Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G. — well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne‘s guitarist and as leader of his own band Firewind — will embark on a mini North American headlining tour from April 15 to April 24. He says of the trek:

“I’m stoked to announce that I’ll be joined by some amazing musicians on my upcoming North American dates: Jeramie Klinger (drums) and Taylor Nordberg (bass), both from The Absence, and on vocals we have the one and the only Rob Rock of Impellitteri. Rob and I have been friends for many years; we toured Japan back in 2004 and have also co-written the title track of Rob‘s solo album, ‘Garden Of Chaos’, a few years ago (listen below). I couldn’t be happier that we will finally tour together again. This tour just got more special. The shows will be intimate, packed and loud. Make sure not to miss it.”

He adds: “I will be playing mainly material from my two solo albums, but there will be some classic Firewind, Ozzy and Black Sabbath songs sprinkled into the set as well. These shows are not to be missed.” (dates and locations are listed below).

Gus‘s latest solo album, “Brand New Revolution”, was released in Europe in July 2015 via Century Media. The CD was made available through Century Media in Australia and South America, Dismanic/eOne in North America and King Records in Japan. The cover artwork was once again created by Gustavo Sazes, who previously worked with Gus on the guitarist’s debut album, “I Am The Fire”, and also took care of artwork duties by such bands as Arch Enemy, Kamelot and Firewind

“Brand New Revolution” features guest vocal appearances by Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen, Journey, Talisman), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe), Jacob Bunton (Adler, Lynam) and Mats Levén (Candlemass, Yngwie Malmsteen, Treat).

“Brand New Revolution” was recorded with Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Anthrax, Steel Panther) and mixed by Mike Fraser (Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen, Aerosmith). Just as on “I Am The Fire”, the core of Gus‘s recording group consisted of Jo Nunez (Firewind) on drums and Marty O’Brien (Lita Ford) on bass.

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Gus said that “Brand New Revolution” came together “almost like two EPs in one, because it was done in two sessions. The first session was done in L.A. with a band in a live room, with Jay Ruston engineering, and we caught that live energy and atmosphere and vibe. The other half, I came back to Greece and we did it the more traditional way for me, where the drummer lays down the tracks first and then I do the bass and the guitars. So it’s half and half.”

According to Gus, “Brand New Revolution” is, first and foremost, a collection of songs; in fact, other than the opening number, a dazzling display of technical ferocity called “The Quest”, there are no instrumentals on the record. “That’s really what I was going for,” Gus told Guitar World. “I’m actually getting a lot of pressure right now to put out an instrumental album, but I’m not the kind of guy who can write 10 or 12 of those. It’d probably take me 10 years to do a record like that. I like to write songs — I’m a band guy and I like to work with singers. I’m very old school. I just like three-minute, catchy songs. But they have to have cool guitar parts — that’s the difference. If you know how to write a great song and you can put a killer solo to it, to me, that’s it.”

Impellitteri‘s latest studio album, “Venom”, was released on April 17 in Europe and April 21 in North America.

“Venom” is described in a press release as “a record filled with addictive and memorable riffs, guitar solos that feature Chris Impellitteri’s blistering shredding technique coupled with strong melody and taste. Rob Rock‘s vocals are mesmerizing, melodic, and will make the listener sing along with each song long after the record is over. Lastly, the band boggles the mind with brutal drumming (featuring John Dette, formerly of Testament, Slayer etc.) filled with speed and groove and beastly bass playing (courtesy of James Pulli) that supportsImpellitteri‘s sonic madness! The result is a record that excites and musically satisfy every Metal and Rock fan, and every musician around the world. To add to their quest, Impellitteri also wanted to create music that would take the listener on a musical journey thru different time periods of metal and rock.”

Our review of “Venom” can be found here.

Tour dates:

April 15 – Rock Island, IL – Ribco
April 16 – Westland, MI – Token Lounge
April 17 – Bradley, IL – The Looney Bin
April 19 – Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz
April 20 – Ottawa, Canada – Brass Monkey
April 21 – Toronto, Canada – The Rockpile
April 22 – Long Branch, NJ – The Brighton Bar
April 24 – Elmhurst, NY – Blackthorne 51

Video below: ‘Garden of Chaos’ (Written by Rob Rock and Gus G, produced by Roy Z and CJ Grimmark)