Hard rock band A-Z returns with their sophomore album ‘A2Z2‘ out on June 6th, 2025 via Metal Blade Records. Drummer Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Warlord) returns to talk about the new album, working with Ray Alder again, Nick Van Dyke from Redemption and more.
Check out the podcast on these services:
Apple • Spotify • Amazon • PodBean • YouTube
The band known as A-Z began when Zonder started working on material in early 2020 with a clear vision for the band he wanted to put together: “I was thinking beer commercials, car commercials and Cobra Kai. I wanted a very accessible band that would appeal to the masses,” he says. The band’s name—standing for Alder thru Zonder—was an easy choice that would never pigeonhole the lineup’s sound. “What I liked is that it did not limit what someone would think of the band,” says Zonder. “If we named the band Scary Serpent it would give a certain direction and didn’t want people to prejudge us.”
The band members are legendarily prolific, which allows for an amazing dynamic where, as Zonder explains, “when you find the right guys, you just let them do whatever they want. Everybody’s a seasoned pro and all the different ingredients come together, make it what it is. That live and recording experience allows A-Z to instinctively know how not to step on each other musically.”
“We’re all about the songs, the band, not what each of us does in it. It’s simple,” they all agree. “It’s about the music as a whole,” says Zonder, “I guarantee you everybody’s into something completely different musically, and that’s where the magic to me comes from, taking different influences and everybody doing what they do to create A-Z. We’re not 20-year-old kids. We’re at the point where if you’re gonna go, just go big. And that’s what we’ve done on A2Z2.”
A2Z2 Tracklist:
1. Fire Away 4:37
2. Running in Place 4:58
3. Nothing is Over 4:18
4. A Wordless Prison 6:04
5. Reaching Out 4:16
6. The Remedy 5:06
7. I Am Numb 4:03
8. This Chaotic Symphony 5:10
9. Learning to Fly 4:38
10. Now I Walk Away 5:39
Pre-order A2Z2 now at: https://www.metalblade.com/a-z
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