A guest who kept turning up has been given the job, and Epitaph will enter the studio in March with Felipe Plaza Kutzbach as their permanent singer.
Kutzbach had appeared as a special guest at the band's recent shows. He has sung in Procession, Capilla Ardiente and Deströyer 666, and the band say the fit was obvious: "Welcoming Felipe into the EPITAPH family was a natural and incredibly exciting step. He has long been a great friend and, above all, a huge fan of ours. Our concert with him as frontman at the Church of Crow Doom Festival in Pinerolo demonstrated an excellent chemistry within this new line-up." They wanted, they say, a voice with drama, power and respect for tradition.
Kutzbach called it an honour: "We share the same visceral, uncompromising vision of Heavy and Doom music. The new material sounds massive and atmospheric. I am ready to give it my all in the studio." The record will follow Path To Oblivion, and the band promise classic heavy doom crossed with the Italian dark sound. More is to come in the next few months.
Epitaph formed in Verona in 1988 and put out three demos before stopping in 1994. They came back with Crawling Out of the Crypt in 2014, Claws in 2017 and a live album in 2022. Mauro Tollini has drummed in them since the first year, with Nicola Murari now on bass. My Kingdom Music carries them.
There are many bands called Epitaph; this is the Italian one, formed in Verona.