STONEFIELD - Mystik Stories - Complete 30th Anniversary Album 2019

1. FALLING LIES 00:00
2. SPIRITS 04:04
3. DARKNESS OF PARADISE 08:40
4. LIGHT OF LIES 13:19
5. CHALICE OF YOUR MIND 21:26
6. END OF TIME 27:28
7. SUNSHINE IN YOUR MIND 32:37
8. PICCOLO DIVERTIMENTO 37:32
9. THE EYES OF THE DAWN 38:57

Ebby Paduch • Vocals
Manuel Rodriguez • Guitars
Juan Carlos Aneiros • Keyboards
Alberto Chenevard • Basses
Brian Reber • Drums

All songs written & arranged by Stonefield
Except PICCOLO DIVERTIMENTO written by Rodriguez
Recorded 1987 / 88 / 89 by Res Wepfer & Jürg Nägeli
Mixed Edited & Produced 2019 by Rodriguez

French Horn @ Piccolo Divertimento by Ernest Hiltenbrand
Final Mastering by Marcial Morell Caurin
Cover Photo by Peter Scherrer

Muchas Gracias @ Marco Petroccia • Walter Sonego • Patrick Blumenstein • Rolf Baumann • Roberto Gugliotta • Stefan Näf • Dominique Steiner • Carlo Fornasier • Patrick Müller

In loving memory of Dario Miotto

The story of Stonefield began in 1984 in Winterthur, Switzerland. There three friends Juan Carlos Aneiros (Hammond & Keys), Manuel Rodriguez (guitars) and Alberto Chenevard (bass) had founded a band to set their own accents in the tradition of big progressive hard rock bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath or Uriah Heep. With ex-Black-Angels drummer Brain Reber and the singer Guido Gander the line-up quickly was completed and the new formation started to play concerts all over Switzerland. For stylistic reasons, he tended more towards the AOR of American coinage, Gander’s participation in Stonefield remained a short episode. After numerous unsuccessful auditions with various singers, Manuel Rodriguez met Munich based singer Ebby Paduch, whose vocals reminded him of Ronnie James Dio, more or less accidentally during a session with the band Paranoid, and convinced him to join Stonefield. Now complemented by an ideal frontman, Stonefield quickly became a sought-after live band in Switzerland, Germany and Spain.
In 1987 the five went into the studio to record their first album THE EYES OF THE DAWN. The imaginative songwriting, artful arrangements and Rodriguez‘ virtuoso guitar playing, already a live trademark of the band, earned the album good reviews and established Stonefield as an insider tip throughout Europe.
After another year of touring Switzerland, Germany and Spain, the band went back to the studio to record their second album LIGHT OF LIES, released in 1990. This album also received strong reviews, but the winds of ‚zeitgeist‘ blew in the band’s face: the scene had changed, progressive rock didn’t seem so popular anymore. Uneasiness spread through the band and their entourage. They split ways with Ebby Paduch, a decision which was later regretted.
With old friend Matthias Strübi former singer with the band China, Stonefield worked out acompletely new repertoire, planning to record a new album. But after a series of concerts all over Switzerland the group felt that the old magic was gone. Manuel Rodriguez decided to leave the band in 1992, soon Stonefield were history.
In 2010 Manuel Rodriguez left Switzerland for his home country Spain. In the 18 years since the dissolution of Stonefield, he had consistently pursued his path as a musician, working as a sideman for various national and international artists, releasing various solo albums and gaining experience as a producer. But the Stonefield story was still very present for Manuel and felt like it was not finished, especially as he had never been satisfied with the sound of the second album LIGHT OF LIES.
He was still in possession of the original 2-inch tapes from the studio, and noticed that the ravages of time were making themselves felt on them. Tapes only last a limited period of time. Due to aging and poor storage, the magnetic layer may come off the tapes, making them unusable. However, the tapes can be restored in a special oven. By “baking” the detached magnetic layer is again welded to the carrier material. These tapes can then be played back once or twice in original quality and can be digitized and restored. Out of pure curiosity Manuel decided to newly mix one of the old songs in his home studio. Inspired by the desire to complete this unfinished work and thus make peace with the Stonefield saga, he experimented with the tracks again and again over a period of two years and now acted as a producer with the necessary mental distance to the source material. Still being in touch with BSC Music, the label that had once released the Stonefield albums and other of his productions, he sent some of the new mixes to Christoph Bühring-Uhle. The BSC label boss was fascinated by the result. And so, 30 years after the original sessions for LIGHT OF LIES, the best songs from both albums can now be heard here for the first time in an optimal mix - at a time when progressive rock in various forms is finally attracting the attention it deserves...a re-excavation of very special Swiss music jewels!