Former SUPERJOINT RITUAL and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS guitarist Marzi Montazeri has joined forces with ex-JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH singer Tim “Ripper” Owens to record a six-song EP, “The Uprising”. Due on June 23 via Montazeri‘s recently launched Crunchy Western Records, the effort was recorded at Matherne Studios by Kevin Matherne in Houston, Texas, and mixed and mastered at CMC21 Productions by Chris Collier in Los Angeles, California.
Known for his groundbreaking musicianship and energetic showmanship, Montazeri — a.k.a. “The High Priest Of Distortion” — is a guitarist, producer, and songwriter from Houston, Texas. In the mid-’90s, Montazeri joined SUPERJOINT RITUAL and in 2010 rejoined forces with Philip H. Anselmo to work on Anselmo‘s first solo project, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS. THE ILLEGALS would go on to release the “War Of The Gargantuas” EP, followed by the “Walk Through Exits Only” LP, which debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 chart, and finally the Scion A/V-issued “Housecore Horror Film Festival” EP.
By 2015, Montazeri and Washburn Parallax Guitars united to co-design his own signature electric guitar series called “The Priestess” which was officially unveiled at this year’s edition of NAMM in Anaheim, California. Montazeri‘s collaborations as a guest artist include PRONG, Doug Pinnick (KING’S X), DEFIATORY and the JUDAS PRIEST tribute record “Hell Bent Forever”, also featuring Owens.
Owens is a Grammy-nominated American hard rock singer who first gained attention as the vocalist for JUDAS PRIEST (1996-2003) and then ICED EARTH and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. Owens currently tours the world as a solo artist and performs as the lead singer of CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED alongside drummer Richard Christy (“The Howard Stern Show”, DEATH, CONTROL DENIED). Owens has also started a super group called PROJECT ROCK with James Kottak (SCORPIONS), Keri Kelli (ALICE COOPER, SLASH’S SNAKEPIT, JOHN WAITE), Rudy Sarzo (WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO), and Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis (GUNS N’ ROSES). Additionally, the movie “Rock Star” (Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston) was loosely based on Owens‘s time in JUDAS PRIEST.
“A while ago I was asked to play a couple of solos on the JUDAS PRIEST tribute album ‘Hell Bent Forever’ and the track was, ‘Exciter’,” recalls Marzi of first meeting Owens. “When I arrived, Tim was walking out of the vocal booth for the evening. I was blown away by his performance and personality. He’s a super-cool and funny dude. So when it came to this EP where I knew I wanted a powerful metal vocalist, I just made a call to him and here we are with some original music.”
“The Uprising” track listing:
01. 11
02. Monster Within
03. The Uprising
04. Without Warning
05. Who Is Alive
06. Viento Del Espíritu
Pre-orders are available at this location.
