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When Mark Zonder, famed former Fates Warning and Warlord drummer, started working on material in early 2020 he had a very clear vision for the band he wanted to put together. "I was thinking beer commercials, car commercials and Cobra Kai. I wanted to have a very accessible band that would appeal to the masses and would lead to the ability to tour larger venues and build a second and third record off the success of the first. I did not want to hear things like, 'I don't hear a single, it is too proggy, I just don't get it, let me listen to it a few more times'. I knew from myself and the others that I would recruit, it would have some sophisticated music parts but the big hook was the main priority." The result was A-Z, and while Zonder is adamant it is not a supergroup that is doing a 'one and done' record it has a stellar lineup, reuniting him with Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder, Warlord/Steve Vai/Ring of Fire bassist Philip Bynoe, guitarist Joop Wolters and keyboardist Vivien Lalu, the combina-tion of these players stirring up a very specific kind of magic that could not be replicated. Things came together smoothly from the start, Zonder sending drum patterns and grooves to first re-cruit Lalu, and he would write songs using guitar sounds so between the two of them they had basic song structures pretty quickly. Zonder knew Bynoe would jump on board as they have a long history and mutual respect and Lalu had worked with Wolters for years, recruiting him for the band. Both Wolters and Lalu brought in great musical ideas that were turned into songs. The goal was always the same: shorter songs and getting right to the chorus, no twelve-minute songs, and everyone found it easy working to this remit. The record was tracked all over the world - in the US, Spain, France and The Netherlands - with every-one recording in their respective home studios, except for Bynoe who recorded at Zonder's Moorpark, CA studio, and sending the files to each other to add their parts. Zonder produced it, rec-ognizing that someone needed to "drive the bus", and it was an easy process, and the fact that every-one involved is having a great time bleeds from the speakers. Zonder's friend Robbie Wyckoff also provided some backing vocals, the drummer wanting to "bring in the 70s-80s plush background vocal sound" to this band, but there are no guests on the record. This is a band. These are great players and no additional players were required. "I did not think I needed to bring in name players to help sell this. I understand why it is done, but I like the band concept." Simone Mularoni did an excellent job on the mix and Zonder is sure this is the best sounding record he has ever done.