Mystic Prophecy mainman/producer R.D. Liapakis has joined forces with Stratovarius drummer J?rg Michael in a brand new side project called Devil's Train.

Having spent a month together on the road earlier this year as part of the Polaris tour, Liapakis and Michael decided to explore their common love of '80s hard rock/heavy metal by putting together an "old-school heavy/hard rock" band.

Devil's Train is a project Liapakis has been working on with Greek guitarist Lakis Ragazas for the past year and as soon as Michael heard it, he asked to become part of it as the group's drummer.

Devil's Train's as-yet-untitled debut album will be recorded at Prophecy and Music Factory studios and the production will be handled by Liapakis and Christian Schmid. A tentative late summer/early fall release is expected.

Commented Liapakis: "I am rock and roll down to my veins and I always had diverse influences in my music, a great part of which are expressed in the music I write with Mystic Prophecy. However, the style of music I have been preparing for Devil's Trainwith Lakis Ragazas isn't the style that would fit Mystic Prophecy and this is why I decided to initiate a side band. Luckily, other people with whom I have common musical background share my vice for rock 'n' roll and J?rg, as I found out when we toured together last January, is one of them. None of us is less of a member on our bands, we just want to have a rock 'n' roll party on the side!"

[Source; via e-Prog]