December 6^th 2006: EUROPE NOMINATED FOR A SWEDISH GRAMMIS!!!

That's the last news by the band: Europe has once again been nominated in the highly prestigues annual Swedish Grammis Awards. The nomination is for the "Best Hardrock Album".
You can't vote for the winner. It will be decided by an independent jury. Keep your fingers crossed.

October 7^th 2006: "Secret Society" Japanese Ed. will contain the 12^th track as a bonus track!

Next 18^th of November it will be released the Japanese edition of "Secret Society". It'll contain as bonus track another live song: "Start From The Dark", recorded in Shibuya Ax last year.

October 6^th 2006: "Secret Society" US Ed. will be released the 11^th of November!

September 15^th 2006: A new message from the band!

Hi there! The first single "Always The Pretenders" will be released the 11th of October. You will find it in almost every download store so please buy it there if you can't find it in your local record store.
Both the album and single cover is added under "Discography". It looks great, doesn't it! We hope you will have a great weekend!

SECRET SOCIETY

album

release date: 10/27/2006

ALWAYS THE PRETENDERS

maxi-single

release date: 10/11/2006

Track list:

(5:22) (M. Michaeli, J. Tempest)

Track list:
1. ALWAYS THE PRETENDERS (Radio Edit)
2. ALWAYS THE PRETENDERS

(Album Version)
3. FLAMES (Live@BBKings N.Y.)
4. SUPERSTITIOUS (Live@BBKings N.Y.)

EUROPEAN

release

AMERICAN /

CANADIAN

release

September 14^th 2006: A new message from John's official website!
John will start recording the new album before the end of the year. It will be released in the spring of 2007. No working title yet. Stay tuned!!!

September 8^th 2006: A new message from the band! Album teasers from the upcoming release!
This is what you've all been waiting for. Click the links below (www.europetheband.com news section) to hear two samples (ALWAYS THE PRETENDERS and LET THE CHILDREN PLAY) from the upcoming album "Secret Society"!
Enjoy! Stay tuned - there's more to come!
/Europe

September 2^nd 2006: A new message from Ozzie, John NORUM official site webmistress!!!

John's forthcoming album will be released in 2007.

More news soon at http://www.myspace.com/johnnorumsolo  and on the official website.

Stay tuned!!!

August 24^th 2006: GUITAR LEGENDS: a brand new triple-CD with SOLITUDE by John NORUM!!!

On the English Amazon site (click HERE to open the page) you can buy that special triple CDs case.

It costs 7,99 Pounds.
The 10th track of the first CD is SOLITUDE, by John NORUM.  
FINALLY JOHN IN A COMPILATION OF GUITAR GODS!!!!!!
CDs were released by METRO TRIPLES last 24th of July.

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Infos you can find in the booklet:

10. John NORUM - Solitude

Swedish guitarist John NORUM contributed a major part to the worldwide success of Scandinavian rockers Europe. Following his initial departure from the group in the late 1980s he worked with some of the biggest names in rock (Don Dokken and Glenn Hughes to name but a few). After numerous solo releases (including his latest offering 'Optimus') in 2004 he got back together with his ex bandmates for a reunion album and successful world tour.

Enjoy!!!

August 23^rd 2006: A new message from the band about the new album!!!

Hello everyone!
All of us in the band have just met up in Berlin to meet with our record company. We have just listened to our new Cod together after the final mastering has been done. We can't believe it, we did it! A new album is ready for you. It will be released the 27th of October in Scandinavia and Europe. America and Asia will follow shortly.
It's been an intense and creative time for us in the band, we spent around 60 days of this summer, rehearsing, recording and mixing the songs. At one point we had 4 studios on the go at the same time. One for John's guitar overdubs, one for Joey and Mic doing vocals and keyboards, one studio where we did some programming (loops etc.) and finally one studio where Stefan Glaumann mixed the songs. We even slept in the studio and worked in shifts to get it done in time.
It has turned out to be (we think) one of the best Europe albums so far. It has a very contemporary sound but there are some classic Europe trademarks in there. We have pushed the limits again, we have taken some chances. We had a lot of fun doing it with a lot of hard work.

The name of the Cd will be "Secret Society". We will put samples of a few songs on our website very soon. And soon you will be able see the "official biography" for Secret Society before anyone else, right here on our site.
At the same time we are starting to plan our next tour. It looks like we are touring Scandinavia this autumn and the rest of Europe in the beginning of 2007. After that we are planning to play festivals in Europe, tour Asia, US and the UK.
As soon as our artwork is ready, which is being done by the legendary Storm Thorgerson, we will put up a brand new look for our website with a lot of new stuff. Looking forward to seeing you on tour, hope you enjoy our new Cd. We are very proud of it.
All the best
/Europe

And we're very proud of you, guys!

August 23^rd 2006: SECRET SOCIETY BIOGRAPHY
EUROPE
Secret Society
I will freely admit that upon first receiving this album and being asked to write a biography for the sleeve, I was skeptical. The band has a great reputation as a live act, and they’ve written some pretty decent tracks, not the least of which is the classic rock anthem The Final Countdown. But here, in the twenty-first century I was far from convinced that there was still a place for this band and that they could produce a quality album that would reflect the changing times. Suffice it to say that they took me by surprise ...
BEGINNINGS.....
They’ve come a long way, these boys from the Stockholm suburbs where Joey Tempest and John NORUM first started a band in the beginning of the 1980's. Back then, they called themselves Force, but after entering a nationwide rock competition, they changed the name to Europe. They went on to win the first prize – a record contract - and recorded their self-titled debut album in 1983. The boys were still teenagers. After selling millions of records and embarking on numerous world tours, they decided in the early 1990’s to take a break after years of constant touring in order to focus on solo efforts. After living in the West Indies for a time, Mic, Ian and John Leven returned to Sweden. John NORUM had already moved to Los Angeles and Joey to Dublin - and later to London, where he still lives. You can’t help but wonder to what extent their music and lyrics have been influenced by all those years of living in the U.K. and America.
They were invited back to Stockholm to perform their show-stopping classic The Final Countdown during the city-wide millennial celebration. There they were - just before midnight, in front of half a million people in their hometown of Stockholm. It’s difficult to imagine a more appropriate way to usher in the new millennium, and it’s hardly surprising that after that experience, they decided to start up the band again, being joined once more by John NORUM, the original guitar player who left the band for a while to record his own solo albums. Joey comments: "I know now how Steven Tyler must have felt when Joe Perry returned to Aerosmith after leaving to record his own stuff. When John came back, it all just made sense, something just kicked in and we were feeling it again.” For a taste of what an important contribution NORUM makes to this band, check out the guitar riff on Love Is Not the Enemy, the blues-inspired solo on Wish I Could Believe or the incredible end solo on Devil Sings The Blues. According to John himself, this was the final solo that he recorded for Secret Society, and the whole solo is taken from just "one take".
NEW BEGINNINGS...
In 2004, Europe recorded their comeback CD Start from the Dark. The album had a raw edge to it, giving it a different tone compared to most of their earlier music. As John Leven explains: "We wanted to make a statement, and make sure that everyone knew that we meant business." To our surprise, there was a lot of interest in the band out there. We ended up touring the planet again with over 100 shows. Our fans were really supportive and we couldn't wait to get back into the studio again". The band has an avid fan following, and stays in constant touch with those fans through their web site: europetheband.com. While most of the guys in the band make the effort to stay in touch with visitors to the site, drummer Ian Haugland has gone the extra mile in building bridges between the band and their fans posting regular messages to keep fans in the loop about the band’s activities.
In the summer of 2006, Europe began recording Secret Society. Joey reveals that the title can be traced back to a conversation he had with Robert Plant in 2005 – the term stuck with him, and ended up becoming the title of the new CD. Although the band members chose to produce the album themselves, they relied on the support of highly experienced studio professionals. Lennart Östlund, long time engineer at the legendary Polar Studios in Stockholm, recorded the sessions in his new Stockholm studio, Kingside. Lennart has worked with countless international artists over the years, including Led Zeppelin, The Scorpions, just to name a few. When Stefan Glaumann, who has mixed albums for Rammstein and a score of other major bands, agreed to work with them and mix Secret Society, the band was overjoyed - all of the pieces were beginning to fall into place.
They chose to master the CD with George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York. George is one of the top names in his field, having mastered countless successful albums for everyone from AC/DC to Coldplay. The band didn't want to leave anything to chance, so they enlisted the legendary Storm Thorgerson to design the artwork for the next Europe cover. As a member of the design studio Hipgnosis, Storm worked on all the classic album covers by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel, to name just a few. John NORUM reminisces: "Growing up, my favourite covers were done by this guy. The cover of UFO's Obsession and the Michael Schenker Group's first album cover really blew me away.” Storm has recently created the CD art work for bands like Mars Volta and Muse.
FINALLY ARRIVING.
This is Europe's seventh album and it seems like they’ve finally arrived. To my freely admitted surprise, they’re evolving and still willing to take risks. This CD is modern and contemporary, without losing sight of traditional rock influences. At a time and age when there are so many hard rock tribute bands around, and many others who are simply copying this style of music, it’s a relief to actually hear the real thing. They’re set even further apart from those aforementioned bands by the fact that they’re actually starting to write lyrics with some substance. Europe today reminds me more of bands like Audio Slave and U2 in their lyrical content, touching on subjects like birth, mortality and reflections on 9/11 and other experiences that have made a powerful impact on their generation. There’s a line in ALWAYS THE PRETENDERS, the powerful first single, which goes: "Something's lost but for what it's worth, you and me, this is our church. There is still some love ‘round here.” . The song is inspired by a phone call Joey received on 9/11. There seems to be a common theme which permeates the entire album: if you’re questioning your faith because the world has become an insecure place, you can always find faith in your loved one, your family or a friend. Like their fellow Scandinavians, Norwegian pop icons Aha, Europe also incorporate that melancholy note in their songs that we have heard so often from successful Scandinavian bands over the years.
While their 1980's contemporaries Def Leppard are making cover albums and Bon Jovi are increasingly beginning to sound like Bryan Adams, Europe have delivered an inspirational and daring rock album with some surprising twists. The track LET THE CHILDREN PLAY features a boys' choir and the opening track, SECRET SOCIETY, is constructed around a single guitar riff all the way through (and they actually pull it off!). It’s evident throughout the album that the band is pushing beyond their former limits and exploring new frontiers, and tracks such as Always the Pretenders and WISH I COULD BELIEVE and Let the children play reflect this fresh, contemporary musical journey. Then, of course, we have the kick-ass rockers themselves. As Ian Haugland explains: "When Joey and John get together to write, the sparks just fly. And when the rest of us join in, it's like setting off a stick of dynamite. Tunes like LOVE IS NOT THE ENEMY, THE GETAWAY PLAN and HUMAN AFTER ALL are going to be great to play live." On this new album, keyboard player Mic Michaeli has been more actively involved in the writing process, colouring the music with his synthesizers and keyboards. In collaboration with Joey, he’s created songs that have truly broadened the musical scope of the band, such as Wish I Could Believe, Let the Children Play and the Devils Sings the Blues.
So – here we are in 2006 with one of the few surviving rock bands of the 1980's. Against all odds, they’ve fought their way back and proven that they do have a rightful place on today’s music scene. Or as Joey puts it: "I think this band is going to amount to something one of these days."
And I honestly never thought I'd say this but ... I think he might just be right.
Mike Stern,
Music Journalist, U.K.

August 21^st 2006: "SECRET SOCIETY" is the new album's title!!!

 Click HERE to download the whole press release! (Pdf format)

EUROPE and Sanctuary Records renew their bond
Sanctuary Records GmbH is looking forward to continue its successful partnership with Swedish superstar rockers EUROPE in 2006.
Their 7th studio album “Secret Society“ will be released once more on Sanctuary Records GmbH. Mixed by Stefan Glaumann (e.g. Rammstein, Within Temptation, Apoptygma Berzerk) and mastered by George Marino (e.g. Velvet Revolver, U2) in the Sterling Sound Studios, N.Y., this entirely self-produced album sounds deliciously modern and tips its hat only once in a while to past accomplishments or pays homage to idols Led Zeppelin, who also worked with EUROPE’s sound engineer Lennart Östlund.
With their brand new sound Europe ascend to new heights.
Great composition skills paired with versatile sound variations, a brilliant mix of raw rock-chart modernity and soft metal ballads prepare Europe for great deeds. "Forever Traveling“, “Love Is Not The Enemy“ and “A Mother’s Son“, invite listeners to a meaningful and introspective journey to the Self as well as being thoroughly entertaining at the same time. Acoustic guitars and piano parts make way to melodious toughness. The opening song “Secret Society“ successfully attempts a stint into psychedelic waters reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, the promotion single “Always The Pretenders“ provides the blue print for the album, whilst “Devil Sings The Blues“ combines new and old in equal measure.
EUROPE release their new album "Secret Society“ on 27. October – accompanied by several concerts throughout Europe".
Source: Press-release information Sanctuary Records, 21.08.2006

Pre-order it here: http://www.cdon.com/

GREEEEEEEEEAT!!!!!

STAY TUNED!!!

June 21^st 2006: 3^rd STUDIO REPORT!!!

Last Sunday John Levèn finished his last bass track and later in the same day John NORUM started working on his guitars... No time to loose! Boys say that John had more than 10 different Gibson guitars to try out in the studio, and after hours spent in testing and tweaking them all, he decided for a LES PAUL CUSTOM (Mick Ronson style) to be the No. 1 for this session. John says that this is THE BEST GUITAR SOUND HE'S EVER HAD! ...And all the other guys agree!!!

Boys added also that they'll keep on working until Friday (the 23^rd), and then they'll take a break for some days to

celebrate the Swedish midsummer with snaps and herring, as in the Swedish tradition!!!

KEEP ON ROCKING!!!

June 18^th 2006: 2^nd STUDIO REPORT!!!

On Monday the 12^th boys started the recording of the forthcoming album (yet untitled, they said). Boys are enthusiastic, they're producing the album by themselves and they think it feel really good to be totally in charge.

Last Saturday Ian finished recording the last drum track (he even got to do a timpani overdub, using the very same timpani that John Bonham from Led Zeppelin played on the intro for "In The Evening"), and John Levèn is putting down the last couple of bass tracks. Next week it'll be GUITARS turn!!! The recording engineer is the legendary Lennart Östlund (and not Pontus Norgren, as announced before), who's famous for his work with Led Zeppelin, the Scorpions, Genesis, to name but a few. ROCK ON, GUYS!!!

April 22^nd 2006: During the "Here Comes The Night" Europe Tribute band Contest in San Vendemiano, Italy, Ian told us some great news: Europe will record the new album during the next 3 months, in autumn we'll have it and the World Tour will begin immediately after!

Stay tuned for more news about it!

...And as Ian said... STAY EUROPEAN!!!!

April 1^st 2006: Europe are ready to record! Next month they'll start to record the new album, in Stockholm. 17 songs are yet ready and maybe 12 of them will be chosen to be recorded.

Europe will produce the album by themselves, for the first time!!!

Pontus Nordgren will be their sound Engineer again.

Stay tuned!