MyGlobalMind.com has issued a new interview with Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, conducted by Robert Cavuoto. Campbell discusses the upcoming debut from Last In Line entitled Heavy Crown, the passing of his friend and band mate Jimmy Bain on the Def Leppard Cruise, as well as his approach to playing guitar. An excerpt follows:

Q: Will Last In Line carry on without Jimmy?

A: “We were scheduled to do a tour to promote the release of the CD but have cancelled it. We have two obligations which we will fulfill; the Frontiers Festival Italy this April as we are headlining two nights and Rocklahoma on Memorial Day weekend, with whom on bass I don’t know as of yet as we just not are there yet. Jimmy was just buried and we want to be very respectful to his memory. He believed in this CD and it’s a strong record that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his other recordings. In the last year and a half while we were making the CD, it really gave him focus in dealing with his sobriety and overcoming that demon. He focused his energies on it, believed in it, and was very proud of it – as we all are.  It’s weird to think about performing without Jimmy as he was so much a part of the process. It was reuniting the original Dio band and the chemistry is to never be replaced. I personally don’t subscribe to the feeling that you can replace a musician; we are unique like our finger prints. Where we play, where we don’t play, how we play, the spaces we leave, and our timing. The tonality we each have is very individual, every musician is very unique. It’s going to be different; it’s never going to be the same. We believe in the project, the record, and we will work it to some extent.”

Read more at MyGlobalMind.com.

February 19th will see the release of the debut album from Last In Line, entitled Heavy Crown. Check out this new video, about the making of the track “Starmaker”:

Named after Dio’s 1984 studio album, The Last In Line, the band are on a mission to bring classic hard rock to fans who can’t get enough of the real thing. The album will be released on CD, CD/DVD (including a bonus track) and digital formats. Pre-order the album here.

Says guitarist Vivian Campbell, “When we started this project a few years ago, the initial idea was to reunite the original Dio band to play the songs we wrote and recorded with Ronnie in the early 1980’s. Joined by Andrew Freeman on vocals, we played a handful of shows in southern California, the UK, and Japan. It was a limited ambition, but it brought us great joy in reconnecting to this great music, to each other, and to our collective history.”

“When we first got together as the Last In Line line-up, our ambition at that time didn’t extend to writing and recording any new music, says Campbell, “but when we were offered the opportunity to do so by Frontiers, we decided to enter the studio to write this new album in the very same spirit as we did the Holy Diver album; Back in 1982 Ronnie, Vinny, Jimmy and I went into Sound City studios to kick around ideas and riffs, and about six weeks later we started laying down the tracks for what was to become the Holy Diver album.”

CD tracklisting:

“Devil In Me”
“Martyr”
“Starmaker”
“Burn This House Down”
“I Am Revolution”
“Blame It On Me”
“In Flames” (Bonus Track Deluxe Edition)
“Already Dead”
“Curse The Day”
“Orange Glow”
“Heavy Crown”
“The Sickness”

DVD tracklisting:

“Devil In Me” (video)
“Starmaker” (video)
Making of Heavy Crown

“Blame It On Me” lyric video:

“Starmaker” video:

“Martyr”:

“Devil In Me” video:

On January 24th, former Rainbow / Dio bassist Jimmy Bain - most recently with Last In Line - passed away at the age of 68 during Def Leppard's Hysteria On The High Seas cruise. Bain's Last In Line bandmates have posted a video tribute in his memory, which can be viewed below:

Last In Line frontman Andrew Freeman recently posted a tribute to Bain:

"As I am sure you all have heard, we lost our friend and bandmate Jimmy Bain over the weekend. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jimmy for about 10 years through a few music projects and our recent band, Last In Line.

I cannot stress the level of sadness and loss that I feel losing such a close friend and mentor. Jimmy, along with Vivian Campbell and Vinny Appice, welcomed me into their intimate artistic circle, entrusting me the responsibility of performing a legendary library of music and building a new one. I will be forever indebted to this man for the encouraging spirit he graced me with.

Rest easy, my friend. I will do my best to carry on your legacy."

As guitarist Vivian Campbell stated via social media: “It was Jimmy who gave me my first big break in the music industry and for that I am forever indebted. Jimmy was immensely proud of our new album and his input to it was immeasurable. We will continue to celebrate his life through his music. On behalf of Vinny and Andrew, our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this most difficult of times. Rest in peace, dear friend.”

(Photo: Ross Halfin)