By Carl Begai

In 2013 the annual ROCK MEETS CLASSIC tour – featuring rock artists from the ’70s and ’80s performing their hits backed by a full band and orchestra – made its way through parts of Europe for the fourth time, once again to rave reviews. As every year changes were made to the roster of artists on board, welcoming Paul Rodgers (BAD COMPANY), Eric Bazilian (THE HOOTERS), Steve Augeri (ex-JOURNEY) and Bonnie Tyler to the stage, with Chris Thompson (MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND) being the only holdover from 2012. Changes were made within the usually static ranks of THE MAT SINNER BAND as well, with backing vocalist Kolinda Brozovic and PRIMAL FEAR / DUSKMACHINE drummer Randy Black welcomed to the fold. Black’s presence marked the fourth of five Primal Fear members in the Rock Meets Classic family, and he was only too happy to put his well-seasoned metal impulses on the backburner in favour of performing with some of rock’s finest.

“Not to sound sappy – and I’m going to sound like a wimp (laughs) – but there haven’t been many times in my career when I’ve had tears in my eyes on stage,” Black admits. “A song like ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ by Paul Rodgers, I grew up with it and cut my teeth on the cover scene in Canada with them. What people might not realize is that I’m above the stage at Rock Meets Classic, I’m looking down over the orchestra and the band, and I have an in-ear mix of everything. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it now (laughs). I had this amazing sound in my ears, I was looking down and listening to everything, and I thought ‘I can’t believe I’m drumming for this.’”
“It’s a whole different thing. It’s not metal, but it’s what I grew up listening to; pop rock. There were so many ‘wow’ moments on the 2013 tour, like hearing Bonnie Tyler nailing those notes on ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’. Everybody knows the song, everybody knows what Bonnie Tyler sounds like, and she was amazing. I wish my mom could have been there for that.”

Although he was new to the crew, Black was given the spotlight along with the orchestra for a crowd-pleasing rendition of the Pirates Of The Caribbean film’s theme music, ‘He’s A Pirate’. Black played up the part accordingly, making the short interlude one of the many high points of the show.

“That actually wasn’t planned,” Black reveals. “The orchestra rehearsed it without me, and a few shows in they thought drums might add more to the piece, so they put a pirate’s hat on me and away we went. I actually just found out they put it in again for this year.”

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Rock Meets Classic 2014 featuring ALICE COOPER and ORIANTHI, MICK BOX and BERNIE SHAW of URIAH HEEP, JOE LYNN TURNER, MIDGE URE and KIM WILDE kicked off in Berlin, Germany on March 9th. The tour schedule is as follows:

March

11 - Fankfurt, Germany
12 - Neu-Ulm, Germany
13 - Nuremberg, Germany
14 - Wurzburg, Germany
16 - Passau, Germany
18 - Mannheim, Germany
19 - Kempten, Germany
20 - Munich, Germany
21 - Regensburg, Germany
23 - Zurich, Switzerland
25 - Strasbourg, France
26 - Innsbruck, Austria
27 - Ingolstadt, Austria
29 - Halle-Westfallen, Germany
30 - Leipzig, Germany

April

1 - Hamburg, Germany
2 - Essen, Germany
4 - Stuttgart, Germany
5 - Dresden, Germany

Go to the official Rock Meets Classic Facebook page here for details.