Seventh Avenue was a Christian metal band from Wolfsburg, Germany, formed in 1989. Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Herbie Langhans, guitarist Florian Gottsleben, bassist Markus Beck, and drummer Mike Pflüger, Seventh Avenue played a hybrid style of speed and power metal with a focus on melodies. They released six albums and two EPs. The band launched a demo titled First Strike in 1993, but the loss of their guitarist delayed their first album, Rainbowland, until 1995. They then signed with Treasure Hunt Records. Their first release on this label, Tales of Tales, topped at No. 18 on the Japanese heavy metal charts. The 1998 release Southgate was licensed to Megahard Records for release in Brazil, where the band subsequently toured. History In 1989, a few teenagers, inspired by heavy metal bands, began to make music themselves. A CD was released on a small label. Two years later, the singer left the band and, at only 17 years of age, then-guitarist Herbie Langhans took the place as the new leading vocalist. Because of the change, the band began to think about a new name. "Seventh Avenue" was chosen in a mutual agreement. In 1993, they released their first demo, First Strike, which was far more successful than expected. Therefore, a number of live concerts followed. A year later, they were planning their new album Rainbowland. However, because of inner problems in the band, the release was delayed. The second guitarist suddenly left the band. Therefore, Herbie started to also play guitar. After a few months the album was nonetheless released, again with great success. In 1996, the band signed a contract for two albums with Treasure Hunt Records. They immediately started recording their next album, Tales of Tales. The album subsequently reached the 18th position on the Japanese heavy metal charts. In 1997, drummer Louis Schock left the band and Mike Pflüger took his place. Andi Gutjahr was hired as a guest musician for the album Southgate which was published in 1998. In 1999, William Hieb also left the band, leaving only Herbie Langhans and Mike Pflüger. A short time later, they found another bassist and second guitarist in Geronimo Stade and Florian Gottsleben. After a short time, the recording was followed by several concerts. In Brazil, the band achieved remarkable popularity which bought Megahard Records the licensing rights for South America. In late 2001, Seventh Avenue began the recordings for the album