RIOT/HALFORD Drummer BOBBY JARZOMBEK Checks In

Drummer Bobby Jarzombek (RIOT, SEBASTIAN BACH, HALFORD, SPASTIC INK) has posted the following message on his MySpace page:

"It's been a while since I posted anything new. Which doesn't mean I haven't kept busy — far from it. I'm finally settled in back here in Texas [after relocating from Los Angeles] and doing live work as well as studio sessions and a bit of teaching at the moment.

"My main focus over these past few weeks has been RIOT, the legendary New York City metal band I was a member of between 1987 and 1999. We have put the 'Thundersteel' lineup back together and just had a very productive initial writing session. Guitarists Mark Reale and Mike Flyntz came down from New York to join Don Van Stavern and myself after we'd been writing separately and sending files back and forth. But nothing beats being in a room together and bouncing ideas off of each other. The chemistry between us was back in an instant and everybody is stoked about what we've come up with so far. We should have some thundering steel for you all later in the year.

"Up next we'll be hitting the road for two high-profile European summer festival appearances. We'll be at Sweden Rock on June 6 with HEAVEN & HELL, JOURNEY, DREAM THEATER, and EUROPE, among others, and then fly out to Zaragoza, Spain for Metalway where we are booked on June 20 alongside CHILDREN OF BODOM, W.A.S.P., BLIND GUARDIAN and native sons, BARON ROJO. We'll be warming up locally with a show at the Scout Bar here in San Antonio. Tickets for that one go on sale on May 8.

"I'm also guesting on two upcoming releases that will hit stores within days of each other. Firstly, there is my former ICED EARTH band mate Tim Owens' solo album, 'Play My Game', which has a May 19 U.S./Canada street date via SPV/Steamhammer. I'm playing on a song titled 'The Light', which is the first thing I recorded in San Antonio after moving back from L.A. Bob Kulick, who also co-wrote the song with Tim, is on guitar and Tony Franklin is on bass.

"The other new album I'm on — this one a lot more extensively — is THOMSEN's 'Let's Get Ruthless', a German-English (mostly....) all-star project of sorts. I did these tracks in Germany over a year ago after I was hit up by René Thomsen about playing on it. René is well known behind the scenes through his firm BRS (Backline Rental Service) who supply gear to a who's who in rock and metal for tours and major events such as the Echo Awards (German Grammys). René is also a talented musician and he's assembled quite a cast of characters for his album, including Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, both formerly with ACCEPT, Neil Murray (WHITESNAKE),Nibbs Carter (SAXON),and Jan S. Eckert (MASTERPLAN). If ballsy Teutonic metal floats your boat then 'Let's Get Ruthless' should be right up your alley. The album is out May 22 on BRS Records.

"Already out on Wave Master Entertainment in Japan is the 'Sonic And The Black Knight - Tales of Knighthood' OST (from the popular 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Sega video game series) for which I did several tracks at my studio here in San Antonio. I'm on 'With Me' (with Marty Friedman on lead guitar and Emma and Tinna from ALL ENDS on vocals) and 'Through the Fire' (vocals by Johnny Gioeli of HARDLINE) as well as two other, shorter pieces, 'To the Rescue.... A Knight's Law' and 'Sir Percival.... The Knight of the Grail'. You can hear both vocal cuts at this location. Thanks to Jun Senoue for thinking of me — let's do it again sometime! Actually, I'm taking on more studio session work now that I have my Pro Tools setup all dialed in.

"Finally, as some of you may have heard already, I'll be getting together with the FATES WARNING guys once again in the fall. We are confirmed to headline the second day, Saturday, September 12, at ProgPower in Atlanta, GA. The other bands on the bill are BRAINSTORM, ORPHANED LAND, CIRCUS MAXIMUS and our friends from PAGAN'S MIND, who toured with us in Europe last fall. According to Jim (Matheos),we'll also doing some warmup shows but nothing is confirmed yet. "