Review | Andy Susemihl – Mihlstones

SM Noise Records

On his 11^th solo-album ‘Mihlstones’ German producer/guitarist/singer Andy Susemihl proclaims his music can be described as ‘sophisticated global rock’. After hearing the 14 songs I can only agree with him. Andy continues the path that he started earlier on albums such as ‘Elevation’, ‘Alienation’ and his most recent ‘Rapture’ (from 2022). All the just mentioned albums I reviewed for this web magazine. What they all had in common was the fact that they all had a great production and that there was a pleasant variation in the music. Rockers, ballads, heavy songs, all sounding good at any time of the day, also because of Andy’s mesmerizing vocals.

A REAL SOLO EFFORT

Most of the time Andy, who has been around for several decades in the German rock scene with bands such as Sinner and U.D.O. (just to name a few), could rely on the help of musical friends such as former Accept bass man Peter Baltes, or Magnum’s Dennis Ward. This time he decided to make the whole affair a real solo effort by doing everything himself. Only for the drum sound he got some help from a friend with the programming. And he has succeeded in his plan.

A COOL MIX

‘Mihlstones’ is a cool mix between hard rocking tracks such as opener ,,Freakshow’’, ,,Breaking The Silence’’ and ,,En Route To Babylon’’ with some ‘sophisticated’ rock tracks such as ,,End Of The Road’’, ,,Going Home’’ and ,,Summertime Blues’’. The songs on this album are defined by a few things. First there is this crystal-clear yet feisty guitar sound that is spread all over the album. Second is the overall sound and atmosphere of the album. Third is the pleasant singing voice of Andy. He is not a singer by trade but has worked with so many top-notch vocalists and I suppose from each one he heard certain specifics that he as time went on started to integrate into his own style of singing.

MIHLSTONES – THE CONCLUSION

I like this album very much because of its versatility, the well-crafted songs, their melodic character plus the crystal-clear sound and production. If, you are familiar with his three latest albums I suppose ‘Mihlstones’ will not surprise you in a way as there are certain similarities there. Not completely sure how the distribution of this album has been arranged but if interested go to his website to find out more. All in all, Andy Susemihl can be proud of his efforts on this fine and lasting album. It might not blast the roof of your house but it has many interesting musical ingredients.

Release date: 7 February 2025