GUN BARREL are from Cologne, Germany. Guitarist Rolf Tanzius and rock voice Guido Feldhausen have been in the business for a long time and, together with their bandmates Holger Schulz (bass) and Toni Pinciroli (drums), they celebrate a Rock"n"Roll lifestyle with less compromise than any other band in Germany. Their tremendous songwriting potential was already apparent on their self-produced debut mini album "Back To Suicide", which led to a deal with Limb Music Products in 2001.

In the same year the rockers from the Rhine released their first long player, "Power-Dive", which hit the media like a ten ton bomb. GUN BARREL"s timeless, raw hard rock won the band countless points in the magazine and acted as a transfusion for the genre which had been represented for so long by bands such as AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Motörhead. The time was simply ripe for a generous package of dirty, hardkicking Rock"n"Roll. The following 12 months saw the band underlining their reputation as one of the most stage-active of the German Hard Rock scene. Headline slots at the Rock in Toul-Festival (Italy), gigs at the Chalindrey Festival (France), the Nordshook Festival (Holland) and at the Cologne "Ringfest", were followed by concerts and tours with Rose Tattoo, The Traceelords, Silent Force, Vortex and countless other bands.

Inbetween shows they visited the Black Solaris Studio in Frankfurt/Germany and the Powerhouse Studio in Hamburg/Germany, in order to record "Power-Dive"s" follow-up album with producers Piet Sielck (Iron Savior, Heavenly, Blind Guardian, Paragon) and Uwe Lulis (Grave Digger, Rebellion, Wizard). And "Battle-Tested" - a suitable title for the new album - is a brilliant collection of sweat-forming Hard Rock titles. Thanks to the excellent production, tracks such as the Thin Lizzy peppered "My Last Ale", the asskicking "We Believe In Nothing" and the hymn-like title track glow with the quality of a 16 year old oak-aged malt whiskey. In a nutshell: Just fabulous.

Germany"s answer to Thunderhead, Rose Tattoo and Motörhead will certainly be spending most of 2003 on the road. What did that journalist write about the band a short while ago? "If there"s a power socket available, then GUN BARREL won"t be far away...". With "Battle-Tested" in their luggage, sweat, beer and whiskey will flow like water. Pure sex and drugs and Rock"n"Roll!


Biography
Rock music which goes straight to your head and to your feet, which is fun and which makes you want to throw off your inhibitions and simply dance around... We"re talking about Gun Barrel, a newcomer quartet from Cologne. Gun Barrel are obviously supporters of the motto "rock until you drop", combining straight rock songs, hard-hitting up tempo songs, choruses to sing to and groovy ballads " and their subjects come straight from classical rock"n"roll.

Gun Barrel has only been in existence for two years and yet the band already has numerous respectable activities behind them. In 1999 singer Guido Feldhausen and guitarist Rolf Tanzius, who used to be in the same band together, decided to dedicate their futures to the true rock"n"roll lifestyle. They found travelling companions in the form of Holger Schulz and Florens Neuheuser. In the same year, Gun Barrel went into Xtreme Studio in Cologne in order to record the two self-produced EPs, Bomb Attack and Back To Suicide. In March the band started out on their 25 day "Suicide-Tour" concert tour and only three months later they attracted the attention of several radio stations (Eins-Live, Radio Discovery, Rock Kaleidoscope). Drummer Neuheuser left the band in November but his empty seat was quickly filled by Toni Pinciroli who proved himself more than able to fit the role. January 2000 saw the band giving yet more concerts, both in small smoky clubs as well as in Cologne Prison! Word of their EP Back To Suicide was now getting around on a national basis and received excellent reviews in numerous German-language metal magazines such as Rock Hard, Metal Heart, Breakout, Heavy oder was!? and Iron Pages. In June 2000 the title track of Back To Suicide was used by the German satellite TV RTL for the transmission of the international boxing match between Sven Ottke and Tucker Podwill, which made Gun Barrel known on a national level and certainly made viewers in other German-speaking countries prick their ears. A few weeks later the band accepted a contract from L.M.P. and straight away began preparations for their debut album, Power-dive.

Visual centerpoint is singer Guido Feldhausen, the charismatic frontman with an impressive rough voice, sounding sometimes a little like Biff Byford (Saxon), sometimes like Bon Scott or Ted Bullet (ex-Thunderhead), but always with an individual and unique touch. At his side is guitarist Rolf Tanzius, whose great riffs and blues-tinged solos are at the heart of every Gun Barrel song. The rhythm section of the group comprises of bass player Holger Schulz and drummer Toni Pinciroli, two musicians who dont mess around, preferring instead to take care of the exciting 4/4 grooves and ensure that the band"s songs grab the listener from the word go.

Power-dive was recorded in the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg under the direction of Olaf Reitmeier, the bass player of a band that is currently the talk of the scene, Hyper Child and who has already established himself on the producer front by his engineering work for Gun Barrel"s lable colleagues, Mob Rules. Power-dive was mastered by Sascha Paeth (Angra, Kamelot, Rhapsody, Virgo). The cover artwork is the work of Marc Klinnert, whose artistry has already been admired on various albums by Axel Rudi Pell and Rhapsody.

(Source: Limb Music)