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Joe Hasselvander | |
|---|---|
 Hasselvander performing with Raven in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1956-12-30)December 30, 1956 (age 68) |
| Origin | Woodbridge, Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | Heavy metal,doom metal |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Member of | The Hounds of Hasselvander, Death Row,Armageddon USA |
| Formerly of | Raven,Pentagram,Jack Starr's Guardians of the Flame,Blue Cheer,Mountain,White Lion, Black Manta, Mind Assassin, Devil Childe, Phantom Lord |
Joe Hasselvander (born December 30, 1956) is an American musician. He was the drummer of the Britishheavy metal bandRaven from 1987 until 2017 and was a member of the influential Americandoom metal bandPentagram.
Hasselvander has been playing professionally since nine years old in 1966. He is self-taught, playing the violin and later the drums. He regularly played the military club circuit in and around theWashington, D.C. area until 1973, when he was asked to joinThe Platters after playing a show with them inWaldorf, Maryland.[1] Hasselvander declined, saying he had to finish high school. He later joined ajazz fusion ensemble called the Ra Notra Sextet that was writing and performing music similar toChick Corea orThe Mahavishnu Orchestra.
In 1973, Hasselvander returned to thehard rock genre playing with the Washington, D.C. band The Boyz in the Washington/Baltimore area. In 1976, Hasselvander was asked to play inMountain withLeslie West in a small club in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1977, he joined forces with Bobby Liebling and started a new and serious working version of heavy metal doom band,Pentagram.[2][3] Hasselvander's first single, "Living in a Ram's Head"b/w "When the Screams Come", was recorded with Hasselvander sharing the producing duties with Liebling. In 1979, Pentagram opened forJudas Priest on theHell Bent for Leather tour and later that year Hasselvander formed Overlord with members of Pentagram andLink Wray's The Pack.
In 1981, Hasselvander once again joined forces with The Boyz to release the albumBustin' Out, followed by aFalls Church, Virginia show withRitchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Hasselvander formed Death Row with axeman Victor Griffin in 1982 and once again recruited Bobby Liebling and bassist Martin Swaney to write and record Pentagram's first LP on New York label Dutch East Records.[4]
Hasselvander moved to New York and recorded the albumsDevil Childe[5] andPhantom Lord[6] with formerVirgin Steele guitaristJack Starr. He also recorded his first solo album,Lady-Killer. OnLady-Killer, Hasselvander performed rhythm guitar, bass, drums and vocals, while Jack Starr played the guitar solos.[7] 1985 found Hasselvander working with British blues legendKim Simmonds performing two years' worth of shows throughout the U.S. under the namesSavoy Brown or The Kim Simmonds Band. Only one studio demo and one live recording exists of this lineup including players fromBlue Cheer,Cactus,The Plasmatics andThe Rods.
In September 1987, Hasselvander made a cameo appearance on Pentagram's second album,Day of Reckoning, filling in on the song "Burning Saviour". He soon after recorded all drum, guitar, bass and vocal tracks for his second solo album,Road Kill, issued on Bad Posture Records[8] and subsequently recorded his first demos withnew wave of British heavy metal legendsRaven atBearsville Studios nearWoodstock, New York.
Hasselvander joined Raven in late 1987 and recorded the albumNothing Exceeds Like Excess forCombat Records. He followed up by touring with Raven supportingTestament in the United States andKreator in Europe in 1989. Soon after, he recorded withChristian metal bandArmageddon for their first album,The Money Mask.[9] Raven switched labels and management toDrakkar Promotions andSPV/Steamhammer inGermany and recordedArchitect of Fear, supporting the release by touring with Germany pirate rockersRunning Wild. A video from this tour was made into an on-the-road "rock-umentary" entitledElectro Shock Therapy, which featured very revealing moments with Mr. Hasselvander in his natural habitat. The video was released in tandem with the EPHeads Up! featuring outtakes fromArchitect of Fear and live songs from the tour. A tour with German band Risk followed in 1992.
In 1993, Hasselvander was asked to play on a reunion album for Pentagram calledBe Forewarned for London-basedPeaceville Records, after re-recording the drums forDay of Reckoning to be released on CD.[2] Soon after, Hasselvander and Victor Griffin were asked to fill in on guitar and drums for British doom bandCathedral who were supportingBlack Sabbath on a spring 1994 tour of Europe for theirCross Purposes album.[2] Hasselvander returned to record Raven's 7th album,Glow, on the Japanese label Zero Corporation; the album was released in 1995. Hasselvander traveled to Los Angeles to take part in theFoundations Forum with Raven. Raven then went to Tokyo to record a live album,Destroy All Monsters/Live in Japan, and to record a JapaneseMTV concert video. In 1996, Hasselvander recordedEverything Louder with Raven at Pete Evick's studio. The band flew to Europe once again to headline a tour for this album with support acts,Tank andHammerFall.
In 1997, Hasselvander and Bobby Liebling were signed to the Italian label Black Widow, andReview Your Choices was recorded with Hasselvander playing the drums, guitar and bass and Bobby doing vocals. In the summer of 1999, Raven traveled toNashville, Tennessee to recordOne for All with producerMichael Wagener. A tour in January 2000 withU.D.O. followed in Germany and later that spring in the USA. Hasselvander re-signed with Black Widow to record the Pentagram albumSub-Basement, which was released to rave reviews[3][10] in 2001.
Hasselvander played many one-off shows withRaven in 2003 with Mark Gallagher sporting a leg cast from an injury sustained in a near death work accident in 2002. In 2003, Hasselvander went to Florida withJack Starr to record the albumUnder a Savage Sky under the banner of Jack Starr's Guardians of the Flame, featuring the vocals of Schmolik Avigal (ex-Picture,The Rods). Joe Hasselvander was theproducer on this album.[11]
In 2004, Hasselvander was asked to play two concerts inNew Hampshire with his childhood idols,Blue Cheer. The shows went well and they got along famously. So much so that an album was recorded with Hasselvander on the drums,What Doesn't Kill You.... 2005 came and Hasselvander played the colossal German rock festivals Keep It True andBang Your Head!!! with Raven, alongside the likes ofWhitesnake andForeigner. Bang Your Head!!! and Keep It True performances were filmed and released on DVD in 2006. Raven played more one off festivals during 2006 and 2007. One such gig was marred by an appearance of British rock vocalistTony Mills, who rushed the stage and declared that he had a contract with the Gallaghers to become the next lead singer of Raven. Mills was beaten by the musicians on stage, much to the delight of a cheering crowd.
Hasselvander soon released his third solo album,The Hounds of Hasselvander, on German heavy metal label Rock Saviour Records, this time performing everything on the album. In November 2007, he went to England to play in theHard Rock Hell festival at theButlins resort inMinehead. The review byGeoff Barton simply states that "Raven took over the show from the likes ofTwisted Sister,Saxon andUFO". This was all followed up by a few choice dates in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Hasselvander played out with a working version of his solo band, The Hounds of Hasselvander, on a tour of the East Coast of the US. He worked on a brand new line up for the Hounds of Hasselvander to tour Europe and Canada in the early spring of 2009. In 2008, Hasselvander concentrated on upcoming Raven shows in California with friendsHirax, in New York at the legendary club L'amour, and again back to England in September for a Raven mini-tour.[12]
In June 2009, Hasselvander and Raven performed two nights in Japan in support of the band's new albumWalk Through Fire (2009, King Records).
Ludwig double kit includes: 2 x 26″ kick drums, 8″ snare 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ tom toms, assortedZildjian cymbals, Remo heads, and Ahead drumsticks. For composition and other recordings, Hasselvander uses aGibson SG guitar and aGibson EB-3 bass.[13]
Solo / The Hounds of Hasselvander
With Raven
With Pentagram
Other
Solo / The Hounds of Hasselvander
With Raven
With Pentagram
With Raven
With Pentagram
