A Conspiracy of Stars

A Conspiracy of Stars is the studio album UFO released on Steamhammer/SPV in 2015. According to the band, it came out first in Scandinavia and Japan on 18 February 2015, then in Germany on 20 February, in the UK and the rest of Europe on 23 February and in the United States and Canada on 3 March; Marquee/Avalon issued the Japanese edition. It was the first album by the line-up of singer Phil Mogg, Paul Raymond on keyboards and guitar, drummer Andy Parker, lead guitarist Vinnie Moore, a full member since 2003, and the American bassist Rob De Luca, who had joined in 2012. The band was in the rehearsal room working on new songs in June 2014 and recorded in Kent, England, where Chris Tsangarides, known for his work with Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore, produced and mixed the album in the town of Deal. In October the band reported that the sessions had gone very well and that the mix was about to begin. Moore's guitars were recorded at The Core in the United States. Moore composed most of the music; Raymond wrote "The Real Deal" and De Luca "The Killing Kind" and "One and Only", and Mogg wrote all the lyrics. The band described the record as a blend of typical UFO elements with fresh ideas that should please its long-standing followers and younger rock fans alike. The jewel-case CD has ten songs, from "The Killing Kind" to "Rollin' Rollin'"; the digipak adds a poster and the bonus track "King of the Hill", which the Japanese CD carries too, and there was a double LP and a download. The album entered the UK Official Albums Chart at 50, higher than The Visitor (99) and Seven Deadly (63), and reached 6 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and 8 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. In Germany it climbed to 28, the highest placing for any UFO studio album in the official German chart archive. The tour began in Germany on 20 February and was scheduled to take in Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Switzerland before Britain and Ireland in April and May.