Old school thrashers Whiplash announce drummer Charlie Zeleny has joined the ranks, and will make his debut appearance when they kick off their Plague of Pain Tour on June 22 at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ. Tony Portaro, guitarist and founding member of Whiplash, first witnessed Charlie Z in action with Joe Lynn Turner's band, blowing the roof off of Dingbatz, located in Tony’s hometown.

The recent Whiplash lineup has been together since 2011. Portaro, bassist Dank DeLong and out-going drummer Dan Foord all cite this move as an amicable lineup change. Recognizing Foord's promising career developments with the reformation of his former band Sikth, plus his new band Krokodil, and drum teaching and touring obligations, all agreed this change was in the best interests of Whiplash. Dan Foord will be the first called upon if ever needed to fill in for Zeleny, but the upcoming Headbangers Open Air Festival, July 25 in Germany, will officially be Foord's last show with Whiplash.

Charlie Z will now lay the solid foundation that withstands Portaro's thrash beatings, and provides steady ground for DeLong's monstrous moves. He is in the Sick Drummer "Hall of Fame" and is in Blender Magazine's "Best Metal Drummers of All Time" Article. Charlie Z has toured/recorded with Joe Lynn Turner, Behold The Arctopus, Blotted Science, Suspyre, and Jurgen Blackmore, among many others. He has played duo with Jordan Rudess (Keyboardist of Dream Theater) and has performed drum duets with Terry Bozzio for The Drum Channel.

Charlie Z has performed sold-out shows at The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, Metlife Stadium, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Lollapalooza, Warped Tour, Prog Power Europe and Maryland Deathfest. He has also played on over 135 records and toured through 20 Countries and 41 US States.

Zeleny has also garnered international acclaim with his Drumageddon video series, where he performs nonstop one-take drum solo videos through NYC landmarks, including Times Square in Manhattan, The Unisphere in Queens and up an entire Brooklyn Building. Drumageddon has been featured in Metal Hammer, Metal Sucks, Metal Injection, Melodic Rock, New York Magazine and Batterie Magazine.

Whiplash have begun confirming shows for their Plague Of Pain tour below:

June

22 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz

July

25 - Germany - Headbangers Open Air

August

28 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky a Go Go
29 - San Francicso, CA - Slim’s

October

11 - Brooklyn, NY - Rage Of Armageddon Fest

December

5 - Limeira, Brazil - TBA
6 - Sao Paulo. Brazil - TBA
7 - Rio de Janeiro - TBA
11 - Rio Negrinho, Brazil - Zoombie Ritual Open Air
13 - Belen, Brazil - TBA

April 2015

25 - Milwaukee, WI - NYDM Spring Bash