FRONT ROW WARRIORS • Award-winning Melodic Metal releases new Lyric Video “Dystopian Time”

FRONT ROW WARRIORS release their new lyric video for the song “Dystopian Time”
featuring Todd Michael Hall of Riot V!

FRONT ROW WARRIORS are about to release their next big banger – the Power Metal influenced song “Dystopian Time” with a warning message, influenced by the myths of Indian cultures.

A song whose lyrics couldn’t be more haunting and stirring, with a terrific vocal performance by Todd Michael Hall (Riot V) and Elkie Gee in a soulful duet.

Enjoy their new masterpiece and check out their album “Wheel Of Fortune“, which was released on June 9, 2023 by ROAR! Rock of Angels Records as vinyl and CD/Digipak which received excellent reviews in music magazines and was awarded the BEST HARD ROCK ALBUM for 2023 by Deutscher Rock & Pop Musikerverband e.V and the Deutsche Popstiftung!
(Source: ROAR! Rock of Angels Records)

RONT ROW WARRIORS, the South German top artists, launched their third single “Chasing Shadows” with a lyric video worth seeing on September 15, 2023 – top-notch AOR/Melodic Metal, as you can enjoy it rather rarely from today’s acts in this fine form.
The catchy uptempo number, which is played in an equally brisk and rousing fluidity, is another excellent song from the enormously substantial debut album “Wheel Of Fortune”, which was released on June 09, 2023 as blue vinyl and CD digipak via ROAR Records – a work that is fantastic in many respects and which continues to receive excellent to completely enthusiastic reviews in the music press!

“Chasing Shadows” tells the tragic love story of two young people who desperately try to escape their ecclesiastical conventions, but ultimately fall apart because of lies and slander, and ultimately both tragically lose their lives. The moving story is based on the Greek mythology “Hero and Leander” by the poet Ovid. Jim Evgenidis of Iconfilmworx skillfully directed “Chasing Shadows”.

Formed in 2019 in Stuttgart by Jay-G, drums (Shining, Sharon), Elkie Gee, vocals (Ampyre, Antares) and Sorin Badin, a well-known Romanian guitarist (Cardinal, Samsara, Crystal Maze) under the name FRONT ROW WARRIORS, they completed the formation in 2020 with Richie Seibel, keyboards, (Lanfear, Ivanhoe, Them) and Timo Michels, bass, (5th Season, Pump). In the summer of 2022, guitarist Stef Binnig-Gollub (Septagon) joined the multiple-capable MELODIC METAL band.

The band’s goal is to take the audience on a musical journey through the era of Hard Rock and Metal of the past 30 years, creating catchy hooks that immediately inspire you to sing along. The whole thing impresses with outstanding guitar and keyboard work as well as deeply exceptional, uplifting lead vocals. Each band member represents one of the many styles and influences that make up the music of FRONT ROW WARRIORS.
The results were impressive, and the band was voted Germany’s best Hard Rock band in 2021 by the German Rock and Pop Musicians Association.

The successful mixture of AOR and Hard Rock inspired by the 80s and 90s, up-tempo numbers – partly very close to classic Melodic Metal – and epic ballads can now be found on the highly anticipated debut album under the title “Wheel Of Fortune”, which was produced by Michael Bormann, co-produced and mixed by Achim Köhler. The mastering was done by Patrick W. Engel. The renowned book and cover illustrator Uwe Jarling crowned this absolutely fantastic release with an awesome cover artwork. All well known names, which did each a great job for a great formation!

As a special guest, US singer Todd Michael Hall (Jack Starr ́s Burning Starr, Riot V) shines in a duet. Vocalist Elkie was voted best Hard Rock singer 2022 by the German Rock and Pop Musicians Association with the song “Dystopian Time”.
The band was signed by ROAR Records, the debut has been released in June 2023 as CD-Digipak and vinyl, also in download format.

Official release: June 09, 2023
ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records

TRACKS:
01. Intro 01:01
02. Chasing Shadows 03:24
03. Fantastic 04:13
04. Love Is Not A Game 05:15
05. Deadly Sins 03:54
06. Damnation 00:47
07. Hell Invaders 04:28
08. Wheel Of Fortune 05:03
09. Hell Awaits 04:15
0. Dystopian Time (feat. Todd Michael Hall) 05:27
11. The Hunter 03:49
12. Wasted Life 06:37

total 48:13

LINE-UP:
Elkie Gee • Vocals
Sorin Badin • Lead Guitar
Stef Binnig-Gollub • Guitar
Timo Michels • Bass
Richie Seibel • Keyboard
Jay-G • Drums

DISCOGRAPHY:
2023 • Wheel Of Fortune • Full-length

MEDIA FEEDBACK:
10 / 10
➤ “Take six good musicians and awesome tunes … the result is FRONT ROW WARRIORS. For a debut album really strong. You have to be grateful when there is still good, horny music on the plate … the Swabians give everything. You shouldn’t just see them as newcomers … they will fight their way into the front row very soon.”
(Hellfire)

10 / 10
➤ “… Heavy Metal as it can not sound more classic … I feel I’m transported back to the glory days of Warlock, because with Elkie we also have here a singer with a Rock throat, but for me because of her style still sounds much more interesting than the ‘Queen of Metal’.”
(MetalZone – Support The Underground)

10 / 10
➤ “… dedicated to melodic, but harder Hard Rock, which occasionally flirts a bit with AOR, but above all rather seeks the proximity to Heavy Rock. The voice of Elkie Gee also not infrequently reminds of the singers of the great U.S. female (fronted) bands like Heart, Vixen, Phantom Blue and inspires with its power. And also the English pronunciation is impeccable. But also the musical realization belongs for me to some of the best I have heard from the German Hard Rock scene in the last years … the songwriting is first class.”
(Ivy Wolfisberg Blog)

10 / 10
➤ “… wonderful … stunning … incredible Rock and Metal mix … immense infectious … electrifying … singer Elkie Gee is capable of traditional Metal vocals as well as arena Rock … jaw dropping …”
(Metal Gods TV)

95 / 100
➤ “… Elkie elevates each track to a really high level … an impressive debut … twelve brilliant songs … power and melody conspire and every single one of them knows to convince … Front Row Warriors definitely knows how to play their way into the front ranks of the Hard Rock / Heavy Metal landscape already with this debut …”
(Musika BE)

9,5 / 10
➤ “… function like a unit that has grown over many years … I failed to detect even one off-key note after repeated listens … one song features Riot vocalist Todd Michael Hall as backup …”
(Bleeding4Metal)

4,25 / 5
➤ “… surprised me with shining hooks and headbanging riffs … a throwback to the days when Hard Rock transitioned into Metal … very polished and definitely not an underground vibe, with slick production, booming sound and catchy choruses … vocalist Elkie G is a discovery, with the perfect kind of powerful, edgy instrument … musical influences from Krokus to Dokken to Priest and even a little Queensrÿche here and there … really accessible, but it’s still a riff-cracking good time …”
(The Metal Crypt)

9,1 / 10
➤ “Much of the power of this band lies in Elkie’s voice, one of the best female voices out there, and even the simplest song is made to shine … there really is no weak point on this album. They couldn’t have had a better debut … the quality of the songs here closes mouths … and opens others …”
(Metallerium)

9 / 10
➤ “… a singer who, á la Heart, is effortlessly at home in all registers … hammer-strong debut … amazing hit density …”
(Hardline)

9 / 10
➤ “… reveal an incredible amount of inspiration, creativity and great talent on their album debut … all of this, coupled with their years of experience and the savvy of the entire production team, makes ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ one of the strongest debuts in recent years and a great hope for the future … phenomenal …”
(Undercover Rock And Metal)

9 / 10
➤ “… the band really puts their foot down, the musicians play on a technically high level, the interplay works perfectly … kick-ass music … Elkie’s voice has an enormous power, determines the sound of the band significantly …”
(Rocknews CH)

9 / 10
➤ “… amazing … with many (very many) beautiful melodies … a very great album … each element has an appropriate portion and good production … has quite complete elements … enjoyable …”
(Metal Opera)

9 / 10
➤ “… really amazing vocals … I was very surprised by this album … you can feel the good energy and experience of all the musicians in the music … full of changes and surprises … interesting from start to finish … a very well done piece of work that will definitely find a deservedly large fan base and supporters.”
(RockPlanet)

9 / 10
➤ “What you hear in the 12 tracks is a perfect blend of Heavy Metal , AOR and Melodic Heavy Metal – don’t expect the standard Rhapsody or Blind Guardian, as the elements of that variety here point to a heavier Stratovarius – the immediate highlight is Elkie’s voice …”
(RoadieCrew)

86 / 100
➤ “… striking compositional freshness … monumental vocal performance … both melodic and sophisticated … the riffing is at least as rich and varied as the guitar melodies are effective … the quality is undeniable and surprising … convincing and captivating from the first note to the last … superb example of Melodic Metal rarely found today.”
(Loud And Proud Italy)

8,5 / 10
➤ “From the guitars you can hear different bands like the Scorpions, Jaded Heart and a few more … the keys are more restrained than Axel Rudi Pell, the drums remind me of Mike Terrana or Bobby Rondenelli in the way they were played with a lot of power … very catchy and harmoniously produced … convinced me completely.”
(Rock Garage DE)

8,5 / 10
➤ “… high-class album in the intersection of catchy Hard/Heavy Rock … masterpiece of a German band that skillfully recommends itself with fat hooklines, slamming guitars, catchy melodies and magical vocals all along the line …”
(Saitenkult)

8 / 10
➤ “… a great album, and all Metal fans should give this appealing work a listen …”
(Metal Factory)

8 / 10
➤ “… powerful, crisp and at times traditional Hard Rock with a proper 80s broadside … with a wealth of great songs …”
(Rock It!)

8 / 10
➤ “… crisp, partly atmospheric Melodic Heavy Metal, which can be pigeonholed quite well with bands like later Pretty Maids, Bonfire, Eclipse, Crystal Ball or Jaded Heart … singer Elkie Gee does her thing really well! Fans of classic, rocking Melodic Metal should definitely get this one!”
(Crossfire Webzine)

8 / 10
➤ “… six highly talented musicians … strong melodies give the album an unmistakable energy and an earworm character that inevitably draws the listener in … from soulful numbers to rousing Heavy Metal bangers that invite you to nod your head, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ delivers something for everyone … undoubtedly a remarkable entry in the world of Hard Rock and melodic Heavy Metal – recommended purchase!”
(Metal DE)

etc.