Evanescence guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer Will Hunt have joined up with Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric and Granny 4 Barrel vocalist Terry LeRoi in a new group dubbed Killington Pit.
The collective’s first single is the below cover of Accept‘s 1983 heavy metal anthem, “Balls To The Wall“. That rendition is one of many the band have laid down of classic metal tracks. They’ve also put their stamp on songs from the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Rainbow and more for an eventual covers album.
LeRoi commented:
“From the moment we decided to record this track, it was pure magic. Chuck, Will, and Troy went back-and-forth with digital files until we had the music dialed in. I’ve always been inspired by Udo‘s voice and singing style so I did my best to channel that while adding my own flair stylistically.
Our manager Matt Holmes produced the vocals with me in New York and when we put it all together, we realized we had something pretty special going on. It was and is an honor to record music with these incredible musicians! We’re so stoked with the way that this legendary track came out!”
McLawhorn offered:
“I grew up listening and learning from bands like Accept when I was younger and just starting to play the guitar. ‘Balls to the Wall‘ seemed like the right choice because of its popularity and badassness! I really wanted to do the guitars justice so I stick closely to the original parts with a little bit of my flavor on them as well.”
Hunt added:
“I’m proud to call all of them friends. Each of them are musicians and performers that I love and respect. I saw Accept open for Ozzy on his ‘Bark at the Moon’ tour in 1984. It was their first tour of the US and ‘Balls’ was just starting to make noise over here. They absolutely blew me away that night! So cool to record this cover!”
Noted metal and hard rock personality Matt Pinfield contributed guest vocals to the gang choruses found on the track.
Speaking of the overall vision for Killington Pit, LeRoi offered:
“Killington Pit is modern rock/metal with roots in classic rock but we’re really not trying to limit where this can go. There are so many collective influences between the four of us, I think sonically it’s going to evolve naturally. But rest assured the foundation of the sound will always be heavy. “In addition to the cover album project, we are at the beginning stages of original music as well. We’re really looking forward to sharing the growing sound and image of Killington Pit!”
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