Swiss hard rock legends, Gotthard, have kicked off the new year with the release of their second single, “Thunder & Lightning”, from their upcoming 12-track studio album, Stereo Crush. As the world remains blanketed in snow, this new track spreads spring fever with its uplifting leads and emotionally charged storyline about love, quickly capturing the hearts of fans and heightening anticipation for the band’s eagerly awaited new album.
Today, alongside the worldwide launch of pre-orders, Gotthard are also excited to reveal the cover artwork for Stereo Crush, set to hit the shelves on March 21 via RPM. The artwork, designed by Thomas Ewerhard, who has previously collaborated with the band, perfectly encapsulates the album’s themes of honesty, rawness, and a broad spectrum of emotions.
“Freddy [Scherer; guitars] came to my house with the musical idea for this song. We started there and came up with the structure and the vocal melodies together and recorded the demo there. I then spent quite some time figuring out lyrics. The sound of the chorus riff somehow sounded electric to me, and I was thinking of words like ‘lighting,’ ‘thunder’ etc…and then I thought of the concept of how lighting never strikes twice but in this case it does, using this as a metaphor for love. Also in French, which I’m fluent in, you can say that ‘love at first sight’ is like getting hit by a bolt of lighting,” singer Nic Maeder sheds light on the track’s creation.
Watch the music video below, and stream “Thunder & Lightning” here.
After releasing two singles, there’s no really doubt that Gotthard are more than ready for the future with Stereo Crush. Decorated with a powerful and contemporary production, the album delivers a series of big anthems but also a few surprises which help the Swiss icons to improve their DNA fresh and to spice up the essence of their trademark sound in an exciting way. It’s clear like Swiss glacier water: 2025 belongs to Gotthard!
Pre-order/pre-save Stereo Crush here.
Stereo Crush tracklisting:
“AI & I”
“Thunder & Lightning”
“Rusty Rose”
“Burning Bridges”
“Drive My Car”
“Boom Boom”
“Life”
“Liverpool”
“Shake Shake”
“Devil In The Moonlight”
“Dig A Little Deeper”
“These Are The Days”
“Boom Boom” lyric video:
Produced, recorded and mixed by long-time producer Charlie Bauerfeind, who’s known for his work with the likes of Helloween and Blind Guardian, alongside co-producer and founding member Leo Leoni at Yellowhouse Studio, and mastered by Sascha “Busy” Bühren (TrueBusyness), with artwork once again provided by Thomas Ewerhard, Stereo Crush promises to set new standards which will additionally come to shine on the band’s forthcoming touring cycle: Gotthard will be touring in May, accompanied by special guests Y&T, rounded off by select festival and headline dates during the course of the year.
Stereo Crush Tour 2025 with Y&T:
May
23 – Bochum, Germany – RuhrCongress
24 – Geiselwind, Germany – Music Hall
25 – Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
27 – Hamburg, Germany – Große Freiheit 36
29 – Munich, Germany – Circus Krone
30 – Filderstadt, Germany – FILharmonie
31 – Telfs, Austria – Rathaussaal
More upcoming Gotthard live dates:
June
14 – Zamora, Spain – Z! Live Rock
27 – Basel, Switzerland – Summerstage
28 – Ehingen, Germany – Martkplatz
July
20 – Locarno, Switzerland – Moon&Stars (“Steve Lee – The Show”)
22 – Regensburg, Germany – Piazza im Gewerbepark
August
6 – Zofingen, Switzerland – Heitere
10 – Tettnang, Germany – Schlossgarten
December
19 – Bern, Switzerland – Festhalle
20 – Zurich, Switzerland – The Hall
(Photo – Manuel Schütz)