Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

Les 2 anciens compères dans Fates Warning se retrouvent pour un projet, avec également le bassiste de Warlord, un claviériste français, et un guitariste belge.

Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of A-Z.

A-Z (pronounced "A through Z") equals Ray Alder (FATES WARNING; vocals) and Mark Zonder (ex-FATES WARNING, WARLORD; drums), and also means "anything is possible" — and with this lineup of musicians, that is no exaggeration. This exciting new band reunites Alder with Zonder, and they're joined by Philip Bynoe (WARLORD, STEVE VAI, NUNO BETTENCOURT) on bass, Joop Wolters (STEVE WALSH, SIMON PHILLIPS) on guitar, and Vivien Lalu (STEVE WALSH, JORDAN RUDESS) on keys.

Zonder comments: "When we were looking for a deal, Metal Blade was number one on the list. First worked with Brian Slagel about 40 years with 'Metal Massacre II' and WARLORD. No question that they do a great job and we are very excited and proud to be back at MB."

Musically, A-Z is melodic and progressive, bringing to mind the classic FATES WARNING-era of albums like "Parallels" and "Pleasant Shade Of Grey", while recalling the hooks of classic 1970s and 1980s hard rock artists. The band's upcoming debut will be the first time Alder and Zonder have recorded together since 2004, and it will surely please both FATES WARNING and melodic hard rock fans alike.

In the meantime, fans can check out a video signing message from A-Z and Metal Blade CEO/founder Brian Slagel below.

A-Z is:

Ray Alder - vocals
Mark Zonder -drums
Philip Bynoe - bass
Joop Wolters - guitar
Vivien Lalu - keys

Ca pourrait être la continuation de Warlord ? A voir

On peut entendre quelques extrais dans la vidéo, c'est très éloigné de Warlord.

Plus proche de ce que Zonder faisait dans son projet Slavior, difficile à catégoriser.

Toujours curieux d'écouter les projets liés à Fates Warning. Zonder reste un sacré batteur, et Ray Alder garde une voix magique.

Voici le résultat. Finalement cela ressemble aux albums solo de Ray Alder (Engine) et Mark Zonder (Slavior), en plus mélodique.

A-Z, the new band formed by Fates Warning icons Ray Alder and Mark Zonder, have released the second single from their upcoming debut album. Fans can check out the new music video for "Trial By Fire" below.

Speaking about the new single, the band comments: "We always felt that 'Trial by Fire' was going to be a big song for us. Classic arena rock style song, big intro, great groove, memorable chorus, and a classic vocal-oriented ending. All of the elements that made the 70's and 80's the greatest era for rock."