Album review: GOTTHARD – #13

April 14th, 2020 by jason

Nuclear Blast [Release date 13.03.20]

Back in the early 90’s I went to see a new local band whilst in Switzerland, and very good they were too. That band was Gotthard, and here we are nearly thirty years later and the band have just released their 13th studio album, aptly titled “#13”. Bluesy at time soulful at others, melodic and a great rock album this will appeal to fans of the likes of Whitesnake, Europe and Paul Rodgers as the band nicely blend European rock music traits with those of their bigger sounding US counterparts.

“#13” is one of those albums where every track is a good ‘un. The Def Leppard meets Whitesnake feel of “Every Time I Die”, “No Time To Cry”, “Better Than Love”, “Save The Date” and the big and slower ballad like “I Can Say I´m Sorry” are my personal highlights here.

Then let me tell you about “S.O.S”, the band’s cover of the ABBA hit, which is strangely enjoyable and not unlike Sweden’s other big sellers Europe, the Chris Cornell like album closer “Rescue Me” or the great guitar work on “Another Last Time” and “10,000 Faces”.

The album was produced by Paul Lani, who also worked with the band on their “Homerun” album, was co-produced by guitarist Leo Leoni, and is classic Gotthard from the opening chords of “Bad News” on. If you are a listener of the UK’s Planet Rock radio then you may already be familiar with the album’s first single “Missteria”, a track that has an almost Eastern feel to it and although a little bit repetitive at times, I bet you’ll hear this across Europe this summer.

Gotthard are a great band and “#13” is a great album. Hopefully the current world lockdown won’t impact the band’s touring plans too badly as I reckon these new songs are going to sound great live. *****

Review by Nikk Gunns

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)