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Fozzy

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This article is about the heavy metal group. For the company, see Fozzy Group. For the Muppet, see Fozzie Bear.
Not to be confused with Fonzie or Fonzie (band).
Fozzy
Fozzy performing at the 2015 Festival of Friends
Fozzy performing at the 2015 Festival of Friends
Background information
Also known asFozzy Osbourne
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
GenresHeavy metal, progressive metal, hard rock, alternative metal
Years active1999 (1999)–present
LabelsMegaforce, Palm, Ash, Riot! Entertainment, Century Media
MembersChris Jericho
Rich Ward
Frank Fontsere
Billy Grey
Randy Drake
Past membersSee: List of Fozzy band members
Websitewww.fozzyrock.com

Fozzy is an American heavy metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 by lead singer Chris Jericho and guitarist Rich Ward. The band is currently signed to Century Media Records and has released two studio albums through this label.[1] The band's current lineup consists of Chris Jericho, Rich Ward, Frank Fontsere, Billy Gray and Randy Drake. Jericho has characterized the band by saying: "If Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy."[2] As of July 2014, the band has released six studio albums and one live album. Their first two albums consist of original material and cover songs, while their third, fourth, fifth and sixth albums consist of all original material, except for Sin and Bones & Do You Wanna Start A War which include covers of Black Sabbath's Faries Wear Boots & ABBA's SOS.

History

Formation (1999–2000)

Fozzy started out as Fozzy Osbourne, a play on the name of the singer Ozzy Osbourne, and was a cover band assembled by Ward from whatever musicians he could find in a given week. In 1999, Jericho and Ward met in San Antonio, Texas after a wrestling show and Jericho was invited to play with the band. Their first show was held at the now-defunct club "The Hangar", in the downtown square of Marietta. Jericho sat in on a few sessions, but did not plan to play with them permanently. In 2000, Jericho rejoined the band and became its front man under the persona of Moongoose McQueen, and the band went on tour. As part of the band's "gimmick", Jericho refused to acknowledge that Moongoose McQueen and Chris Jericho were the same person. When interviewed as Moongoose, he would stay in character the whole time and even feign ignorance of who Chris Jericho was. On the other side, Chris Jericho was a "huge fan" of Moongoose and Fozzy.

Fozzy logo wordmark
Fozzy logo wordmark

Self-titled debut and Happenstance (2000–2002)

The band shortened its name to Fozzy, and adopted the satirical back-story that they had signed with a record company to move to Japan to be huge rock stars, but the company went out of business, leaving them stranded for 20 years, while all their demos were snatched and recorded by other bands.[3] Soon afterward, Fozzy produced their first album, self-titled and featuring mostly covers of bands such as Dio, Krokus, Twisted Sister, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe and Judas Priest.[3] Also, at one time the band considered changing their name to Big City Knights.[3]

Fozzy's second album, Happenstance, was produced in 2002, again with mostly covers of bands such as Black Sabbath, Scorpions, W.A.S.P. and Accept.

"Enemy" by Fozzy (2005)
21 second sample from Fozzy's "Enemy".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

All That Remains (2003–2006)

After the Happenstance tour ended in 2003, the band dropped its back-story and Chris Jericho's McQueen persona.[4] In January 2005, they released their third album, All That Remains,[5] which had entirely original tracks, including the singles "Enemy" and "Daze of the Weak". All That Remains included guest appearances by musicians Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Pride and Glory), Bone Crusher, Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge), Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge, Slash), Marty Friedman (Megadeth) and Butch Walker (Marvelous 3).[6] The album sold over 100,000 copies.[citation needed] In 2005, "Enemy" was the theme song for WWE No Way Out and in 2006 for a promotional video for TNA Bound for Glory. In 2005, the band played the Download Festival at Donington Park, England.

Chasing the Grail (2009–2011)

Soon after the release of All That Remains, a fourth album was announced.

Chris Jericho live with Fozzy at the Kleine Klub (Saarbrücken)

On March 4, 2009, MetalUnderground.com reported that Fozzy had signed a worldwide record deal with Australian-based Riot! Entertainment to release their fourth album, Chasing the Grail.[7] The album's lead single, "Martyr No More", was announced as an official theme song for the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view.[8] The album was released in America on January 26, 2010, followed by Australia (February) and Europe (March).

On February 19, 2011, Jericho said during an interview with Active Rock radio station WBSX in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, that he had completed lyrics for a brand new Fozzy album and that Ward was beginning work on writing the music.[9] The band hoped to have the new album released in February 2012.[10] According to Fozzy's official Facebook page, the recordings were done on May 4, 2012. Fozzy released a brand new music video on June 7, which was shot at the Golden Gods Awards for the track "God Pounds His Nails".[11] On July 10, Fozzy played the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth, England.[12] A special, 2-CD edition of Fozzy's live album, Remains Alive was released with Chasing the Grail on July 18.[13] The band then announced a headlining tour of the United Kingdom for November 2011.[14]

On September 9, Sean Delson announced his "retirement" from Fozzy as their bass guitar player to resume work with Agent Cooper. Fozzy announced Paul Di Leo, the bass guitarist for Adrenaline Mob, as his replacement.[15]

Sin and Bones (2012–2013)

On January 18, 2012, it was announced that Fozzy had signed with Century Media Records,[1] and plan to release a new album later in the summer. Jericho hinted the new album on his Twitter page saying 'New @FOZZYROCK album in August?!'. Jericho recently made a full-time return to the WWE on January 2,[16] but despite this, Fozzy was announced to be a part of the Download Festival in the UK, in the summer.[17] On July 17, Fozzy released the first single from their fifth studio album, Sin and Bones, titled "Sandpaper". The song features guest vocals by M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold and was also the Hell in a Cell theme song.[18] Sin and Bones was released on August 14.[19] Shortly after the album's release, Chris Jericho once again left the WWE with his final appearance being on SmackDown, on August 20,[20][21] so that he could go on tour with the band.[22] Fozzy played on the 2012 Uproar Festival tour, headlining the Jägermeister stage. After the Uproar Festival, Fozzy scheduled an international tour with stops in Europe and Australia. Fozzy made their return to the U.S. in 2013 touring as an opener for Saxon on the "Sacrifice and Sin" tour. One tour date (September 21, Joilet, Illinois) was rescheduled and became a Fozzy solo date on October 16.

Do You Wanna Start a War (2014–2015)

Fozzy performing at the El Paso Downtown Street Festival in 2014

During 2013 it was confirmed that Fozzy would begin working on a new record in 2014 and would be looking for a release date during the summer of 2014. The band entered the studio in late January. The first single, "Lights Go Out," was released April 29. Following the release of the new single, the band embarked on the "Lights Go Out" tour to promote their new album, playing festivals such as Carolina Rebellion, Rock on the Range and Download, where they performed on the main stage for the first time in the band's history. The second single, "One Crazed Anarchist," was released on May 26, 2014, and was given away to people that pre-ordered the album. The album, Do You Wanna Start a War, was released July 21, in the UK & Europe and July 22, in North America. The album also features guest appearances by Christie Cook and Steel Panther's Michael Starr. In September 2014, the band announced that Jeff Rouse would be their new bassist, as Paul Di Leo mutually parted ways with the band in May.[23]

Upcoming seventh studio album (2016–present)

Chris Jericho confirmed that Fozzy hope to have their seventh studio album written by January 2016. This album will be the first to feature bassist Randy Drake, who joined the band in 2015 replacing Jeff Rouse. As of December 2015, the band have started working on the record and hope to have a release date sometime in the summer of 2016. However, Jericho said in an interview that it is unlikely to be released in 2016 and is more likely to be released in 2017, this could be due to his return as a full-time WWE in-ring competitor.[24]

Members

Main article: List of Fozzy band members
Current line-up
Former Members

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Fozzy discography.

Awards

Loudwire Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012 Sandpaper (featuring M. Shadows) Cage Match Hall of Fame Won

Notes

  1. ^ a b FOZZY Signs Worldwide Deal With Century Media Records
  2. ^ Chris Jericho Interview. Wrestling Voice Radio. November 27, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Jericho 2011, p. 62
  4. ^ Jericho 2011, p. 270 - "So we dropped the covers, the storyline, the pseudonyms, and the wigs."
  5. ^ Jericho 2011, p. 273 - "So we released our third album, All That Remains, in January 2005 on Ash Records."
  6. ^ Jericho 2011, p. 271 - "Any band that had an album featuring the talents of Wylde, Friedman, Tremonti, and Kennedy had to have some credibility - and we did."
  7. ^ Fozzy Signs To Riot! Entertainment
  8. ^ Fozzy rocks iTunes
  9. ^ http://somethingtofear.blogspot.com/2011/02/breaking-chris-jericho-down.html
  10. ^ https://www.twitter.com/FOZZYROCK
  11. ^ Video on YouTube
  12. ^ http://uk.sonispherefestivals.com/line-up/fozzy/
  13. ^ FOZZY Frontman: Wrestling To Metal
  14. ^ Fozzy Announce UK Tour for November 2011, Final Tour Before Recording New Album
  15. ^ Fozzy Bassist, Sean Delson Leaves The Band
  16. ^ http://vids.wwe.com/14496/raw-chris-jericho-returns-to-wwe
  17. ^ http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/news/article/22_more_bands_added_to_the_download_line_up
  18. ^ Fozzy: New Single "Sandpaper" Now Available; Band Releases 'Evolution of Fozzy' Video
  19. ^ Fozzy: New Album, SIN AND BONES, is Out Now!
  20. ^ How should Chris Jericho’s WWE career be remembered?
  21. ^ Dolph Ziggler def. Chris Jericho; Jericho's WWE contract is terminated
  22. ^ "Raw update - Jericho written off TV".
  23. ^ Fozzy Announce New Bassist Jeff Rouse + Winter 2014 Headlining Tour
  24. ^ http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/no-new-fozzy-album-until-2017/

References

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