James caught up with Chris Jericho from Fozzy to talk about the bands new album, Wrestling and much more.

Considering the fact you have an extremely prestigious career as a professional wrestler, what prompted you to get involved with music?
I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12, I’ve always wanted to be in a rock band it was always one of my life’s goals, so it didn’t come out of nowhere I’ve always been involved with it. When I met rich in 1999 we hit it off, so we started our band from there.

You gave yourselves quite the back story back in the day, what brought that on?
Well when we started it was just a fun project on the weekends called Fozzy Osbourne, just whenever I was in town we’d jam and stuff. Then we got signed and they wanted us to be a cover band, just do covers which you could say is interesting. The story came around to coincide with that because it was just something that was fun, but after a year and a half we wanted to move on and do something of our own which is why most people start bands, so yeah that was that.

You just released your latest album “Sin and Bones”, how have you found the press response to this?
It’s been amazing, absolutely off the charts. From Metal Hammer to Kerrang to Rolling Stone we’ve had a great rating across the board. It’s the fastest selling record we’ve ever had, it’s the highest charting record we’ve ever had, definitely the most touring we’ve done surrounding it, our old fans dig it but we’ve also got a lot of new fans.

You’ve included collaborations with M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold and one with Motorhead also, how did you manage to land these?
Phil from Motorhead has been a friend of mine for years, also he’s been a fan of the band for a while too he came and jammed with us at The Whiskey last year. He kept calling me asking if he could put something on our next record and I was like hell why not. Shadows I had the privileged to tour with last year with Avenged Sevenfold and we got on really well so I sent him the song and he liked it, he helped with the arrangement of the song as well so he put some hard work into it with us.

You did a spoken word show a few nights ago, how did that go?
It was great, it’s not like I don’t have enough to talk about you know with 20 plus years of rock n’ roll experiences and wrestling experiences to draw on, I put together a little highlight video then I walked on stage with no plan or notes then in 2 and a half hours I was done.

What are Fozzy’s plans after this tour?
We’re off for like a month and a half, then we’re off to Australia in Febuary with Metallica, more touring in the States in April and May, then we’re coming back over here to do some more touring around August including Bloodstock Festival, so yeah just keep the ball rolling, when you’re going on tour with Metallica it’s not a bad time right? Haha.

Do you have any personal plans outside of Fozzy?
Odds and ends but nothing substantial to be honest, mostly Fozzy’s schedule but I have odd showcases and TV appearances so I’m always busy that’s for sure.

What is going to happen with your wrestling career?
Well I never said I was done it’s just that for now everything’s based around Fozzy, we’ve come on leaps and bounds since we started and it’s been my dream since I was 12 so I’ve got to push this thing as far as it can go. I’m not opposed to going back to wrestling I just don’t have any solid plans yet.

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be and why?
Think id pick a giraffe because they have really long necks and can see over fences, see girls in swimming pools or getting changed in their apartments, a zebra is probably fasted but I’m sure giraffes can do tricks with their necks, see things you’re not supposed to see.

Thanks for your time, is there a message for your fans reading the interview?
Just glad to be back in the UK, I’ve always considered this our second home. Great fan base, lots of fans and we’re just honoured to be here.

Interview by James Webb