During a recent interview with Metal From The Inside, Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, ex-Deep Purple, etc.) offered an update on his new project with Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain, etc.). The musician says he believes the collaboration is “gonna raise some eyebrows.”

Turner said the following:

“I don’t wanna talk too much about it, because it is a project we’re trying to keep under wraps until we release it and keep some mystery about it — only because nowadays most mystery is gone.

What happened was I played a gig for Tommy, [Peter’s] brother — he’s a big fan of mine — in Sweden. And we got to be friends, Peter and I. And driving back to the train to go back down to Stockholm, he gave me a cassette with a track on it that he wasn’t using, and he said, ‘Why don’t you write something to this?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ So, about a month later, I sent something back, and he just went, ‘Woah! Really?’ And I went, ‘Yeah. I think this is good stuff.’ And it’s gonna be the lead-off track — it’s incredible. So anyway, we said, ‘Let’s do something.’

Meanwhile, he’s touring like crazy with two bands, I’m touring. We were writing a track here and so on and so forth. I finally got up to Borlänge [in Sweden] again, and we got in the studio and the chemistry was unbelievable. We just wrote two or three tracks in two days — I mean, soup to nuts; just as you’re gonna hear them on the record is the way we did them. So we knew we had something.”

He continued when asked about the musical direction:

“I think it’s exciting. It’s different. It doesn’t sound like anyone else. I really mean that. Just because of the input where Peter comes as a writer, artist and producer. And, of course, it’s still melodic, because I make sure that I’ve got those melodies and choruses. When I say ‘heavier’ or ‘darker,’ [it’s] mostly because of the times we live in, [so there were] all these subjects [to write about]. So it is a real piece of art, in a sense of the word, because art should always be a reflection of its time; this is exactly what all great art has been through the ages.

All I can say is that we’re very excited about it. We think people are gonna absolutely love it, because it has all of the building blocks. It’s got a bit of industrial metal, it’s got a bit of classic rock vocals, it’s got subject matter. It’s darker, it’s deeper, it’s broader. So, we think it’s gonna raise some eyebrows.”

He also added the following about release plans:

“What we probably will do is… Say we release a single in April or May — when I say a single, [I mean] a track. Let’s release it then. Because we don’t know what this year’s gonna be like for touring, for anything. We really don’t know if concerts are coming back. And we talked the other day about it and said, ‘Look, we’re not gonna miss out on the touring schedule with a great album like this,’ that I really believe is perfect for festivals and what people are gonna wanna see and hear. So, let’s release something, say, May, let’s release something in June — let’s do it piece by piece till finally we say, ‘Okay, here’s the album. We got promoters interested. We got fans interested. Let’s go out there and actually play it in front of them live.’ So we’re just trying to be smart about it. We’re not trying to be smug about it or anything. It’s just smart. Because who knows when we’re gonna get back on stage? And, really, an artist’s calling card is the record; that’s your calling card. Here’s our sound. Come and see it, come and hear it for yourself.”

[via Blabbermouth]

During a recent interview with Ginza, Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, ex-Deep Purple, etc.) revealed that he is working on a new album with Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain, etc.). The effort is expected to be released in early 2020.

Turner said the following:

“I actually did a show for [Peter’s] brother’s birthday once; his brother’s a big fan. And the next thing you know, we were hooking up. He sent me a track, and I wrote lyrics and melodies, and he came back and he loved it, and we started to do a record. So now we’re about seven tracks into the record. Our schedules are pretty tough, with touring and all, but we’re getting together the beginning of October [to] finish the record [and then we’ll be] shopping the record.”

He continued:

“I think people are gonna be extremely surprised, because it’s a whole another side of me. [It’s] very heavy. It’s kind of classic rock meets industrial metal — or, as I would say, it’s kind of like DEEP PURPLE meets PAIN. It’s the best of both worlds, and it doesn’t sound like anyone… There’s no filler; it’s all great songs. Deep content — none of this ‘rock me, baby’ stuff. It’s really deep, dark and heavy stuff.”

He also added the following about release plans:

“I would say, to be fair, very early spring next year, because a label needs 90 days. They always need 90 days. I don’t know why they need 90 days, but they need 90 days.”

He went on to say that there are “absolutely” plans for him and Tägtgren to tour, but did add that they are “not gonna put the cart before the horse.” For now, they are just focusing on “getting the music down.”

[via Blabbermouth]