Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud. DORO is the Metal Queen!

When heavy metal was born with a gigantic big bang in the early 1980s, a blonde, female star shone particularly brightly.
The star's name: DORO Pesch!

DORO's vocation as a "conqueress" and heavy metal heroine began in 1983 with the recording of " Burning The Witches", the debut album by WARLOCK.

While still in her teens,

DORO was immediately recognizable as the consummate metal frontwoman with her powerful voice and endless charisma. Also, the music she made was damn good.

DORO has been a tireless champion of the metal cause for four decades. In 2023 she will celebrate her 40th stage anniversary with two special anniversary shows (headliner in Wacken on August 2nd, big anniversary concert in Düsseldorf on October 28th) and the brand new studio album "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", which will be released on 27.10.23 via Nuclear Blast and is already considered one of their greatest works.

DORO's breakthrough came in August 1986 when WARLOCK played on the Monsters Of Rock Festival in Castle Donington, the legendary open air festival where legends like the Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Motörhead, Def Leppard and Ozzy Osbourne performed. DORO entered the Monsters Of Rock stage as the first woman ever! And in this great moment she sealed her cult status and has been a respected, undisputed icon ever since - the metal queen!

"We played at Monsters Of Rock, and it really got going right after that," says DORO. "People started giving us a chance. So we got to tour with my heroes Judas Priest. I quit my job for it and after that everything just went like in a dream. I moved to New York in 1986 where we recorded the album "Triumph And Agony" which became a huge hit worldwide. I still love the album very much. Playing all these songs feels great, they are for always on our setlist."

DORO continues: "Then we went on Tour with Dio who I admired so much. After that a big, long tour with Megadeth in the USA followed . The videos were played on MTV and Headbanger's Ball, and I miss that so much today! TV was super important. I had also the chance to host Headbanger's Ball! I loved it all. They were absolute highlights of my life."

Like many great metal artists, DORO had to cope with the changing times during the 90's as grunge became the sound of the decade and the traditional Metal experienced a downward slide. Once again, DORO proved her commitment to the music she loves and lives by, delivering albums that played with newer, heavier styles without sacrificing the power and Sacrificing the passion that had originally made them so successful.

From the 1990s album "Doro" produced by Kiss legend Gene Simmons, from "True At Heart" and "Angels Never Die" to the industrial-influenced "Machine II Machine" and "Love Me In Black" she has weathered the storm of the day with style and grace.

When heavy metal made a comeback in the 21st century, DORO was ready to reclaim her throne. Armed with the 2000 true metal album "Calling The Wild", she debuted in a duet with Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, and immediately resurrected glory days.

With tireless energy and a work ethic, DORO has spent the past 20 years releasing more anthem-packed albums like " Fight", "Fear No Evil" and "Raise Your Fist" to publish and inspire their international fan community.

In 2022, DORO received the Lifetime Achievement Award, having previously received an Echo, the Metal Goddess Legend Award in Las Vegas, the Legend Award in England and Germany, the Angel Of Rock Award in England and awards as "sexiest woman alive", to name just a few. She was also voted Best Female Vocalist in Spain for 30 consecutive years and was inducted into the Hall Of Heavy Metal History in the United States. DORO has played over 3,500 concerts in more than 60 countries and sold over 10 million records worldwide in her long and successful career.

"When I started at Warlock I thought maybe we could last five years, tells DORO. "But I could always count on the fans. Even in difficult times, when grunge was big, we could still tour. The global fan base has always been my rock from which I drew my strength. I think it's a two-way street. I love the fans with all my heart and feel like they would do anything for me. Music is a great way to keep that connection and the live shows just keep getting better."

In 2018, DORO released "Forever Warriors, Forever United", one colossal, two Album-spanning extravaganza that loudly announced the greatness of the metal queen through every speaker. Today, five years later, the incomparable singer and songwriter has completed work on the successor. The new album, out 27.10.23 via Nuclear Blast, has a perfect title that aptly sums up DORO's unique reputation: "Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud".

"At first I just wanted to call the album 'Forever Strong And Proud'. But then I thought that maybe it needs something more because in 40 years we'll see the metal conquered the world" laughs DORO. "'Conqueress' sounds more powerful. It's the feminine form of Eroberer, and I thought that was cool."

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" is a big, bold heavy metal album. And it has long been a tradition that DORO has been able to win over legendary rock heroes for themselves and their works. From Lemmy Kilmister, through Pete Steele from Type O Negative and Johan Hegg from Amon Amarth to Slash from Guns N' Roses - all of them (and many more) have already rocked on Doro albums. And now - for the Metal Queen's anniversary album - Metal God Rob Halford from Judas Priest DORO himself did the honor to record the immortal Judas Priest classic 'Living After Midnight' as a duet!

"With Judas Priest, 1986 was my very first tour, a dream come true," recalls DORO. "We've stayed in touch and good friends ever since. We met backstage at Hellfest a few years ago and exchanged ideas. I've always wanted to sing with Rob and my favorite was 'Living After Midnight'. Rob is one of my absolute favorites Favorite singer and such a huge inspiration so it's another dream come true here."

But first things first: "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" starts with the epic 'Children Of The Dawn', which is perfect with its powerful choirs suitable as an opener. The somber 'I Will Prevail' and the fast-paced first single 'Time For Justice', which will be released on June 23rd. was released are first class metal anthems with the trademark "made by DORO".

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" also surprises with the ultra-catchy radio rocker 'Bond Unending', which is absolutely potential for a hit, a duet with Sammy Amara by the German rock heavyweights Broilers.

The varied album is a lot of fun, like the cool rocking 'Lean Mean Rock Machine', but also offers dark, dramatic songs like the bittersweet 'Love Breaks Chains' and as another highlight 'Heavenly Creatures', which comes from the wellknown artist's great love of animals.

"Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud" is the result of intense, hard studio work that has brought the incomparable singer back to studios in Miami, New York and New York, among others Hamburg led. The album impressively confirms that DORO is more than ever at the peak of its creative power after 40 years.

"Again it was a lot of work, but it was worth it and a lot of fun. We recorded 19 songs and each one has its own magic. There are classic ones Metal tracks, many epic anthems, great rock numbers for the radio and of course wonderful Doro ballads again!"

The latter includes the lusciously orchestral 'Best In Me', which immediately emerges as one of the greatest ballads of the singer's career. And then of course there is the English/German masterpiece 'Fels in der Surfung', a song in the tradition of DORO's mega-ballad 'Forever' and another one Single release with hit potential.

"'Best In Me' is for the fans," smiles DORO. "Everyone will interpret it differently, but when I say deep friendship and love, I mean my fans first and foremost. I definitely want to play the song live. It will definitely touch the die-hard fans deeply."

In addition to the 14 regular songs, "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" includes a big bonus with five bonus tracks. Including more razor-sharp metal anthems Doro and an impressive cover version of METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'.

"We covered the song in honor of the 40th anniversary of Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All," explains DORO. "We played quite a few gigs with the guys in the 80's, I think one of the first Metallica shows in Europe ever, back in the Netherlands. I'm a big fan and it was really fun to record that song."

There is no doubt about it: "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" will win the hearts of fans and is already another milestone in the long and successful career of DORO. The album is the right soundtrack for the big anniversary of the metal queen and makes you even more excited for the big DORO headliner shows at festivals worldwide (including on August 2nd in Wacken) and the crowning highlight at the exclusive anniversary concert on October 28th, 2023 DOROs former hometown of Düsseldorf, where it all began!