Generation Steel have put out Fields of Pain, the fourth song from Steelmachine, which Fireflash Records releases on 16 October. The more interesting fact is who is playing on it.
Thilo Herrmann has joined on guitar, with Faithful Breath, Risk, Running Wild and Grave Digger behind him. Mike Stark, a Swede who also sings in Feanor and Stormburner, has taken the microphone. Fabian Watermann, the Mad Max bassist, arrived shortly before recording started. Only Jack the Riffer, who founded the band, and drummer Marc Laukel were there before.
Jack reads the song's battlefield as an interior one. “The sombre imagery of war, chains and fallen heroes symbolises inner conflicts, doubts and the struggle against hopelessness,” he says. “At its heart lies the message that, even in the darkest moments, the will to survive and carry on can be stronger than fear and resignation.”
Piet Sielck of Iron Savior produced the album and sings on a track called Rise Up. The band formed in Wetzlar in 2019 and made The Eagle Will Rise in 2021 and Lionheart in 2023.