Mob Rules continues with their flagship German power metal, they’ve been known for in the scene. Founded in 1994, since their legendary debut album Savage Land (1999) and its glorious successor Temple Of Two Suns, they have been delivering anthemic and highly melodic power metal that has taken on symphonic and progressive traits over the years.
Their discography, which now comprises nine studio albums, contains highlights throughout, above all the hit-packed “Among The Gods”, the epic “Radical Peace” with the long track “The Oswald File” and their chart-breaker “Beast Reborn”, which pushed Mob Rules to #37 in the German album charts. Most recently, the band around frontman Klaus Dirks thrilled with the best-of compilation Celebration Day – 30 Years Of Mob Rules, including some new recordings and cover versions of Iron Maiden, Ghost, Dio and others.
Mob Rules are currently back in the recording studio, working under the direction of Markus Teske (Symphony X, Vanden Plas, U.D.O. and others) on their tenth, as yet untitled studio album, which is scheduled for release in late summer 2025. However, they would like to release a first forerunner at the beginning of next year.
“All the songs have been written and large parts of them have already been recorded,” reveals the frontman and goes into even more detail: ”You can look forward to an album that is special in many respects, with which we have managed to build a bridge between yesterday and today. In other words, our own band history partly served as inspiration. The material is multi-layered and conceptually structured. This much can already be revealed: In addition to the CD and vinyl, there will be an additional physical product of the album, in which we have brought in all our creativity and spared no expense or effort to offer the fans the ultimate experience of the new record. More will be revealed in due course, but we can already tell you that the first single will be called ‘Back To Savage Land’.”
Mob Rules are also expecting a breath of fresh air from their new label partner ROAR (Grave Digger, Mystic Prophecy, Sacred Steel and others).
“We were very pleased about the great interest and the resulting signing of Mob Rules with the newly established label ROAR,” comments singer Klaus Dirks and adds: ”As a band, we find everything we could wish for there, both structurally and in terms of know-how and the human component. We have a long-standing relationship of trust with some of the employees there. Among them is Markus Wosgien, who has followed Mob Rules with great interest for a long time and whose perseverance and creative input have convinced us. We are looking forward to working together, but would also like to take this opportunity to thank the SPV/Steamhammer crew once again for their trusting cooperation over the last 10 years.”
The record company is just as happy. “Mob Rules have been with me for 25 years now. In the nineties, as a power metal fan you could blindly buy anything with the “Limb Music” seal of approval. I remember the first pre-release tapes of brand-new acts like Angra, Rhapsody, Eldritch, Abraxas and Mob Rules! Limb Schnoor had a special knack in this area and since then Mob Rules have been a musical companion that has surprised and inspired me time and time again. Now it has finally worked out and we can forge new plans together, which include the upcoming studio albums as well as numerous reissues and surprises of some back-catalog titles,” states ROAR A&R Markus Wosgien.
(Photo – Melinda Clabes)