“Hands on the Wheel” is the sixth studio album from German band Hartmann and it was released on 18th May via Sonic 11 Records / Pride and Joy Records. The band is fronted by Oliver Hartmann, the singer, guitarist and song-writer who has worked with many bands over the past 20 years, including Avantasia, Edguy, Freedom Call and Rock Meets Classic. The album includes 12 great melodic hard rock tracks with plenty of opportunity for Hartmann to showcase his guitar skills. The track “Simple Man”, that features Eric Martin from Mr Big on vocals, was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 11th May.
Oliver Hartmann released his first album with the band Centers in 1997 and then five album with At Vance between 1999 and 2002. His first appearance with Avantasia was as a vocalist in 2001and he has continued to perform and record with the band as a vocalist and / or guitarist ever since. He joined Rock Meets Classic in 2012 and has featured on many albums from bands such as Beyond The Black, Iron Mask, Edguy, Freedom Call, Hammerfall, Helloween and Primal Fear.
“Out In The Cold”, the debut album from the band “Hartmann” appeared in 2005, and was followed by further studio albums in 2007 (“Home”), 2009 (“3”), 2012 (“Balance”) and 2016 (“Shadows & Silhouettes”). There was also a live album in 2008 and a compilation album in 2013. The band has toured with artists such as Toto, The Hooters, Uriah Heep, Edguy and Y&T.
Hartmann are Oliver Hartmann on vocals and guitar, Mario Reck on guitar, Armin Donderer on bass and Markus Kullman on drums. Jimmy Kresic from The Roots / Rock Meets Classic provides guest keyboards. The album is co-produced by Sascha Paeth who has worked on albums for numerous bands, including Kamelot, Avantasia, Beyond The Black, Edguy, Epica, Trillium etc. (He is also a core member of Avantasia, playing guitar, and played on the recent Exit Eden album).
Check out Oliver Hartmann’s website for more info - https://oliverhartmann.com/en/
About “NI Rocks Recommends”
The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!