Last In Line, the supergroup featuring the last two living members of the original Dio band — drummer Vinny Appice and guitarist Vivian Campbell — along with bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy, Billy Idol, Jimmy Page, Vince Neil Band) have been working with a “Mystery Vocalist” since they made the decision to move on from long-time vocalist Andrew Freeman this past Spring.
Appice had announced the departure of Freeman on the Eddie Trunk “Trunk Nation” show on SiriusXM back in April, though the decision was probably made long before. Having spent a lot of time on the road with the band between 2019 and their final shows in 2024, it was obvious to me that friction between Freeman and the other three band members was only going to lead to the singer’s departure sooner or later.
And with guitarist Vivian Campbell more than busy (and clearly happy) with his day job as the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame guitarist in Def Leppard, not to mention his well documented battles with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it was clear to me that he really didn’t need any hassles with his side-project.
So the band, which had already started work on a fourth studio album, has been on hold for two full years and counting. As a huge fan of Dio and Last In Line’s original music, I was hoping the group would re-group, so to speak, and move forward. And fortunately, that appears to be the case.
As bassist Soussan recently told Robert Edwards of the “Talkin’ Bout Rock” podcast, the band has potentially found their next vocalist. “We’ve got someone of great interest,” Soussan says with a laugh. “Let’s just say that. We’ve actually been sort of doing some work and stuff remotely, but we are going to get together very, very soon, and I think that will be the yes/no announcement that’s coming up very soon. But I, unfortunately, can’t say very much more than that.”
Here’s to hoping the band finds the right voice and we have new Last In Line music and tour dates in the very near future!
I’ll keep you posted.
~ Adam St. James
