Hail! Featuring Tim "Ripper Owens" And Former Megadeth Bassist Dave Ellefson Set To Play In Beirut Submitted by: Dana

The all-star band Hail!, comprised of Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Tim Ripper Owens (ex Judas Priest, Beyond Fear, Yngwie Malmsteen), David Ellefson (Megadeth) and newly announced drummer, Paul Bostaph (Slayer, Exodus and Testament) will be the first metal band to ever play live in Lebanon. On November 20th, HAIL! will play the historic concert at Hektic Hall in the capitol city of Beirut.

“Breaking ground on an international level is what Hail! is all about,” explained manager Mark “Abba” Abbattista, “when we first started discussing the idea of Hail! we wondered how far we could actually push the reality of a dream. Anybody can come up with a good idea, but to create a model that no one else has ever before conceived and then to execute that plan to the level that we have makes our chests swell with pride.”

David Ellefson added “This truly is a monumental occasion - to do something for the first time ever is a rare and special opportunity. I can’t believe that it was 25 years ago, but remember how astounding it was when Iron Maiden went behind the iron curtain and played in the eastern bloc? I relate it to that and I am thrilled to be a part of something that has this kind of historic significance.”

When confronted with any possible political backlash, Abbattista spoke from personal experience “None of us are strangers to the world. Megadeth played one of the first concerts ever in Northern Ireland years ago, Ripper is in Paraguay today, Sepultura has broken ground all over Asia, the Middle East, South America, even Africa and I was involved in a project called Music Bridges which was the first time Americans had been allowed in Cuba in almost fifty years. Obviously we are aware of the ongoing tensions throughout the Middle East but we have learned from our previous experiences that music transcends all the boundaries that geography, language, religion and politics create.”

Ellefson continued “We’re just a fun-loving metal band, we have no agenda. We all come from very different backgrounds and no matter where we are playing, everybody in the building shares the same music. Music is the message. We all love the same music and that’s the beauty of unity…that’s the beauty of Hail”