Swiss hard rock veterans Shakra have delivered their first ever cover song and duet, a version of ‘Left Outside Alone’ that was originally released by Anastacia back in 2004, recorded with Swiss singer and songwriter Seraina Telli.
Grafted to the emotional intensity of the song are expressive vocals, powerful guitars and energy, with the band explaining: “Over the years, countless songs were discussed as potential cover tracks, but none of them ever felt quite right. At the same time, we had long been talking about recording a duet with a female vocalist. When we toured together with Seraina Telli, it immediately became clear who that voice should be. The fact that both ideas would ultimately come together in the same song wasn’t planned. It happened naturally.”
‘Left Outside Alone’ follows previous single ‘Just Live Loud!’, the title track from their new album, due out on 4th September via Frontiers Music Srl. Vocalist Mark Fox commented: “Becoming a father has changed the way I look at many things. When I watch my daughter grow, discover the world and face every day with this incredible curiosity, I find myself asking even more consciously what life is really about. For me, the answer can now be summed up in three words: Just live loud! Don’t live halfway, don’t wait forever, don’t hide. I recorded the vocals for this album on my own in my basement. It was a very intense process that strongly confronted me with myself, my self-criticism and my responsibility. At the same time, it showed me that true freedom always comes with responsibility. For me, this tension is exactly what lies at the heart of this album.”
Guitarist Thomas Muster added: “Over the last 30 years, I’ve written many songs for Shakra. Heavier stuff, sometimes even poppier songs, and some really soft tracks. And even though I was ultimately always happy with the albums, I still always had this feeling inside me that musically, there simply had to be a little more. An even better riff, an even better hookline, simply even better songs. With ‘Something You Don’t Understand’ from the Snakes & Ladders album, I had that feeling of the perfect song for the first time.
“And now comes Just Live Loud!, the Shakra album I always wanted to write, but somehow never quite managed to until now. And it comes with 12 great songs! If I could take only one Shakra album to the famous desert island, it would definitely be this one,” he continued.
Collectively, the band commented: “For over 30 years, we have been walking this path with Shakra. We have always worked on ourselves, put many things aside and given everything to push this band forward, without compromise, without a safety net. We have dared, we have taken risks, and we still do. But this very path has also given us our freedom: to find our purpose away from the ordinary, to lose ourselves in it, and to do what we burn for.
“Just Live Loud! brings all of that together in one album: origin, attitude, energy and the view ahead. As long as this fire is still burning, we will keep moving, keep daring and keep giving everything. Living louder is hardly possible. Just live loud!”
Tracks featured on the album are ‘Let The Show Begin’, ‘Wasteland Warriors’, ‘Just Live Loud!’, ‘Left Outside Alone (Feat. Seraina Telli)’, ‘Demon Of The Night’, ‘Legends Never Die’, ‘Lost Generation’, ‘When We Were Young’, ‘Another Day In The Universe’, ‘New Tattoo’, ‘High Above The Storm’, ‘Screaming Silence’ and ‘Left Outside Alone (Solo Version)’.
