Wednesday 14 December 2016

The Lads

Hello again,

It is time to formally introduce the current lineup of Gatekeeper.


Jean-Pierre Abboud on lead vocals. A familiar face for anyone in Michigan scene, recently relocated to Portland, OR. Many will recognize him as the voice behind fantastic groups such as Borrowed Time and the most recent incarnation of Funeral Circle. An absolute workhorse and monster of a frontman. It's a different, but very distinctive and skillful new voice for Gatekeeper and I'm proud to him him on board.
All photos taken by Shane Lange at Factotum Photography.


Some of you have already met my good friend David Messier, who stands out in the Vancouver heavy metal scene as a warrior who will brave any conditions to sling beers and bass guitar on the stage. After a long stint performing with local hellions Manic Strike, David brings an honest dedication to true heavy metal which is matched by very few.
All photos taken by Shane Lange at Factotum Photography.

He's easy to miss behind his massive percussion apparatus, but please welcome Tommy Tro to the fold. Folks might know him as the bassist for prog/power stalwarts Elysium Echoes but when I heard his blazing double-kicks during a Blind Guardian cover song, I knew he had the strength and discipline I was looking for. A better musician than most and a true friend.
All photos taken by Shane Lange at Factotum Photography.

Yours truly. 100% dedicated to bringing the best heavy metal I'm capable of delivering to the world.
All photos taken by Shane Lange at Factotum Photography.



Gatekeeper MMXVI.
All photos taken by Shane Lange at Factotum Photography.

I would also like to extend a massive "thank you" to Luke Olsen for playing lead guitar with us for  many of our shows, including our west coast tour and our performance in Chicago.

Currently, we are blessed with the talents and fretboard wizardry of Kenny Kroecher, who Vancouverites know from our good friends in Iron Kingdom. Kenny has been helping us out both onstage and in our recent studio efforts and we hope to continue on with him moving forward.

I was worried that I would never find a group of musicians who would be as capable as the Edmonton crew (Shorre, Tyson, Leillyn, Rob and Justin -- thank you all for the work and effort for those years) but I'm pleased to say that the new Gatekeeper is everything I hoped it would be and much more.

I look forward to presenting our new material, both onstage and on record.

Until next time,

Jeff