Published: January 17, 2025
GOTTHARD will be touring in May, accompanied by special guests Y&T, rounded off by select festival and headline dates during the course of the year.
Swiss hard rock legends GOTTHARD have kicked off the new year with the release of their second single, Thunder & Lightning, from their upcoming 12-track studio album Stereo Crush. As the world remains blanketed in snow, this new track spreads spring fever with its uplifting leads and emotionally charged storyline about love, quickly capturing the hearts of fans and heightening anticipation for the band's eagerly awaited new album.
Today, alongside the worldwide launch of pre-orders, GOTTHARD are also excited to reveal the cover artwork for Stereo Crush, set to hit the shelves on March 21, 2025 via RPM. The artwork, designed by Thomas Ewerhard, who has previously collaborated with the band, perfectly encapsulates the album's themes of honesty, rawness, and a broad spectrum of emotions.
"Freddy [Scherer; guitars] came to my house with the musical idea for this song. We started there and came up with the structure and the vocal melodies together and recorded the demo there. I then spent quite some time figuring out lyrics. The sound of the chorus riff somehow sounded electric to me, and I was thinking of words like 'lighting,' 'thunder' etc...and then I thought of the concept of how lighting never strikes twice but in this case it does, using this as a metaphor for love. Also in French, which I'm fluent in, you can say that 'love at first sight' is like getting hit by a bolt of lighting," singer Nic Maeder sheds light on the track's creation.
After releasing two singles, there's no really doubt that GOTTHARD are more than ready for the future with Stereo Crush! Decorated with a powerful and contemporary production, the album delivers a series of big anthems but also a few surprises which help the Swiss icons to improve their DNA fresh and to spice up the essence of their trademark sound in an exciting way. It's clear like Swiss glacier water: 2025 belongs to GOTTHARD!
"Stereo Crush" - Track Listing:
01. AI & I
02. Thunder & Lightning
03. Rusty Rose
04. Burning Bridges
05. Drive My Car
06. Boom Boom
07. Life
08. Liverpool
09. Shake Shake
10. Devil In The Moonlight
11. Dig A Little Deeper
12. These Are The Days
Produced and mixed by long-time partner Charlie Bauerfeind, who's known for his work with the likes of HELLOWEEN and BLIND GUARDIAN, alongside founding member Leo Leoni at Yellowhouse Studio, and mastered by Sascha "Busy" Bühren (TrueBusyness), with artwork once again provided by Thomas Ewerhard (AVANTASIA etc.), Stereo Crush promises to set new standards which will additionally come to shine on the band's forthcoming touring cycle: GOTTHARD will be touring in May, accompanied by special guests Y&T, rounded off by select festival and headline dates during the course of the year.
GOTTHARD live:
"Stereo Crush" Tour 2025
21.05.2025 DE Saarbücken - Garage (w/ ECLIPSE) *NEW*
Special Guests: Y&T
Presented by Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, musix,
Rock Antenne, powermetal.de & Bottom Row
23.05.2025 DE Bochum - RuhrCongress
24.05.2025 DE Geiselwind - Music Hall
25.05.2025 DE Frankfurt - Batschkapp
27.05.2025 DE Hamburg - Große Freiheit 36
29.05.2025 DE Munich - Circus Krone
30.05.2025 DE Filderstadt - FILharmonie
31.05.2025 AT Telfs - Rathaussaal
14.06.2025 ES Zamora - Z! Live Rock
27.06.2025 CH Basel - Summerstage (w/ KROKUS)
28.06.2025 DE Ehingen - Martkplatz (w/ KROKUS) *NEW*
20.07.2025 CH Locarno - Moon&Stars ("Steve Lee - The Show") *NEW*
22.07.2025 DE Regensburg - Piazza im Gewerbepark
06.08.2025 CH Zofingen - Heitere (w/ Orchestra) *NEW*
10.08.2025 DE Tettnang - Schlossgarten (w/ KROKUS) *NEW*
19.12.2025 CH Bern - Festhalle (w/ KROKUS)
20.12.2025 CH Zurich - The Hall (w/ KROKUS)
About GOTTHARD
With 16 number one albums, a Diamond Award for selling over one million units in Switzerland, and multiple platinum records, including their quadruple platinum album Homerun, and several double and triple platinum albums, GOTTHARD have an unmatched legacy of successes, rounded off by over 3.5 million units sold worldwide and more than 2,000 live performances. Their tracks like "Heaven," a platinum single, and seven top 10 singles have cemented the band in the international music scene.
GOTTHARD are:
Nic Maeder | vocals
Leo Leoni | guitars
Freddy Scherer | guitars
Marc Lynn | bass
Flavio Mezzodi | drums
