Come This Madness Europe

• 1 One on One 03:41
• 2 The Cult of Ignorance 03:31
• 3 Come This Madness 04:02
• 4 This Time of Year 04:05
• 5 In a Different World 03:45
• 6 Scandinavian Eyes 04:51
• 7 Takin’ It Back 03:46
• 8 In the Absence of Grace 01:28
• 9 The Angels Must Have Flown 03:45
• 10 The Devil’s Back 03:47
• 11 Nothing Can Follow This 04:38
• Total Runtime 41:19

Info for Come This Madness

After nine years, Europe are now returning with “Come This Madness” – their twelfth studio album and their most powerful musical statement to date, due for release on 25 September. Europe, one of the few bands to have made their name in the 80s and still perform with their original line-up, have been through it all; they have kept moving forward, never standing still, constantly evolving, adapting and yet pressing ahead uncompromisingly.

In tracks such as ‘One on One’, ‘The Cult of Ignorance’, ‘Scandinavian Eyes’ and the powerful title track ‘Come This Madness’, which is out now, the band channels their intensity and energy into an album that is deeply personal yet globally relevant. The title track opens with razor-sharp metal riffs that give way to rousing verses; which steadily build the tension and ultimately culminate in a massive, explosive chorus carried by a grand, anthemic melody. A carefully crafted dynamic shifts seamlessly between quiet, stripped-back passages and intense moments filled with powerful vocals and incredible guitar solos.

The song is accompanied by a video montage that offers fans an intimate glimpse behind the scenes, showing the band during the hectic promotional campaign for the album in 2026. Filmed on the road and amidst the tight schedule of a band working at full throttle, the footage captures Europe at their very best – full of energy, enthusiasm and infectious chemistry. From the intensity of the live shows to the quieter moments in between, the video offers an authentic insight into a band fully immersed in the dynamics of a major album campaign as they take *Come This Madness* out into the world.

“With the new album *Come This Madness*, we wanted to write and produce songs in the spirit of the old days,” says Joey Tempest, founding member and frontman of Europe. “There are loads of rousing melodies and big choruses, and we’ve worked hard on the production. We had a lot of fun working on the album in the studio. The whole album has strong links to our past, and I think lots of Europe fans will love it!” The new album marks the start of another chapter in Europe’s enduring success story. “For this album, we looked at what’s going on in the world and tried to capture some of it in our songs. But ultimately, it’s about entertainment, about music – and above all, about having fun!” , sums up Joey Tempest.

“Come This Madness” was recorded at RMV Studio, the Stockholm-based recording studio founded by Benny and Ludvig Andersson. The album features guest appearances by Tobias Forge (Ghost) and Michael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) and was produced by acclaimed producer Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Rammstein, Pixies, The Cult, Opeth), who proved to be the driving creative force throughout the process, was deeply involved in the band’s songwriting and recording process, and shaped the sound of the album. To round off the project and realise their vision, the band turned to one of rock music’s most revered legends, Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Van Halen, Metallica, The Cult, Loverboy), who mixed the album. The album artwork was created at Storm Studios (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Muse).

With “Come This Madness”, Europe have delivered a groundbreaking album that showcases them at the height of their maturity and presence, presenting the world as it is, unvarnished.

Joey Tempest, vocals
John Norum, guitars
John Levén, bass
Mic Michaeli, keyboards
Ian Haugland, drums

Europe
Can a highly successful hard rock band coming from the 80s take a long break, return into the new millennium and re-establish itself in a stunning way? Many tried and failed. But Swedish supergroup EUROPE is a big exception to the rule. Decades after they came together and dozens of millions of albums sold, Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitars), Mic Michaeli (keyboards), John Levén (bass) and Ian Haugland (drums) are about to release “Bag Of Bones” – their brand new studio album – and that sounds so fresh, so focused and motivated that even producer Kevin Shirley (Journey, Black Country Communion, Black Stone Cherry, Iron Maiden) didn’t need arguments to bring blues superstar Joe Bonamassa over for a guest appearance.

“With ‘Bag Of Bones’ we've made a hardcore classic rock record with the blues knocking on the door”, says Joey Tempest. “We're proud of it. Very proud. Straight from passionate hard rock souls of Scandinavia, this almost feels like a ‘prequel’ to our very first album, with a 2012 punch.” And as John Norum remarks: “This was the first time since the early days of Europe that we all were standing together in the big studio room, playing through the new songs with Joey singing. I was so fascinated by the long forgotten feeling that I even got a couple of electric hits from my headphones. But that didn’t really matter. The result is a Europe-album that goes completely back to the basics and… even my mother loves it!”

It all started in a small suburb outside of Stockholm, Sweden. Joey and John met and formed the band Force. They both were into British rock bands like Thin Lizzy and UFO. Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple also made an immense impact on these teenagers. They recorded their first demos when they were only 16 and 17 years old. Record companies turned them down, saying it was “too much guitars and their hair was too long”. But with the new name Europe they proved everybody wrong. They won a rock band competition and the first prize was a recording contract. When "Europe" was released in 1983, kids in Sweden and Japan really identified with their music. The second album “Wings of Tomorrow” already gained attention from all over the world. Soon Epic Records, New York (now Sony Music) got interested and signed a million dollar contract. When it was time to release their third album “The Final Countdown”, they had Journey-producer Kevin Elson onboard and a major American label behind them. Touring the UK, US and the rest of the world had always been the boys’ dream. They had put in the dog years and it was time for the big success. “The Final Countdown” sold 7 million records worldwide and the single was number one in over 25 countries and still is a big anthem all over the world until today. The album spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Charts and had 4 “Top 40” singles. Europe made it. They were constantly on the road all over the world but eventually found time to hook up with producer Ron Nevison (UFO, Led Zeppelin) to record their 4th album “Out Of This World”. With the new hit “Superstitious” on the airwaves, they embarked on another 2-year-long world tour. In 1990 they relocated to Los Angeles to record their 5th album, “Prisoners In Paradise”, followed by yet another extensive world tour. By then the band had constantly been recording and touring for 10 years and it was time for a break.

2004 the band returned with the powerful “Start From The Dark”. The plan was to slowly build up a relationship with fans and the music world again. The album caused controversy with its raw, heavy detuned sound, but was a great platform to build on. 2006 they recorded “Secret Society” - another heavy rocking album. With this album, the British rock press started to take the band serious and for granted - finally. The band continued to tour worldwide but started to get invited to play the UK on a regular basis – with steadily increasing concert attendees. Their most successful record since returning to the scene was released in 2009: “Last Look At Eden”. With the bombastic title track and the ballad “New Love In Town”, Europe broadened their fan base even more to become one of the most successful bands in their genre and returned to the pole position of the official album charts in their home country. At the end of April 2012, the 9th Europe-album, “Bag Of Bones”, will be released worldwide. Possibly the rawest and most honest album in the band's history, it bursts with vitality, does present sensational novelties - and still is a record in best Europe-tradition. There is so much to be discovered in here. The first single/video “Not Supposed To Sing The Blues”, the deeply touching “My Woman My Friend” and “Bring It All Home”, or the phenomenal “Requiem”, side-by-side with the powerful album-opener “Riches To Rags”. "Finally we express ourselves completely without restraint. Straight from our hearts and souls. It took some time but finally we have arrived”, says Tempest. "We've crossed the line. We've lost our minds and we've started to play some decent rock 'n’ roll. Kevin Shirley did such a great job capturing the spirit of this band. He just let us do our thing and then pushed us and our songs to the max! And we had some fun during the process: just like a great rock record should be made. ‘Bag Of Bones’ definitely is one of Kevin's best productions. It has got that wonderful warm 70’s style-sound combined with a 2012-attack.” The album was recorded in the legendary Atlantis Studios in Stockholm. Opeth just finished its latest album before Europe took up residence. Europe had changed producers on every single record in their career, which has proven to be a winning recipe. Always keeping things fresh and always moving ahead. Europe’s love affair with the UK will continue and the band will be going back for a major tour in autumn, together with extensive touring in Europe, Scandinavia and the rest of the world. "Bag Of Bones" with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a straight forward rock album, which range still reaches astonishing dimensions - even for Europe: the experienced five-piece managed to develop further and break limits once again, without selling their 'hard rock soul'.

This album contains no booklet.