For Canada's The Metal Voice, Neil Turbin spoke to guitarist Adrian Vandenberg at this years Rock For Ronnie concert on May 7 at Los Encinos Park. Vandenberg spoke about the band's new album, as well as the past lawsuits against him in regards to former band mates using his name. Watch below.

When asked if he would ever reunite with his former singer Bert Heerink, Adrian answered: "I never want to see this guy again because he and the former bass player (Dick Kemper) started six lawsuits against me and they lost them all. They claimed my name, my band name (Vandenberg). They said they were a part of it and so they wanted to have that name and I said, 'no no no.' I had to defend myself. It was six lawsuits, cost a lot of money and a lot of negative energy. Otherwise we could have done some reunion shows and we didn't. It is embarrassing and also because you think you are friends. Then 30 years later after I was in Whitesnake for 12 years and toured all over the world and all the stadiums you name it. They (Bert and Dick) think, 'oh wait a minute there's money to be made', so they wanted to tour without me like a Vandenberg without Vandenberg so to speak. They had the illusions they could win so I never need to see those guys again because there was so much lying going on and those lawsuits. It's sad, yeah it's not gonna happen."

On the new Vandenberg album: "Right now I've got a great band together since two years. We have a single out called 'House On Fire' with Mats (Leven vocalist), in three weeks there will be a second single and the album is going to come out  August 2023. The album is called SIN.  The second single is called 'Sin' and then there's a third one called 'Light It Up' that's going to come out probably in about a month and a half or something."

Vandenberg and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group recently premiered the lead video from the band’s upcoming new studio album, SIN. Watch the clip below.

Adrian Vandenberg shares, “Like every other band or artist we were forced to ‘hold our horses’ when we found ourselves playing our part in one of those Hollywood ‘Outbreak’ style movies these past Covid years. Without having auditioned for a role. You’ll understand we were extremely eager to ‘break out of the stables’ with a loud bang, so we thought it’d be more than appropriate to ‘set the world on fire’ with this new track, 'House On Fire’!”

Every album paints a picture. Instead of utilizing a brush and canvas, Vandenberg paints with towering vocals, earthquaking rhythms, and the iconic and instantly recognizable fretwork of guitarist and namesake Adrian Vandenberg. Joined by vocalist Mats Levén, drummer Koen Herfst, and bassist Randy van der Elsen, the influential axe-slinger delivers a vibrant, visceral, and vital vision on the group’s fifth full-length offering, SIN, brought to life in broad strokes of anthemic hard rock and airtight metal and produced by Bob Marlette [Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie]

“For me, music is very much like a painting,” affirms Adrian. “You have your ups, downs, lights, and shades. One song might make you want to jump on the table and party your brains out. Another song will inspire you to think. Either way, you’re thrown into a landscape, which my favorite albums still do to me. You could be in your car or at home with your headphones plugged into a soundsystem, and you’re in a different world.”

Exploding out of The Netherlands and onto the global scene with 1982’s self-titled Vandenberg, the Dutch phenomenon notched an international hit in the form of “Burning Heart,” paving the way for seminal releases such as Heading For A Storm [1983] and Alibi [1985]. The band canvased the United States, Europe, and Japan alongside Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Rush, Scorpions, Michael Schenker, and many others. Sought out to join Whitesnake, Adrian famously ripped the legendary lead on the 1987 recording of the #1 smash “Here I Go Again,” which adorned the 8x-platinum Whitesnake and ended up touring the world’s largest arenas for a year-and-a-half when the 1987 album went through the roof in terms of sales. He co-wrote the entirety of 1989’s platinum Slip Of The Tongue and spent the ensuing tour sharing axe duties with none other than Steve Vai. In addition to playing guitar on and cowriting Restless Heart from David Coverdale & Whitesnake, he performed hundreds of shows as part of the band for some twelve years. Speaking to the breadth of his output, he notably penned and recorded “A Number One” as the theme for his hometown Dutch football team FC Twente. 2013 saw him launch the acclaimed Vandenberg’s MoonKings, releasing MoonKings [2014], MK II [2017], and Rugged and Unplugged [2018].

Vandenberg as a band roared back to life with the comeback LP, 2020. Among many highlights, “Freight Train” gathered 1.6 million Spotify streams, while the record attracted praise.

In its wake, Vandenberg welcomed Mats [Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Yngwie Malmsteen] to the fold.

“He’s an amazing singer,” notes Adrian. “I’d heard him online, and we got in touch. It’s funny because his mom brought the first two Vandenberg records back to Scandinavia from England when he was in his early twenties—and he was a fan. He’s a workaholic like me. We picked up after COVID and put the new album together. The spark is definitely there. On top of that, Koen and Randy lay down the most solid concrete, grooving foundation that I could ever wish for. I’d say it’s one notch heavier than 2020,” he smiles.

Recorded in Holland and Los Angeles with Marlette, Sin represents a natural evolution for Vandenberg. Scorching pinch harmonics light up the first single “House On Fire” as the groove underlines a chantable chorus from Mats.

“In one way, it’s a party song, because it keeps you tapping your foot,” Adrian exclaims. “Mats added a different darker twist with his lyrics. It also envisions a person who’s frustrated about the things other people have. This person can’t control their anger and sets the place on fire.”

(Photo - HP van Velthoven)