(By Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Lead Journalist/Writer, RiffRelevant.com)
Reactivated UK thrashers Xentrix have just given metal fans an update on the band, part of which reveals the identity of their new vocalist.
Let’s just let the band get you caught up on what’s happening, here’s their announcement:
“It’s been a while since we posted any Xentrix news, and to be totally honest, this has been down to the fact that we weren’t sure if there would be anymore news or even anymore Xentrix.
“At the end of 2015, Chris Astley, our singer/guitarist had decided he didn’t want to be a part of Xentrix, or any other band for that matter, and so once again he was out of the line up. This left us (the remaining three members) with the option to call it a day or try to find a replacement.
“We knew full well that the vocals are always the most difficult thing for any band to replace, but we wanted to carry on doing shows and making new metal music, so we set out on the arduous task of finding a new vocalist for the band. For the past 18 months we’ve been trying to find that right person and it has been incredibly frustrating how many times we thought we had found the new addition to our line up only to discover, for one reason or another, it wasn’t to be. We’d like to thank everyone that auditioned and demoed for us, we experienced some great voices and really cool people.
“But after a chance meeting at last year’s Bloodstock Festival we found the right man for the job and so Xentrix would like to welcome Mr. Jay Walsh (Bull Riff Stampede) as our new singer / guitarist. We’re super excited to have Jay on board and have already started writing and demoing new material. Most importantly, we can’t wait to get back to doing what we love the most, playing live!”
So, there you have it. We’ll have to wait to hear how the new blood in the long running band works out. Xentrix originally rose to notoriety in the late 1980s, when they released a string of impressive albums like ‘Shattered Existence’ (1989), ‘For Whose Advantage?’ (1990), ‘Kin’ (1992), and ‘Scourge’ (1996).
But it was their metallized cover of Ray Parker, Jr.’s hit song “Ghostbusters” (video below) in 1990 that garnered them large-scale exposure. They broke up (the first time) in 1997, briefly reformed in 2006, but it was short-lived and lasted until their recent reformation in 2013.
Xentrix circa 2017 consists of:
Kristian Havard – Guitar
Chris Shires – Bass
Jay Walsh – Vocals/Guitar
Dennis Gasser – Drums
