German-British melodic hard rock powerhouse, RAY OF LIGHT – release debut album “Salute”

German-British melodic hard rock powerhouse, RAY OF LIGHT – release debut album “Salute”

Ray Of Light – A New Melodic Rock Force – Releases Debut Album “Salute.” The band features members of (Frontline) Stephan Bayerlein – Drums, (Evidence One, Mad Max) Thomas “Hutch” Bauer – Bass, (Evidence One) Joerg Wartmann – Guitar and Vocalist Extraordinaire Gregg Cromack.

RAY OF LIGHT is a fresh line-up that should make some long-standing heavy rockers and Hard Rock fans prick up their ears, as the promising name includes members of a gang that has already released several official records under the Frontline banner – eight to be precise – and has been on the verge of an international breakthrough several times.

All ten tracks on the album share one thing for sure: They radiate a refreshing positivity that breaks through in a drive as exuberant as it is powerful – Salute extends way past the friendly greeting that gives the album its name. It is a glimmer of hope, a soundtrack to a new beginning, which was fueled not least by the arrival of the incredibly talented British rock voice Gregg Cromack as lead singer.

And yet there is so much more to the creation of this piece: a new foundation full of verve on the one hand, but also a heavy blow of fate and loss for the band on the other, when co-founder, guitarist, songwriter and long-time friend Robby Boebel fell seriously ill in the middle of the album preparations in 2022 and died far too soon afterwards.

It would take until the fall of 2023 for RAY OF LIGHT to begin working with exceptional guitarist and producer Jörg “Warthy” Wartmann and complete the work in memory of the late friend. The collaboration between drummer/founder Stephan Bayerlein, bassist Thomas Hutch, singer Gregg and the highly versatile guitarist proved to be so beneficial and at the same time so creatively fruitful that the newly added “Warthy” also took over the mixing of the album, joining the band right away as a permanent member.

Frontline and now also RAY OF LIGHT founder Stephan Bayerlein looks back on the moving times the band has gone through since the end of the pandemic:
“It’s been a rollercoaster! First, the start of a new musical adventure, the kick that Gregg gave us with the unrestrained energy of his 10,000-volt voice, then the heartbreaking, far too abrupt farewell to Robby and the question of what comes next. How do you carry on when you’ve lost someone who is simply irreplaceable? In the end, it was both the memory of Robby that gave us the strength to carry on, and the idea that these great songs would otherwise remain in the drawer forever. Robby is around us all the time actually, in so many thoughts and in the ever-recurring question: What would Robby do now?”

A question that became Stephan Bayerlein’s leitmotif on his road to the perfect hard rock record, as he took on the role of producer during the creative phase with a growing amount of respect:
“It was a heartfelt matter to me personally – but increasingly so for each individual in the band, too – to grow with the overwhelming task at hand and ensure that the songs on the album could shine in the perfect light.”

As such, Salute is both a salutation to a shared past and a welcome to a future with great new members in the band. A Ray of Light that invites you to linger and follow.

View The Ray Of Light Videos from “Salute” here!:
City of Angels: https://youtu.be/fZF8yZvPinU
Falling to Pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxqQUTaZu6Y
Stand Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxqQUTaZu6Y

Tracklist for Salute:
Falling to Pieces
Ray of Light
Alive
City of Angels
Stand Up
Best of Me
Fallin’ from Grace
Frontline
Last Day
How Long

The New Album “Salute” can be ordered here:
https://www.baysis.de/product_info.php?products_id=1
The first 500 copies sold will be signed by the band.

RAY OF LIGHT are:
Gregg Cromack – Vocals
Stephan Bayerlein – Drums
Joerg Wartmann – Guitar
Thomas Bauer – Bass

Visit RAY OF LIGHT:
https://linktr.ee/rayoflightband
http://www.ray-of-light.de/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063932030151
http://www.instagram.com/ray.of.light.band/
https://www.youtube.com/@rayoflight230