a concert at Tivoli, Copenhagen, which featured Rene Shades [Mike Tramp] on bass. On 15 September 2012, Pretty Maids played in the US for the first time at the ProgPower festival. Pretty Maids released their thirteenth studio album Motherland on 22 March in Europe and on 26 March in North America through Frontiers Records. Ronnie Atkins has called it the band's "best album song by song". In December 2015, Pretty Maids announced that their fifteenth studio album is set to be released in 2016. In February 2016, Pretty Maids announced that keyboard player Morten Sandager had left the band. In September 2016, Pretty Maids announced that Chris Laney has joined the band, playing keyboards and guitars. Pretty Maids released their fifteenth studio album Kingmaker on 4 November 2016 through Frontiers Records. On 1 May 2017 it was announced that drummer Allan Tschicaja had left the band. In a statement he said: "It’s been a difficult decision for me, but I want to focus more on family, friends and other projects." He was replaced by Allan Sørensen on 9 May 2017, where he played for the first time with Pretty Maids on their opening slot for Kiss in Horsens, Denmark. On 9 July 2019 it was announced that Pretty Maids were forced to cancel their September 2019 ProgPower appearance due to personnel changes. 2020s In March 2020, the band's lead singer and frontman Ronnie Atkins revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2019. Despite the initial treatment proving successful, his cancer went out of remission in October 2020. In 2021, Atkins released his debut solo album One Shot in lieu of touring or working in the studio with Pretty Maids, mainly for health and logistical reasons. In November 2021, the band released two authorized books. One in Danish called "40 år med Pretty Maids", based on interviews with Ken Hammer and Ronnie Atkins. "We Came To Rock – The Official Pretty Maids Journals" is written in English and based on interviews with former and present members of the band, managers etc as well as a journal of the whereabouts for 40 years. Influences and legacy Pretty Maids have on various occasions mentioned Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Kiss, Icon, Slade, and Queen as some of their influences. Over the years, they have recorded cover songs from many of these influences, including their most famous