Former
HELLOWEEN vocalist
Michael Kiske has teamed up with
Dennis Ward (bass) and
Kosta Zafiriou (drums) of Germany's
PINK CREAM 69 in a brand new project dubbed
UNISONIC. Swiss guitarist
Mandy Meyer, who has previously played with
ASIA,
GOTTHARD and
KROKUS, completes the group's lineup.
UNISONIC marks the first time
Kiske has been involved in a real band situation in almost 16 years. Having split with
HELLOWEEN in late 1993, he participated in various projects and released several solo albums but had not been part of a real group effort until now.
While collaborating with
Ward and
Zafiriou on the
PLACE VENDOME project four years ago,
Kiske found two musical soulmates. They ended up recording two
PLACE VENDOME albums before deciding to join forces in a new brand new band.
Ward, who had previously produced a record for
KROKUS, suggested
Meyer as the perfect addition to the group in the vacant guitarist slot.
Sharing the vision of a rock band free of any musical limitations, the quartet has already started writing songs for its debut album, which is scheduled for release in late spring.
Kiske, one of the finest and most unique voices in contemporary rock music, explains his motivation of becoming a part of a band again: "Since the
PLACE VENDOME productions I was impressed by
Dennis Ward's skills as a songwriter and producer. We were occasionally fooling around since then via email that we should do more together in the future, so the idea came up to do a new band. I was generally getting a bit tired of doing everything on my own for so many years, so it just felt like the right thing to do now. We can all only benefit from working together. No matter how good you are solo, four people will always be better than one, I think, if they manage to function together. And a real band is also a very good reason to finally go on tour again. After 17 years, I can't wait to get back on stage and have some fun with the band and the fans!"
In the summer of 2010,
UNISONIC will hit the festival stages all over Europe. Dates in other territores are also planned.
