ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records recently announced that the debut album, Vacation In The Underworld, by the living metal legends Ellefson-Soto will be released in Europe on November 11 under the exclusive license of Rat Pak Records. It was released in North America on October 27th.
Robert Cavuoto at Metal Rules caught up with both David and Jeff for an in-depth discussion about the creation of the songs on the album, when they both knew they were making something special, why they didn’t want to come up with a band name, and how the title track is the sweet spot of their collaborative sound. David also gives us an update on the recording of songs for his other project, Kings of Thrash.
On when they realized they had creative chemistry
Soto: "We didn't go into this with the intent of starting a band or a project. It was mainly that David was working with so many people; he's got a lot of collaborations going on in his life and so do I, and that was one of the common bonds that we had. He hired me for a couple tracks, and it got to the point where I said 'Dude, you don't have to pay me for this. This is actually a lot of fun and I love what we're churning out.' It was about three or four songs deep when we realized we were on to something. We just kept going, and before we knew it we had 13 or 14 songs."
In a partnership that has been years in the making, Grammy Award winning bassist David Ellefson and acclaimed metal vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have joined forces for an all-new collaboration, Ellefson-Soto. The band follows the tradition of successful individuals that joined forces to create memorable music: David Coverdale & Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes, Tommy Shaw & Jack Blades, Michael Sweet & George Lynch to name a few examples. The metal duo is joined by Andy Martongelli on guitar and keys and Paulo Caridi on drums to unleash their debut album, Vacation In The Underworld. The album features eleven tracks and three bonus recordings (four on the EU release) that demonstrate why Ellefson-Soto is considered legends by many in the metal world.
Vacation In The Underwold will be released in Europe on November 11 as jewel case CD and on December 16 as Transparent Green 180g Vinyl edition that is limited to 300. Both versions come with the exclusive EU bonus track. Pre-order here.
Vacation In The Underworld, available outside of Europe now, was produced by Chris Collier and can be ordered here.
From the fiery guitar lead of the album opener “Vacation In The Underworld” to the prog-metal fury of closer “Rise To Win,” Ellefson-Soto have created a debut that is sure to capture metal fans from all over the globe. Combining different styles of metal, songs like “Sharpen The Sword,” “The Revolution” and “Live To Die Another Day” showcase the various influences Ellefson-Soto have picked up over their four decades in music. Jade Etro from the Italian power metal band Frozen Crown makes a guest appearance on “The Day Before Tomorrow.” Steve Conley and Ken Mary from Flotsam and Jetsam perform on the title track “Vacation In The Underworld.”
Vacation In The Underworld tracklisting:
"Vacation In The Underworld"
"Like A Bullet"
"Sharpen The Sword"
"The Reason"
"S.T.N."
"The Revolution"
"Celebrity Trash"
"Live To Die Another Day"
"The Day Before Tomorrow"
"Hercules"
"Rise To Win"
"Out Of The Blue" (Bonus Track)
"Lone Star" (Bonus Track)
"Writing On The Wall" (Bonus Track)
"I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" (Bonus Track, only available in EU version)
"S.T.N." lyric video:
“The Reason” lyric video:
“Like A Bullet” video:
"Vacation In The Underworld" video:
