* En anglais uniquement
A project that brings together two stars of the '80s from different places in the rock music spectrum --
Dokken and
Lynch Mob guitarist
George Lynch and
Living Colour vocalist
Corey Glover --
Ultraphonix is a rock band whose approach is a mélange of hard rock guitars, tough but soulful vocals, and uncompromising rhythms that show the influence of metal, funk, and progressive rock. Beginning as a
George Lynch project, the group evolved musically when
Glover stepped in, and released a debut album of ambitious hard rock,
Original Human Music, in 2018.
Ultraphonix was the brainchild of guitarist
George Lynch.
Lynch first rose to fame in the mid-'80s as the lead guitarist with
Dokken, who enjoyed chart success as one of the leading bands on the Los Angeles hair metal scene. While
Dokken saw three albums go platinum (1984's
Tooth and Nail, 1985's
Under Lock and Key, and 1987's
Back for the Attack),
Lynch was often at odds with lead singer
Don Dokken, and he left the group in the '90s to strike out on his own, first by fronting the group
Lynch Mob and later with a series of solo albums. Meanwhile,
Corey Glover exploded into the public consciousness in 1988 as the lead singer with
Living Colour, a heavy alternative rock band whose debut album,
Vivid, became a smash thanks to the single "Cult of Personality." The group broke up in 1995 and
Glover released a solo album,
Hymns, in 1998; in the 2000s and 2010s, he stayed busy with a variety of music and acting projects, including periodic
Living Colour reunions.
In 2017,
Lynch was interested in launching a new group, and he recruited bassist
Pancho Tomaselli (who had worked with the veteran funk group
War, as well as the experimental metal trio
Philm with
Dave Lombardo of
Slayer) and drummer Chris Moore (who had performed with
Lynch in
Project N-fidelikah, as well as drumming for the metal acts
Cry Wolf and Damage). While the trio clicked musically, they believed they needed a singer. Leisa Balfour, a stylist who was friendly with
Lynch,
Tomaselli, and Moore, also knew
Glover, and at the urging of the bassist, she set up an introduction between
Lynch and
Glover. The two felt sympatico musically, and the New York-based
Glover flew out to Los Angeles for two months, where he wrote material with
Lynch,
Tomaselli, and Moore, and then took their music into the recording studio. Calling the new project
Ultraphonix, they released the album
Original Human Music through Ear Music in August 2018. ~ Mark Deming