The all-star band
HAIL! is at it again. Fresh off their tour of Scandinavia, they have announced the that heralded drummer
Paul Bostaph (
SLAYER,
TESTAMENT,
EXODUS,
FORBIDDEN) will join them for their upcoming dates in November and December.
Bostaph will perform alongside bassist
David Ellefson, singer
Tim "Ripper" Owens (
JUDAS PRIEST,
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN,
ICED EARTH) and guitarist
Andreas Kisser (
SEPULTURA) in what could be the most iconic metal lineup ever.
Asked how
Bostaph came to play with
HAIL!,
Ellefson replied, "After
Jimmy DeGrasso became unavailable due to his touring commitments with
ALICE COOPER,
Roy Mayorga came aboard and just slammed for us. His playing throughout the Scandinavian dates was unbelievable, but now he's heading back into the studio with
STONE SOUR, so he's unavailable for the next round of shows. We immediately thought of
Paul. With
Alex Skolnick out playing with
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA a small window opened in the
TESTAMENT schedule where
Paul became available and we jumped at the opportunity."
Kisser chimed in, "Come on, he's
Paul Bostaph! Think about it, he's played with three of the greatest thrash bands of all-time,
SLAYER,
TESTAMENT and
EXODUS. What symbolizes more of the spirit of
HAIL! than that?! It's an honor to play with him."
Ripper added, "Our goal is to make every
HAIL! show a special once-in-a-lifetime event. We strive to make every show different and no two shows have been the same. Look at our set lists on this last run; we must have played 15-20 new songs and half of them we never even rehearsed! I even played a guitar solo one night! We had guest jams with friends from
DIMMU BORGIR,
MERCYFUL FATE,
GORGOROTH,
MESHUGGAH,
DRAIN STH,
KING DIAMOND and we want every fan to know that what they experience at a
HAIL! concert will never happen again. We will continue to keep it fresh and exciting and playing with
Paul will certainly do that."
Bostaph shared his excitement: "To play with
Tim,
Andreas and
Dave? Talk about an honor, these guys are metal gods! I thought it was super-cool when I first heard about
HAIL! and what they were doing. Now to be a part of it is amazing. I'm really looking forward to it and can’t wait."
HAIL! plans to announce more tour dates shortly. Stay tuned.
Video footage of
HAIL!'s September 7, 2009 concert at the Rock in Copenhagen, Denmark can be viewed below (courtesy of
"Metalex1982").
The group's setlist for the Scandinavian tour consisted of the following classics:
01.
Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD)
02.
Territory (SEPULTURA)
03.
Symphony Of Destruction (MEGADETH)
04.
Grinder (JUDAS PRIEST)
05.
Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
06.
Walk (PANTERA)
07.
Balls To The Wall (ACCEPT)
08.
Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH)
09.
Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN)
10.
Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN)
11.
Black Metal (VENOM) (with Andreas on vocals)
12.
Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
13.
Burn In Hell (JUDAS PRIEST) /
Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH)
14.
South Of Heaven (SLAYER)
15.
Peace Sells (MEGADETH)
16.
Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)
Encore:
17.
Refuse/Resist (SEPULTURA)
18.
Whiplash (METALLICA)
