The most successful bands in the musical cosmos are the ones which have held fast to their musical roots for decades, scarcely or never swerving from their basic style. Reaching musical compromises may be seen as innovative, but the true soul of Rock'n'Roll is spread by those bands who simply do their own thing. This, the truly granite "rock" of rock'n'roll has been even more firmly embedded by bands such as MOTÖRHEAD, AC/DC, ROSE TATTOO and THIN LIZZY. Having said that, there are remarkably few bands these days who keep to this tenet. One of them is the Adrenalin Power Rock band GUN BARREL, from Cologne/Germany, who have just rolled their fourth album, 'Outlaw Invasion' to the start line. As the title suggests, the Colognians are sticking to their "Outlaw" status and always transfer this extremely well onto their albums. 'Outlaw Invasion' is built on rigorous guitar attacks, traditionally designed song structures, bitingly clear songwriting and a ton of power. As far as their style goes, the lads have found their own corner of the genre, one which you can only define as "Dirty Heavy Metal Rock'n'Roll". Reminiscences of cult bands with permanent influence such as THUNDERHEAD, FIST (Canada), QUARTZ and TANK can be heard over and over again in GUN BARREL's sound. Songs like 'Front Killers', 'Turn To Black' and 'Cheap, Wild & Nasty' are unpolished, heartfelt, driving rockers with impressive riffs and unmistakeable choruses which concentrate on the essence of the music style.
In 1999, when GUN BARREL in the form of Guido Feldhausen (vocals), Toni Pinciroli (drums), Holger Schulz (bass) and Rolf Tanzius (guitar) found themselves together, it was clear from the word go where the musical journey would be taking them: No-compromise, timeless Heavy Metal Rock'n'Roll. Their 2000 MCD 'Back To Suicide' was the cause for excitement in the media and it was this, their self-produced MCD that also caught the attention of Limb Music Products (LMP), who signed the lads in 2001. In the same year the rockers from the cathedral city of Cologne released their debut album 'Power-Dive'. The album slammed into the Heavy Metal world like a two ton bomb. It was time for raw, dirty, classical Hard Rock again. The press described the quartet as having true street credibility and they honoured this description during the following 12 months. Concerts and tours with ROSE TATTOO, TRACEELORDS, SILENT FORCE, VORTEX as well as festival performances in France (Chalindrey Festival), Italy (Rock Im Toul Festival), Holland (Nordshook Festival) and at the Cologne Ringfest strengthened their reputation of being one of Germany's most enjoyable bands.
In 2003 the lads went to the Frankfurt Black Solaris Studios and Hamburg's Powerhouse Studios in order to record 'Power-Dive's successor, together with Uwe Lulis (Grave Digger, Rebellion, V8 Wankers) and Piet Sielck (Iron Savior, Blind Guardian, Heavenly, Savage Circus...). 'Battle-Tested', a very suitable title, once again provided the proof that GUN BARREL were true Rock'n'Roll animals. They transferred the experience of the past 12 months on the road to the silver disc and delivered a perfect mixture of sweat, beer and Rock'n'Roll.
A year later the band hit a hurdle. They had recorded 'Out Of The Sun' for the MOTÖRHEAD Tribute compilation album 'Motörmorphösis' in 2004 and had also enjoyed some great highlights such as an impressive Gig at the Rockstation Festival in Ankara/Turkey and an Italian tour with RAIN, when bass player Holger Schulz left the band to change his life by moving to Australia. The hurdle was fortunately soon overcome when Tomcat Kintgen joined the band on bass and proved himself to be an enrichment for the band, especially during his festival debut with the band at the world famous Wacken Open-Air.
During the preparation work for the third album, they said goodbye to singer Guido Feldhausen but the search for a replacement was worth the effort. In Xaver Drexler they found a singer who didn't only refine the GUN BARREL sound, but who also gave the band an added kick at live performances. Xaver Drexler is not unknown in the scene. After his time with CAPITAL ROSE in the mid-80s he enjoyed great success in the early 90s with STS 8 MISSION, with whom
he recorded three albums. STS 8 MISSION were especially popular in Japan.
Shows such as the Metalcamp (Slowenia), Rock am Eislek and by the prestigous Headbangers Open-Air Festival showed a much stronger band than had previously been seen.
'Bombard Your Soul' (released in October 2005), GUN BARREL's third album, turned the quality up yet more notches and the band easily topped their previous two works. Smashers such as 'Dear Mr.Devil', 'Bloody Pretender' and 'Down & Dirty' once again underlined GUN BARREL's reputation as one of the most extraordinary bands in Germany. But the lads were again drawn to the road, where they felt most at home. Not surprisingly they were even happy to play an acoustic session during an autograph session in the Cologne branch of the German record store Saturn. All over Europe their success increased, and their constant touring had by this time definitely paid off. During the interim they had shared the billing with names such as RAGE, MYSTIC PROPHECY, JON OLIVA'S PAIN, TANKARD, ZELTINGER, PERZONAL WAR, R-VISION and ETERNAL REIGN.
GUN BARREL rock with no compromise at all, with a huge kick-ass attitude, firing sharp from the hip and prove once and for all that authenticity and musical can definitely go hand in hand. Beer, sweat and Rock'n'Roll forever!
