RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee, is about "95 percent" done recording its sophomore album for a tentative early 2018 release. Titled "Patina", the follow-up to the group's eponymous 2014 debut will mark RED DRAGON CARTEL's first release with drummer Phil Varone (SAIGON KICK, SKID ROW) and bassist Anthony Esposito. The group's current lineup is rounded out by singer Darren James Smith. RED DRAGON CARTEL's new album is being recorded at Esposito's Obscenic Arts studio in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania and will be mixed by legendary producer Max Norman, who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, SAVATAGE and LOUDNESS, among others. A video message from Norman discussing RED DRAGON CARTEL's second disc can be seen below. Jake told That Just Happened in August that RED DRAGON CARTEL's upcoming album will contain "a wide variety of sounds and songs," including some surprises. "I've said this in interviews before and I really look like an asshole. [Laughs] But my end goal isn't to please people," he said. "And I suppose that is what an entertainer is supposed to do — give people what they want. That's not why I do it, that's not why I've ever done it. I do it for me. And it sounds selfish, but I think that's… You have to be true to yourself. "I make music that I wanna hear," he continued. "I just hope other people like it also. If they don't… [sighs] Oh, well. [Laughs] If they don't, they don't; they don't have to buy it. But I do think that they should give it a listen. 'Cause it's interesting. We're trying to stir things up a little bit. We're not playing it safe and just doing exactly what people expect." Back in September 2015, RED DRAGON CARTEL was rejoined by Darren James Smith after a period of several months during which the band played shows with a number of other vocalists, including former JONES STREET frontman Shawn Crosby, Canadian singer Paul D'Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL), Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG) and Michael Beck. Issued in January 2014, RED DRAGON CARTEL's debut CD sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 69 on The Billboard 200 chart.
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