VIVIAN CAMPBELL: LAST IN LINE's Second Album 'Shows Great Growth For The Band'

During a recent appearance on the "Trunk Nation" show on SiriusXM channel Volume (106),LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell and singer Andrew Freeman, provided an update on that band's in-progress, as-yet-untitled second album, tentatively due in early 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

"Vivian just finished up his guitars, I guess, yesterday or earlier this week," Andrew said. "I have three more songs to finish vocally, and then I guess we're done. Then we have to do all the other B.S. that goes along with putting a record out — videos and all the fun stuff."

Like 2016's "Heavy Crown", the new CD is being recorded at a Santa Clarita, California studio with producer Jeff Pilson, a veteran bassist who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER, DOKKEN and T&N, among others.

Calling LAST IN LINE's upcoming effort "a great record," Vivian said: "We're very excited about it, 'cause it shows great growth for the band. The songs are much more involved, more intricate, the arrangements are much more complex."

LAST IN LINE's next disc will mark the band's first release with bassist Phil Soussan, who joined the group two years ago as the replacement for Jimmy Bain. Jimmy passed away in January 2016 at the age of 68. He was reportedly suffering from lung cancer at the time of his death.

"A few months [after Jimmy's death], we regrouped and went and played some shows with Phil Soussan," Vivian said. "So Phil has been part of the creative process now, and that's really, really worked well; it's really brought a whole different dimension to the band. He's an incredible musician. I mean, I don't normally get excited about bass guitar — sorry, bass guitarists. You know, it's a very fundamental instrument, but Phil kind of thinks outside of the box. He's got some great playing on this record."

According to Campbell — who has been a member of DEF LEPPARD for more than 25 years — LAST IN LINE decided to push back the projected release date of its new album because "we really wanna be able to tour when it comes out. I have shows [with DEF LEPPARD] until December, I think."

Added Andrew: "Everybody's schedule — Pilson's included — is just slammed this year. So we tried to get everything done earlier in the year, but it just… We don't wanna just rush it and put out something that we're not proud of. Personally speaking, I've been butting heads with Jeff on a couple of things, just because I want it to be right. And he wants it to be right too. It's just a matter of taking the time and doing it correctly, because we want it to be right. So it was supposed to be in September, and then it got pushed back to January, and now hopefully it'll be January."

Campbell, Bain and drummer Vinny Appice were part of the original DIO lineup which reunited in 2012 alongside Freeman to launch LAST IN LINE.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

In addition to Campbell, Soussan, Appice and Freeman, LAST IN LINE's current lineup includes keyboardist Erik Norlander (ASIA FEATURING JOHN PAYNE, DUKES OF THE ORIENT).