Last In Line - the offshoot band formed originally by guitarist Viv Campbell and other members of the original line-up of Dio - have dropped a video for new song 'Blackout The Sun.' The track appears ahead of the band's second full-length record - titled simply 'II' - which arrives on February 22nd via Frontiers SRL.

The hard rock four piece formed originally in 2012, when Campbell joined forces with former Dio duo, drummer Vinny Appice and bass player Jimmy Bain. The trio had backed late legendary rock vocalist Ronnie James Dio on his eponymous group's first two albums Holy Diver and Last In Line - from which the new band took their moniker. Last In Line were completed by vocalist Andrew Freeman.

Initial bouts of touring covering Dio classics led to an album of original material, 'Heavy Crown,' which was released in 2016. The issue of the record was beset by tragedy, however, as bassist Bain passed away suddenly at the age of 68, just weeks ahead of the album's release. Nevertheless the record scored a number 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart and, knowing Bain would have wanted them to continue, the group brought in ex-Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan for the ensuing tour.

In 2017 the recording of the second album began in LA, with producer Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, Dokken) once again at the controls. The band see it as a progression from their debut, while still holding true to their own sound.

"The musical style of 'II' is different from 'Heavy Crown', but it wasn't something that we planned to do," says Campbell. "Phil is a more intricate player than Jimmy was and that, together with the natural growth and development of the band led us to the songs on the album. As always, we simply started to jam on ideas and see where they led us. But it's fair to say that the songs on this album sound more developed, with more parts and more experimentation than the songs on 'Heavy Crown'. The first album set a tone, but on 'II' we developed that idea and took it to the next logical stage."

Vinny Appice adds, "The songwriting process was the same as DIO's 'Holy Diver'. First, we have fun writing together. We get in a room and jam on riffs and chords until we hit on something good, then continue to build it into a song. Andy puts his magic on it and it all works out very well."

Watch the video for 'Blackout The Sun' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJavy3Wx1rY

"II" track listing:

1. 01. Intro
2. 02. Blackout The Sun
3. 03. Landslide
4. 04. Gods And Tyrants
5. 05. Year Of The Gun
6. 06. Give Up The Ghost
7. 07. The Unknown
8. 08. Sword From The Stone
9. 09. Electrified
10. 10. Love And War
11. 11. False Flag
12. 12. The Light

Pre-order the new album here: http://www.lastinlineofficial.com/

For more info visit: http://www.lastinlineofficial.com/

Author: Cameron Arndt

Cameron Arndt is a musician and freelance writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He writes for his own music review website (www.rockandrolltraffic.com) and also contributes to Music Talkers.