Heavy As Texas guitarist MARZI MONTAZERI will unleash The Uprising, featuring TIM “RIPPER” OWENS on vocals this June.
Known for his groundbreaking musicianship and energetic showmanship, MARZI MONTAZERI – AKA “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 the #34 on Billboard Top 100 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 (Razr 13), Defiatory, and the Judas Priest tribute record Hell Bent Forever, also featuring TIM “RIPPER” 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, Burning Inside et al). OWENS has also started a supergroup 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, Carol King). Additionally, the movie Rockstar (Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston) was loosely based on OWENS‘ 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.”
Together, this extraordinary pair offer up the fiery sounds of The Uprising. The six-track scorcher will see release next month via MONTAZERI‘s recently-launched Crunchy Western Records. The Uprising 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.
Track teasers for The Uprising will be unleashed in the coming days. In the meantime, check out some live footage of “Uprising,” captured at the BFE Rock Club in Houston, Texas below.
MARZI MONTAZERI FEATURING TIM “RIPPER” OWENS’ The Uprising will be released on June 23rd on CD, vinyl, and digital formats. Preorders are currently available at THIS LOCATION.
The Uprising Track Listing:
- 11
- Monster Within
- The Uprising
- Without Warning
- Who Is Alive
- Viento Del EspÃritu
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