As they prepare for a busy season of touring, the legendary FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have officially welcomed Ken Mary (Alice Cooper, Accept) as their permanent drummer. Mary, who began touring with the group last year after Jason Bittner was invited to join Overkill, will join the band on all of their upcoming tour dates, including a short run of European shows that kicks off this weekend at Germany’s Keep It True festival. He will also perform on the group’s in-progress new album, due to be released via AFM Records later this year.
“It’s always awesome to play with the mighty FLOTSAM AND JETSAM,” Mary says. “The music is super-challenging and at the same time a great deal of fun to play. With such great musicians in the band that are also great guys, it’s going to be a blast!”
“We’re excited to announce that Ken will be our new drummer,” adds the band. “Ken has already tracked all the drums for our upcoming album slated for release later this year, and we’re all looking forward to the fans experiencing a new chapter in the history of FLOTSAM AND JETSAM.”
A handful of performances on FLOTSAM AND JETSAM’s European tour will see the group perform their groundbreaking 1986 debut, “Doomsday For The Deceiver,” in its entirety. A new 180-gram vinyl edition of the album will be reissued by the group’s original record label, Metal Blade, this week.
“We’re looking forward to a couple of special performances of the ‘Doomsday’ album played in its entirety, with Keep It True being the first time ever the band has taken on that task,” the band says. “With Metal Blade releasing ‘Doomsday’ on vinyl, the timing couldn’t be better for this special set. It’s something we’re all looking forward to playing for our friends in Europe.”
Soon after the group returns to America, they’ll hit the road again alongside Swedish power metal veterans HammerFall, with several headlining shows along the way. Says the band, “This is going to be a banging tour, and we couldn’t ask for a more accommodating and cool group of talented musicians to hit the road with and bring our respective styles of metal to the masses. We have 10 headlining shows; before, during and after the HammerFall dates, so hopefully we’re coming close enough to your city to warrant a heavy metal road trip. Looking forward to seeing our U.S. and Canadian friends and fans on the road!”
A complete list of FLOTSAM AND JETSAM’s upcoming tour dates appears below. More information on the group’s new album will be revealed in the coming months.
European Dates
27 April Lauda-Königshofen, DE – Keep It True XXI
29 April Leeuwarden, NL – Stars On Thrash Vol 2
30 April Bari, IT – Demonde
01 May Pisa, IT – Borderline Dadga
02 May Pavia, IT – Dadga
03 May Rome, IT – Traffic
04 May Ulft, NL – DRU Fabriek
05 May Izegim, BL – Headbanger’s Balls Fest
22 Mar 2019 North Wales, UK – Hammerfest XI
North American dates
5/14 Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live
5/16 Tampa, FL – Crowbar
5/17 West Palm Beach, FL – Kelsey Theater *
5/18 Winter Park, FL – The Haven *
5/19 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade *
5/20 Raleigh, NC – Motorco *
5/22 Baltimore, MD – Soundstage *
5/23 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero *
5/24 New York, NY – Gramercy *
5/25 Worcester, MA – Palladium *
5/26 Clifton Park, NY – Upstate Concert Hall *
5/27 Quebec City, QC – Imperial *
5/28 Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electriques *
5/29 Toronto, ON – Opera House *
5/30 Amprior, ON – John St. Pub
5/31 Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater *
6/1 Cleveland, OH – Agora *
6/2 Louisville, KY – Diamond Pub and Billiards *
6/3 Detroit, MI – Harpos *
6/4 Joliet, IL – The Forge *
6/5 Minneapolis, MN – The Cabooze *
6/7 Calgary, AB – Dickens *
6/8 Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room *
6/9 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre *
6/10 Seattle, WA – El Corazon *
6/11 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater *
6/12 Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver
6/13 San Francisco, CA – The Chapel *
6/14 Los Angeles, CA – Whisky A Go Go *
6/15 Anaheim, CA – City National Grove *
6/16 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee *
6/18 Dallas, TX – Trees *
6/19 San Antonio, TX – Rock Box *
6/20 Houston, TX – Scout Bar *
6/21 Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street Collective
6/22 Denver, CO – Herman’s Hideaway
6/23 Colorado Springs, CO – Sunshine Studios
6/24 Salt Lake City, UT – Liquid Joe’s
6/25 Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar
6/26 San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
* with HammerFall
