Year : 1987 (2023)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 113 mb
Bio:
Bonfire (originally Cacumen) is a German heavy metal band, founded in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1972. Bonfire started 1986 from Cacumen where the members just changed the name into Bonfire because of the advice of the Record Company and the Management. The original founders Hans Ziller and Claus Lessmann are still in Bonfire and are the only ones who have the rights on the name Bonfire.Bonfire's worldwide debut album was released in June 1986 with the title Don't Touch the Light. During the recording of the follow-up album in May 1987, Hülshorst was fired due to musical differences and Bonfire proceeded to release their Gold seller album Fireworks as a quartet, with the drums played by Ken Mary from the American heavy metal band Fifth Angel.Two versions of this album exist, the worldwide version and the North American version, which cover features the four members and contains the song "You Make Me Feel" from the first album.Between the second and third albums, Bonfire went through many changes. Although Tommy Wagner filled the drum kit for a TV spot, the band needed a new full-time drummer, which appeared in December 1987, when Edgar Patrik from Sinner, Samson and Tyran Pace joined.In July 1988, during the Fireworks Tour, Maier had to leave due to his rheumatism becoming too much of a crippling factor to play guitar and be on stage. Taking his spot in August was Angel Schleifer, formerly of Doc Savage, Red Alert, Sinner, Mad Max, Pretty Maids and Helter Skelter.The tour went on and once it was completed, the band settled down to collaborate for a new album. It was then that Hans Ziller had problems with the record company and the band's management due in part to his family commitments at the time. Against the band's better decisions, he was fired from the group for not having his focus on the band and in June 1989 and Bonfire carried on as a quartet.It should be noted that Bonfire's first two albums were the only ones that were released commercially in North America.Despite the business decision, Lessmann and Ziller maintained a great friendship. When Ziller formed his own group, Lessmann was asked to write songs as well as perform vocals. The record company's policy did not allow him to do so, leaving Ziller the task to find a replacement singer for his new band, EZ Livin'.Bonfire playing at Global East Rock Festival 2010 The decision to remove Ziller from Bonfire began to show on Lessmann, who had remained in the band. After many attempts to break through in the North American scene and what he thought was a disappointing fourth album, Lessmann left the band on September 25, 1992.His announcement was not a total shock to the rest of the band, but it did leave them with the dilemma of who would take his place. One vocalist that had the group's attention was Michael Bormann, who was singing for Letter X and had his own side-group called Jaded Heart. Moreover, he was previously in High Voltage and the J.R. Blackmore Group. Even though he was willing to sing with Bonfire, he was committed to his other two projects so the group continued looking. The unsuccessful attempt to find a full-time vocalist led to Bormann becoming the new frontman of Bonfire in March 1993.Although he did leave Letter X, he maintained his band Jaded Heart.Despite the new singer, Bonfire were in a rut now. Their record company refused to release any new material that did not have Lessmann singing and the years of grunge music had started.The band felt that the end was in sight and released a live album featuring concert recordings from the Point Blank Tour with Lessmann on vocals. The album Bormann had sung on was shelved (but later released as a bootleg called Bonfire - End of an Era Demos) and Bonfire performed for the last time on July 29, 1994 without officially breaking up.While Bonfire was trying to carry on with their new lead vocalist, Lessmann and Ziller reunited in 1992 to form the project Lessmann/Ziller, after Hans Ziller had disbanded EZ Livin'. In 1993, they released the German sung EP Glaub Dran. The EP was followed by a few single releases of songs that were not on the initial recording. The project had limited success, not as was initially expected. In 1995, Lessmann/Ziller evolved to become a group called Ex, which in May featured Joerg Deisinger on bass and Dominik Hülshorst on drums, almost a reunion of the 1986 Bonfire line-up. EX was a good band, but Lensmann and Ziller realized that the only means of recapturing their old fan base was under the name Bonfire.In 1996, Lessmann and Ziller decided to start legal proceedings to get the rights to the Bonfire name as well as to the music from 1986 to 1992. On July 3, a one-time payment was made to the last Bonfire members of 1994 and Lensmann and Ziller renamed their Ex project to Bonfire. The second coming began with the reissue of Glaub Dran with other songs in English in 1996. In 1997 they hired Chris Lausmann on guitar and keyboards, who had played with Affair and Frontline; Uwe Kohler on bass, formally from Black Tears, Paradise Leaf, Big Apple, Lipstikk, Blitzkrieg and British Steel; and finally Jurgen Wiehler on drums, who had played with Backdoor Affair, Heaven Sent, Chain Reaction, Loud & Proud, EZ Livin', Parish Garden, Wet Paint and 88 Crash.Also in 1997, Michael Bormann and Angel Schleifer got back together and wanted to release the shelved Bonfire album they had recorded in 1993. Joerg Deisinger was not interested and Edgar Patrik had other commitments, so the reunion was only for the duo composed by Bormann and Schleifer. Because of the change of ownership for the Bonfire name, Bormann and Schleifer decided to call themselves Charade. The shelved album was released in 1998 in Japan, becoming a highly sought after CD. The partnership between Bormann and Schleifer ended in May 2011, releasing 2 albums in total.
Album:
Sometimes you get the feeling that time stands still. Surely 1986 was only yesterday? And haven’t the hits from back then lost none of their magic? Then you dig out your favourite records and discover that the tracks that sound alive and fresh in your memory have acquired a little patina in recent years. Which is pretty much what happened to Bonfire guitarist Hans Ziller when he remembered his band’s first major successes. Bonfire are one of the most iconic German hard rock bands of the past forty years, and their 2020 album ‘Fistful Of Fire’ garnered high positions in the German charts. Their first three releases ‘Don’t Touch The Light’ (1986), ‘Fireworks’ (1987) and ‘Point Blank’ (1989), which have shaped a whole era, still hold a special position in Bonfire’s career. As one of the group’s founding members and its main composer, Ziller came up with an ambitious idea: How would the songs from those now slightly dated releases sound if they were re-recorded in contemporary studio conditions? This concept was particularly exciting because the band’s current line-up is one of the strongest of their entire career. And so his idea began to take shape: The outstanding current Bonfire line-up has completely re-recorded all three albums, supported by updated cover artwork and a sound to make your heart beat faster. The result will be released on 22 September 2023 on AFM/Soulfood. Ziller: “What we wanted to do was to record the songs as if Bonfire had been a metal band in the eighties!”Naturally, you need first-rate musicians for this kind of ambitious undertaking, and that’s precisely what Bonfire mark 2023 have: Greek singer Dyan Mair, one of the greatest European vocal talents of our time, has recently joined the Bonfire fold. Ziller hadn’t realised that the man from southern Europe has always been a huge Bonfire fan for whom a lifelong dream came true. In less than two weeks, the 30-year-old had mastered all 35 songs from the three cult albums. Ziller enthuses: “Dyan can simply sing anything, from rock vocals to falsetto. You only have to listen to him to realise that he will excel live.” In addition to Mair and Ziller, the line-up includes solo guitarist Frank Pané (Valley’s Eve, Sainted Sinners), New York bassist Ronnie Parkes and drummer Fabio Allesandrini (Annihilator). What literally screams metal by name definitely sounds like it: These recent recordings of ‘Don't Touch The Light’, ‘Fireworks’ and ‘Point Blank’ see Bonfire deliver the timeless material from the original albums in a powerful sound that, despite its unbridled power, has lost none of its complexity. Ziller: “Of course, we kept to the original arrangements as much as possible, perhaps slightly changing a riff now and then or updating the sound of a guitar part. But all the essential elements, right down to the lyrics, have remained untouched.”Bonfire have taken an equally sensitive approach to the cover design: The main features of the original artwork have remained unchanged, but there are a few subtle alterations: ‘Don’t Touch The Light’ now features two women instead of two children, the cover of ‘Fireworks’ has been given a little more “heat”, and a monk is now standing in front of the huge gate on ‘Point Blank’, instead of a woman. “The direct reference to the originals has been retained, but at the same time you can see that these are new versions of the albums,” explains Ziller.And so we can now all look forward to fantastic new versions of great Bonfire hits such as ‘Ready 4 Reaction’, ‘American Nights’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Never Enough’, ‘Waste No Time’ and ‘Never Surrender’, which have lost none of their compositional timelessness and could hardly sound more haunting. It comes as no surprise that Ziller & Co. plan to present their stroke of genius as extensively as possible. They are set to release seven (!!) lead singles and are also thinking about a lavish collector’s box, including great fan gadgets. According to Ziller, there’s plenty of material: “Of course it’s still a secret what the content will be, but I can tell you this much: I’m currently busy writing a book about my career as a musician. So who knows?”Fireworks is the second album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 1987 on the label BMG International with two different covers, the worldwide one had a patterned similar to a decorated vault door while the North American version was simply four pictures of each band member in each corner of the cover. This album was recorded with a guest drummer, Ken Mary from Fifth Angel, because the band's drummer was fired during the writing sessions. A new drummer was hired just before the band toured in support of Fireworks. In 2003, the album was certified a Gold seller. Originally the band had recorded 25 songs, settling on 11 tracks.
Line Up:
Dyan - Vocals (lead) (2022-present)
Hans Ziller - Guitars (1986-1989, 1996-present) - See also: ex-Cacumen, Ez Livin', ex-Ex, ex-Lessmann/Ziller
Ronnie Parkes - Bass (2014-present) - See also: Seven Witches, ex-Cleavage, ex-Ez Livin', ex-Farcry, ex-Metalhead, ex-Reece, ex-Slippery When Wet, ex-Tango Down
Frank Pané - Guitars (2014-present) - See also: Valley's Eve, ex-Solemnity, Burn, Cover-X, Dark Blue Inc., Frank Pané, Mantragora, Sainted Sinners, ex-Red to Grey
Fabio Alessandrini - Drums (2022-present) - See also: Annihilator, Enemy Eyes, Metal Order, Postvorta, Primal Tyrant, Reptalien, TDW, Vescera, Gengis Khan (live), Turilli / Lione Rhapsody (live), ex-Nitehawks, Lockhart, ex-Bastet, ex-Raven (live), ex-Surge Assault (live)
Tracklist:
01. Ready 4 Reaction
02. Never Mind
03. Sleeping All Alone
04. Champion
05. Don't Get Me Wrong
06. Sweet Obsession
07. Rock Me Now
08. American Nights
09. Fantasy
10. Give It a Try
11. Cold Days
12. Angel in White
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
