Exxplorer was formed over 25 years ago in West Keansburg New Jersey. The band has been regarded as one of the most original heavy metal bands of the 80's, 90's and now in the new millennium. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, please exxplore the sights, sounds, and history of this European cult favorite.
Their first album, Symphonies
of Steel, has been recognized for well over 20 years as one of the most
innovative heavy metal albums of all time. The album topped the charts in
several countries for overall import sales, and appeared at the top of hundreds of radio play lists throughoutEurope, and in many then still communist countries. During this period of time, Exxplorer continued to be one ofthe tri-state area’s favorite heavy metal bands, appearing in concert with an elaborate stage show, and thepowerful momentum generated from their European success.
The band's second
album, A Recipe for Power, was released in 1994. Although a long time had passed
between the first and second albums, the fans loved A Recipe for Power for its blend of eighties progressive powermetal and an up-to-date nineties feel. These were the songs that the band honed during the period of time when theywere going through numerous management and personal trials.
Soon after the release of A Recipe for Power, Exxplorer had major personnel
changes. Vocalist Lennie Rizzo, bassist Jimmy Gardner, and guitarist Kevin
Kennedy left the band for personal reasons. Jay MaCaffrey took over as the new bassist, Barry Hocking Jr. tookcontrol of vocals, and Fred Gorhau took over as the new guitarist. The new lineup spent 1997 recordingcoldblackugly with Atlantic Records producer Bruce Buchanan. Due to creative and directional differences thisversion of the band split in 1999.
In 1999, Mike Moyer and Ed La Volpe started working on new material. At the same
time, Ed ran into Kevin Kennedy around Keyport NJ, where they both now live. In
passing, the subject of re-uniting the band came up on several occasions. Soon
afterwards Ed, Kevin and Lennie had an impromptu jam at a local club. inspired
by the audiences response, the members of the band sought to work out any past
issues and proceed with the future of Exxplorer.... starting in October of 1999,
the original Symphonies of Steel members reunited and began writing new
material.
In the fall of 2000, the band signed a new deal with Underground Symphony
Records to re-release Symphonies of Steel. The label and the band decided it
would be best to include some bonus tracks for the fans, so the decision was
made to record 4 new songs. Unfortunately, once the band started recording, it Lennie Rizzo and the rest of the band decided to move forward in different
directions. For the reissue bonus tracks the band used Connecticut vocalist Jim Abbiati.
For the last few years things have been pretty quiet. However in mid 2008 original Exxplorer members, including vocalist Rizzo have begun making plans to record and perform in Europe in 2009. We will update you as things progress over the next few months…