I’m happy to share that I’ll be teaching at this year’s Bavarian Bass Days in Burghausen (Nov 7–9). I’ve been part of this festival before some years ago where I had a fun fretless jam with Steve Bailey – moments like that show what makes the Bassdays so special: it’s not just about learning, it’s about connecting, sharing, and getting inspired by other musicians. The atmosphere there is really special.

I’ll be focusing on the bass guitar side of things, and thanks to Ibanez Germany, there will also be instruments on site for everyone to try out. Whether you’re a beginner, an experienced player, or just curious about the many facets of our instrument, the Bavarian Bassdays are a great opportunity to learn more.

After some time of reclusion and intense work away from the public eye, we are happy to start announcing things to come again – Starting with our first show of 2026, on January 10 on the always awesome Meh Suff! Winter Festival in Zürich / Switzerland!
🎫 Festival website / tickets: https://www.mehsuff.ch/2025/09/02/meh-suff-winter-festival-2026/

Landshut: January 11
A day later Alkaloid return to Alte Kaserne Landshut / Germany on Sunday, January 11, 2026, 19h / 7pm, supported by Virial (tech death from South Tyrol) & Behind Closed Doors (instrumental prog metal from Germany / The Netherlands) 🔥

🎫 Tickets: https://www.regioactive.de/konzert/alkaloid-virial-behind-closed-doors-extreme-metal-landshut-alte-kaserne-2026-01-11-tickets-ZwDqyssG34

I will join the Rock Me Vienna Guitar Camp 2026 as a tutor — right in the heart of Europe, at the iconic Hilton Vienna Waterfront.
4 days of music and workshops, I’ll be working with guitarists to explore the role of the bass — how it supports, interacts, and elevates your compositions. Whether you’re writing riffs, arranging songs, or just want to better connect with the low end, my lessons will deepen your understanding of how bass and guitar truly work together.
I have been always a fan of guitar music, and I am very aware of how special the list of teachers is: Herman Li, Frank Gambale, Andy Timmons, Angel Vivaldi, Nili Brosh, Guitar Max, Yasi Hofer, Bernd Kiltz, Justin Hombach and many more.
Looking forward to sharing insights, jamming with you all, and celebrating music in one of the world’s most inspiring cities of Europe! Register at
https://www.rockmevienna.com

This weekend I’ll be performing with one of my all-time heroes: Paul Gilbert. Paul Seidel will play on drums. I know him from different Meinl/Tama events and I invited him to an Obscura show a long time ago. He’s a great drummer and I am happy to finally share the stage with him. The festival is packed with fantastic workshops, shows, and masterclasses. If you’re in Germany next week, come join us on May 24th!

Festival season is around the corner, and I’ll be hitting stages with Beyond The Black again. August 4–7 I will help bands to work on songs again at the Freyung Band Camp.

Tomorrow, I’ll already be boarding the plane: it’s time to announce something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time — I’ll be joining Beyond The Black on their upcoming Latin American tour!

Tour Dates:

30/04/25 – Santiago, Chile – Teatro Cariola

02/05/25 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Sala Caras y Caretas

04/05/25 – São Paulo, Brazil – Bangers Open Air

06/05/25 – Mexico City, Mexico – Circo Volador

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to perform across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia — but South America has always been missing.

The first time I ever played outside Europe was a North American tour with Obscura, sharing the road with Septic Flesh, Devin Townsend, and Children of Bodom. That experience opened a whole new world for me — seeing different cultures, meeting people who often seemed a lot more open and warm-hearted than what I was used to growing up in Germany. Ever since, these moments have meant as much to me as the music itself.

I still clearly remember a show in Mexico City: in front of the venue, a full black market had popped up — selling Obscura underwear and fake tour shirts for tours that never even happened. Even more memorable were the fans: incredibly energetic, genuinely passionate, and always kind and open to talk to.

This tour will bring a few personal firsts. I’ve never played in Chile, Brazil, or Argentina before. Argentina is somewhat familiar to me from past family visits, and I can’t wait to be back — especially for the asado, empanadas, and the welcoming way people treat you, even if you’re a stranger.

On another note: because of this tour, I will unfortunately miss our show with Obsidious at the Prog Metal Mania Festival in Munich on May 2nd. Thankfully, an excellent bassist will fill in for me so have no worries if you have tickets for this show.

Thanks for being part of this journey. Hope to see some of you along the way!

Dear Bassists,
without any teasing or pre-orders, I want to present to you: my brand new digital bass book, “Escalation Tales,”! Release date: TODAY!

Get it now!

The Renaissance: a time of artistic brilliance, scientific breakthroughs—and unrelenting darkness. While often idealized as an era of rebirth, it was also one of war, fanaticism, and fear. It was a world where the beauty and the brutality coexisted, much like Albrecht Dürer’s art.

As a native of Nuremberg, I’ve grown up surrounded by Dürer’s legacy, yet it took me years to truly connect with his work. His engravings, with their intricate detail and haunting atmosphere, fit very well to the world of metal music. This is why I wanted to connect the 10 (+1 Bonus) musical pieces in this book with his art.

I’ve designed this book with two levels of difficulty: regular and advanced. “regular” offers arrangements that are not mean to be banal but easier to play than the “advanced” versions of the same pieces. You can see it as a challenge to get to the advanced version at some point or you use the 2 different versions to compare the bass line songwriting. Both bass lines would work in a band context but have a different effect on the music.

What you will get:

Inside, you’ll find 11 original pieces, optimized for 5-string bass, each with two different bass lines: 🎸 Regular Version /🔥 Advanced Version

These pieces can be used to explore bass songwriting, technique, or simply to have fun with your bass.

📅 Release Date: February 18th

💿 Digital Format – Available directly in my webshop

Thank you for your support—I am looking forward to your feedback about “Escalation Tales”!

On May 24, 2025, the Ibanez Guitar Festival will feature one of my all-time heroes: the incredible Paul Gilbert. I have the honor to join him on bass, alongside Anika Nilles on drums!

📅 Date: May 24, 2025
📍 Location: Gutenstetten, Germany

This isn’t just another gig for me. I’ve been a fan of Paul Gilbert for as long as I can remember. His solo albums, Racer X and Mr. Big influenced me a lot. The mix of virtuosity, feel and groove has always grabbed my attention. Martin Miller, Yasi Hofer, Manuel Gardner Fernandes, David John Levy, Lisa X and many more will perform as well on this festival. You can join workshops, gear showcases, and you can connect with other guitars and bass enthusiasts.

I will teach bass and help working on songs in 4 different camps next year. Check the dates and join if you can:

Wacken:Music:Camp – Schloss Alteglofsheim, Germany
01.-06. Januar
https://www.musikakademie.bayern/wackenmusiccamp-schloss-alteglofsheim/

MAINPOP BandCamp Metal, Germany
02.- 06. March
https://www.mainpop.de/workshops-2025/neuer-ordner/24303.MAINPOP-BandCamp-Metal-vom-02.–06.-Maerz-2025.html

Musikcamp TetriX Nürnberg, Germany
13.-17. April
https://www.nuernberg.de/internet/tetrix_fuchsbau/musikcamp2.html

Bavarian Band Camp Freyung, Germany
04.- 07. August
https://www.volksmusikakademie.de/programm/seminarprogramm

Bass workshops:

Donostia Prog-Tech Metal Fest, Spain
05. April

Last year I played a tour as a keyboard player for Dark Fortress. It was the last tour of the band and the news are out that there will be a live album released via Century Media Records (January 17th 2025: “Anthems From Beyond the Grave – Live in Europe 2023”).

When I record music for other artists, I often move on quickly and forget about it once the session’s done. But some of it is truly great, and it’s worth sharing when it’s finally released. Here are some recent tracks featuring my bass playing:

Simon Eichinger is a 24-year-old guitar prodigy from Tyrol, Austria.

He has collected quite a number of social media followers after sharing short guitar clips online. He has a great feeling for phrasing and tone. Now he is releasing music on his own. It’s guitar solo music in the style of Satriani and Vai, but in a modern sound world. Maybe you can hear that I felt very inspired by the great guitar lines.

Foul Body Autopsy are a Melodic Death Metal band from the UK. This song also features Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren. I have always loved his intense drumming, already during his Soilwork days. We have recorded another song together around 10 years ago and I am happy it happened again.