In a brand new interview with Steel Hammer España, EUROPE drummer Ian Haugland supplied an replace on the band’s documentary which the long-running Swedish onerous rockers have been busy filming with producer/director Craig Hooper (DEEP PURPLE, SAXON) for Coolhead Productions. The movie guarantees to inform the story of EUROPE, from formation till current day, telling of their rise to success within the mid-Eighties, by way of onerous instances and heartache, to coming again within the millennium, and the present successes the band has achieved. Ian mentioned (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”Effectively, we have been engaged on it for a few years now. It is gonna be like a film format, mainly — properly, lengthwise — it is gonna be an hour and a half, I assume. And the plan is to get it out on the large streaming companies like Netflix and all of the others. But it surely’s gonna be out early subsequent 12 months. So subsequent 12 months is gonna be actually busy for EUROPE as a result of we have now a brand new album and we have now the documentary and we even have the fortieth anniversary for [EUROPE‘s third album] ‘The Remaining Countdown’. So we would higher form up. [Laughs] So it is gonna be busy.”
This previous April, EUROPE frontman Joey Tempest instructed Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda in regards to the band’s upcoming documentary: “We have had this workforce with us for 4 or 5 years touring with us to doc the newEUROPE. However throughout COVID, we would began pondering, ‘Hold on a second. Possibly it is time to do the documentary.’ Individuals have requested us to do that a few years now. However we determined, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ After which we discovered a field with previous VHS tapes. Our first supervisor, he walked round with this large VHS digital camera once we had been simply youngsters. We had been nonetheless youngsters, and we had been questioning, ‘What are you doing with that factor? Cease filming,’ type of factor. However he stored filming, and there is [footage] from lodge rooms, there’s [footage] from backstage from the center of ’80s and as much as ’92. And there is stuff from all around the world. And there is stuff that has by no means [been] seen earlier than, and it was thrilling for us as properly. So, mainly, it is new footage from the band as we speak touring, and there is previous VHS footage that has by no means been seen, and the entire story of us coming from the suburbs of Stockholm, going out on this planet after which, within the early ’90s, grunge hitting the scene, and it’s kind of of a dip after which it is us constructing every little thing up once more to the place we’re as we speak. So it is fairly a superb story as properly. And the director’s completed an excellent job. So we will not wait. It is gonna be thrilling to place this out.”
Two years in the past, Tempest instructed SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” about EUROPE‘s upcoming documentary: “We discovered some previous VHS tapes from — I believe a few of it is from San Francisco as properly once we recorded ‘The Remaining Countdown’, within the studio with [producer] Kevin [Elson], and the lodge rooms in Japan, once we had been very younger and backstage from ’83, ’84. And we managed to place this documentary along with — folks from GHOST are in it, Benny Andersson from ABBA‘s in it, speaking, and we’re simply honored that individuals needed to participate on this documentary.”
In April 2025, Joey instructed El Expreso Del Rock in regards to the upcoming EUROPE documentary: “We now have discovered footage, previous footage from lodge rooms, Japan and world wide, San Francisco, once we blended ‘The Remaining Countdown’, there’s some footage [that had] by no means [been] seen [before]. And there is numerous new footage from us touring world wide, in South America and different locations, blended in with the story of those younger punks from Stockholm making it on this planet after which grunge coming alongside after which constructing it up once more, and it is an excellent story. So we’re actually excited to launch this documentary.”
In September 2023, EUROPE launched a brand new music titled “Maintain Your Head Up”. The observe, which was described by the band as “a punchy uptempo rocker with reminiscent parts of early EUROPE,” was recorded in August 2023 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm with producer Klas Åhlund (GHOST, ROBYN) and was blended by Stefan Glaumann (RAMMSTEIN, DEF LEPPARD),who additionally blended EUROPE‘s “Secret Society” album.
“Maintain Your Head Up” was made out there to stream and obtain on September 29, 2023 throughout all respected digital platforms, together with Spotify, Apple, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora and YouTube Music.
EUROPE‘s newest album, “Stroll The Earth”, was launched in October 2017 by way of Hell & Again Recordings (Silver Lining Music). It was recorded at famed Abbey Highway Studios in London with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (RIVAL SONS, Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton).
Earlier this 12 months, Tempest was requested by Colombia’s Radioacktiva about the truth that it has been eight years since he and his EUROPE bandmates launched “Stroll The Earth”. Joey mentioned: “Actually, we have by no means had this lengthy break — ever. I imply, once we did ‘Bag Of Bones’ [2012], ‘Struggle Of Kings’ [2015] and ‘Stroll The Earth’, these three albums, they had been, like, increase, increase, increase, touring all the way in which. After which rapidly COVID hit and we had some further time. After which it type of felt okay to depart it a bit and to reside with the concepts, to write down new stuff. And that is why this [upcoming EUROPE] album’s gonna be particular. These songs we lived with for some time — they’re robust and there is some robust melodies. And it is gonna make this album particular, that it has this further time. However we have been touring ever since, as you realize. So we’re at all times on the street, however we have not been within the studio, and we’re going on this autumn, and that is gonna be an enormous second.”
This previous March, Joey instructed El Expreso Del Rock that the musical course of the upcoming EUROPE LP will not be much like that of “Stroll The Earth” and “Struggle Of Kings”. He mentioned: “No, it will transfer on. It’s going to be a brand new journey. However I understand, listening to a few of the demos we make now, that it is actually robust, [with] nice melodies. A few of it is actually heavy as properly. However there’s additionally some connection to the previous.
“I am writing with everybody,” he revealed. “I am writing with John [Norum, guitar], I am writing with John [Levén, bass] and Mic [Michaeli, keyboards]. And there is lovely melodies there as properly. I am actually excited. There’s some nice songs approaching. And it has been some time, so we have had time to reside with the music, nearly like a debut album, nearly like the primary album, as a result of we have now years to reside with the songs. We all know a few of them are actually robust as a result of they’ve endurance; they’ve stayed for years now. So yeah, this could possibly be an attention-grabbing album.
“Yeah, we similar to to go on our personal journey, however at all times carry your previous with you,” he defined. “That is the factor.”
Picture credit score: Fredrik Etoall (courtesy of ABC Public Relations)
