demondrive
"...four play!", Demon Drive’s brand new album is in many respects about to be pushed into the limelight. The album has the potential to finally put some of the misunderstandings that have surrounded the band from the past to rest and also appears as the first release of a German band for the famous British label Escape Music.

[spoiler]Back in the 90’s, Casanova (including half of the Demon Drive line-up) used a combination of classic American-style Hard Rock and the support of major label WEA to release three impressive albums; “Casanova”, “One Night Stand”, and “Some Like It Different...Acoustic”. The band also accomplished six figure sales and toured with some of the biggest names in rock, like Warrant and Axel Rudi Pell. But the early 90’s brought the sudden onset of Grunge-wave music, and desire for classic rock songs plummeted. So, Casanova decided to put music on the back burner and take a long-term break... In the mid-90’s, singer Michael Voss and bassist Jochen Mayer got together with their old pal, guitarist Angel Schleifer (formerly of Pretty Maids and Bonfire), completed the line-up by adding drummer Frank Kraus, and released the 1995 album “Burn Rubber” under the project name Demon Drive. This new mix of talent was an “earthier” version of Casanova. Following the successful debut - an EP titled “Hot Rubber” - also included collaborations with fellow musicians H-Blockx and Ralph Quick who would go on to produce Die Happy. Flash forward, it’s the end of the 90’s, the music scene has started to return to a “normal” state, Voss and Mayer get a generous offer from Japan that’s too good to turn down and wake Casanova from its slumber. The result...a top class fourth album titled “Heroes”. European record companies immediately took notice of the vibe the band was putting out and started making offers to release the album in larger quantities in even bigger markets. Around the same time, the now reawakened band started to experience internal problems. Problems that eventually led to the band members going their separate ways and deciding to put Casanova to rest, once and for all. Demon Drive was brought back to life! The “Heroes” album re-recorded in 2000 by Demon Drive was essentially an expanded, advanced version of the Casanova album of the same name. Shortly after the release the band unanimously decided to separate themselves from working with Angel Schleifer, mostly because working together became increasingly difficult due to geographic distances, and supplemented the group with German guitar-talent Thorsten Koehne. The first release from the current line-up, “Rock And Roll Star” (2001), was an interesting experiment. The recording process turned into a musical journey through the last 30 years of Rock, a journey that the talented Canadian singer (and former Metal Queen) Lee Aaron couldn’t let the boys do alone; she contributed her vocal skills on an amazing remake of Suzi Quatro’s “She’s In Love With You”. ... four play! The fourth Demon Drive album portrays a band that has clearly developed and matured with an easy, self-aware and uniform sound and presence. With sovereign compositions like “Dance Into The Music”, “Misdemeanours”, and “Because Of You” the guys hope to accomplish the feat of winning over fans of the band’s earlier releases, one of the reasons they’ve added a great remake of the Casanova piece “Here Comes That Feelin’ Again” onto the play list. They’ll certainly win over fans of good ol’ rock and roll! ... four play! Isn’t a political statement, its not supposed to change the world or save lives. It’s supposed to simply evoke good feelings and create a background for good times. And that’s exactly what it does……..without a doubt![/spoiler]

1995 - Burn Rubber
2000 - Heroes
2001 - Rock And Roll Star
2003 - ...Four Play

*Michael Voss (Lead Vocals, Guitars)
*Angel Schleifer (Guitars)
*Jochen Mayer (Bass)
*Frank Kraus (Drums)

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Demon Drive – Collection (4CD), 1995–2003, MP3, 320 kbps
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