REVIEWS:

ROLF MUNKES
No More Obscurity (2000)
Lion Music LMC 2005 2


This is absolute class. Who would have imagined good, hard-rockin' songs can still be written today? Here's an
excellent example of what keeping the faith actually means. While the album is not all rock n' roll, "No More Obscurity"
doesn't stray far from the genre. Being a guitarist at heart, Rolf includes some really neat instrumental tracks that
showcases his guitar-playing skills as well as his musicianship.

I must say I've thoroughly enjoyed myself listening to this album. It delivers good, honest vibes - kinda like homegrown,
out-of-the-garage sort of music that offers a wide variety of emotions. As I've mentioned, the music is mostly rock, with
occasional Joe Satriani, Bonfire, Michael Lee Firkins (you get the idea), influences. But Rolf Munkes is different from
any other rock band. Fine shredding, and excellent song-writing capabilities set him far apart from his peers.

If you like good rock n' roll, and are a connoisseur of good guitar playing, then you musn't let this album slip you by!
Apparently, this album is also CD-enhanced, which means there is a bonus video clip. Cool stuff.

Rock Chart Rating: 8.5

Review by Jason Goh

ROLF MUNKES: "No More Obscurity"

(Lion Music 2001)
Review by Kimmo Lauttalammi 01-04-06 www.aor-europe.com

German guitarist Rolf Munkes' first album is a rather enjoyable collection of tracks in many different styles.Among the many instrumentals there are a few tracks with vocals, which make this album a bit more accessible. The core of the band is Rolf on guitar, bass and keys and Gerald Kloos on drums, with Goetz F. Mohr providing most of the vocals. Lance King of Balance Of Power takes the microphone for the rocked up Police-cover "Message In a Bottle", and Roland Rooby Rubner sings a track as well.

Out of the vocal tracks, my vote would go to the opener "You And I", a bluesy hard rocker with a highly melodic chorus, the aforementioned "Message..." and "Starsailor", a very seventies-sounding hard rock number. The ballad "The Man ho Learned To Fly" is quite good as well.

The instrumental tracks are not too bad either. They almost seem to be built with "the basic song structure" - verses, choruses etc, which suits me just fine. Good examples would be "That's New", a track in the Tony MacAlpine vein, the very classically-influenced "Legatomizer" and the beautiful and delicate "Up And Down". That one, along with "Tunnel Strut" are two of the most relaxing pieces of music I've heard in a while. Almost guaranteed to put you to sleep, if played back to
back. And I don't mean that in a negative way!

ROLF MUNKES - NO MORE OBSCURITY   Lion Music, 2000
14 tracks, RT: 45:28, multimedia section
[ http://www.RolfMunkesBand.de ]
[ http://www.LionMusic.com ]
I admit I was only initially attracted to this release because I heard it included a cover of The Police's "Message In A Bottle," but in the end I'm glad I did the investigation. NO MORE OBSCURITY is most  definitely a "guitar" album, but it's also most definitely a song oriented "guitar" album. Munkes (guitar/bass/keyboards) and drummer Gerald Kloos  thin line between hotshot showmanship and commercial accessibility. The breakdown of the songs goes like this: six tracks with vocals, four full-length instrumentals, and three short solo bits. Lance King (Balance Of Power) sings the Police cover, and it's a good one; it's a little heavier, but thankfully it's not overplayed and Kloos does a great job with Stewart Copeland's masterful-yet-simple percussion. Roland Rooby Rubner--whose name kicks mucho ass--sings "Where Do We Go From Here?" in a gritty, Mats Levin sort of way, and the song features a bordering-on-anthemic chorus. The rest of the vocal tracks all have Goetz F. Mohr singing, and the combination of his voice and Munkes' commercial, melodic playing conjures up images of ASSAULT ATTACK-era Michael Schenker. Mohr sounds like ASSAULT ATTACK vocalist Graham Bonnet crossed with Ralf Scheepers (Gamma Ray/Primal Fear), and the results strangely make sense. Munkes' style, I suppose, can be  described as a mix of Schenker's melodicism, Jeff Kollman's (Mogg/ Way/Edwin Dare) variety, Nuno Bettencourt's funkiness, and Joe Satriani's fluidity. "You And I" is an AOR-radio-ready breeze, "Lord Of Lies" is an interesting half-ballad, "The Man Who Learned To Fly" is extremely well-written and deceptively simple, and would rule if done by Lillian Axe; and "Starsailor" is a funk/MSG hybrid. Of the full instrumentals, "Legatomizer" and "Tap That Thing" are both pleasantly melodic and feature "happy galloping"--kinda what Running Wild would sound like if Rock'n Rolf smiled more. "That's New" is a more typical "guitar god" instrumental, but Munkes never takes it over the edge into wank-land, and the sassy "Confuse Them All" sports a bass solo (finally!) and more Bettencourt funk-isms. The shorter pieces: "Mystic Overture" is a dreamy guitar solo supported nicely by keyboards (you can easily picture Yngwie Malmsteen playing this live as an interlude piece), "Tunnel Strut" is a one-guitar rhythmic solo serving as an intro to "Starsailor," and "Drumatic" is Kloos' (brief) chance to shine--and he shares the spotlight by letting Anders Johannson (Yngwie/HammerFall) play half the track. The disc is capped off by the inclusion of a 2:08 QuickTime movie picturing the band hanging and playing in the studio, set to an excerpt of "You And I."
Not a bad package at all. - Tim

=====
Detritus Rock/Metal e-zine
"Rock Hard With A Purpose"
http://detritusweb.com

ROLF MUNKES - NO MORE OBSCURITY

LION MUSIC

PRODUCED BY: ROLF MUNKES, GERALD KLOOS

ROLF MUNKES BAND - OFFICIAL WEBSITE

THE BAND:

Rolf Munkes - All Guitars, Bass, Keys

Gerald Kloos - Drums

Goetz F. Mohr - Vocals

Additional Musicians:

Lance King, Frank Hoefliger, Roland Rooby Rubner


Finally! A solo debut from a guitarist with substance. Rolf Munkes is a brilliant
guitar virtuoso offering more then just a blast of shredding. This is a very guitar
oriented album but yet very diverse in the fact that it is also music driven. Instead
of in your face guitars it is a well blended mixture of all involved. Of course that's
not to say that there isn't some massive shredding here but it has it's place and that
in itself is unique. A very impressive effort, accurate, distinct, complete
compositions and a great cover of 'Message In The Bottle'. Munkes is a true craftsman
in his field, a great musician showing tons of true promise. Rolf is sure to blow the
mind of any guitarist with his outstanding guitar work. Obscurity is evident of this,
full of raw energy and power breathing in musical elements such as jazz, rock, fusion,
blues, and powerful metal. This is a superb album that never leaves you in boredom.
There's always something new to hear on each listen. Rolf Munkes - Remember that name,
I'm sure it will be around for a very long time.

Review by Dave Palmer

Heavy Metal Resource

http://rockindude.homestead.com/index.html

Hey, there is a new guy on the block. A guitar virtuoso. Rolf Munkes. We finally have something to stick in our decks from this great musician. Rolf offers us 14 tracks of great songwriting. If you'll remember, I did a spotlight on Rolf a while back before he had released a full length album. I was pretty excited to get something from him. Let's see how it stands up.

The opener 'You and I' reminds m a bit of something that you would find on a Dave Sharman disc. Has a great vibe to it. You also get a Police cover in 'Message in a Bottle'. They did a good job on this. Stayed pretty true to the original. 'Legatomizer' shows Rolf strutting his stuff in an instrumental tune. 'The man who learned to fly' changes gears a bit and offers us some acoustic music. The song flows smoothly. 'Mystic Overture' is a short but powerful track that demonstrates the control Rolf has in his playing. Some of you will remember 'That's New' from MP3.com. Rolf released a few songs some time back. This was one of them and is now available on the album as is 'Tap that thing', and 'Confuse them all'. 'Tunnel Strut' demonstrates more of Rolf's guitar technique. Not very long, but definitely gets the point across. 'Starsailor' takes us back to the tempo of the opener. 'Where do we go from here' continues the consistency so far. You gotta check out 'Drumatic' from Anders Johansson on this album. Kinda like his 'Eruption' on the drums. Very cool. 'Lord of Lies' and 'Up and Down' close the album out in a slower tempo, but in very fine fashion. This is a fun album to listen to.

Rolf is an amazing guitarist as well as a very nice guy. He brings his own thing to the table and comes across with very good songwriting ability. The album is available through Lion Music and is definitely worth picking up, especially if you like listening to very creative guitar work.

Review by Dave Palmer

Heavy Metal Resource

ROLF MUNKES - Obscurity No More
(From Metal Dreams Magazine - Issue #5)
(By Chris Dugan)      

       For most musicians, obscurity is more common than notoriety.  Without
proper exposure, talented artists go unnoticed.  But German guitarist Rolf
Munkes is breaking out of the underground with his latest release, ironically
titled No More Obscurity, and as the new guitarist for Vanize, a group led by
Peter Dirkschneider, the brother of ex-Accept screamer Udo.
The 34 year old Munkes, an obsessive Kiss fan as a child, began playing
guitar when he was twelve years old.  “In the first year, I had lessons from
a guy who showed me some chords.  But then I found a teacher who was inside
my world.  Rock.  I [took lessons from him] for about five years.  Then I
went to a classical teacher for two years and a jazz guy for one year,”
remembers Munkes.
But like most musicians, it wasn’t only the love for the instrument that
influenced him to play.  “I remember [my] first gig.  The girls threw roses
up on the stage.  I guess that was the moment where I decided to practice
more and more!” he explains.    
Besides his early love for Kiss, Munkes was intrigued with several
amazing guitarists.  “Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore and Steve Morse in the
beginning,” recollects Munkes.  “Later I heard Robben Ford, Yngwie Malmsteen
and Alan Holdsworth.”  And to this day, Gary Moore’s early work still
motivates Munkes.  “My dream is to do rock songs with solos that contain a
strong melodic idea and a concept like Gary Moore’s old rock songs.  He’s
one of those guys [who played] creative and structured solos.”
Although Rolf fell in love with the guitar from the moment he picked it
up, he followed a more typical lifestyle by going to college for plastics
engineering.  “I was not sure how to finance a rock ‘n roll life as a
guitarist.  I don’t think I ever had the idea to really do a ‘normal’ job,
but it took me some time to lose this fear of being a professional without
money,” explains Rolf.
Realizing that he was born to be a musician, Rolf dropped out of college.
 In between playing, writing and recording, he began giving guitar lessons.   
He also co-founded Abra, a rock ‘n roll cover band, that later went on to
record three cd’s.  But it is his first solo album, No More Obscurity,
released on Finland’s Lion Music, that is finally giving Rolf the worldwide
exposure that he deserves.  But Rolf simply appreciates the talent he’s been
blessed with.  “To be honest I don’t think about deserving something.  It’s
a privilege to make so much music each day,” he says modestly.
No More Obscurity is a refreshing album.  It isn’t one of those guitar
wanking, all instrumental releases.  Rolf doesn’t overwhelm the listener with
his ability.  Instead, he finds a balance between great musicianship and fine
songwriting.  The instrumentals are short, melodic and compact, while the
songs with vocals are hooky and memorable.  “I love variety.  I did not want
to make a ‘normal’ rock album or just an instrumental album. I decided to
make both,” relates Munkes.
Speaking of variety, Rolf displays his ability to play in a legato style,
but he varies his sound and doesn’t overuse the shredding approach.  “My
intention is to have a bluesy tone as well as a shred tone,” states Munkes.   
And the short instrumental “Tunnel Strut” is a fine example of Rolf’s
ability to do something a little out of the ordinary.  “It’s a tapping tune
by two guitars without distortion.  This song worked really good live, even
without the second guitar,” says Rolf.
When it came to the vocals, variety was also important.  Rolf used
several vocalists on No More Obscurity: Goetz F. Mohr, Lance King, vocalist
for Balance Of Power, and Roland Rooby Rubner.  However, Mohr, who sounds a
bit like ex-Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet, sang and wrote most of the lyrics
on the album.  “The first time we were in my studio, I thought, ‘Wow, what a
voice.’”  But what about Lance King?  Although he only sings on the cover of
The Police’s “Message in A Bottle,” Munkes was thrilled to be able to have
him participate.  “I met him in Germany while he was on tour with Balance of
Power,” states Rolf.  “When I heard his voice the first time, I said to
myself, ‘Go and ask this man to sing a song on your record.’ Thank God I
did.”
Drummer Gerald Kloos added a lot to No More Obscurity, as well.  “We’ve
played together since 1986,” explains Rolf.  “He is the co-producer, the
drummer, and we did the lyrics for “Where Do We Go From Here” together.  He
had a lot of ideas while mixing and writing and he was always there with an
objective opinion.”
And Gerald was also responsible for recruiting ex-Yngwie Malmsteen
drummer Anders Johansson to add a drum solo to “Drumatic.”  “Gerald had
E-mail contact with him.  They exchanged videos [and] bootlegs,” remembers
Rolf.  “One day, we had the idea to ask him [to play on the record] and he
said yes, spontaneously.”
Besides his solo album, Rolf recently became the new guitarist for the
German metal outfit Vanize, who already have three albums to their credit:
Twins?, Bootlicker, and High Proof.  “They told me that their guitarist had
left after ten years.  I was looking for a new live band, [so] we did some
songs together and it felt really good.”
Upon initial observation, Rolf’s style doesn’t quite seem to fit the
Vanize sound, one that is quite similar to Accept.  But Rolf sees his
participation as an opportunity for both he and Vanize to grow.  “I think
it’s a good chance for us to loose a bit of this Accept cliché, and it’s not
a conflict for me to add a little more ‘metal’ in my playing,” he says.   
“Their music is filled with passion, and if you hear their last two cd’s
you will see that there is a continuous development in their music.”
While there are a lot of guitarists out there, Rolf Munkes won’t be one
of the obscure ones.  Whether it’s with his solo work or with Vanize, you
will definitely be hearing about him.  And, maybe someday, an up-and-coming
guitarist will cite him as an influence.