Drummer BOBBY JARZOMBEK (SEBASTIAN BACH, HALFORD, SPASTIC INK) has issued the following update:

"A few weeks ago I spent some time visiting with family and friends back in my hometown of San Antonio, TX. I ended up doing an interview with Robb Chavez who's the host of Robb's Metal Works, a local metal TV show that's become a real institution over the years. We talked about everything from my early days in the SA metal scene with JUGGERNAUT, to my drum DVD, Performance & Technique, and all things Sebastian Bach, Halford, PAINMUSEUM, and Spastik Ink. The segment is set to air on Sunday, April 15 at 10pm; Metal Works can be seen on Time Warner Cable Channel 50 locally. Check www.robbsmetalworks.com for more details.

Lots has happened since I last posted an update back in June of '06. For one, I accumulated a hell of a lot of frequent flyer miles traveling all around the world with Sebastian Bach. After crisscrossing Europe opening up for GUNS N' ROSES all summer long and flying out to Japan for the UDO Music Festival, we also made it to China, which is still pretty much virgin rock'n'roll territory, and the land down under, Australia. What an experience! After chilling for a bit in L.A., we headed back out with Guns and several different opening acts for a solid two months around the US and Canada winding things down just before Christmas with three kick ass shows at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA. Home, sweet adopted home!

We've been idle ever since but summer dates are being booked as we speak: We are kicking things off with four shows in Japan in early June, just got confirmed as direct support to Guns N Roses on their tour of Australia and New Zealand, and will be trekking over to Europe in July for a return engagement at the Evolution Festival in the beautiful Tuscany region of Italy before heading North to Norway where we'll play the Kvinesdal Rockfestival. Exact dates and places are as follows:

June

10 - Burswood Dome - Perth, Australia
13 - Entertainment Centre - Adelaide, Australia
15 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, Australia
20 - Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia
23 - Acer Arena - Sydney, Australia
29 - Vector Arena - Auckland, New Zealand

July

7 - Evolution Festival - Firenze, Italy
13 - Kvinesdal Rockfestival - Kvinesdal, Norway

As for the long awaited release of the Angel Down album - I don't know where exactly things stand at the moment. I tracked all my drums last summer and pretty much everything is recorded. Sebastian tweaked some of his vocals last time he was in town for a Gilmore Girls'shoot so I'd imagine we're getting close to wrapping things up. Obviously, part of the delay has to do with record company stuff and Sebastian switching labels. In any case, I'm positive people will dig the album when it does come out - the reaction we've been getting to some of the 'Angel Down' songs, like 'Love Is A Bitch Slap', 'By My Side' or 'American Metalhead', which some of you might recognize from the Painmuseum (note: we just got added to the SOS Festival at Expo Feria in Torreon, Mexico on May 4 with SEPULTURA, OBITUARY, SADUS, and others) record I did with my Halford and now Bach band mate Metal Mike, has been very encouraging.

Which brings me to another topic: Given my quite busy schedule with Sebastian I've had to step down from my Iced Earth duties. I would've liked to be part of the new album but, unfortunately, I couldn't give Jon Schaffer a touring commitment when he asked me a few months ago. So he decided to bring back Brent Smedley who was available to do both the album and the corresponding tour. I really enjoyed my time in Iced Earth but regrettably the timing of my involvement wasn't the best. Ultimately, the only touring we were able to do behind The Glorious Burden was a short run in the US and a couple of European festivals before things came to a halt. Soon after that I was approached about doing some shows with Sebastian, which turned into a full-time situation pretty quickly. Good luck to Jon, Tim and the rest of the guys - I'm sure they'll make a kick ass record.

On the Halford front, I hope you all dig the new tunes, 'Forgotten Generation' (watch the video here) and 'Drop Out', that are part of the Metal God Essentials Vol. 1 package available for downloading at www.HalfordMusic.com and iTunes. Rob has re-acquired the rights to his back catalog and re-issued various titles and configurations through his new company, Metal God Entertainment (MGE), including a re-worked version of 'Crucible', mixed and mastered by the very capable Tue Madsen (MNEMIC, THE HAUNTED, HIMSA) over in Denmark. Part of the expanded 'Crucible' package is this version of 'Never Satisfied' with a killer 'behind the back' Hendrix-style guitar solo by Roy Z; the footage is from the very last Halford show at The Grove in Anaheim, CA in early 2003. You can also look forward to a Halford - Live at Rock In Rio 2001 DVD which will be accompanied by an audio soundtrack, Halford - Live at Rock In Rio III. Watch the promotional trailer at www.RobHalford.com/trailers . As for Halford IV - I'm confident that we will have product in stores sometime in the near future. Keep checking Rob's website for the latest news.

Before I go, I wanted to pass along the links to few shots of yours truly at NAMM Show 2007, courtesy of my stick company, Vic Virth. NAMM is a grueling 4-day marathon (if you can stand it for that long.....) and parking down in Anaheim sucks worse every year but it's always great to run into all sorts of friends and colleagues you don't usually see much - or not at all - all year long. This year I ran into everyone from Thomas Lang and Derek Roddy to Gene Hoglan and Mike Portnoy, a virtual who's who, including the following gentlemen:

Gregg Bissonette, me, Jason McGerr (DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE), Simon Wright (DIO).

Me, Adrian Erlandsson (ex-CRADLE OF FILTH), Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), Jason Rullo (SYMPHONY X).

Me, Corky Lang (MOUNTAIN), Jason McGerr (Death Cab for Cutie), Jason Rullo (Symphony X), Simon Wright (Dio)."