Gotthard – More Stereo Crush

Gotthard
More Stereo Crush
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM)
Out: 13^th March 2026
Playing time: 28:37

Swiss Hard Rock giants Gotthard have always stood for honest, handmade musical passion and, even after more than 30 years of existence, have lost none of their impact.

The band has been active for more than thirty years. With the exception of their self-titled debut (1992), every album has reached number one in the Swiss album charts. More than 3.5 million records have been sold worldwide. That is extremely impressive. Building on this success, the band from the Swiss Canton of Ticino is now following up their number one album ‘Stereo Crush’ (2025) with the eight-song EP ‘More Stereo Crush’. And as the name suggests, these songs are from the recording session for the current album.

The opener ‘Right Now’ is a typical straightforward and melodic Hard Rock song. This is how we have known and loved the band for decades. ‘Ride The Wave’ tends in exactly the same direction, with slightly harder guitar work and a lot of rhythm. ‘Liverpool’ is from ‘Stereo Crush’, but has been re-recorded together with Krokus frontman Marc Storace. This gives it a slightly harder touch. What would a Gotthard release be without a ballad? This follows with ‘Smiling In The Pouring Rain’. Nic Maeder puts a lot of feeling into his singing. The Swiss band always manages to write beautiful, contemplative ballads that never sound cheesy. ‘Snafu’ surprises with riffs that are somewhat reminiscent of AC/DC. Added to this are hard guitar melodies and Nic Maeder’s powerful vocals. The ‘Hey Hey’ chants in ‘Don’t Miss The Call’ seem tailor-made to really fire up the fans at live performances. Get ready to sing along. Fans should already be familiar with ‘Mayday’ as well. A video was released for it two years ago. After a string intro, we hear the band’s signature melody-driven Hard Rock. The ballad ‘Burning Bridges’ is a so-called ‘radio edition’. It is thirty seconds shorter than the original and fits better on the playlists of rock radio stations. I have already commented on Gotthard ballads.

Five new songs and three already familiar ones, some of which have been slightly reworked – that’s what ‘More Stereo Crush’ has to offer. Gotthard fans (myself included) will get their money’s worth here. This EP shortens the wait until the next full-length album.

Gotthard – Smiling In The Pouring Rain: https://youtu.be/U4npaUzrZ2Y?si=hcukEhqRczjFWHd7

Lineup:

Nic Maeder – Vocals
Leo Leoni – Guitars
Freddy Scherer – Guitars
Marc Lynn – Bass
Flavio Mezzodi – Drums

Track list:

• Right Now
• Ride The Wave
• Liverpool (feat. Marc Storace)
• Smiling In The Pouring Rain
• Snafu
• Don’t Miss The Call
• Mayday
• Burning Bridges