Vandenberg's MoonKings announce new album Rugged And Unplugged

(Image credit: Stefan Schippers)

Vandenberg's MoonKings have announced that they’ll release an acoustic album later this year.

It’s titled Rugged And Unplugged and will feature stripped-back versions of tracks spanning Adrian Vandenberg’s career.

The album is set to arrive on November 23 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.

Vandenberg says: “For me, the sign of whether a song is good or not, is whether it still stands up when it's completely stripped down to the bare essence of it.

“What I find with acoustic versions of songs you already know, is that they can touch you in a different way than the full band and even orchestral versions. You don't get 'impressed' by big guitars, drums and even orchestras.

“As a performer you can't hide behind all that, so what's left is the emotional content of the performance and the actual song.”

Rugged And Unplugged features Vandenberg and vocalist Jan Hoving and will include the new song Sundown, which closes out the record.

Vandenberg explains: “It was one of those beautiful early evenings in the late summer, the light turning pink, it was quiet and I was doodling away on my acoustic guitar. 

“The melody that pretty much rolled off of my fingers really matched the vibe of that moment so I decided to record it and end the album with it. It felt like a very natural thing to do.”

To mark the album announcement, Vandenberg's MoonKings have released an audio stream of the track Burning Heart.

Vandenberg's MoonKings - Rugged And Unplugged
1. What Doesn’t Kill You
2. Sailing Ships
3. Out Of Reach
4. One Step Behind
5. Burning Heart
6. Walk Away
7. Breathing
8. Sundown

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.