There‘s been speculation behind closed doors for some time, and at long last it‘s official: American hard rock legends Hardline, helmed by outstanding vocalist Johnny Gioeli (also frontman of the Axel Rudi Pell Band), have signed with Steamhammer/SPV. The five-piece act are currently working on new material for their upcoming studio album, scheduled to be released in spring 2026, to be followed by two headlining tours of Europe, including a number of shows at major summer festivals. “The time is right, not just for a new album, but also for a complete restart,” explains Johnny Gioeli, “not least with the support of an ambitious record company that‘s always been one hundred percent behind its bands. I‘ve known SPV for over twenty-five years and appreciate how committed they are to their work. They always give their all for their artists. I‘m looking forward to working with them and can‘t wait to start recording our new album in spring 2025.”
Gioeli promises his fans an album that couldn‘t be more typical of Hardline, commenting: “We‘ve always had our own, unmistakable sound, that characteristic Hardline style, and that‘s definitely not about to change. There will be no half-hearted experiments with me and my band mates Alessandro Del Vecchio (keyboards), Luca Princiotta (Guitars), Anna Portalupi (bass) and Marco Di Salvia (drums), everyone will get what they‘ve come to expect from this band and have been familiar with since our ‘92 debut classic ’Double Eclipse‘. We‘ll get back to our children!”
Steamhammer label manager Olly Hahn is also delighted with this successful coup and looks forward to a promising collaboration: “Obviously, there‘s no need to explicitly go into Johnny Gioeli‘s great qualities as a singer with Axel Rudi Pell, and he‘s just as fantastic with his own band. Hardline stands for consistent excellence in the melodic rock genre, and I‘m happy that this band is now part of the Steamhammer family!”
