Year : 1991 (Japan Edition)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 173 mb
Bio:
After singer Dave King had left the band Fastway, he got a call from David Geffen and John Kalodner in 1990 to come to America to found a new supergroup, Katmandü.With guitarist Mandy Meyer (Krokus, Cobra, Asia), bassist Cain Carruthers (The Untouchables) and drummer Mike Alonso (The Meanis) formed the band Katmandu, and quickly the band came to the studio to start recording.The album was produced by John Purdell and was released in 1991 on Sony Music. The album consist of twelve songs well performed and had a couple of minor hits. Two singles were released.”The Way You Make Me Feel” and “When The Rain Comes”. Because of the anticipated global success of Katmandu with minor success only in Japan the band dissolved later in 1992. Singer Dave King went to the band Flogging Molly and guitarist Mandy Meyer was a member of Gotthard.Meyer later joined Gotthard and later returned to the line-up of Krokus, this time in an official capacity. Mike Alonso later founded Speedball in Detroit, releasing three albums, and from 1994 he was part of the garage rock band Bantam Rooster from Lansing, Michigan. King collaborated with Gary Moore for a period and then founded the celtic punk band Flogging Molly with his wife Bridget Regan in 1997.The band achieved great success, being one of the pillars of this musical movement born from the fusion of Irish Celtic music and punk rock.
Album:
With the second Fastway album recently posted here in remastered form, one of you asked whatever happened with awesome singer Dave King after leaving the band. Well, Dave has been the vocalist for the punky / Irish Celtic sounding band Flogging Molly for more than 20 years and released their sixth studio album in 2017. But related to the musical style we love from him, after Fastway he formed KATMANDU at the end of the Eighties alongside guitarist Mandy Meyer (ex Krokus and later Asia & Gotthard).Signed by major label Epic the short-lived band released their only album “Katmandü”, a great slice of bluesy, soulful rocking tunes. This Japanese edition is far superior in terms of sound quality, a very hard to find CD pressing.Produced by John Purdell (Quiet Riot, Foreigner, Heart), “Katmandü” opens with the dynamic “The Way You Make Me Feel”, delivering a cool interplay between the classic amped guitars and King’s bluesy yet rocking pipes.On track number two the band takes some risks covering U2’s song “God Part II”, the results being great cracking it much more rocking and King’s performance bringing to mind Jack Russell (Great White).More melodic oriented we find “Love Hurts” (not the Nazareth classic song) a cool sweet rocker, followed by “Sometimes Again” and its southern feeling but with power ballad sound.“When The Rain Comes” rocks in mid-tempo pace with steady drums, deep bass, solid riffs and pristine vocals, then Katmandu shows their acoustic side with the road song “Heart & Soul” where, of course, Dave King shine.“Ready For The Common Man” stars with a vocals arrangement but soon explodes with potent riffs and a style that due King’s pipes, recall Fastway. One of my favorites.“Only The Good Die Young” is another winner, rocking bluesy n’ groovy with a stadium-ready feeling, while “Medicine Man” isn’t far away with its catchy chorus.We find another ballad in “Let The Heartache Begin”, that kind of smokin’ tunes that despite being slow rocks from the heart with a clear ’80s inspiration.“Katmandü” is a very strong album, rocking at places and sweet melodic at others, with that classic hard rock feel all over with a bluesy foundation and a star vocalist.Production is pristine clear, and as said, this Japanese edition (appeared a year after, 1991) blows out of the water the original and pretty flat CD release.
Line Up:
Dave King - vocals - see also: ex-Fastway
Mandy Meyer - guitar - see also: ex-Gotthard, ex-Krokus
Caine Carruthers - bass
Mike Alonso - drums - see also: ex-Electric Six, ex-Flogging Molly
Production:
Manufactured By – CBS/Sony Group Inc.
Record Company – Epic/Sony Records
Art Direction – Joel Zimmerman
Engineer – Duane Baron
Engineer [Assistant At Devonshire] – Greg Beaumont, Mike Bosley
Engineer [Assistant At Kajem] – Brooke Hendricks
Management – Hard To Handle Management, Steve Barnett, Stewart Young
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Photography By [Back Cover] – Robert John
Photography By [Front Cover] – Ritchie Smyth
Producer, Mixed By – Duane Baron, John Purdell
Tracklist:
01. The Way You Make Me Feel
02. God Part II
03. Love Hurts
04. Sometimes Again
05. When the Rain Comes
06. Heart and Soul
07. Ready for the Common Man
08. Only the Good Die Young
09. Let the Hearteache Begin
10. Medicine Man
11. Pull Together
12. Warzone
+ Video "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Official Video)
+ Video "When the Rain" Comes (Official Video)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
