“Trading Souls” was the sophomore release
from Empire, the super-group project from
guitarist Rolf Munkes. Alongside the German
axe slingers skills we have the formidable
vocal talents of Tony Martin (ex Black
Sabbath), the keyboard wizardry of Don Airey
(Deep Purple / ex Rainbow), whilst bass
legend Neil Murray (ex Whitesnake) forms a
tight rhythmic unit with drummer Gerald
Kloos (Winterlong / Condition Red). There’s
even a special guest in drummer Anders
Johansson (Hammerfall / ex Yngwie Malmsteen)
who plays on two tracks.
Originally released in 2003, “Trading Souls”
saw Empire return after their 2001 debut
“Hypnotica” with an album full of killer
songs in a classic melodic hard rock
setting. These 10 tracks perfectly showcase
the combined decades of experience and
talent from this super group. The end result
is a melodic hard rock record brimming with
catchy anthems and great ensemble playing.
Now after a number of years being out of
print and almost a decade on from original
release, Lion Music are pleased to present a
new limited edition digipack version of the
album which sees the album sounding as fresh
in 2012 as it did in 2003.
Rolf Munkes started playing guitar at 12
years old. In 1996 he enrolled at the Music
Academy in Remscheid, Germany and finished
his studies with top grades. A sound sample
of Rolf’s first solo demo CD was published
in Soundcheck magazine in June 1999 and in
September of the same year was awarded “Best
Instrumentalist” in German Rock Prize
competition. Rolf was also the best German
participant at the Finale of the European
Guitar Festival in Lausanne, Switzerland in
November 2000, where his CD was selected out
of 200 entries. This led to the release of
Rolf’s first solo album “No More Obscurity”
in the same month on Lion Music with guest
drummer Anders Johansson and vocalist Lance
King (Balance Of Power/Mattsson). 2000 to
2002 also saw Rolf as a member of metal
outfit Vanize.
May 2001 saw the formation of
Empire with the debut offering “Hypnotica”
released on Lion Music and in Japan via King
Records. “Trading Souls” followed in 2003
which was mixed by Stefan Kauffman (Accept).
2006 saw a third Empire record “Raven Ride”
(Metal Heaven). During those intervening
years Rolf played with Majesty recording
three albums and two releases with Razorback
as well as performing live with Tony Martin.
In the years since Rolf has focused mainly
on working as a producer and mixer at his
own state of the art Empire Studios near
Frankfurt, Germany.
• Limited Edition digipack reissue (500
copies only) of a long out print album •
• Featuring past and present members of
Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Whitesnake,
Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall,
Winterlong and Condition Red •
• Accessible melodic hard rock with the
emphasis on songs •
• Reviews in rock press – printed and
digital •