BORN AGAIN - Neverending Fire 7" HRR 116, limited to 500 copies, 150 x yellow vinyl, 350 x black vinyl Marta Gabriel - lead and backing vocals, keyboards Martin Albrecht - bass guitar and backing vocals Björn Daigger - guitars and backing vocals Tom "Golem" Danczak - drums -Neverending Fire -One Question SOLD OUT!

Well, with a line-up of Marta Gabriel from Crystal Viper on vocals, Martin Albrecht on bass (formerly of Stormwitch, Mystic Prophecy, Valley's Eve), Björn Daigger on guitar (ex-Majesty, Civilization One, Dawnrider, R.I.P.) and Tom "Golem" Danczak on drums (Crystal Viper, ex-Dragon and Darzamat) it is pretty easy to call Börn Again an "all-star project". However, my interview partner Martin Albrecht does hate this description with a vengeance: "Oh, all-star project sounds really strange as the band was not foundeded to be a project. I had this 'project-discussion' for such a long time with Mystic Prophecy and it is really strange to have it again now. Basically, we have founded a band, not a project. Of course we are musicians with a background and with long-time experience, so at first glance this might look as a project to you - but it definitely is a real BAND!" Okay, this one is clear now. Obviously, being a proper band Börn Again will also play live shows: "The band will have their first show on June 6th, 2010 at the 'Military Camp Festival' in Warsaw (Poland), together with Sabaton and U.D.O. Of course we strive to be on stage regularly, especially after the release of our first full-length album." So, as you might have already guessed, the current 7" single release on High Roller Records is anything but a one-off. Martin is delighted to talk about the upcoming album: "Oh yes, we are working on plenty new songs and ideas at the moment to have the possibility of choosing the best ones in the end. Our management told us to compose killers, no fillers (laughs). It will be an album which has everything the Metalhead demands." The name of the band could be taken as a reference to one of the most underrated Black Sabbath albums. At least that is what I made of it. Martin answers: "Yes and no. When we have been thinking about our name we had the idea that it should remind everyone of the roots of all our band members: the 'golden 80's' of Heavy Metal that we all love." So why the umlaut ("ö") in Börn then, is that a nod to Motörhead or just to make it look "more Metal"? Martin does have a totally different explanation, one I did not expect at all: "Oh, there have been some strange bands using this name in the past. To avoid ridiculous discussions with all these self-made V.I.P.'s, to get rid off dates in court in advance, Bart from our managent had the clever idea to change the 'o' into an 'ö'. Again, you have the hint to the 80's. Do you remember bands like Motörhead or Blue Öyster Cult? I am sure you do ... So this has nothing to do with making it look 'more Metal' - the band definitely IS Metal!" The cover artwork of Börn Again's debut 7" single reminds me a bit of the mighty eagle from the glorious N.W.O.B.H.M. band Phoenix Rising (also a High Roller recording artist), it is a similar kind of concept ... Martin Albrecht is not too bothered about any similarities: "It might be, personally I do not know this band, but maybe they had a smiliar idea. The idea that this kind of Metal will be born again soon (hence our name Börn Again). Who knows?" Although Börn Again have just issued their debut 7", Martin's connection to the Gabriel family go back a very long time: "Bart and myself have been knowing each other for many, many years, going back to the time when I was a member of Stormwitch in the 90's. We have been talking about founding a band together one day to let the 80's 'survive'. In the middle of 2009, things suddenly started to happen very quickly so that we have been able to meet up and record the two songs for our 7" single. It was quite funny because Bart booked a studio and let us record - we have never seen each other and we have never been rehearsing together ... I think his personal idea was to let us drink heavily on the first day, lock us into a studio the next day and finally see what comes out of it. So I guess we have passed the test. Am I right, Mr Gabriel?" Matthias Mader