Doro Pesch reveals that she recorded a cover of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” with JUDAS PRIEST’s Rob Halford
During a recent guest appearance on the Tuesday, September 12th episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” the iconic German metal sensation, Doro Pesch, unveiled exciting news about her forthcoming studio album, “Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud.” This highly anticipated album will feature not just one but two remarkable duets with none other than the legendary JUDAS PRIEST frontman, Rob Halford.
One of these thrilling collaborations is already making waves with the recently released cover of the timeless JUDAS PRIEST classic, “Living After Midnight.” However, there’s more in store for fans, as Doro and Rob have also joined forces to deliver their own rendition of the global 1983 smash hit, “Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” This iconic song, originally penned by the renowned Jim Steinman and famously performed by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, is sure to bring a fresh and powerful twist to this classic track.
“The record has 20 songs on it, and I think they all sound killer,” Doro said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “And it has three duets on it, and two duets with my favorite, with Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST, and I can’t believe it. It’s so awesome to me. I was a big, big PRIEST fan, and it was my very first big tour in 1986. And [Rob and I] met [again] last year in France at Hellfest, a great festival.
“And then we were talking, hanging out. And then we said, ‘Hey, let’s do something together.’ So we did two duets. And the first one is ‘Living After Midnight’. That was my choice, because I loved singing it. It was always a feel-good song. And then Rob Halford said, ‘I have the song I always wanted to do with you. It’s ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’.’ And that came out so great. When you hear it, you can tell Rob loves the song and I’m so happy. Even two duets, man. That’s more than I can ask for. I’m a lucky baby, I tell you.”
Asked if “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, will be a bonus track on the album, since it didn’t appear in the LP’s original track listing, Doro said: “It is on the record, but it just got finished a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I delivered the record and the vinyl is already done. And then I got an e-mail. Rob Halford said, ‘Hey, what about the second song?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, man. That’s too good to be true.’
“And then we did the second song. And it just got done a couple of weeks ago. We will do a video for that song, and it will come out — the video and the single will come out the day the record will be released, so on the 27th of October.
“But it came out so awesome. And oh, man, that was just the icing on the cake. I thought I was done with record. And [PRIEST producer] Andy Sneap, he worked on it, and my guys worked on it, and it was a great teamwork. And Rob Halford sounds so great on it. It’s, like, wow. It’s definitely one of my absolute favorite songs of this album, and it sounds really, really special. You have to check it out. But yeah, it’s brand new — just got done; mastering just got done. And video we are doing in a few weeks.”
When asked if this new version of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is “heavy”, Doro said: “Yes, yes, it is heavy, and it’s, like, wow. It’s very heavy, but it sounds great, I think, yeah. I think it’s a killer version. I always get goosebumps when I hear it. And I think other people who heard it, they thought, ‘Wow.’
“I think all my dreams came true working with all these great people, all my heroes, all people who inspired me so much,” Doro added. “And [PRIEST] was my very first tour in Europe in ’86 when metal was so huge. And it was such a great tour. So [Rob and I] finally did something together. And we always stayed friends. So I think that makes this album even more special to me, and I think many fans will love it.”
“Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud” is described in a press release as “the result of intensive hard work that took the incomparable singer and songwriter back to studios in Miami, New York and Hamburg, amongst others. The album presents Doro at the height of her creative powers.”
In June of this year, Doro launched the debut single from her upcoming album, “Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud,” titled “Time For Justice.” Accompanying the single was a visually stunning music video inspired by the dystopian world of “Mad Max.” The video was expertly crafted by director Mirko Witzki, known for his work with bands like CALIBAN, ANY GIVEN DAY, and EMIL BULLS.
Fans can look forward to the full album, “Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud,” scheduled to be released just one day prior to Doro’s grand 40th-anniversary concert at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf, Germany.
