Michael Schenker doesn’t think European audiences are more passionate for metal than US ones

Michael Schenker doesn’t think European audiences are more passionate for metal than US ones

Former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker was recently interviewed by Andrew Daly for Vinyl Writer Music. Schenker was promoting the Michael Schenker Group‘s new album Universal, which was released via Atomic Fire Records on May 27, 2022.

Daly noted that a common observation seems to be that European audiences, in particular, are more passionate when it comes to heavy metal music than US audiences. Schenker was asked for his opinion on this observation to which he replied:

“I have to tell you, I don’t agree. To me, it’s worldwide. It different everywhere you go, but metal is worldwide. Sometimes the audience is fantastic, and sometimes not. It depends where you’re playing because America is a big place. You might get a totally different reception in New Mexico compared to Texas. When I go to Chicago, the energy is great, and the West Coast is always great. Sometimes in the countryside, it can be mixed, or not so good, but not always. It’s the same in Europe, but Europe is not as big as America, and then you have Spain, and all these different types of places, and cultures. Everywhere you go, some people are looser, and others are less loose, maybe more boring. Even in Japan, it’s always mixed. It doesn’t matter where you go, because anywhere you go, depending on who lives there, it can be great, or not so great. I usually know what to expect going in because I’ve played these places many times.”

In terms of the Michael Schenker Group‘s current lead vocalist Ronnie Romero, Schenker noted: “Well, for one, we picked him, and he’s up there for a reason – he’s really great. I need a talented and versatile singer, and I’m aware of that. What that means is that I need a singer that can cover my past, the many different lineups, and the many different singers, and Ronnie does that. You know, he’s very young, but Ronnie is also very professional. He has a great voice, and when he helped us out with Revelation, that was sort of the first test, and that’s when I became aware of him. After that, I basically said, “Great job. You did a great job with this album, you can sing all my past stuff, you can do the vibrato – you’re hired.” [Laughs]. He’s also an underrated songwriter, and he can write a lot of great stuff too.”

You can read the rest of the interview with Michael Schenker at Vinyl Writer Music‘s website.