Tag: Metal Mike Chlasciak
2 Ralf Scheepers Solo Album Coming in February!
The forthcoming solo album from PRIMAL FEAR singer Ralf Scheepers is in the very final stages of production. Some very special guests agreed to appear – the list includes guitarists “Metal” Mike Chlasciak (HALFORD), Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY), Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER) and Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR, ALLEN/LANDE). Powerhouse American vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) is dueting with Scheepers in the track “Remission Of Sin“, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Snowy Shaw (THERION, DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, DIMMU BORGIR) appears on drums and PRIMAL FEAR’s Mat Sinner is playing bass on the entire LP and produced the album. Achim Koehler is currently in the final stages of the mixing session and will shortly be mastering the production.
Scheepers revealed that his upcoming solo album will include a remake of his song “Saints Of Rock” Scheepers originally recorded with his band TYRAN PACE and a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic “Before The Dawn’. “‘Saints Of Rock’ is gonna be, of course, a little bit more modern and updated than it was [when the original version was recorded] in 1986,” he explained. “I mean, right now we have much more possibilities to make songs sound a little bit more modern, starting with the drum sound and the bass sounds.” He added, “I think ‘Before The Dawn’ pretty much is a straight cover, but the first song I’m playing (nearly) all instruments just a little more orchestral things going on. Vocal-wise, I just added a harmony vocals, plus the two outstanding guitar solos by maestro VICTOR SMOLSKI (RAGE). The album is like a trip through my entire career from hard driven crushing metal, groovy heavy beats, orchestral epic to stripped down basic songs and of course some nice surprises!”
The musical direction of his forthcoming solo CD is more diverse than PRIMAL FEAR, from the hardest to the softest tones. The album was recently presented to the German press and some of the reactions included
“A varied, magic masterpiece! Intensive, passionate and faithful – a terrific singer!” – Markus Wosgien (Rock It!, EMP, Blast!)
“A surprisingly varied and still compact metal-masterpiece, that leaves nothing to be desired!” – Andreas Schöwe (Metal Hammer)
“The vocals and the songwriting are just terrific and you’ve never experienced Ralf Scheepers so relaxed. The album is a hit! Does the world needs a solo album of the Primal Fear singer? Yes, of course!” – Birgit Braeckle (Breakout)
Frontiers plans to release the album in February 2011.
2 Halford – Made of Metal (2010)
I have been a fan of Rob Halford for what least seems like forever. Halford’s debut solo effort Resurrection remains one of my favorite CD’s to this day. Needless to say, when Mr. Halford announced his new CD, Made of Metal, I was pretty excited. If any band is going to knock Accept off the top of the METAL ladder in 2010, it has to be Halford right?
I have always felt that Halford’s solo band could give Judas Priest a run for its money talent wise. Roy Z, Metal Mike Chlasciak, and Bobby Jarzombek are as good as it gets in Metal today. Rob Halford is and always will be the Metal God.
So how does Made of Metal stack up? Musically speaking this disc is awesome. It is everything that I thought it would be. The songs are packed with blazing guitar solos, killer drumming and everything you would expect from Halford. Roy Z and Metal Mike Chasciak are one potent combination on guitar. They deliver some of the best riffs that I have heard in 2010. With that being said, Made of Metal is far from perfect. There are a few weak tracks on the CD, including the lackluster title track. Rob Halford has lost a step or two in his voice, and while he still delivers a good vocal performance, he doesn’t push his voice any more than he has to. I expected more screams from Metal’s main man, and it just isn’t here.
Luckily, the good songs far out weigh the bad. “Undisputed”, “Speed of Sound”, “Hell Razor”, “Thunder and Lightning” are amongst my favorite songs on the CD. While Made of Metal doesn’t live up to Halford’s previous releases Resurrection, or Crucible, it is still more enjoyable than the last Judas Priest effort, Nostradamus. Even if it isn’t Halford’s best effort, it is still a heavy metal disc worth picking up.
You can purchase Made of Metal here. For more information on Halford, please visit RobHalford.com.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Undisputed
2. Fire And Ice
3. Made Of Metal
4. Speed Of Sound
5. Like There’s No Tomorrow
6. Till The Day I Die
7. We Own The Night
8. Heartless
9. Hell Razor
10. Thunder And Lightning
11. Twenty-Five Years
12. Matador
13. I Know We Stand A Chance
14. The Mower
Halford is:
Rob Halford – Vocals
Roy Z – Guitars
Metal Mike Chlasciak- Guitars
Mike Davis – Bass
Bobby Jarzombek – Drums
1 Rob Halford Confirms Montreal Heavy MTL Festival July 24th
Rob Halford has confirmed that his solo band ‘Halford’ will perform July 24, 2010 at Montreal, Canada’s 2nd Annual Heavy MTL Festival. Tickets and Additional details available soon at: http://www.heavymtl.com and http://www.RobHalford.com
“I am excited to re-introduce the Halford band: Mike Chlasciak and Roy Z. on guitars, Mike Davis on bass and Bobby Jarzombek on drums to Metal fans in Canada this summer,” explains Rob Halford. “We are looking forward to performing a strong set and unveiling a new track for the Montreal Heavy Mtl Festival.”
Armed with Metal’s most diverse band of the decade, Halford – Live in Anaheim is an intimate, in-your-face, solo performance featuring Halford, Fight and Judas Priest classics” Golgotha, The Heretick, Sun, Into The Pit, Light Comes Out of Black, Painkiller, Rapid Fire, Never Satisfied, and more. Also featured are Bonus LIVE tracks from Halford’s Tokyo, Japan performances February 2003.
Stay in touch with Rob Halford and his Halford band memembers at http://www.RobHalford.com throughout 2010 for NEW Halford music, digital releases and Metal God Apparel, limited concert ticket giveaways, limited meet-and-greets, tour dates, news and more!!
3 Live, Raw and Uncut Tour – Sebastian Bach
Back in August, Sebastian Bach opened up for Dokken and Poison on the Cincinnati, Ohio stop of Poison’s Live, Raw and Uncut Tour.
This was the second time that I have seen “Metal” Mike Chlasciak and Bobby Jarzombek live. The first time I seen them (in Cleveland, Oh) they were part of Halford (Rob Halford’s solo band). I already new after seeing that show how good these guys were. I was expecting a hell of a show out of these guys, and I was not disappointed.
Sebastian Bach came out and he immediately delivered. He quickly proved that he can still sing and 
scream with the best of them. “Metal” Mike is one of the better axe slingers playing today. I thought he sounded awesome.
Sebastian Bach’s set included a few new songs off of Angel Down, as well as some Skid Row classics. The set list included the following songs: “Back In The Saddle”, “Slave To The Grind”, “18 & Life”, “American Metalhead”, “Love Is A Bitch Slap”, “Monkey Business”, “I Remember You” and “Youth Gone Wild”.
I thought it was odd that Sebastian Bach was opening for Dokken. I thought they should have had the option for the better sound and lights, but that is just my opinion. Bach’s set was short, but the band made the best of it, and put on a good show.
On the clips below, Sebastian Bach’s voice sounds odd, but we our seats were not the greatest for this show and I don’t think the audio is a fair representation of how he sounded. The clips were still worth sharing. Check them out!
18 And Life
American Metalhead
Youth Gone Wild
