Biography
No matter what people say, bigger is always better – especially when we’re talking about heavy metal. And heavy metal doesn’t get much bigger than FOZZY.
The band is the brainchild of Rich Ward and Chris Jericho, two larger-than-life personalities that have spent the past decade shaping their own brand of hard hitting music. Ward is one of metal’s pioneers – as the mastermind of Stuck Mojo, he soldered metal with rhythmic vocals long before it became fashionable, touring the world with some of metal’s biggest bands and being hailed as one of Pantera legend Dimebag Darrell and Black Label Society/former Ozzy Osbourne axe man Zakk Wylde’s favourite guitarists. And frontmen don’t come more dynamic than Chris Jericho, one of professional wrestling’s biggest superstars, the embodiment of charisma, and the by-product of a lifetime immersed in metal.
When the band’s fourth studio album, “Chasing the Grail”, was released in 2010 it debuted at No. 6 on the USA’s Billboard Heatseeker’s chart. Without a doubt it showed just how much musical ground FOZZY have conquered since the release of their first single in 2000, a faithful cover of the Krokus classic “Eat the Rich”. Look no further than “Let the Madness Begin,” which was the most-downloaded single on Amazon in the USA from Feb. 22 – March 10, 2010. The track has helped drive FOZZY to new heights in the metal world, where they appeared at the Knebworth Sonisphere festival in July of 2011 alongside metal’s Big 4 – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. FOZZY were awarded a marquee, show-opening performance at the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards, where Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl helped call them to the stage, and Jericho remained to host the night’s festivities. In total Jericho has hosted the past three Golden Gods Awards in America.
Over the years FOZZY have emerged as a worldwide force on the touring circuit, The band has become the driving force for the six-time WWE wrestling champion, even earning the spotlight in “Undisputed” – Jericho’s second New York Times best-selling book, and first to crack the Top 10. Also, Jericho made the Top 7 as a contestant on season 10 of “Dancing with the Stars” – one of the biggest television shows in the world.