Marc Grabowski completes Demonica lineup

Marc Grabowski, the erstwhile frontman of Corruption, has just been named as the final member of Demonica, the thrash-metal outfit founded by Mercyful Fate guitarist Hank Shermann. After playing with Corruption for the better part of the past two decades, Grabowski had his sights set on retiring from music altogether and focusing on his job and spending time with his girlfriend, when he got a call from his old friend Shermann, who mentioned that Demonica was planning on mixing its new album in Denver and asked if Grabowski would be interested in playing on a few tracks. A few tracks quickly turned into an invitation to join the band.

Shermann reportedly chose Denver upon hearing Corruption's album, Alone, which was recorded by metal maestro Dave Otero at his Flatline studio. Grabowski passed along the disc to Shermann -- with whom he'd become friends years earlier; the former's girlfriend was friends with the latter's wife -- a few years back when Mercyful Fate stopped in Denver. Upon discovering that Grabowski was no longer with Corruption, Shermann asked him to join the band's already stellar lineup, which also includes guitarist Craig Locicero, drummer Mark Hernandez from Forbidden and longtime metal journalist Klaus Hyr on vocals.

Grabowski will begin cutting his bass tracks tomorrow at Flatline for the forthcoming album, which will be mixed in March. Later this summer, in addition to playing some shows in San Francisco, the Demonica dudes will head to Europe to play several open-air metal festivals.