TONY HARNELL RETURNS WITH DEBUT FROM STARBREAKER
NEW YORK – TNT/Westworld frontman Tony Harnell has returned with the self-titled debut from Starbreaker on Frontiers/Locomotive Records.
Written by Harnell and guitarist Magnus Karlsson of Last Tribe, Starbreaker features impassioned singing over masterfully played melodic metal. Drummer John Macaluso (TNT, ARK, Yngwie Malmsteen) and bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi round out the lineup.
Originally conceived of as a one-off project featuring Harnell, Starbreaker soon evolved into a true band. After Karlsson came into the picture and began writing, Harnell began working on melodies and lyrics, and Macaluso was brought into complete the lineup.
“It was actually quite easy to write with Magnus,” said Harnell. “I just let lyrics come out of me. Usually I just start with a line or two and let it flow until I can figure out what I’m writing about and then I craft it from there. I rarely sit down and know what the subject will be. Usually I just let the music and my mood determine what I will write about.”
Followers of Harnell’s career will note that Starbreaker is a heavier record than most of his previous work and his singing is noticeably more aggressive this time around.
“I think I just continue to get smarter and that transfers to my singing,” Harnell said. “As you mature in life, you carry those things into your art. That’s all I am doing really.”
The CD booklet for “Starbreaker” features a rather bleak series of artistic renderings of a post-apocalyptic-like Hollywood. “It’s really more of the cycle of man to me,” said Harnell. “It’s killing something off to change it, so to speak. It’s supposed to be Hollywood, even though it looks more like New York, but for me it represents the idea that Hollywood is really about the business of art and not the art itself. Of course it’s both, but it’s a pretty destructive place or can be for some. So maybe it’s just a statement about the name of the band and a metaphor of sorts. They break stars in the positive sense in Hollywood and then they break stars down in the negative sense. It works both ways.”
As lead singer of the internationally known hard rock band TNT Tony Harnell gained worldwide recognition at an early age for his unique and powerful voice and deeply passionate lyrics. An extraordinary vocalist, songwriter and producer, Tony has led a successful career as a recording and touring artist for over 20 years. He has sold close to two million albums worldwide during his career and continues to rack up sales and fans across the globe.
“Harnell is blessed with one of the best set of pipes in hard rock, with the ability to sing the arse off anything he chooses. He certainly does that here, with a band rather reminiscent of Westworld (Harnell’s former band project) but significantly heavier and more technical. Their prog metal leanings certainly give Dream Theater a run for their money.” - 8/10 – Classic Rock
“The silky-voiced Tony Harnell warmed the cockles most notably with…Norwegian melodic deities TNT, and here he is again with a Midas vocal touch and a brace of grippingly bombastic tunes that manage to retain an honest rawness.” - Kerrang
www.starbreakerband.comwww.frontiers.it
