Hello [NAME],

It's not a secret that in our time free creativity almost became a ''moral-crime'' within certain music-scenes. Markets and sales generally dominate our so called ''art'' and modern musicians worry far more about pleasing critics then about writing a true song. We also know how certain mentalities will react to anything I do that is not following their (art-enemy) ''pontifical-dogmas''; but musicians must never listen to these types of philistines ever. When Serafino Perugino brought up the idea to do this record, my first reaction was: "No way! I don't want to be dealing with my past all the time anymore! etc." But after a few days my thinking changed and I thought: Maybe it's not such a bad idea at all? Because on one hand it shows that I don't reject my past just because I'm a different person today, and on the other hand it can maybe give people who were part of that past a different view at those songs. It's my music, I can still identify myself with its spirit, so why should I not do this? My songwriting today is different. I wrote some of the songs on this album when I was 17 years old, so the lyrics are often blue-eyed and naive, but I didn't want to change them completely again. The basic epic sound of the better ones and the sort of uplifting-idealistic attitude still suits me very well. Also the unconventional arrangements of some those earlier tracks I was getting a  bit excited about, I must admit. I generally brought each song down to its basics, threw out useless weight and sometimes changed the key to make them sound better as acoustics; and I was surprised how well they worked like that. Songs like >In The Night< or >When The Sinner< which where never favorites of mine are much cooler and much more convincing now, at least for my ears. It was not always easy for me emotionally to deal with this material. Music somehow seems to preserve emotional-memories and I connect big human-disappointments with the last years of that time. There's also something very unsatisfying about re-recording old songs; it's always MUCH better to write new stuff, but I wanted to make those songs mine again. And in spite of the fact that I strongly felt for the last couple of years that I rather have to build myself a new base of friends, it's always good to make peace with your past. So I am glad that I did it, - but it's also good that it's finally done! - Main musicians:

Karsten Nagel: Drums
Sandro Giampietro: Guitars
Fontaine Burnett: Bass
Michael Kiske: Vocals, Guitars etc. 

Guest musicians: