DEF LEPPARD Guitarist's MAN-RAZE Explain Album Delay

MAN-RAZE, the new band featuring DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, have posted the following message on their official web site:

"We've had many mails and messages asking what is happening with our album...so we want to let you know what's going on. The simple answer is that it's not yet ready!

"Let us explain: As you can imagine, the Spitz show had a huge impact on us — we finally felt we had discovered our sound as a band! We then went back to the recordings and realised that we could easily improve on some of them. We also had a rush of new material, that we naturally wanted to include on the album. So we have been re-working some of the recordings and weaving the new songs into the album — the result being that the album is sounding bigger and more powerful than ever! The truth is we are pleased that we haven't rushed to release it, because it will be so much better when it comes out!

"Of course, we know that many of you are dying to hear it... and we are dying to play it to you! So we will continue to make samples of different tracks available, as soon as they are ready. And we are pushing hard to get it finished and released, so that you can hear it in all it's glory! We are also eager to play more live shows, and as soon as opportunities arise we will announce them on the website."

In addition to Collen, MAN-RAZE — which formed in 2004 after Collen returned to London from Southern California to care for his sick father — features SEX PISTOLS drummer Paul Cook and bassist Simon Laffy, a former bandmate of Collen's from the early Eighties glam outfit GIRL.

With regards to the band's sound, Collen — who also handles lead vocals — told Rolling Stone magazine, "It's a mix. We go from really hard rock, with obviously big guitars, to dub. I was always into the alternative stuff, a very big fan of THE POLICE. And this is edgy — a lot more aggressive than DEF LEPPARD."