Alcatraz Line up: 2016, 2019

Alcatraz has a tradition of billing excellent thrash bands so adding Flotsam and Jetsam to the bill was a no-brainer. They formed in Phoenix, Arizona at the start of the eighties and their 1986 debut ‘Doomsday for the Deceiver’ is still considered a genre classic. The stellar performance of bassist and main songwriter/lyricist Jason Newsted doesn’t go unnoticed and Metallica recruits Newsted to replace Cliff Burton, who was killed in a tragic bus accident on tour. However, Flotsam and Jetsam don’t break stride, as illustrated by ‘No Place for Disgrace’ (1988), a record that lives up to the expectations created by their debut. Flotsam subsequently ink a new deal with MCA but ‘When the Storm Comes Down’ (1990) is not the success they were hoping for. Throughout the nineties Flotsam and Jetsam sail a more progressive course, with varying degrees of success. Their ecent history is characterised by personnel changes but the return of former members Mike Gilbert and Michael Spencer brings fresh oxygen to the band, culminating in their latest offering, ‘The End of Chaos’. The new disc is set to drop in mid-January 2019 and the first single, ‘Recover’, finds F&J – and vocalist A.K. Knutson in particular - in vintage form!