Europe frontman Joey Tempest has revealed they decided to work with producer Dave Cobb on their latest album after hearing his work with Rival Sons.
He was behind the desk with the Californian rockers on 2011’s Pressure & Time and last year’s Great Western Valkyrie. And after long admiring Cobb’s work, Europe asked him to produce their 10th studio outing War Of Kings, which launches in the UK on March 2.
At a press conference detailing the album, Tempest says: “Like us he wanted to find a vibe and an atmosphere for War Of Kings – something majestic, something special and I think we achieved this. It’s the most interesting Europe album in my mind and we’re very proud.
“Dave wants to find a vibe from old equipment. He records drums, guitars and bass the right way. We discovered him listening to Rival Sons and we were mesmerised by the drum sound on their album Pressure & Time.”
He continues: “A few years later we heard Electric Man and Open My Eyes and we thought, ‘This guy is still amazing. Can we call this producer?’ We told our manager to call him and we didn’t expect much. But he said, ‘I used to play drums to Europe when I was a young kid – I’d love to produce Europe.’
“He wanted to be part of the process – he was very creative and helped us a lot.”
The frontman also reveals one of their new tracks Angels (With Broken Hearts) was written after they found out about the death of Cream icon Jack Bruce. He adds: “It’s a very emotional song. It was written the night Jack Bruce died and it sort of came into the lyrics a bit.”
Europe recently launched a promo for the title track from the new album and hit the road with Black Star Riders across the UK in March.
War Of Kings tracklist
- War Of Kings 2. Hole In My Pocket 3. Second Day 4. Praise You 5. Nothin’ To Ya 6. California 405 7. Days Of Rock ’N’ Roll 8. Children Of The Mind 9. Rainbow Bridge 10. Angels (With Broken Hearts) 11. Light It Up 12. Vasastan
UK tour dates with Black Star Riders
Mar 05: Glasgow O2 ABC
Mar 06: Glasgow O2 ABC
Mar 07: Newcastle O2 Academy
Mar 08: Leeds O2 Academy
Mar 10: Nottingham Rock City
Mar 11: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Mar 13: Manchester Academy
Mar 14: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Mar 15: Exeter University
Mar 16: Bristol O2 Academy
Mar 18: Bournemouth O2 Academy
Mar 19: Norwich UEA
Mar 20: London Shepherds Bush Empire
Mar 21: London Shepherds Bush Empire
