For more than 35 years, Bonfire have been the embodiment of "hard 'n' heavy made in Germany“. September 22 will see the band reissue their most wanted albums - Point Blank, Fireworks and Don't Touch The Light - as MMXXIII re-recorded versions with entirely new artwork.
Available for the very first time as digital format on all streaming providers, as coloured limited and none limited vinyl and as CD digipack, you can now pre-save your favorite album via AFM Records, here.
Bonfire belong to one of the most iconic German hard rock bands of the past forty years, and their 2020 offering, Fistful Of Fire, garnered high positions in the German album charts. Their first three releases Don’t Touch The Light (1986), Fireworks (1987) and Point Blank (1989), which have shaped a whole era, still hold a special position in Bonfire’s career.
As one of the group’s founding members and its main composer, Hans Ziller came up with an ambitious idea: How would the songs from those now slightly dated releases sound if they were re-recorded in contemporary studio conditions? This concept was particularly exciting because the band’s current line-up is one of the strongest of their entire career.
And so his idea began to take shape: The outstanding, current Bonfire lineup has completely re-recorded all three albums, supported by updated cover artwork and a sound to make your heart beat faster.
As Ziller comments: “What we wanted to do was to record the songs as if Bonfire had been a metal band in the eighties!”
Watch the video for the "Who's Foolin' Who" (MMXXIII Version):
Naturally, you need first-rate musicians for this kind of ambitious, re-recording undertaking, and that’s precisely what Bonfire mark 2023 have: Greek singer Dyan, one of the greatest European vocal talents of our time, has recently joined the Bonfire fold. Ziller hadn’t realised that the man from southern Europe has always been a huge Bonfire fan for whom a lifelong dream came true. In less than two weeks, the 30-year-old had mastered all 35 songs from the three cult albums.
Ziller enthuses: “Dyan can simply sing anything, from rock vocals to falsetto. You only have to listen to him to realise that he will excel live.”
In addition to Dyan and Ziller, the lineup includes solo guitarist Frank Pané (Valley’s Eve, Sainted Sinners), New York bassist Ronnie Parkes and drummer Fabio Allesandrini (Annihilator). What literally screams metal by name definitely sounds like it: These recent recordings of Don't Touch The Light, Fireworks and Point Blank see Bonfire deliver the timeless material from the original albums in a powerful sound that, despite its unbridled power, has lost none of its complexity.
Ziller: “Of course, we kept to the original arrangements as much as possible, perhaps slightly changing a riff now and then or updating the sound of a guitar part. But all the essential elements, right down to the lyrics, have remained untouched.”
"S.D.I." (MMXXIII Version) lyric video:
