Watch the Michael Schenker Group’s new video Drilled To Kill

German guitar hero Michael Schenker will celebrate his 50th year in the rock ’n’ roll business with the release of a new Michael Schenker Group album, Immortal, in January.

The first taster of what to expect from Immortal, which is set for release via Nuclear Blast on January 29, 2021, comes in the form of new MSG single Drilled To Kill, which features Schenker in an epic guitar/keyboards duel with Black Country Communion/Sons Of Apollo man Derek Sherinian, and vocals from Ralph Scheepers (Primal Fear).

Immortal will also offer a treat for long-time Schenker fans with an updated version of In Search Of The Peace Of Mind, written by Schenker as a teenager and first recorded for the Scorpions debut studio album, Lonesome Crow. The new version features vocals from Ronnie Romero (Vandenberg) and MSG vets Gary Barden, Robin McAuley and Doogie White.

“I wrote this song when I was 15 years old,” Schenker reveals.“It was my first ever written piece of music which I recorded with Scorpions on our first studio album Lonesome Crow in 1970, getting released in 1972. We re-recorded this song for my 50th anniversary as a celebration and it turned out to be an epic; with an extra extension at the end of the song, which turned out absolutely fantastic with (former Gary Moore/Judas Priest/Toto drummer) Simon Phil, doing his usual amazing stuff.”

Immortal tracklisting:

1. Drilled To Kill
2. Don’t Die On Me Now
3. Knight Of The Dead
4. After The Rain
5. Devil's Daughter
6. Sail The Darkness
7. The Queen Of Thorns And Roses
8. Come On Over
9. Sangria Morte
10. In Search Of The Peace Of Mind

MSG Immortal — (Image credit: Nuclear Blast)

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.