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May 5, 2009 - RIOT.... RIPPER.... THOMSEN.... FATES & Tales of Knighthood!

"He's like an illusionist on the drum kit. It's effortless and entertaining, and he's just brilliant", is how Judas Priest legend Rob Halford once described his first visual encounter with San Antonio, TX born and raised percussionist BOBBY JARZOMBEK. It was a video tape submitted in the fall of 1999 that caught the eye of the man with the Golden Scream whose new project was deep into pre-production at the time but still lacked that last vital link. A few weeks later Bobby found himself at a Los Angeles, CA recording studio laying down drum tracks for what would become the Metal God's triumphant Roy Z produced return to former glory with 'Resurrection.'

Since making his recording debut with hometown boys JUGGERNAUT on the aptly titled 'Baptism Under Fire' in 1986, Bobby has played on over 2 dozen albums and toured much of the world many times over, from Europe to Australia and South America to Japan and even China. Bobby's lengthy resume includes NYC metal institution RIOT, 'anything goes' prog madmen SPASTIC INK with his brother Ron Jarzombek on guitar, touring and recording with PAIN MUSEUM, ICED EARTH and its studio off-shoot DEMONS & WIZARDS, as well as vocalists ROB ROCK, JOHN WEST, and SEBASTIAN BACH, with whom Bobby spent much of 2006 on the road opening up for the new Guns 'N Roses on an extended trans-Atlantic festival and arena run.

Other notable highlights include a massive arena tour with HALFORD alongside UK metal icons Iron Maiden and Queensryche in 2000, which included a show at New York's hallowed Madison Square Garden, jamming with Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate in London and Rudolf Schenker in Hanover, as well as delivering the goods in front of 250,000 crazed fans at Rock In Rio III in Brazil, documented on the 'Live Insurrection' double CD and the upcoming 'Live In Rio' DVD. Bobby was also voted 'No.1 Drummer 2000' by the readers of Japanese heavy metal bible Burrn! in recognition of his work on 'Resurrection.'

Bobby also caught the ears of America's premier drum publication, Modern Drummer, who called HALFORD's blazing sophomore release, 'Crucible', "a stunning slab of metal, and Bobby Jarzombek's drumming is a prime reason. On propulsive scorchers like 'Betrayal' (which begins with a dazzling mini-solo), 'Heretic' and 'Handing Out Bullets', the drummer shows astonishing power and precision. The Metal God knows how to pick 'em." SPASTIC INK's 'Ink Compatible' elicited a similar rave from Drum! Magazine: "Bobby Jarzombek is a monster to pull off this kind of dexterous drumming. He wades through the breathtaking linear patterns and riffs of 'Just A Little Bit', and the ridiculous 11/16 grooving and instrumental call-and-answers of 'Multi-Masking'."

Maybe most near and dear to Bobby's heart is 'Performance & Technique', his first ever drum instructional video, put together in 2003 over the span of several months in San Antonio and his adopted home, Los Angeles. 'P&T' spotlights Bobby's unique approach to drumming and features two free-form solos, footage of a RIOT-era drum solo performed live in Japan, and full-length performances of the Latin-flavored 'So It Ain't!' as well as 'Peppered Cancer' and 'School', two new songs co-written and recorded with Ron Jarzombek on guitar. An expanded DVD version with additional footage offering a behind-the-scenes look into other related areas, including 'Selecting Cymbals at Paiste', 'In the Studio', 'Soundchecking the Drumset', and a 'Photo Gallery', was released in early 2005 via Warner Bros. Publications and re-issued by Alfred Publishing in 2006. The same year also saw Bobby make his Hollywood movie debut providing several Dave Sardy (Slayer, Helmet) produced drum tracks for the Oscar-nominated animated feature, 'Monster House.' Bobby was also enlisted by famed producer Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age) to record drums and cymbals for sample library project, 'Platinum Samples Joe Barresi Evil Drums for BFD', released in 2007.

Coming full circle, Bobby became a member of RIOT once again when mainman Mark Reale announced the reunion of the vaunted 'Thundersteel' line-up; a new studio album is currently in the works and set for a 2010 release. Bobby also continues his association with highly acclaimed progressive metal outfit, FATES WARNING, and has lent his services to a number of other projects, most recently cutting several tracks for 'Sonic And The Black Knight - Tales of Knighthood', the latest soundtrack installment for the hugely successful 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Sega video game series.

BOBBY JARZOMBEK is endorsed by DW (Drum Workshop) / PDP (Pacific Drums and Percussion), Paiste Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, and Evans Drumheads.

Bobby performing 'So It Ain't!' from 'Performance & Technique'!