Posted on: October 29, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 1

Railway was one of the most promising German heavy metal groups in the 80’s – their first three albums released at that time became true classics of the genre. Although their career had its ups and downs, the band finally managed to reunite in its original line-up in 2006, much to their fans’ satisfaction. And now, thanks to these exclusive re-releases of “Railway”, “Railway II” and “Climax” you can once again relive Railway’s history and witness some of their finest moments in the music industry.

“Railway” (1984)
Railway’s self-titled debut LP was released in November 1984. The album managed to combine heavy, speed and thrash metal of the 80’s, forming a truly intriguing mixture of heaviness and melody. The highlights of the LP included the opening track “Heavy Metal Fever”, the fast-paced “Out To Kill”, the power rock classic “Nightrider” and “Screaming After Midnight”, which featured an extremely catchy chorus. Overall, “Railway” was considered a very promising debut – reviewers often compared the band’s effort to the likes of Accept, Warlock and… Mad Max!

“Railway II” (1985)
Released in December 1985 and entitled simply “Railway II”, the band’s second offering turned out to be even more successful than the debut, delivering 11 tracks of pure heavy metal madness at its finest! The album included two Railway classics – “Lick It, Stick It” (which the band used for years as a concert opener) and “I’m a Looser”, which became very popular among radio stations and rock discos. The latter was also included on a sampler called “Munich City Nights”, which finally helped the band become more popular in Germany.

„Climax” (1987)
“Climax”, the band’s third album, was released in April 1987 and immediately gained positive feedback from both fans and critics (magazines such as Kerrang were very enthusiastic about the band’s newest offering). This time recorded in Hamburg and produced by Dirk Steefens (known from working with Accept), the album showcased a band well aware of their musical abilities and songs such as “I’m on Fire” and “Ready to Rock” were proof enough.

These exclusive re-issues of Railway’s classic albums: “Railway”, “Railway II” and “Climax” – are a great addition to any heavy metal collection, and a perfect opportunity to meet one of the most amazing German heavy metal bands of all time! They will be released by Metal Mind Productions on 2nd November in Europe and 12th January 2010 in USA (via MVD).

Railway
“Railway” (remastered)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1318 DG
Barcode: 5907785035348
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: heavy metal
Release date: 02.11.2009 Europe / 12.01.2010 USA

Tracklist:

1. Heavy Metal Fever
2. Out To Kill
3. Screaming After Midnight
4. Take It Away
5. Nightrider
6. Dirty Boys
7. Crazy
8. Stone In My Bed
9. Hell Soldiers

Railway
“Railway II” (remastered)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1319 DG
Barcode: 5907785035355
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: heavy metal
Release date: 02.11.2009 Europe / 12.01.2010 USA

Tracklist:

1. Lick It, Stick It
2. Go Down
3. D.O.A.
4. Lady Life
5. Dreamin’
6. Fight With The Killer
7. All Night Long
8. Dying In The Dust
9. I Wanna Run
10. I’m A Looser
11. Stronger Than Rock

Railway
“Climax” (remastered)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1320 DG
Barcode: 5907785035362
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: heavy metal
Release date: 02.11.2009 Europe / 12.01.2010 USA

Tracklist:

1. Breakout
2. Take The Chance
3. First Shot
4. Rockets
5. Heavy & Loud
6. Boys Get Drunk
7. Ready To Rock
8. Miss Lilly
9. I’m On Fire
10. Don’t Try To Mess Around With Me
11. High Wire
12. Come On

Bio
The beginnings of the group reach all the way back to 1977, when drummer Erhard “Hasi” Haslinger joined a school band from Munich called Cumulus. The name of the band was soon changed to Railway, for one simple reason: their rehearsal room was located in the cellar of an abandoned railway station. In 1978 the group welcomed guitarist Hermann Janowitz, who over the years became Railway’s main composer. Thanks to him the band started to write original material instead of playing covers, and took on a heavier direction than before. Later that year the group was reinforced by guitarist Robert Haslinger (Hasi’s brother), who was followed in 1980 by bassist Albert Knobel and vocalist Armin Schüler. This way Railway’s first official line-up was complete. In 1981 the group entered a studio in Lüneburg and recorded their first demo – a four-track single called “Just Imagination”. The release was pressed only in 500 copies (and remains a collector’s gem to this very day), but it was enough to help the band (at that time still unsigned) get gigs on the local scene. On one of the shows Railway played next to the band Stym, which was fronted by guitarist/singer Walter Wicha. Impressed by his performance, Railway asked Wicha to become their new vocalist, as his voice was much more heavier than Schüler’s. Wicha agreed and along with another Stym musician – bassist – Werner Thaller – joined the Railway collective.
In 1983 the band got to know a local promoter by the name of Klaus Bönisch, who soon became their first manager. Thanks to his help, Railway were able to interest Karl Walterbach, chairman of Noise Records, in their music. Walterbach was so impressed that he offered the young group a chance to participate in a metal compilation album “Rock From Hell”, which featured – among others – Running Wild, Grave Digger, Iron Force and Rated X. Railway managed to record two exclusive tracks for that CD – “Break It Up” and “Can’t Stand It”.
The year 1984 proved to be a breakthrough for the band, when Cees Wessels of the famous Rodrunner Records label offered Railway a 5-album deal. The band signed without hesitation and soon members of Railway found themselves in the Karo Studios in Münster with producers Kalle Trapp and Gordon Biehl, working on the material for their debut LP. The recording session was completed in 14 days – during this time the group learned a lot about producing a record, mostly thanks to Trapp and Michael “Vossi” Voss – lead singer of a German metal act Mad Max, who previously recorded their album “Rollin’ Thunder” in that very same studio.
Railway’s self-titled debut LP was eventually released in November 1984. The album managed to combine heavy, speed and thrash metal of the 80’s, forming a truly intriguing mixture of heaviness and melody. The highlights of the LP included the opening track “Heavy Metal Fever”, the fast-paced “Out To Kill”, the power rock classic “Nightrider” and “Screaming After Midnight”, which featured an extremely catchy chorus. Overall, “Railway” was considered a very promising debut – reviewers often compared the band’s effort to the likes of Accept, Warlock and… Mad Max! In March 1985 Railway were given a unique opportunity to play a tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland with fellow bands Tokyo Blade and Talon. The tour proved to be a success and helped Railway gain many new fans. After their return to Munich, the group went straight away to the studio to record their second LP.
Released in December 1985 and entitled simply “Railway II”, the band’s second offering turned out to be even more successful than the debut, delivering 11 tracks of pure heavy metal madness at its finest! The album included two Railway classics – “Lick It, Stick It” (which the band used for years as a concert opener) and “I’m a Looser”, which became very popular among radio stations and rock discos. The latter was also included on a sampler called “Munich City Nights”, which finally helped the band become more popular in Germany. 1985 brought also one of Railway’s most glorious performances, when the band supported Twisted Sister at the famous Circus Krone in their hometown Munich. The group was so good that the headliners had a really hard time to follow such a stunning show…
In March 1986 Railway went on one of their most important tours yet – the “Easter Metal Blast” tour, which featured such legendary artists as Motörhead, Manowar, Exciter, Doro and Laaz Rockit. Next they performed in Budapest with Tokyo Blade, in front of over 10.000 enthusiastic fans! The band’s career was at its peak, unfortunately not for long… Right after the series of successful performances had ended, Walter Wicha left Railway. The group decided to bring their first vocalist, Armin Schüler, back into the fold. Right before the recording session for the third album commenced, Hermann Janowitz announced his departure from Railway (sadly, Janowitz died of skin cancer in 1988). He was soon replaced by Florian Allgayer. In this renewed line-up, Railway went on to record their third LP…
“Climax” was finally released in April 1987 and immediately gained positive feedback from both fans and critics (magazines such as Kerrang were very enthusiastic about the band’s newest offering). This time recorded in Hamburg and produced by Dirk Steefens (known from working with Accept), the album showcased a band well aware of their musical abilities and songs such as “I’m on Fire” and “Ready to Rock” were proof enough. Unfortunately, the group lacked support from their record label and after finding out that no touring was being planned for them, they decided to cancel the deal with Roadrunner.
Over the next eight years Railway managed to release the “Backstage All Areas” EP in 1990 and three full-length albums – “To Be Continued” (1991), “Welcome Tonite” (1993) and “Persecution Mania” (1995). After the last LP was out, Railway decided to go on hiatus for some time. The break extended all the way to 2004, when the Haslinger brothers, surprised by the amount of fan mail they received, decided to reunite the band in its original line-up. It took them two years to do so – but finally, Railway are back and ready for action! In 2009 the band released a compilation album with their best songs, entitled “Finally Back: The Very Best of 20 Years”.

1 people reacted on this

  1. Where can we buy these albums in the states? I just discovered this amazing band and am looking to purchase their albums, but they aren’t in stores, not on the itunes store, and googling for them has brought me to this site. Any help would be immensly appreciated. Thanks!

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