Sound Check blog

16
June

Artist of the day: Team Cybergeist

AngelBartolotta1  

Angel Bartolotta has spent the past few years touring arenas nationwide with some of the biggest names in heavy metal.

But when his latest project, the industrial metal outfit Team Cybergeist, takes the stage Saturday at Bourbon Street in New Port Richey, Bartolotta has no idea if anyone will even show up.

"So far, this project’s never done a live show, so I have no idea what’s going to happen," Bartolotta, the drummer for the hit metal band Dope, said with a laugh. "We could be playing to a sold-out house, we could be playing to the bartenders and security."

Given the all-star power behind Team Cybergeist, it’s a safe bet the concert won’t be a dud.

Through the magic of the Internet, Bartolotta recruited friends from groups like Kittie, Stone Sour, the Genitorturers and Morbid Angel to record a Team Cybergeist album, How to Destroy Something Beautiful, which is currently being mastered. In all, he estimates some 60 musicians from bands around the world had a hand in the making of the disc — meaning his so-called "solo" project is actually anything but.

"It started out as just a studio project, just something for me to do to get my own music out there," said Bartolotta, 28, who grew up in Tampa and lives in North Port. "Other people who didn’t sing wanted to be a part of it too, so I was like, ‘All right, you’re a guitar player? Do a guitar solo on this song.’ ‘You’re a bass player? Lay down some bass tracks on this song.’ So every song has different guests, different lineups."

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