The mythical Minotaur, half man, half bull, of Greek mythology, has made its way to the lower regions of the Main river in Bavaria and, apparently having stolen fifteen thunderbolts from Zeus himself, is about to hurtle them on the musical scene. "The Call" is the eighth release by the six-pack who call themselves MINOTAURUS and it is much heavier and more intricate than its predecessor. Despite that, the lads have not lost sight of their musical roots and continue on their stony path as they always have done. "The Call" is a competently arranged mixture of Folk, Metal and an unmissable touch of individuality. MINOTAURUS work under the motto "Discover the new but keep the best of the old". something that shows the wisdom and foresight in view of the long history of the band. It is precisely in the sphere of Folk Metal, in which fans relate very explicitly with certain bands, where credibility counts for a lot. So it is thanks to this outlook that the sextet has been able to hugely extend their fan base. "The Call" is certain to take the band a big step forwards, strengthen their already established foundation and leave behind musical tracks in the field of this genre. Their first two released EPs, "The First Labyrinth" (1997) and "Dragonbone Throne" (1998) which were placed before the public in quick succession, brought the band their first taste of success and were met with positive acclaim from the press and fans alike. Yet the way to their first longplayer was not an easy one. The debut work appeared in 1999 under the title "Path Of Burning Touches". Motivated by the success, they released their "Carnyx" EP in 2001 - a hommage to the Iron Age instruments of the Celts. And this cleverly arranged album brought more than just polite applause. Overall, both works were quite hard Folk Metal and the lads thought it would be a good thing to show the fans the other side of the band's face, so to speak. So they came out with "The Silent Cave", an EP full of acoustic songs, showing the fans their "softer" side. The romantic bouquet was often played on lutes. to underline the Middle Ages feeling. The risk was worth it, and it left its shadow on the 2004 album, "Myth Or Reality", on which they were once again clearly heavier but also left enough space for Folk. This Folk character was to become a primary characteristic of many of their compositions and placed the Bavarians firmly into the Folk metal scent. In 2007 Minotauren supplied the title track, "The Lonely Dwarf" for the fantasy satire, "Der Einsame Zwerg" ("The Lonely Dwarf") for the Saarland Independent Filmstudio e(H)rlebnisfilm. Now that made an unusual change ! "The Lonely Dwarf 2" (2009) was a conceptual album, which - somewhere between Folk and Metal - tells the story of a lonely dwarf. It was this album which awoke the band's passion for elaborate video clips, which were to become a firm component of MINOTAURUS' future creations. Despite all the positive experience, MINOTAURUS had to contend with the usual band problems and line-up changes, but never lost their chief focus. After another drastic change in the band line-up they found that, in their two new, multi-talented instrumentalists, Christian Habermann (bass) and Sebastian Bach (lead guitar), they had found musicians which fit like a glove into the concept of the band. In the Empire Studios of Rolf Munkes (Empire, ex-Majesty, Tour guitarist for Tony Martin etc...) in Bensheim in the well-known wine district near the Rhine, an album ripened to their most mature work so far. Entitled "The Call", it was the most expressive MINOTAURUS album so far. To accompany the compositionally strong creation, the band recorded a video for the song, "Erlkönig", which stands up to even the most critical international scrutiny. The official music video from e(H)rlebnisfilm, under the title, "Minotaurus Erlkönig" can be seen on YouTube etc. under www.elf-filmmaking.de. In addition the band now has a strong international presence at its back, in the form of Limb Music which is giving MINOTAURUS massive support. "The Call" contains twelve songs, sung partly in English, partly in German and it shows how the vocal duo of Julia Hofmeister and Oliver Klump have furthered their art, demonstrating with their impressive vocal parts on the album. Beside hard-hitting metallic guitar parts, the sextet lays stress on catchy melodies which stay with the listener for a long time. Folk influences are clearly underlined and round things off to a solid musical overal product. "Hinterhalt" is an efficiently, enjoyable mixture of both styles which finishes off in true metal fashion. Even the decently modern "Spirit Island" is relatively fast and is impressive with its harmonic melody and angelic song lines. "Love Song" is a beautiful, catchy ballad with very folky accents laid down by the guitars. A number of multi-vocal song lines are an important component of the diversified "Wanna Be Your Wife", a track which is sure to be the subject of the "Repeat" function. So in summary, "The Call" is mature, dynamic and forceful - that is the "new" sound of the mythical monster compared to its earlier days. In the 15 years of their existence, the members of MINOTAURUS have always remained faithful to their musical integrity and that is the way it will remain. "The Call" has that anchored in cement.