Shamall

Artist: Shamall
P: 2006
LTD:
"...Ambiguous Points Of View" is the 10th release from Norbert Krüler aka Shamall, who demonstrates his ability to produce progressive rock and krautrock as well as electronic music. The incipiencies of becoming more progressive were shown on Shamall's previous releases " The Book: Genesis" and " who do they think they are ". With the new album "Ambiguous points of view", the metamorphosis from an electronic artist to a progressive rock project has been completed. The double-cd comes up with a first-class digibook, which could easily match with the state-of-the-art releases from the progressive label "Inside Out" [...] And the music matches the extraordinary visual appearance as well, because both musical themes "Everything Has Two Sides" and "Far Away From Reality" attract your ears instantly. On both epic titles, which consist of several parts, Shamall performs a mixture between Pink Floyd and Eloy, combining this with his very own musical style. Everyone, who grew up with Pink Floyd's music from "Dark Side Of Moon" up to "The Wall" and with the early works (70's-80's) of the german band Eloy, will feel at home with "Ambiguous points of view" [....] In my opinion, this album is one of the musical highlights of the year 2006. Both visual appearance and music are first-class and I could recommended this release without any restrictions. This album is available as limited edition only, so don't miss it...." Stephan Schelle, January 2007

Artist: Shamall
P: 2001
"....Shamall (which loosely translates as "desert wind") is actually one man: Norbert Krueler. This inspired German musician is blessed with the unrestrainable ability to create a particularly dynamic and dramatic form of electronic music. This 2-CD release from 2001 features 148 minutes of such energetic sonic ecstasy.[...]
Shamalls music is epic in sound, performance, proportion, and scope. This music reaches a state of symphonic presence despite the lack of any orchestral touches. The incredible fusion of a thousand genres of music into a passionate sonic expression is the starting point-from there it builds with alarming velocity and breathtaking impact.

Artist: Shamall
P: 1993/ 2000
This is a must for all Shamall fans. CD 1 contains the early works from the 80ies. Some of them are released for the first time here.
CD 2 is a collection of rare demos and other unreleased material as a document in time.

Artist: Shamall
P: 2016
The tragical nuclear desaster in Fukushima aroused Shamall's personal passion to protest within his means for the energy turnaround in 2011. To rise up against nuclear energy he set a lot of musical emotions free. An hour of this album contains completed songs and tracks of the "Turn Off" theme, which did not fit on the last album, due to the length limitation of a cd. Something about 20 minutes – you could call it bonus material – are first compositions and rehearsals. This refers to „it's been a while“ and „so much is on the line“. So everything is said about the album. It contains exclusively unreleased music compositions and songs – just the continuation of the „Turn Off“ theme. All in all about 78 minutes of emotional tracks. This cd is also available as a part of the 5-CD Box "History Book" (Shamall's 30 Years Anniversary Edition). Because of many inquiries we decided to publish this 5th disc as a separate release. 

Artist: Shamall
P: 2016
The name of this album says all about it. "History Book" – is a review of 30 years of epic musical creation from Shamall. It was a long way from the first mainstream-releases of the eighties to the current, timeless neo-progressive rock hymns.The "History Book" contains 5 CD's. It musically traces the career of Shamall and illustrated the musical development of the project in an impressive way. The musical output is arranged chronologically in this 5-piece CD-Box. CD 1 will start with the first longplayer release „Journey To a Nightmare", which came out in 1989. The disc contains the title theme of this album as well as the audience favorites "Turning Point" and "Nothing to say". „Physical Visions" and "Moments of Illusion" were taken from the same-named album from 1990, which was the first album going around the world, because the companies German „Telekom“ and „Time Life“ have used it's music for movies and commercials. The B-Side „Caligula 2009“ from Shamall's first hit single „My Dream“ (charts rank Nr. 9) which came out in 1986 has been modified especially for the fans of Shamall's very early works. This edited version is now a minute and ten seconds longer than the original version and the last track on CD one. CD 2 is devoted to the albums „In Search of Precision“ (1994) and "Mirror to Eternity" (1993) with it's same-named title. Even the unforgotten track "Mission Hussein" with it's extended drum solo is not missing. The following tracks "Ambrosia", the equally successful "Time Machine" and "In Search of Precision" make this CD to a varied experience. CD 3 continues with the highlights of the albums "This Island Earth", "Influences" and "The Book: Genesis". The well-known WDR-radio show „Schwingungen“ voted the title „New Age Krautrock Symphony“ as „best title of the year 2002“. CD 4 celebrates the musical turnaround of Shamall. Starting with the album „Who do they think they are“, where guitars and vocals found their way into Shamall's music. Altogether the music style became more native and more rocking. Political and socio-critical lyrics that accompanied the vocal parts of the concept albums from now on, aroused the interest of international music fans. With this new neo progressive music concept Shamall celebrated his first bigger success in the US, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and especially in Russia. Therefore the tracks "Hey You" from the album "Who do they think they are", "The Difference between" from "Ambiguous points of view" and "What will happen" from "Questions of Life" are an absolut must on this cd – as well as "Don't get your panties in a bunch"and "Is this human behavior“ from the same-named album. The jury of the JPF Foundation awarded „Ambiguous points of view“ in two ways – the whole album and 3 tracks were voted as best releases of the year in the category "Progressive Rock". In a competition where 560,000 attendees from over 90 countries with 42,000 albums took part. CD 5 includes exclusively unreleased songs based on the double album "Turn Off" from 2013. It's basic theme fascinated Shamall so intensely, that it left a lot of recorded ideas for a third CD. So the 5th CD of „History Book" completes the compilation as a CD with absolute new music. This fifth CD will certainly delight the fans, who are waiting for a musical sign of life from Shamall. Because of many inquiries CD 5 is also available as a regular album under the name „Continuation“.

Artist: Shamall
P: 1994/ 2000
".....If you would ask Norbert Krueler in the year 1994 for his personal favorite, he would have answered without hesitation: "In Search of Precision". At that time this album was his whole pride, because it reflects Norberts high demands concerning classical compositions. Without doubt, this album stands out a little bit against previous releases. All compositions are substantially more complex. The title "In Search of Precision" and the opus "Dream of a better world" (with 5 parts) show particularly Shamalls search for musical precision. The sound of each title is crystal-clear, the arrangements are outstanding and the brilliant impression of the whole let you suppose, that everything would be played in with an orchestra. The detailed work of the classic passages shows Shamalls obsession to rise to perfection. "In Search of Precision" breaks all rules of electronic pop music. "Heartland" (the first part of "Dream of a better world") conveys a slight feeling of "Johann Sebastian Bach" - an incredible artistic masterpiece.
But "Horizons", "Ambrosia" and "Time Machine" are truly tidbits for Shamall-Fans. The great variety of this album is completed with ballads like "Theme of a Broken Romance" and "Tell me why"....."

Artist: Shamall
P: 1997/ 2000
"...Some of you might agree when I am saying "Sometimes Electro and Trance are closer to ambient progrock than progrock itself". The german project SHAMALL is an extraordinary proof for this. Sensitive beats, great keyboards, groovin lead sounds, dynamic parts, lots of chill-outs lead to an album that is a "must buy" -recommendation for all fans of bands like Cosmic Baby, Tangerine Dream, mastermind L.T.J. Bukem AND for progrockers with an open mind for electronic music.

Artist: Shamall
P: 2009
On his more recent albums "who do they think they are" to "questions of life" Shamall dealed with dishonest politics or with questions of the meaning of life. With the new concept album "is this human behavior" Shamall addresses himself to social coldness and superficialty of the society.
The 65-minute title theme of the first cd "is this human behavior" shows in a familiar, multi-faceted way with different tension curves, that Norbert Krueler feels musically at home in the psychedelic-progressive era of the seventies and eighties, but without sounding ancient.
But it's not the music itself, which reminds of the well-known musicians of the 70's and 80's - rather the sounds used by Shamall and his inspired way of playing conveys this feeling.
The title theme of the second cd "living incommunicado" goes on with the first cd, but with different melodies and soli. The whole album is another proof, that Shamall is not tired to perfect the work on his musical project.
However, Shamall's 12th album is anything but musical fastfood, which you could listen to only by the way. And as no meaningful speech goes without pathos, Shamall's music is intrinsically tied to pathos as well. But if one likes this kind of music and goes in for musical long tracks, with this album you'll get one's money's worth.
Guest musicians on some tracks are - as on previous shamall releases - Matthias Mehrtens on guitar and Mike Bach on drums.

Artist: Shamall
P: 1989/ 2000
...Journey to Nightmare shows Shamalls manifold world of experience. Emotions of joy and euphoria as well as melancholy and fear are emphasized with amazing oriental influences, leaving a strong impression. A dramatic tension curve is built right from the start. The whole journey through a really creepy nightmare leaves no room for boredom. After listening to the whole CD, one will recognize, that Shamall is not aiming high for commercial success but to carry off his fans to a journey, which let them feel the same emotions than himself. The opener "Turning Point" and the opus "Journey to a Nightmare" underline the versatility of Shamall by marching through the conventional limits of electronic music with great dynamics...

Artist: Shamall
P: 1993/ 2000
...Affected by political events, 1993 "Mirror to Eternity" has been released. This album reflects influences of Norbert Kruelers youth. No matter, if you listen to the drum solo in "Mission Hussein" or the ballad "Still got the Blues", you feel like you would be thrown back to the seventies. This album attaches importance to the present understanding of electronic music, because at that time it was unusual to blend themes of rock, blues and jazz into electronic music. But because of the titles "Mirror to Eternity" and "Rotation" the Shamall-fan wont be disappointed. The way of performing rised up to perfection, which is significantly demonstrated with the cue of drums and some excellent soli. All in all, with your minds eye you never see the lonely tinkerer tuning his samplers and synths. Because of voluminous sounds and warm atmosphere you really get the impression of a whole band....."

Artist: Shamall
P: 1990/ 2000
....Keyboard electronics of commanding majestic quality are enhanced by crisply rumbling basslines and percussion of both classical and synthetic origins. Also appearing when needed are acoustic guitar, heavenly choir and the power of grand piano. However, the music is centered around the keyboards, with sweeping chords and involved melodies spiraling through an auditory space clustered with astral effects. These keyboards are highly versatile, mimicking a variety of sounds like flutes, xylophone and harp.
Shamalls compositional caliber excels at generating music that blends elements of orchestral rock with dynamic electronics, creating a charismatic mood that resides between the topmost peaks of grand mountain ranges and the plummeting trails of falling stars.....

Artist: Shamall
P: 2008
Almost two years passed since Shamall's last double cd. The new album "questions of life" came out as a very appealing digipak with a 12-page booklet. Musically, Norbert continues on the new album from where he stopped on "ambiguous points of view". Just like Shamall's recent work, the new album is composed as a concept album. The 18 tracks on this album are musically and thematic strongly affiliated with each other, so you should listening to this album as a whole.
Relaxing atmospheric soundscapes and pounding rhythmic parts afford an enthralling interplay. Melodies, surprising ones and variations of previous ones are smartly arranged to build a recurrent theme. Stilistically this album bears resemblance to Pink Floyds "Division Bell". But tracks like "prospective waves", "life part II" or "running and falling" are evocative of Pink Floyd's "the wall". "Exegesis", which is redolent to Pink Floyd's "on the run" from the outstanding album "dark side of the moon" with its moogsound at the end of the track. The keyboard in "resurge" sounds slightly like "the who" in their "who are you"-phase. And in spite of everything Shamall is not another Floyd-Clone but he's a musician and a very creative mind who brings a lot of own ideas to his music. "Questions of Life" is an awesome, worthy successor for his killer album "ambiguous points of view". Everyone who loves his work from his 2006' release or every Pink Floyd fan will gorge "questions of life" as well. I will recommend this album totally unlimited - in my collection it deserves a very special place (next to "ambiguous points of view").

Artist: Shamall
P: 2019
Shamall took almost 6 years to release a sequel to his successful album "TURN OFF" (2013) incl. "CONTINUATION".
Why this long time without publication? The composer and multi-instrumentalist Norbert Krüler and his colleagues Matthias Mehrtens and Anke Ullrich were certainly not short of ideas. For the self-critical artist, however, even after almost 35 years it is still the greatest challenge to create a worthy follow-up album to the respective predecessor that meets Krüler's high demands on his own works. One that gives him the creeps. Here the artist knows what he owes to his loyal fans of many years: A musical continuation of his previous albums in the styles of Spacigem Neoprog, Hardrock, Progmetal and Artrock, which he enriches with new inspirations, but never submits to the zeitgeist and certainly no collection of fixed, freaked out ideas.
It was under these circumstances that the new Shamall double album "Schizophrenia" came into being, which is indeed something very special. Even the opener and title song make it clear what's going on: guitars and vocals are much harder and more threatening, but at the same time more sensitive than those of their predecessors. Very well thought-out arrangements, which present an energetic change between lovingly ingratiating, yet demanding vocals and infinitely playful keyboard and guitar solos, accompanied by atmospheric sounds and dramatic classical interludes. Some synthesizers were replaced by guitars, which doesn't mean that Krüler doesn't work on the keys again passionately and produces one memorable solo after the other. Besides hard riffs and fast-paced passages, fantastic atmospheric surfaces provide pleasant relaxation before guitars, drums and synthesizers resume speed, sometimes skilfully accompanied by discreetly woven-in classical orchestras. In short: A hard rock prog pop ballad album from a single source with an impressive atmosphere and bombastic sound. And in fact it is also a journey through the most different music styles. For Krüler as self-evident as if there were no pigeonhole thinking. After all, he himself comes from a time when there were only two drawers: good or any music.
His long-time comrades-in-arms - guitarist Matthias Mehrtens and singer Anke Ullrich, who can now be heard on the third album, who knows how to please very well with her passionate voice and somehow reminds us of Kate Bush - help Krüler to put his personal view of music into practice. The guitar playing of Matthias Mehrtens gives this work a very personal touch again, especially since he can be heard a little more aggressive and playful in some passages. The many turns and facets of his performance as well as the progmetallic riffs surprise again and again and lend the whole work a tremendous dynamic. As usual, Krüler is responsible for the beautiful, catchy melodies - so goose bumps under your fingernails are guaranteed And of course this album by Shamall with its about 150 minutes is not an easy one either. But once you get involved, it guarantees an insatiable addiction factor Like its predecessors of the last 15 years, the double album "Schizophrenia" contains a socially critical message. Krüler deals with the ignorance of the human species towards the current social and ecological problems - according to the motto: "We all actually know what is going wrong and simply do nothing" - and finds this schizophrenic. It seems as if he wants the hippie times of the 70s back and seems to think of Che GueVara.
To cut a long story short: The album has a dynamism and a freshness you wouldn't have expected after almost 35 years of Shamall. Here the artist has succeeded in bringing together the most diverse musical styles of the last 50 years with modernity. If you now know all the Shamall albums and bring them together, you feel as if you are reading a thick book, which simply becomes more and more exciting in the course of time. "Schizophrenia" is definitely for fans a further improvement on its predecessors.

Artist: Shamall
P: 1997/ 2000
"....Released in 1997, this album carried on the good work of "In Search Of Precision" with another helping of Shamalls magic. The title track opens the album and features a quite superb chorus and unlike his earliest works, manages to keep the tension and excitement riding high throughout the piece (even during the quieter sections) which means that the listeners attention is less likely to wander during these sections. "Living World" offers another enjoyable tuneful offering before "Terramagna" sees him trying out a (for him, at least) new style, that of melodic techno/trance. When allied to Shamalls natural penchant for big sounds the effect is, as you can doubtless imagine, little short of overwhelming and that is very much the case here. "Earthchild" has an appropriately child-like feel, mainly due to the music box-type sound that interlace in this piece and "Natural Balance" benefits from some skilled and effective classically-styled piano. The classical elements are given full rein during "Human" which is extremely symphonic. The skillful layering of the various sounds makes for another dynamic but less bombastic piece than is usually the case. More tasteful sax work marks "Marching Time" with it`s alternating quieter and up-tempo sections before the latter stages of the album see the guitar coming more to the fore with the final two tracks both allowing some impressive axe work to take the main share of the limelight. Starting with the uptempo "Desert Song", which also mixes middle eastern motifs into the equation (always a winner with me, that!) and continuing with the closing "One Step Back To The Roots" which ends the album with a slightly bluesy feel, mixing accoustic and electric guitars and leaving the electronics very much as a secondary consideration. The concept of this piece is pretty important, in retrospect, as the subject of influences was to be the driving force behind the mighty 2001 double offering "The Book Of Genesis", as well as being the title of the following album (not that it was so obvious on when listening to the tracks included therein!!). Like any Shamall album, you know what to expect here and although the tracks dont always reach their full potential there are far more hits than misses on this one...."

Artist: Shamall
P: 2013
Four years after the release of the successful double album "Is this human behavior" Shamall is back now with nearly 160 minutes of great songs full of emotions and finest impressive retro prog. Even after almost 28 years, the 16th Shamall-release "Turn Off" shows no signs of fatigue at all. While Norbert Krueler basically stayed true to his line, the new album has been enriched with the female voice of vocal artist Anke Ullrich. Whether solo or second voice or choir: These female vocals know how to please. Generally the authentic vocals ensure that the music never turned out too sterile. Once again, "Turn Off " attend to global environmental problems, along the lines, that music is the best medium to provoke thoughts concerning political or ecological issues.
The recent opus "Turn Off" is another proof of Shamall's reputation as "German Pink Floyd with own influences" because of his energetic, dynamic synthesizers and keyboards. This style of playing convinces with great power and clarity and shouldn't be listened to in the background. However the whole album does not turn into another Pink Floyd Clone because of the interplay of keyboards with the guitar of Matthias Mehrtens, who has grown up in the era of Steve Vai, but mutated into an independent musical development with many variants and impressive compositions. Despite more recent musical influences, the spirit of the 70s and 80s is omnipresent. Sometimes dreamy lifted, sometimes playful and funky, guitars and synthesizers provide always an exciting battle. Like its predecessors, "Turn Off " is composed of two musical main themes, where vocal passages either finalize or dissolve the arc of suspense. Atmospheric soundscapes, passionately played, arouse curiosity of what comes next.
This album is dramatic and melancholic. Goosebumps guaranteed.

Artist: Shamall
P: 2003
"...Shamall got his inspiration for the new album directly from George Bush. Norbert Krueler - better known as Shamall - had his work for the new album almost finished, as the war against Iraq was initiated. As he heard the words from the US president and his allies, he has thrown his almost completed album in the trash and created a quite new concept. [...]. While Shamall wrote pure instrumental songs in the past, because he refuses singing for his goals, on the new album the audience has the pleasant experience to discover him as vocalist. The concept-album right around war and faith has just demanded this. Musically Shamall still remains truely to his old heroes (lush ornamental artrock and psychedelic soundtrips à la Pink Floyd), whereas he's well acquainted with current chill-out and ambient-sounds and combines them with modern electronics as well as with powerful rock guitars ...."
(c/o C. Emigholz)