Dragonforce Drummer Gee Anzalone Hospitalized with Heart Condition, Aquiles Priester to Fill In
Dragonforce have announced that drummer Gee Anzalone, who joined the band in 2014 and performed on their three most recent albums, has been hospitalized with a heart condition and will be unable to join the band on their upcoming U.S. tour with Unleash The Archers and Visions Of Atlantis, which starts this week. In his place will be Aquiles Priester, a well-respected player in drumming circles who has performed with Angra, Hangar, Tony Macalpine, Paul Di’Anno and more.
The band posted the news to Facebook yesterday, explaining:
“Everyone please send Gee a get well message!
“DragonForce are sad to announce that drummer Gee Anzalone will not be performing on the upcoming US tour. Gee has been hospitalised for Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Virtuoso drummer Aquiles Priester (Angra, Tony MacAlpine) will perform on the upcoming Dragonforce US Tour while Gee recovers.
“Guitarist Herman Li said, ‘We will miss our brother Gee on the upcoming US tour, but health is most important. We wish Gee a speedy recovery and we know he will be back on tour with us soon. We want to thank our friend Aquiles for stepping up and helping us out on short notice.’”
The upcoming Dragonforce tour will also feature new bassist Alicia Vigil, who began performing with the band in February. All upcoming dates are posted below.
Best of luck to Gee in his recovery, and kudos to Priester for stepping in so last-minute: the people need those giant arcade games!
Dragonforce with Unleash The Archers, Visions Of Atlantis:
Mar. 5 – Club Red – Phoenix, AZ [tickets]
Mar. 6 – The Regent – Los Angeles, CA [tickets]
Mar. 8 – Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA [tickets]
Mar. 10 – Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT [tickets]
Mar. 11 – Oriental Theater – Denver, CO [tickets]
Mar. 13 – Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN ** [tickets]
Mar. 14 – Red Flag – St. Louis, MO ** [tickets]
Mar. 15 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL [tickets]
Mar. 17 – The Agora – Cleveland, OH [tickets]
Mar. 18 – St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI [tickets]
Mar. 19 – Roxian Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA [tickets]
Mar. 20 – The Palladium – Worcester, MA [tickets]
Mar. 21 – Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY [tickets]
** = no Visions of Atlantis
With Hammerfall:
Mar. 24 – Posten – Odense, Denmark
Mar. 25 -Train – Arhus, Denmark
Mar. 26 – Amager Bio – Copenhagen, Denmark
Mar. 27 – Partille Arena – Partille, Sweden
Mar. 28 – Annexet – Stockholm, Sweden
May 16 – Pulp Summer Slam – Manila, Philippines
Jun. 26-27 – Rock am Härtsfeldsee – Dischingen, Germany
Jul. 2-4 – Rock Fest – Barcelona, Spain
Jul. 16-18 – Bang Your Head!!! – Balingen, Germany
