FOZZY Re-Signs With CENTURY MEDIA; New Album Due In 2017

FOZZY — the band featuring WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho alongside members of STUCK MOJO — has re-signed with Century Media for the follow-up to its 2014 album "Do You Wanna Start A War", due next year.

Jericho told Planet Mosh about FOZZY's songwriting process: "We don't put any boundaries on who we are as a band. Is this song too heavy, is it too poppy? What is the vibe behind it? And that's something we take great pride in the fact that when people come to a FOZZY show and, for the most part, listen to a FOZZY tune… I mean, 'Lights Go Out' was Number One on the 'strip club' chart in the U.S. — meaning that strippers danced to 'Lights Go Out' more than any other song in the world. And I wasn't aware there was a 'strip club' chart, but there is, and that's good, because that's kind of the vibe that we have — it's that music people can dance to, but it's a little bit dirty, it's a little bit wild. But, basically, it makes you feel upbeat and fun and makes you feel good. And that's what we want. There's not a lot of crowdsurfing or moshing at FOZZY shows, but there's a lot of jumping up and down and chanting and screaming and yelling and showing your boobs and all that sort of stuff. And that's our mission: we want people to have a great time, and ninety-nine percent of the time, they do."

In a separate interview with Live Metal, Jericho talked about how various lineup changes over the years have affected FOZZY's sound. He said: "The core of the band has always been the same. It's always been me, [guitarist] Rich [Ward] and [drummer] Frank [Fontsere]. I think when you have that core element, it's gonna sound the same no matter what. There's been different bass players, but Rich plays all the guitars on the record with a few solos here and there by whoever else is in the band at the time. The songwriting is me and Rich. The core of the band is me, Rich and Frank. It's great to have [guitarist] Billy [Grey] with us for two records in a row, but if [he] left, it wouldn't really matter, because the core is still the same, the songwriting is still the same. So the band is always gonna sound like us."

"Do You Wanna Start A War" sold around 5,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 54 on the Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived on July 22, 2014 via Century Media.