NAZARETH's PETE AGNEW: New Singer GIANNI PONTILLO Was 'A Gift From The Gods'

In a new interview with Chris Akin of the Classic Metal Show, NAZARETH's founding bassist Pete Agnew spoke about the band's latest addition, singer Gianni Pontillo, who joined the Scottish rock legends in December 2025 as the replacement for Carl Sentence. Pete said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This man fell into our lap. It was a gift from the gods. Gianni is an amazing vocalist, and he's an amazing vocalist for NAZARETH. He actually creates the NAZARETH sound that people would want to hear. This is the guy that's really filled the slot of [founding member] Dan [McCafferty]. He's got an amazing voice. He's a much younger guy as well — Gianni's only 48 — but his favorite period of rock comes from the same time as us. All the songs that we like is all the same thing. So he's an amazing singer. He's a very nice man, which is great. And, he just came along at the right time."

Pete continued: "I'd never known the guy up until about a year and a half ago, when he was first pointed out to me, and I was absolutely blown away when I heard him singing. And the great thing is all the fans are absolutely in love with him.

"We've only played half a dozen shows [with Gianni so far], I think, and everybody's raving about — not just him; about the band in general," Agnew added. "It's really lifted the spirits of the band and the whole atmosphere of the thing. There's an atmosphere of rejuvenation. It feels as if we just had some really nice medicine. [Laughs]"

Elaborating on the renewed excitement he and the rest of NAZARETH feel about having Gianni in the band, Pete said: "You can go up and go through the movements, if you like, and go through the motions and play everything correctly, and everything can be fine, or you can go up and when somebody really creates a great mood, it raises everybody's game. What's happened now is the guys are really enjoying playing these songs again. And when I'm playing — I mean, I never ever thought [I would get so much enjoyment out of playing] 'Hair Of The Dog' really that much anymore. When I'm playing it, it was kind of automatic. And it's not like that, doing it with Gianni. I feel as if we've just done the album. It's just great. It's just having this great vocalist singing these songs again. And it's just lifted the spirits of everyone in the band — and everyone around us. I mean, the whole vibe of being on tour… It's hard to describe it, but the whole road crew and everybody, it's like a different band now. We're really, really excited about it, as you can hear."

NAZARETH completed the 2025 leg of the "Bending The Rules" tour on December 17, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.

Pontillo had previously played with PURE INC., THE ORDER and SOULS REVIVAL and has taken part in all-star productions such as "Rock Circus" and "This Is Rock" by Das Zelt. Since 2019, he has also been the frontman of the German hard rock legend VICTORY. In 2023 he launched a new project called PONTILLO & THE VINTAGE CREW.

In 2015, Carl became the new singer for NAZARETH after founding member Dan McCafferty had to retire due to illness.

Carl's latest solo album, "Silent Angels", came out in 2024.

NAZARETH originally formed in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1968, releasing its eponymous debut album in 1971. The band broke big when, after supporting DEEP PURPLE on tour, they released the Roger Glover-produced "Razamanaz" album in early 1973 to critical and fan acclaim. They then released an impeccable string of hit records, including "Loud 'N’ Proud", "Rampant" and the smash hit "Hair Of The Dog", which came out in April 1975. The album included evergreen songs such as the title track (later covered by GUNS N’ ROSES on their "The Spaghetti Incident?" album) and "Love Hurts". The band has continued to release albums and tour the globe since, coming up on their 58th year of existence in 2026.

Image and video credit: MrJayGatsby