(Melodic Hard Rock) Hotwire - Face Another Day - 1998, APE (image+.cue) lossless

1993 Hotwire is born

1994 Bonfire "masterminds" Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller produce the first Hotwire maxi-CD. The 1000 copies are sold out soon.

1995 Lessmann/Ziller produce the CD "Hotwire".

* Magazines in Canada, France, England or Switzerland praise Hotwire as the new melodic rock sensation.

* After a great review in metal bible Burrn! in Japan, the CD makes it to # 21 in the japanese Import-Rock-Charts!

1998 The second album "Face another day" is released:

* Radio stations immediately pick the superb ballad "Waiting for a sign" as their favorite.

* Print and Internet magazines all over the world are enthusiastic!

* The band is playing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland among others with Bonfire, Crystal Ball, Jaded Heart and Die Happy.

2001 The CD "Middle of nowhere" is released, the first one with new singer Andy Urbeck.

* Again critics welcome the new album as a hardrock gem!

* The cool, relaxed version of AC/DCs "You shook me all night long" is immediately getting a lot of airplay all over Germany which is really remarkable for a german hard-rock band!

* At Radio Bayern 3 in Munich, one of Germanys biggest Pop stations, "You shook me .." is part of a competition. The result: Place 3 for Hotwire leaving behind songs from other artists like Eric Clapton or Britney Spears: The song is added to their playlist!

In October Hotwire play their first tour in Germany with Domain and Shakra and take the audience by storm!

2002 The band is playing many gigs in Germany (a.o. again with Bonfire) and is then taking a break

2006 The new CD "Devil in disguise" is released!

Hard Roxx, Issue 5, 1999, England (8 /10 points):
This second effort from German band Hotwire has been a long time coming, their self title debut recorded with the help of Bonfire men Claus Lessmann und Hans Ziller, originally surfaced at the tail end of '95. Whereas Hotwire was perhaps not surprisingly given the Lessmann / Ziller connection rather naive and at times hamfisted exercise in second rate Bonfire style party rock "Face another day" is an altogether more mature and sophisticated animal. For starters, this albums is divided roughly equaly between those bright and breezy style Bonfire rockers that Jaded Heart and, more recently, The Sygnet, do so well (each and everyone streets ahead of their earlier efforts); and some far more laid back semi -acoustic rockers in a similar vein to the recent Gotthard album. Second major change is that they've ditched the rather uninspiring Doc Blobner in favour of new guitarist and Rick Allen looalike Alex Espinosa. Not only is Espinosa a much better guiatrist, he's also much more involved in the writing process than his predecessor was, giving this much more of a valid band feel. After some artistic acoustric doodling "No words" (why do so many bands insist on giving what is basically an intro separate credits on the sleeve?), Hotwire launch into "Once in my life", a swaggering well constructed and executed slice of prime time Bonfire, which rapidl consigns their half baked former efforts to the scrap heap. Great melodies, nice harmonies, loads of atmosphere, a welcome surprise indeed. A swift about turn sees the band head off in a similar direction to Swiss rockers Gotthard for "Closer to the heart" and "Holdin' back the time", both excellent songs full of great hooks and cosmopolitan charm. Elsewhere, Hotwire show traces of a Great White blues inge, especially on "Under your skin" and the intro to "Daddy's Angel" before the latter veers off into early Fair Warning territory. "Waitin' for a sign" is the album's big ballad (catchy meldoies and a hooky chorus), "Save me" has a very heavy American feel, almost like West Coast AOR but with more balls and "Face another day" is full of melancholic vibes which draw you in further each time you hear them. I'll readily admit that I had the knife out for this one because I thought the debut was a pile of dross , but I'm pleased to report that this was a throughly enjoyable (if at a mere 45 minutes, breif) experience that left me keenly anticipating album number three. With "Face another day", Hotwire have most definitely come of age. A fine effort. Dave Cockett

Metal And Hard Rock Area Website (8,5/10 points):
O.K., we may have beat them at the football (ähem - Bayern Munich rules- BS), but Germany's vast amount of rock bands score more goals than our feeble wannabies. Hotwires self titled debut album was produced by Bonfire duo Hans Ziller and Claus Lessmann and was greated with a huge positive response, (especially from top Japanese mag Burrn!), the album even made it to No.21 in the Japanese import charts. Not bad for a new band.
The release of Hotwire's brand new album "Face Another Day" is a mixture of eleven hard hitting melodic tracks and gorgeous ballads and luxurious melodies, "Waiting For A Sign" has recieved lots of radio airplay across europe and is a pure ballad molded together with soothing CJ Snare like vocal comparisments from lead singer Werner Stadi, all the songs add a genuine feelgood factor into the atmosphere, that leaves you singing along without realising it. "Under Your Skin" is a Def Leppard inspired rocker and one of the albums highlights, as is the huge piano led ballad "Harder Every Day" which reminds me of soap star Nick Berry 1987 hit "Every Loser Wins", (there goes my reputation), however because of the Bonfire connection alot of people have labelled Hotwire with them, and that is a little bit unfair because if you dig a little bit deeper you will discover so much more great melodies that are in league with the american rock bands, baring comparisment to bands like Firehouse,Steelheart and Takara amongst others, other highlights on the album include the inspirational bass thumping emotiveness of "Daddys angel", which is a lucious blend of jaw droping melodies and lyrics to sing along with."Closer to the heart" is another quality ballad dripping in more mega bass playing.
I will say though that it takes time to get used to Werner's vocals but this is a minor distraction which add a bit of originality to Hotwire music and seperates them from all the other German rock bands. I strongly urge you all to check this one out, and let have time to breathe, the music and the production is crisp and clear and I believe that come the next album Hotwire will come into full fruitition. Nicky Baldrian

Metal And Hard Rock Area Website (9/10 points):
Great! This is the second album by German rockers "Hotwire". I liked their first album but this one is even better! For the case you're not familiar with Hotwire's music their sound can be described as German Hard Rock with a lot of fantastic melodies in it.
Their singer Werner Stadi has got a unique voice. I haven't heard anyone sining like him before. To me, it sounds like a strange mix between Lenny Wolf's (Kingdom Come) and Bernie Kolbe's voice (Domain).
All of the 10 songs (+1 intro) are Melodic Rock gems. Highlights are the mainly accoustic ballad "Holdin' back the time", "Under your skin", which reminds me on Def Leppard a bit and "Daddy's Angel", a mid-tempo song with a great chorus to sin along. No fillers just killers!
Another tune which has to be mentioned in this review as well is the last song on this album: "Harder every day", a huge ballad. Just light a candle and start to sing along...Werner Stadi's voice and the piano only. Fantastic....
Get this album as soon it is released. It is definitely one of the best Hard Rock albums so far this year and when you're into German Hard Rock music this is a must for you. Record companies get in touch with the band!!! Birgitt Schwanke

Werner Stadi: vocals

Alex Espinosa: guitar, vocals

Pepe Thum: bass vocals

Tom Glas: drums, vocals