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THE STORY OF THE ALBUMS: INFECTED

Everything went like a charm! We were omnipresent, our ballads were played all over the Swiss radios and everybody knew who this band from the deepest Emmental was. After the successful completion of our Fall Tour, it was time to record new music, a new album was needed. There was enough new material, thanks to Thomas' overflowing creativity and after intensive studio work, "Infected" was born. The title was well chosen, because not only we ourselves seemed to be infected by the SHAKRA virus, but also the local listeners. What didn't fit better than a modified Biohazard sign on the front cover? The logo became from then on also the official logo of our fan club. Unfortunately, not only everyone was infected by the Shakra virus, I got infected with something else... but more about that later.

In the meantime, a video clip was also indispensable for us and we shot the clip for "Love Will Find A Way" in a deconsecrated church in Basel and a few other locations.

THE VOICE was gone

Infected was released on May 18, 2007, which was also the start of the next tour. At first the tour started very well and we were really celebrated. We were even allowed to use Bode Millers' motor home, who is a big SHAKRA fan, as a dressing room at the Heiteren Open Air. In September we started touring in Germany with Godiva as support, which was already under a bad star at the beginning. In the tour bus a virus had crept in and attacked my voice, so that it was almost completely ruined after the second concert and the gig in Hamburg had to be cancelled.

Under strong medication I managed to play the following shows anyway. However, the voice problems didn't just go away and got worse and worse. Nevertheless, I pushed through with several overdoses of cortisone and as well as possible. Some concerts could be played, some had to be cancelled, until on December 15th it was finally over and I couldn't emit a single peep and suffered from strong side effects of the medication. The abrupt end of the Infected tour ... The voice was gone and it should stay that way for the next months.

I LEFT THE band

The mood in the band was at the bottom. Nobody knew how to deal with this situation and so the fronts within the band hardened, because nothing worked anymore. It came to such a point that I, harassed by the daily control calls from the manager at the time, announced in short that I was leaving the band. I just couldn't take it anymore. He didn't believe me that I was in medical treatment and even wanted to come along to the doctor's visits. I didn't feel understood and found myself in a completely hopeless situation. But I now had peace and I needed it badly. Sometimes it is difficult to deal with things that are not necessarily tangible. You can change a guitar string, but not the vocal cords, and I had to learn that painfully, with all the consequences.

Three months passed before my voice finally recovered. In the meantime, however, things had gotten back together and I was once again the singer of SHAKRA, so we were able to resume our tour in March. Everything good again? It didn't feel like it, but at least we were back on the road and able to go through the remaining five months of the Infected tour.

Mark Fox