Bastard Skull was born on the eve of November 13, 2022 at the Mercyful Fate show at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. While hanging out in the lobby between sets of Midnight and Kreator, John Blicharz (Annuanki, Blood Feast, Dusk) ran into Tom Lorenzo (Blood Feast, Without End), who he hadn’t seen since exiting Blood Feast in 2014. Immediately, Tom yelled over the crowd, “I’m not in Blood Feast anymore!” John responded, “Find a drummer.”

A few months after, John was recording the next Dusk album with bassist George Kostadimas. Upon entering the studio one morning, John met Mark Mari (Sneak Attack), who John was well aware of but had not actually hung out with—odd since they were both from Bayonne and John had seen Sneak Attack back in the 80’s—They played with Yngwie, Raven, and Mercyful Fate—Ah, the circle is complete! Mark was recruited immediately. Twenty-four hours later, a phone call was made. Would Tom put down the bass to sing? Without a moment of thought he replied, “Yes!” adding, “But I’ve never done this before.” Tom and John had talked about putting a Motorhead tribute band together years ago. He can do it.

The motivation was there, it had been some time since John was in Blood Feast, playing Head Bangers Open Air in Germany, Reggies in Chicago, etc. The hunger was there to write. He was reminded of the memorable shows with Annunaki such as Carnivore, Deicide, etc., and the sold-out show with Immortal at BB Kings, NY… The Metalheads who would become friends and, to this day, family. Inspiration came quickly. So did George’s killer bass parts and Mark’s thrash attack on drums. Tom delivered as well. Their debut album is a testament to that!

As Bastard Skull, in the summer of 2024 they entered Band Mother Recording with Mike Sabatini (Attacker) recording and mixing the release. It was a memorable and enjoyable time. Everything clicked. It appeared that the stars had aligned for these bastards. Soon after they traveled upstate New York to Alan Douches (West West Side Music) for mastering. John and George had worked with Alan before: John with Annunaki and both with Dusk. Working with Alan was a pleasure. He also worked with Nile, Dying Fetus, Obituary, etc. While leaving Alan’s on that fall evening, John mentioned to Alan that they would be back in a month with an EP, and they were. More on that when it’s released in March of 2025.

Bastard Skull looks forward to promoting their release in the United States and around the world. While the debut album has dropped and a companion EP is due out soon, the creativity continues. John, George, Mark, and Tom are hard at work crafting the next album; more importantly, they look forward to traveling to play for Metalheads young and old. Until then…

Play It Loud!