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Ripple Music has announced the signing of American heavy metal supergroup Axe Dragger<\/strong> featuring original Pantera<\/a><\/strong> vocalist Terry Glaze<\/strong>, guitarist Bob Balch<\/strong> (Fu Manchu<\/a><\/strong>, Slower<\/a><\/strong>, etc.), Dark Funeral<\/a><\/strong> bassist Fredrik Isaksson<\/strong>, and former Pentagram<\/a><\/strong> drummer Pete Campbell<\/strong>. The band will release their self-titled debut album in spring 2026, and I am absolutely thrilled to premiere the first-ever Axe Dragger<\/strong> song below. It rules and man, Glaze<\/strong> can belt it out.<\/p>\n Axe Dragger<\/strong> began as a long-distance collaboration between Balch<\/strong> and drummer Campbell<\/strong>. The two started trading riffs and drum ideas remotely, gradually building a foundation that quickly evolved into something bigger. The project took a major leap forward when Glaze<\/strong> and Isaksson<\/strong> joined the lineup; and then over the course of a year, the quartet refined their sound song by song.<\/p>\n Balch<\/strong> explained how the project took shape: “I’d been in touch with drummer Pete Campbell<\/strong> for a while about trading riffs, drum beats, and ideas. I’ve also been teaching a student over FaceTime for a couple of years who wants to learn old Riot<\/strong>, Judas Priest<\/strong>, and Dio<\/strong>\u2014and that really lit a fire under me to start writing an old-school heavy metal project.<\/p>\n “So Pete<\/strong> and I started sending riffs and beats back and forth, and once we had a few solid tunes, we brought in vocalist Terry Glaze<\/strong> and bassist Fredrik Isaksson<\/strong>. The first song Terry<\/strong> sent back was \u2018Axe Dragger,’ and Pete<\/strong> and I completely lost our minds. From there, we were all fired up, and over the course of a year, we put together this record. It’s a pure reflection of early ’80s heavy metal\u2014and I hope you dig it. For the guitar geeks out there, this record is loaded with harmonic minor modes \u00e0 la Powerslave<\/em>-era Iron Maiden<\/strong>!”<\/p>\n Axe Dragger<\/em> (the album) was mixed by Brian Scheuble<\/strong> (M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/strong>, Whitesnake<\/strong>, Stone Temple Pilots<\/strong>, Nine Inch Nails<\/strong>) and mastered by Dave Collins<\/strong> (Metallica<\/strong>, Soundgarden<\/strong>), with vinyl and CD mastering by Carl Saff<\/strong>, album artwork by Seldon Hunt<\/strong> and press photo by John McGill<\/strong>. Pre-orders are available here<\/a> (and here in Europe<\/a>, and here on Bandcamp<\/a>).<\/p>\n