Ray Of Light

There's a new star in the hard rock galaxy! RAY OF LIGHT is a fresh line-up that should make some long-standing heavy rockers and AOR 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.

Now they've fought their way back with a new foundation full of verve on the one hand, but also against 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 for Salute 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, new singer Gregg Cromack 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.