Mark Zonder's interview for The Metal Gods Meltdown by Seb Di Gatto

Mark Zonder's interview for The Metal Gods Meltdown by Seb Di Gatto dives deep into the upcoming A-Z 2 album, the band's inspirations, and the intriguing cover art. He also discusses how social media and AI have changed the music industry, the uniqueness of this seasoned group of musicians, and Warlord's plans for their tour with Judas Priest.

A-Z will certainly appeal to fans of progressive rock—not that they’re like Dream Theater; rather, the band has a progressive feel and a boundary-pushing musical intent while retaining a singalong character. Rave reviews for A-Z’s self-titled debut put the vibe of the first record into words, The Prog Report saying: “You’ll get musical hints of Toto, GTR and even the more memorable commercial output from Yes in the 1980’s. But I can’t emphasize enough how modern it comes across, never sounding dated or retro. At times you’ll hear jazzy elements, heavy moments and even an AOR sound in several songs. The debut album from A-Z is a fantastic & fresh sounding first effort from these seasoned professionals.”

The second album is sure to garner equally high praise, A-Z fully locked into a sound that’s commercial and memorable, while bold and never sterile. You could look at the lineup as a “supergroup,” however, they’re truly a band of brothers hungry to make it together. “We look at the big picture. We’re all about the songs, the band, not what each of us does in it. It’s simple,” they all agree. “It's about the music as a whole,” says Zonder, “I guarantee you everybody's into something completely different musically, and that's where the magic to me comes from, taking different influences and everybody doing what they do to create A-Z. We’re not 20-year-old kids. We’re at the point where if you're gonna go, just go big. And that’s what we’ve done on A2Z2.”

A-Z lineup:
Ray Alder - Lead and Backing Vocals
Philip Bynoe - Bass Guitar
Nick Van Dyk - Guitars
Simone Mularoni – Lead Guitars
Jimmy Waldo – Keyboards
Mark Zonder – Drums
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