For those about to rock...

Marc Storace tries to control his pony-tailed mop of tousled hair from flying in the wind as he rearranges his black jacket to pose for The Times photographer.

But the 55-year old singer's calm, soothing and educated manner defies the heavy metal and tough boy image that contributed to his fame and success.

Together with his Swiss band Krokus, Marc Storace can't wait to "krank" up the volume tomorrow to play his first live concert in his homeland in 30 years.

"It's about time I'm back here and I'm looking forward to rock again with the Maltese," the singer says in an interview with The Times. "You might need ear plugs but the energy and emotion, coupled with the physical input of the band is unparalleled at a rock concert."

With about 10 million album sales under his black belt, Marc Storace is most probably the most successful Maltese rock singer of all time.

He made no illusions about the limited opportunities of kick-starting his singing career in Malta and in the early 1970s he had packed his microphone to try his luck overseas. He went to London but soon after he left for Switzerland... and the rest is history.

Krokus enjoyed a good degree of popularity in the 1980s through MTV exposure and videos that made them the most internationally successful Swiss rock band.

In the US, Krokus pounded metal fury with mega bands like AC/DC, Motörhead, Rush and Def Leppard. Their album Headhunter was a platinum album in the US and their biggest hit was a cover of Alice Cooper's School's Out.

Upon the release of 1986's commercial sounding Change Of Address, the band's popularity, however, began to wane. Even a return to form with 1988's Heart Attack could not save the group from eventual break up.

Guitarist Fernando Von Arb tried to keep the band alive over the years with different supporting players, but Marc Storace did eventually return a few years ago to record a new studio album, Rock The Block.

In early 2005, Fernando Von Arb, lead guitarist since practically the beginning, decided to leave. Marc Storace reconnected with guitarist Mandy Meyer, who was a member of the band in the early 1980s and Krokus are back with the critically acclaimed new album, Hellraiser, which mixes the old Krokus sound with some more melodic and mature songs.

Sitting on a wall at Barrakka Gardens yesterday, the singer speaks about rock music and touring with the same excitement of a singer about to break into the mainstream. He knows the time is right as hard rock and heavy metal makes a comeback after a hiatus of over 15 years.

The re-emergence of rock is a natural reaction to the soulless music, like techno, that pervaded the charts in the last two decades, he says.

"After a certain number of years people started missing the craftness and the human touch. It's almost like going back to nature," he laughs.

"Rock is energetic, bombastic music, with similarities to classical music, together with its emotional highs and lows," he explains.

How accessible are Krokus nowadays?

"Although people have different roots, today's hard rock is a revival of the 1970s and 1980s. But then there are bands like us, which have widened the spectrum and which are innovative and traditional at the same time." In their last album, the band tuned down the guitar on songs like Fight On and the radio-friendly song Angel Of My Dreams but pushed down the pedal for Spirit Of The Night.

Marc Storace believes the audience for tomorrow's concert at the Old Power Station will vary from "old rockers" to the new generation who want to see what hard rock is all about.

"We got older but I've managed to remain fit. I can still reach my three octaves which, I guess, made me famous," he says.

In fact, it was Marc Storace's trademark voice that catapulted the band to success.

When Krokus were in their heyday, AC/DC's promotion company had asked him to audition for the void left by the death of frontman Bon Scott. He turned it down.

"It's a dangerous thing to consider to fill someone else's shoes simply because the voice sounds similar," he says. "I've got my feet on the ground with Krokus and I'd rather carry on that way."

A few years back, Queen's legendary guitarist Brian May had also asked to listen to a Queen medley that Marc Storace had recorded with two other singers for Swiss television.

How long will Krokus's revival last?

"It all depends how long the new rock renaissance lasts. But I'll carry on singing anyway. A good song will remain a good song even when the time comes when I can't hit the high notes anymore."

He adds: "On the cover of Hellraiser we have an image of a big wheel of a weaving factory in Switzerland and I symbolically see all the music genres on that wheel - and I see hard rock heading to the top."