Mascot Records and Vandenberg have released a new video in front of the band’s upcoming global release on May 29. To View “Skyfall” from Vandenberg 2020, click here: https://youtu.be/n6OUtgTS6dM. Guitarist Adrian Vandenberg shares, “’ Skyfall,’ another track from our upcoming Vandenberg 2020 album! Lyrically there’s a bit of a symbolic connection to the times we are all in right now. Although the line ‘I’ll be right beside you” would violate the social distancing rule. Don’t hesitate to turn it up and let your neighbors rock out with you, whether they choose to or not.”
Vandenberg has never really been away, but the band that carries his proud name has returned, after an absence that lasted for more than three decades. Vandenberg is very much alive again in a young, fresh, and all-revised 2020 version.
Adrian Vandenberg can already look back on a vibrant career. He played in Whitesnake for over 13 years, having been part of this seminal band’s most legendary line-up. He was the driving force behind Manic Eden and, more recently, Vandenberg’s Moonkings, but equally proud he looks back on Vandenberg. This Dutch band put him on the map, internationally: “So many people still come up to me and speak about those glory days and the albums I’ve made with that band.”
All these compliments have inspired Adrian to bring Vandenberg back to life, albeit in an all-new line-up. Together with renowned producer Bob Marlette (Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath), the band has delivered an album that’s generating praise from critics across the globe. The Vancouver Sun wrote, “To say that the new album from former Whitesnake axeman Adrian Vandenberg is a surprise is an understatement. The ten songs collected here boast more rpm (riffs per minute) than anyone could fairly expect in 2020. And they are classic Sunset Strip slabs of melodic metal of the sort that just doesn’t turn up much today. Chilean vocalist Ronnie Romero, who did such a good job fronting Ritchie Blackmore’s reformed Rainbow, howls like a mix of Ronnie Dio and Ian Gillian on headbanging numbers such as Hell and High Water, thrashers like Light Up the Sky and the killer opener Shadows of the Night. At a time when most of the artists from that era are well past even running on fumes, this sparks.”
Ronnie Romero, who first came to prominence when Ritchie Blackmore recruited him for a Rainbow tour in 2016, joins Adrian Vandenberg alongside Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake) on bass and Brian Tichy (Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner) on drums. For planned touring, Vandenberg and Romero will be joined by Koen Herfst (crowned as the best drummer of the Benelux, six times in a row) and Randy van der Elsen on bass (Tank). Says Adrian: “I want to get out there and play. We want to play this music to audiences all over the world.”
About his decision to relaunch the band, Vandenberg, Adrian says: “Going with the band name Vandenberg was a logical decision. Rock fans would know right away what they are dealing with. I felt that I wasn’t done with the style of music I wrote for my band Vandenberg at the time and wanted to pick up the thread where I left it when I joined Whitesnake. But to me, that would only make sense if I’d come up with a brand new, testosterone-driven version of Vandenberg with a kick-ass, world-class line-up. Vandenberg 2020 on steroids. So that’s exactly what we did. BAM! Here I go again.”
Vocalist Ronnie Romero adds: “To me, it’s kind of a dream come true. I’ve followed Adrian’s career for years, and he always was one of my favorite guitar players, so to work with him is nothing but amazing to me. Adrian is an exceptional musician, and it’s straightforward to work with him, the energy when we work together was fantastic, we had great times at the studio with our producer Bob Marlette, fascinating time.”
Bob Marlette is equally enthusiastic: “Working with Adrian has been a real pleasure. The man is working around the clock, and his well of new riffs and melodies never seems to dry. With a powerful singer such as Ronnie Romero behind the microphone, I was some true magic expecting to happen and let me tell you… it has.”
In short, these guys mean business. Thirty-five years may have passed since the final studio album ‘Alibi,’ Vandenberg 2020 sounds just as fresh, relevant, and at least as HEAVY as back in the day. Fun times will revive with a brand-new album, and an agenda filling up quickly with festivals and other touring plans. Or as the man himself, Adrian Vandenberg, puts it: “Fasten your seatbelts, Vandenberg is here to stay.”
