MONSTROSITY: New Lineup Revealed

Long-running Florida-based death metallers MONSTROSITY have announced their lineup for the upcoming "Triumph in Black" European tour, which is scheduled to kick off late March. Replacing guitarist Tony Norman (currently in MORBID ANGEL/TERRORIZER) and vocalist Jason Avery are Mark English and Brian Werner, respectively. The band is rounded out by mainman/founding member Lee Harrison on drums, guitarist Sam Molina and bassist Mike Poggione.

In a recent interview with the Tortured Eardrum fanzine, Harrison spoke about the group's recent lineup changes and their future plans. An excerpt from the question-and-answer session follows:

Tortured Eardrum: What is the status with guitarist Tony Norman? What happened when he disappeared???

Lee: "Tony is no longer a member of the band. We were originally planning to try to work it out where he does both bands, but now that he's involved with the TERRORIZER project it's kinda pointless. It's become obvious that he is focused on the MORBID ANGEL thing, and I understand totally — I just wish he wouldn't try to placate me by telling me he can't wait to record the new MONSTROSITY album. I know everyone is asking about the reasons he disappeared a while back, but you'll just have to ask him. It's not my place to discuss his personal life. Tony is a brother, just like George ['Corpsegrinder' Fisher, ex-MONSTROSITY, now in CANNIBAL CORPSE] is. These guys are extended family and always will be. I can only wish the best for him. Mark English has been filling in for Tony since he first hooked up with MORBID in 2003 and is doing a great job. He really is stepping up to the plate by taking the time to learn all the solos note for note and working out the correct harmonys and stuff. Mark toured with us on our first European tour in 1992, so he's no stranger to the band. He was in the 'Final Cremation' video we did for Nuclear Blast way back in the 'Imperial Doom' days. We had problems working together in the early days but we've remained friends throughout this whole time and we've all grown up and it's easy to work together now. He understands the standards we have set. "

Tortured Eardrum: What is the status of vocalist Jason Avery?

Lee: "Jason quit the band after the last European tour fiasco over a year and half ago. We are working with Brian Werner now and things are going great. Everybody wants to be here and is willing to do the work to make things happen. We have been practicing a lot and working up a new setlist. We've got some new endorsement deals and we are working on some new merchandise things so everything is looking up after the last year. We've got Metal Blade asking, saying they're ready for whenever we decide to go with the new record. So things are on track again!!"

Tortured Eardrum: What happened with your last European tour? Why was it cancelled?

Lee: "The agency we used to book the tour was someone Jason Avery had recommended and we took a chance on him. He turned out to be really super unprofessional and a total jackass. We weren't getting our gaurantees, no promotion had been done on the shows, he waited 'till we got there to tell us we were going to be playing on different equipment each night. He left us at the airport for 36 hours when we first arrived. It was just bullshit and totally unacceptable. So we aborted the tour early. We urge all touring bands out there to avoid Jens and Crush Concerts — the guy was clueless. Unfortunately, some things were said in the press that gave the impression that we had something to do with the tour cancelling but the bottom line is we were willing to do the shows but Crush Concerts utterly fell down on the job. We've got a reliable agent for this next tour so things are looking up."

MONSTROSITY's "A Triumph in Black" European tour with DEEDS OF FLESH, VILE and IMPALED kicks off March 23 in Warsaw, Poland.