In a new social media update, LAST IN LINE singer Andrew Freeman commented on the status of the songwriting sessions for the band’s fourth studio album. Freeman is joined in the group by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE) and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO). Andrew said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”LAST IN LINE, as previously reported by one of the members of the band, he said we have a whole record done. Well, we don’t have a whole record done. We have four songs that we’ve done. I know that we don’t have a whole record done because I haven’t fucking wrote it yet. So, yeah, we have four songs done. We’re working on an album.”
Andrew continued: “Obviously, Viv was sick for a while [battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma] and recovering from his bone marrow transplant and all of that stuff. So he is a hundred percent now, from what I understand, and is going to be going back out with DEF LEPPARD. And we had decided that we were taking a break and his health was the most important thing — obviously — which I fully support. So the guy needs to be better and well, and we are obviously a side project to his bigger job, which is why I am doing a lot of other things. So, when those guys are ready to go and make it happen, I’m in. But, obviously, the man’s health comes first, and we’re not gonna rush it.”
Freeman added: “That’s the beauty of LAST IN LINE, is that we can do it whenever we want. It’s a cool gig and I’m really happy to be a part of it and proud to be a part of it, to be able to enable that thing to happen with those dudes. They’re the classic [DIO] lineup. This thing has roots way back into some of the greatest bands in rock history, so it’s an honor for me to do it. But we don’t have much happening. As far as [LAST IN LINE] gigs, there’s not gonna be any gigs this year, and there might not be any next year. But, again, working on an album, and when those guys are ready to go, I’m ready to go. So we’ll keep you posted on that.”
During a June 11 appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Vivian confirmed that he and LAST IN LINE bandmates were working on material for a possible fourth studio album. Asked what was going on with LAST IN LINE, Vivian said: “Not a lot, actually. There hasn’t a lot been going on. Our last show was the first week of May last year at the M3 festival in Baltimore. Then right after that, I went touring with LEPPARD all through the summer, and, obviously, right after the summer tour with LEPPARD, I was dealing with [undergoing a bone marrow] transplant [as part of Vivian‘s battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma] and the chemo and stuff. So it’s basically my fault [we haven’t done more]. [Laughs] I’ve gotta kind of schedule things and get us back up and started again.”
He continued: “But the short answer is we probably won’t do anything this year. We’re working on a record. We actually wrote the songs so long ago, I’ve practically forgotten them, but we do have an album written. We have four master tracks that we’re currently working on. And the ball is in my court. I’ve gotta do guitar on those tracks. I’ve only done one so far. So once those four are finished, we’ll probably release ’em, actually. I mean, we did write an album’s worth of music, but I’m not sure if we’ll put it all out as one thing. We might release it piecemeal, because getting back to albums and stuff, when you put out a record, it’s just got such a short shelf life nowadays. So maybe it might be more beneficial for us to release two, three or four tracks at a time. And hopefully next year we’ll get back into doing some shows. But it’s been rough since our last show. We lost our road manager, roadie guy. It’s not like DEF LEPPARD. We travel in sprinter vans and we have one roadie. And his name was Mark Weber, and, unfortunately, he passed away last July. And so next time we do go play, we’ll be playing without Mark.”
Campbell added: “It’s been a rough ride with LAST IN LINE with the attrition rate. We lost [original LAST IN LINE bassist] Jimmy Bain to cancer on the eve of the release of our debut album. And we lost our manager, Steve Strange, three years ago to cancer. And now we lost Mark. But having said all of that, it is very, very cathartic for me to play on stage with LAST IN LINE. It really exercises the muscle of guitar playing furiously. It keeps me sharp and on top of my ga.me And the travel’s hard, back-to-back shows, five or six hours every day in a sprinter van, cheese sandwiches, no sleep, but when we’re on stage, it is just electrifying for me to play. It just kind of recharges my batteries. And then when I go back to DEF LEPPARD, I feel so, so confident about my playing again. So, yeah, I’d like to get back at it. I do miss it, to be honest. And there will be new music.”
LAST IN LINE‘s third album, “Jericho”, came out in March 2023 via earMUSIC. The LP was helmed by Chris Collier, who has previously worked with KORN and WHITESNAKE, among other bands. LAST IN LINE‘s first two albums were produced by former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson.
In 2022, LAST IN LINE surprised fans by releasing a unique version of THE BEATLES classic “A Day In The Life”, which was made available on the limited 12-inch silver collector’s EP with the same name.
Formed in 2012 by Appice, Campbell and bassist Jimmy Bain — Ronnie James Dio‘s co-conspirators and co-writers on the “Holy Diver”, “Last In Line” and “Sacred Heart” albums — LAST IN LINE‘s initial intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio‘s early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.
LAST IN LINE‘s debut album, “Heavy Crown”, was released in February 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl, landing at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Heatseekers chart. Initially, the release had been preceded by tragedy when Bain unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on January 23, 2016. LAST IN LINE, honoring what they knew would be Bain‘s wish to keep the band moving, brought in Soussan and committed to sustained touring in support of the album before beginning work on the follow-up release, 2019’s “II”, which was also made available through Frontiers Music Srl.
Last fall, Soussantold Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series about the progress of the songwriting sessions for LAST IN LINE‘s fourth studio album: “We had got together, and in the crazy way that we do, we usually get together and get into a room. And we don’t really bring in ideas. We just get into a room and plug in and start banging around and seeing what comes out, seeing what sounds cool. And we’ve got a whole bunch of embryonic ideas, and so we’re working that at the moment. We do have to work around the DEF LEPPARD schedule, obviously; that’s part of the parcel of what we do, and it’s fine. And Viv has some personal things that he has to do as well, which is not my business to talk about. So that’s going to mean where it’s gonna be a little hard for us to get together as much to do this record. However, the ‘Jericho’ album, we got together and recorded half of those ideas just before the pandemic. It wasn’t a plan. We found ourselves in L.A. ‘Let’s go into a studio and let’s just do that.’ And it turned out to be somewhat prophetic because of what happened with the pandemic. At least we had half an album to work on. But in the process of doing that, we found that we were able to work on a record remotely, using file transfers and doing things. So, half of ‘Jericho’ was done that way. And a lot of this album is probably going to be done in a similar kind of way as well. And the plan is probably to get back out on the road again after the summer of ’25.”
Asked if there has been any thoughts of maybe going out on a tour opening for a bigger band and getting more exposure to LAST IN LINE, Phil said: “It would be great, if it would work out and if everything made sense. Just prior to the pandemic, we were really on a good roll, and we had been going to Europe quite a lot and we had done tours opening for SAXON, for example, that was just terrific. It was a lot of fun for everyone on the tour together, and we had a great time. When that whole period came along, it really disrupted a lot of our plans. We had plans to go to South America, to Japan and back to Europe, a bunch of festivals in Europe, and all of that vaporized. And it’s been hard trying to get that impetus back on track again. Not for any crazy reasons. One of the reasons, which is no secret, it’s extremely expensive to try to get to Europe now, what with the kind of costs involved in touring — the fuel costs and the transportation costs and the way that the exchange rates have been, it’s almost been a little prohibitive. And we’ve sort of been waiting for an opportunity to be able to go there and do that. We’d love to, sooner rather than later, I hope. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
Regarding how difficult is it for a band at the level of LAST IN LINE to make a profit going out on the road, Phil said: “It’s not really about making a profit. It’s about, basically, being able to cover everything, cover all the expenses. We’re very passionate about what we do, and I think I am personally, and that’s always been my mantra, is to be passionate about what I’m doing and let the money take care of itself. So it’s not just about trying to make money, but sometimes it’s just cost prohibitive to be able to do something. I mean, if you figure the expenses of — I don’t wanna get into details, but once you start adding these numbers up, then you realize it’s going to be really in the whole to do a tour. But if we can cover it and get close to covering it, then that’s fine. I mean, thank God that we don’t all live paycheck to paycheck and we’re able to be able to do these things and get together with our fans in a way that works for everyone. I mean, that’s the most important thing, is getting the music in front of the people who love our band and being able to find a way to do it.”
In 2023, Vivian told Classic Rock magazine about the “Jericho” songwriting process: “One thing we insist on in LAST IN LINE is that we have to be in the room together when we cut the tracks, old school, because that’s how we did the early DIO records with Ronnie [James Dio]. We started this record in January 2020 in L.A., intending to finish it that April, and then obviously COVID happened and things got… discombobulated. It wasn’t until February 2022 that we were able to get back into the studio, but that break only made the record stronger.”
Photo credit: Jim Wright (courtesy of earMUSIC)
