German melodic rockers Shylock have just released their fourth studio album, “Devotion”, which has been well received by rock critics across the globe, including here at HardRockHouse.com. Paul Williams set out to discover what all the fuss was about….

Thanks for finding the time to talk to us.  Firstly, for people who may not be familiar with Shylock, can you introduce yourself and the other members of the band to our readers… 

Matthias: Hi folks! My name is Matthias Schenk and I am the lead singer of German Hard Rock band “SHYLOCK”. The other members are my buddies Hannes Amrhein (guitars), Achim Thiergärtner (drums), his brother Oliver Thiergärtner (keys) and Steven Wussow (bass). We are all coming from Franken, it's a fantastic and cute county in Bavaria/Germany, where everybody loves beer and wine ;-) Just a joke! We started playing with Shylock back in 1998 and somehow it works quite well. 

So, “Devotion”, your new album, is out right now – what has been the initial reaction? 

Matthias: Well, the reactions are great so far and even some online magazines named “Devotion” the “Album of the Year”. I guess that's one of the biggest compliments a band can ever get and it seems that with every new album we can reach more new fans around the world…just the way it has to be ;-) All in all, I can say that we did a good job and many people out there seem to have the same opinion.

Although it’s your fourth album, it’s your first released under the Artist Management Service. What made you decide against the involvement of a traditional label and how does your current arrangement work? 

Matthias: Don´t get me wrong, we are definitely not against traditional labels in general, but we just wanted to figure out new ways for this album. And it was a real good decision because Sebastian from Musicbuymail and Oli of Artist Service do a very good job. They are into  business for a long time and I'm sure they do their best…so it just depends on the knowledge and contacts of the persons you are working with. 

I notice you have a track on the new album dedicated to German football star Thomas Hässler. Do you know if he has heard the track and what was his reaction if so? 

Matthias: To keep it short: Yes, he certainly heard that song and he loved it from the start. He was so proud of “Farewell” that he finally invited us to perform the song in front of 20.000 people in the Cologne RheinEnergieStadion at his last soccer game. Over one million people watched this event it on TV. And be sure: That was an absolute awesome feeling!

After the release of your last album, you toured extensively. Have you got any plans for any live dates to build upon the momentum of this release? 

Matthias: Yes, there will be new gigs next year and maybe we’ll have the chance to jump on a tour or so. But I can’t tell you more right now because we’re just checking out our possibilities. We also started to get in contact with some Clubs…If you wanna be up to date, please check out our official homepage www.shylockmusic.de from time to time ;-) 

The current album was 3 years in the making…do you anticipate the next one hitting the shelves sooner than that? 

Matthias: Actually I won’t make promises that I can't keep. But if we have enough time and money: YES! The next album will rock in your CD-Player as soon as possible! 

Where do you see the band in 5 years’ time? Is there anything in particular you hope to have achieved by then? 

Matthias: We all want to go out and play live and so I’d like to see the band where Shylock deserves to be…on stage and on a very big tour. Furthermore, I hope we all stay healthy and can play music for another 30 years. And of course we wanna be the biggest rockstars on planet earth or out in space! :-) Just kiddin’… 

Which bands do you guys listen to on your tour bus or as individuals? 

Matthias: We listen to bands like AC/DC, ZZ Top, Sunrise Ave, Kingdom Come, Megadeth, Metallica, Dream Theater, Toto, Surviver and everything that rocks.

If you could play on the same bill as any other current band, who would it be and why? 

Matthias: That's definitely the one and only: AC/DC! Because it would be a big honor for me to rock on the same stage like the legendary guitar player Angus Young! You should know that I grew up with the songs from AC/DC. By the way we could play in a stadium again, because we miss that so much! Haha… 

Lastly, our standard wrap-up question…Is there anything else you’d like to add that we haven’t covered so far? 

Matthias: Oh yes, is there anybody out there to lend a helping hand? Because we need a lot of money to pay the support shows with AC/DC! :-) Greets to everyone who´s reading this interview! 

Well thanks once again for taking the time out to talk to us and we wish you continued success with the new album. 

Matthias: Paul, thank you so much for your support and this interview. You are Rock´n´Roll!

Shylock's new album Devotion is out now via ArtistService. To find out more about the band then you can visit their official website @ www.shylockmusic.de