Michael Schenker has revealed that he’ll release a new MSG studio album in early 2021 to mark his 50th anniversary as a musician.
The guitarist is working on Immortal at the moment, with the record set to arrive on January 8 – and it’ll feature a number of guest musicians.
Those include former Rainbow frontman Joe Lynn Turner, current Rainbow and Lords Of Black singer Ronnie Romero, Sons Of Apollo keyboardist Derek Sherinian, Ralf Scheepers and Michael Voss
Also featuring on Immortal will be keyboardist Steve Mann, bassist Barry Sparks, and drummers Bodo Schopf, Simon Philipps and Brian Tichy.
Schenker says: “It's going very well. First of all I want to say that I am very grateful to any musicians that have helped to create a fitting tribute to my long career on this special release. I want to thank all of them for their incredible contribution.”
While Voss sings on two of the album tracks, he also co-produced the album.
Schenker adds: “It is always a pleasure to work with Michael Voss, who works around the clock and is a phenomenal musician and producer. He was composing the melody and lyrics for a power ballad I had written the music for, and he ended up singing along.
“It turned out so amazing, I did not think anyone else could have done a better job for this song. Truly great.”
Among Immortal’s 10 tracks will be a new version of In Search Of The Peace Of Mind, which Schenker wrote when he was 15 and which previously appeared on Scorpions’ debut album Lonesome Crow back in 1972.
Schenker explains: “We re-recorded this song for my 50th anniversary as a celebration and it turned out to be an epic – with an extra extension at the end of the song, which turned out absolutely fantastic with Simon Phillips on drums, doing his usual amazing stuff.”
A full tracklist and the artwork for Immortal will be revealed in due course.
