HAIL! - the band featuring vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (DIO DISCIPLES, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA) alongside a rotating list of musicians, including drummers Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) and Mike Portnoy (ADRENALIN MOB, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), and bassists James Lomenzo (MEGADETH) and David Ellefson (Megadeth) - performed in Istanbul, Turkey on October 15th at Kucukciftlik Park, featuring UGLY KID JOE frontman Whitfield Crane up front in place of Owens, and ex-MEGADETH guitarist Glen Drover.

The band have issued the following update:

"In an unexpected twist of fate, Hail! invaded the education system. Following our concert in Istanbul, singer Whitfield Crane and band manager, Mark "Abba" Abbattista, received the gracious invitation to be guest speakers at one of the most prestigious private high schools in Istanbul. Speaking to Mrs. Babaoglu's 9th grade class provided the unique opportunity to interact with the students in a fun, informal way and a wonderfully insightful experience was had by all.

"How cool was this?" asked Whit, "It was absolutely amazing! The fact that the school provided us with this opportunity to meet these 15 year old kids at a time in their lives when they are just starting to really experience music and the world was incredible - I loved it! Sure, we can play our music to our fans but being able to connect, interact, talk and share our life experiences to a group of teenagers, especially in a formal school setting like this, was super rad. My high school never provided anything like this."

Mixing humor with sage advice, the guys shared their personal experiences of music business careers, road stories and world travel (along with their opinions of Justin Bieber).

"Our life experiences are obviously different from most people because some of our choices have been less than traditional. In my case, education is the key that provided me with the opportunity to travel the world and live the lifestyle that I do. Education provided the freedom to follow my dreams and live my life in this very special way. Developing your own personal skills, talents and desires, whether they are music, law, art, science, athletics, love or whatever, and passionately embracing your dreams should be the ultimate goal in life. So many people get sidetracked or disillusioned along the way and unfortunately they wander off their own path to true happiness," said Abba. "It was a huge inspiration for me to be with them and hopefully we touched these kids in a personal way that will inspire them and help reaffirm and validate the life choices that they will ultimately make," added Whit.

A huge thank you to the school, the kids and the coolest teacher we know, Seyda Babaoglu, for arranging this special event. Hail!"

The band's lineup for the Istanbul show was follows:

-- Whitfield Crane (vocals)
-- Glen Drover (guitars)
-- James Lomenzo (bass)
-- Mike Portnoy (drums)

Drover posted a pre-gig band photo on Twitter. Check it out below, along with live footage from the show.

The band's setlist on the night was as follows:

'Ace Of Spades' (MOTÖRHEAD)

'Walk' (PANTERA)

'Grinder' (JUDAS PRIEST)

'Sympony Of Destruction' (MEGADETH)

'Fairies Wear Boots' (BLACK SABBATH)

'22 Acacia Avenue' (IRON MAIDEN)

'Diamonds & Rust' (JUDAS PRIEST/JOAN BAEZ)

'The Four Horsemen' (METALLICA)

'Dirty Deeds' (AC/DC)

'S.A.T.O.' (OZZY OSBOURNE)

'Heaven and Hell' (BLACK SABBATH)

'Running Free' (IRON MAIDEN)

'Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?' (MEGADETH)

The band commented on the show: "The show in Istanbul was amazing. Despite the constant rain, the fans were once again great in welcoming us back to Turkey.

This first-time lineup of James Lomenzo, Mike Portnoy, Whitfield Crane and Glen Drover had the opportunity to experiment with a bunch of new songs and despite only one day of rehearsals we slammed it hard! Before the show, we did a photo meet-and-greet and it was great to meet more fans.

We love meeting all of you and sharing this communal celebration whereever we go. Our fans are always so gracious, friendly and super-excited that no matter where we are they make us feel loved by showing their tremendous appreciation for what it is that we are committed to doing. Tonight we even had one fan come up with a the idea that because of our fist logo we should call our fanclub, HAIL!'s Knuckleheads! What does everybody think? Fists in the air — raise your knucks high!

We had a great time in Turkey again — the people rule, the food is delicious, the culture is historically diverse and the people who put this together were excellent.

"Special thank you's go out to Erdem for once again making it all possible, our new 'mom' Seyda (and her hub) for taking such wonderful care of us, Adnan, Bugra, Drum Guy, Mehmet, all the press people and fans — tessukur erderim!"