside Out 03:38
07. Crazy in Metal 04:06
08. Backstreet Heros 03:36
09. Skol 04:42
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