David Fefolt facts for kids

David Fefolt is an American hard rock and heavy metal vocalist best known for his work with Hawk, Masi and Angels of Babylon. He has also recorded with Valhalla, Royal Flush, Forty Thieves, Forgotten Realm, FireWölfe and Revolution Highway. Fefolt was also briefly the singer for Fifth Angel.

Beginnings

Fefolt first made a name for himself with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based group Valhalla who started out as a high school cover band called Snowblind in 1979 before changing their name to Armageddon in 1980 when they began to write original material after recruiting Fefolt. Valhalla released a self-titled 6-song mini-album in 1984 on their own label. The record has since become a collector’s item in underground circles and was re-issued in 2001 by No Remorse as ‘’Return of the Mystic Warrior’’ (including the 1985 demo as bonus tracks) in 2003 by Unisound as ‘’Valhalla’’, and again in 2017 by Cult Metal Classics as part of the 2-disc ‘’Ultimate Anthology 84-86’’. Valhalla moved to Phoenix, AZ in November of 1985 but broke up soon thereafter.

Move to Los Angeles

Fefolt made his way to Los Angeles, CA after receiving an offer from guitarist Doug Marks to join his band Hawk whose eponymous debut album was released in 1986. The album also featured future Guns N’ Roses member Matt Sorum on drums.

Fefolt next joined Italian guitarist Alex Masi in his namesake band Masi in time for the band’s 1988 sophomore album, ‘’Downtown Dreamers’’. The video for the single “God Promised A Paradise” was in heavy rotation on MTV.

Later that same year, Fefolt would join forces with former Accept guitarist Jörg Fischer, bassist Rex Tennyson (Hellion, Heavy Bones), drummer Reynold Carlson (Jag Panzer, Joey Tafolla), and guitarist Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Tribe of Gypsies) in a new band called Royal Flush. The band soon parted ways with Fischer and after cutting some demos fell apart when Z and Carlson left to join vocalist Rob Rock in Driver. Fefolt was offered a solo deal with Polydor Records in Germany, backed by an all-German band, re-named Bourbon Street, but ultimately decided against it and returned to the U.S..

In 1990, Fefolt teamed up with former Keel bassist Kenny Chaisson and former Britton guitarist Jim McMellen in the band Forty Thieves, with former London/D’Priest drummer Tim Yasui, aka Timothy Jay, completing the initial line-up which would record a 3-song demo in 1991. A second demo was recorded with drummer Bob Milan (ex-Surgical Steel, Lydian) but the band split up in 1993 when no record contract was forthcoming.

Break from Music and Comeback

Following the demise of Forty Thieves, Fefolt returned to Phoenix and retired from music. He would not be heard from again until he was reported to be working on demos with Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder and guitarist/keyboardist Wayne Findlay of the Michael Schenker Group in 2005. Fefolt was then contacted by guitarist Matthew Mills and asked to sing for his project Forgotten Realm whose debut album, ‘’Power And Glory’’, surfaced in June 2008.

Fefolt and Forgotten Realm drummer Rhino, formerly with Manowar, decided to join forces in a band of their own, Angels of Babylon, with Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and guitarist Ethan Brosh completing the line-up. The group’s debut album, ‘’Kingdom of Evil’’, was released worldwide in 2010. In a fall 2010 interview, Fefolt revealed that guitarist Wolf Hoffmann had been interested in joining Angels Of Babylon and that he and drummer Rhino Edwards were in the very early stages of putting together a new band with Hoffmann, plans that were derailed when Accept reformed in 2009.

In January 2011, Fefolt was announced as the new lead vocalist for reformed Seattle melodic metal band Fifth Angel and only weeks later Fefolt would officially leave Angels of Babylon. His brief tenure with Fifth Angel, which yielded some demos, ended in mid-2011 when he left the band along with drummer Jeffrey McCormack.

Fefolt’s next venture was FireWölfe featuring the guitar duo of Nick Layton and Paul Kleff, bassist Zach Uidl, and drummer Jay Schellen (Hurricane, World Trade, Asia) whose eponymous debut was released in July 2011. Fefolt would quit the band in the spring of 2012 stating, “I've been a Christian most of my life and I feel the time is right for creating music that truly glorifies God.” However, in a surprise move, Fefolt was back behind the mic with FireWölfe for their 2014 sophomore album, ‘’We Rule the Night’’, which was originally slated to be mixed by Fefolt’s old Royal Flush band mate Roy Z. Fefolt quit the band a second time citing a lack of passion for creating more music and wanting to focus on his family.

After a period of inactivity, Fefolt re-surfaced again with hard rockers Revolution Highway, led by Greek guitarist Stavros Papadopoulos, whose self-titled debut album was released in late 2018.

In 2020, Fefolt was invited by Swedish guitarist and book author, Janne Stark, to contribute vocals on 'Volume Four' of his ongoing Mountain of Power cover project. Fefolt can be heard on a medley of Riot's "Overdrive" and "Do It Up" as well as "You Got My Soul" by Dirty Tricks. The album was released November 27, 2020 on Grooveyard Records.

Discography

• Mountain of Power - Volume 4 (2020)
• Revolution Highway – Revolution Highway (2018)
• FireWölfe – We Rule the Night (2014)
• FireWölfe – FireWolfe (2011)
• Angels of Babylon – Kingdom of Evil (2010)
• Forgotten Realm – Power and Glory (2009)
• Masi – Downtown Dreamers (1987)
• Hawk – Hawk (1986)
• Valhalla – Valhalla (1984)