Thursday Rocks! 28/7/22

When Mark Zonder, famed former Fates Warning and Warlord drummer, started working on material in early 2020, he had a very clear vision for the band he wanted to put together, the result being A-Z, and while Zonder is adamant it is not a supergroup that is doing a ‘one and done’ record, it has a stellar lineup, reuniting him with Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder (hence A-Z = Alder thru Zonder), Steve Vai bassist Philip Bynoe, guitarist Joop Wolters and keyboardist Vivien Lalu, the combination of these stirring up a very specific kind of magic on their eponymous Metal Blade Records debut, due to be released on Friday 12th August, of which the opening track, 'Trial By Fire', is one of today's six of the best 'Thursday Rocks!' Tracks Of The Day, complemented by five further new and recent releases from Dreadnought, Elliott's Keep, Tonic Breed, King Buffalo and Seething Akira.