John Michael West (born October 29, 1964) is an American vocalist and guitarist, perhaps best known as the lead vocalist of

Artension Artension is a North American neoclassical progressive metal band, founded in 1993 by keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. The band split up after recording seven albums from 1996 to 2004, but reformed in 2016 with the intention of releasing an eighth ...

and the former lead vocalist of

Royal Hunt Royal Hunt is a Danish progressive metal band. The band was founded in 1989 by keyboardist André Andersen in order to combine basic values of classic rock with progressive, current musical elements. The name originated from a painting seen in ...

Early career

Prior to his joining Royal Hunt in 1998, West contributed vocals to a variety of projects. His recording career began in 1986 as the singer of Diamond. Later, he sang for Destiny, who released the four-song demo ''Side By Side'' in 1989. He had brief stints replacing

Ray Gillen Raymond Arthur Gillen (May 12, 1959 – December 1, 1993) was an American rock singer. He is best known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's '' ...

in both

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

and

Sun Red Sun Sun Red Sun was an American heavy metal project created by guitarist Al B. Romano. It also featured several prominent musicians: vocalists Ray Gillen of Badlands and Black Sabbath, and John West of Artension and Royal Hunt; drummer Bobby Ro ...

in the mid-1990s, also lending his voice to

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...

's final solo album, ''Especially For You'' during this period. In lesser known projects, he also sang one track on

Marc Ferrari Marc Schumann(known professionally as Marc Ferrari) (born January 27, 1962) is an American musician, author, entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for his work as a guitar player in the 1980s and 1990s rock bands Keel, Cold Sweat, and Medi ...

's solo album ''Guest List'' in 1995, also handling vocal duties on self-titled albums by Many Moons and Rider the following year.

Artension

In 1996, West joined neoclassical power/progressive metal group

, who released their debut album ''Into The Eye of the Storm'' the same year. The band went on to release seven studio albums from 1996–2004. The group's second album, ''Phoenix Rising'', is especially noted for West's wide-ranging vocal contributions. West and the band regrouped in 2016 with the intention of releasing a new album.

Royal Hunt

In 1998, West replaced D.C. Cooper as the lead singer of

, remaining with the group until 2007. He recorded four studio albums, one live album, and one EP with the group. West's ten-year tenure as the band's vocalist is the longest uninterrupted tenure of any singer in Royal Hunt's 25-year history.

Solo career

West has released four albums under his own name, which have featured a wide variety of contributors. His first two, ''Mind Journey'' (1997) and ''Permanent Mark'' (1998), adopted a neoclassical metal style with many extended instrumental sections. After concentrating on Royal Hunt for a few years, West returned in 2002 with the concept album ''Earth Maker'', which showcased a more song-oriented writing style while still retaining much of his previous sound. Finally, in 2006, West released ''Long Time No Sing'', which is more of a blues-rock album. The latter disc features West playing guitar as well as singing.

Post-Royal Hunt

Since departing from Royal Hunt in 2007, West has lent his voice to a wide variety of projects. He appeared as the lead singer for Bosnian guitarist Emir Hot on his debut album ''Sevdah Metal'' in 2008 and keyboardist Mistheria's solo effort "Dragon Fire" in 2010. In 2012, he sang on symphonic metal band Mythodea's self-titled debut album, and in 2013, he collaborated with former Artension guitarist Roger Staffelbach to form Artlantica, an Artension-styled band that went on to release an album called ''Across The Seven Seas.'' He also appeared on Chilean progpower band Delta's fifth album, ''The End of Philosophy'', singing a duet with the band's regular vocalist, Felipe del Valle, on the track "Bringers of Rain." After del Valle left the band in 2014, West recorded new versions of Delta's songs "New Philosophy" and "Regrets" as singles and also appeared with the band on the Progressive Nation at Sea cruise. West has also toured as the singer for

Uli Jon Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...

's band and

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

tribute band Black Knights Rising. He also collaborated with Danish guitar virtuoso Niels Vejlyt on a project called Sage's Recital, which put out their self-titled debut album in 2013 and followup ''The Winter Symphony'' in 2016.

Discography

Solo work

* ''Mind Journey'' (1997) * ''Permanent Mark'' (1998) * ''Earth Maker'' (2002) * ''Long Time... No Sing'' (2006) * Johnny and Lonnie – "Greatest Misses" (2006)

Collaborations

;With

* ''

Into the Eye of the Storm Artension is a North American neoclassical progressive metal band, founded in 1993 by keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. The band split up after recording seven albums from 1996 to 2004, but reformed in 2016 with the intention of releasing an eighth a ...

'' (1996) * '' Phoenix Rising'' (1997) * '' Forces of Nature'' (1999) * ''

Machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

'' (2000) * ''

Sacred Pathways Artension is a North American neoclassical progressive metal band, founded in 1993 by keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. The band split up after recording seven albums from 1996 to 2004, but reformed in 2016 with the intention of releasing an eighth a ...

'' (2001) * '' New Discovery'' (2002) * '' Future World'' (2004) ;With Rider * ''Rider'' (1996) ;With

* ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

'' (1999) * ''Intervention'' (2001) * '' The Watchers'' (2001) * '' The Mission'' (2001) * ''On The Mission 2002'' (2002) * ''Eyewitness (Royal Hunt album), Eyewitness'' (2003) * ''Paper Blood'' (2005) * ''2006 Live'' (2006) * ''Royal Hunt 2006'' (DVD; 2006) ;With Ten Man Push * ''Ten Man Push'' (2007) * ''Playin' In The Dirt'' (2009) * ''Branded'' (2013) ;With

* ''Especially For You'' (1999) ;With Feinstein * ''Third Wish'' (2004) ;With Emir Hot * ''Sevdah Metal'' (2008) ;With Mythodea * ''Mythodea'' (2012) ;With Sage's Recital * ''Sage's Recital'' (2013) * ''The Winter Symphony'' (2016) ;With Artlantica * ''Across The Seven Seas'' (2013) ;Guest Appearances *

– ''Guest List'' (1995) *

– ''Sun Red Sun (album), Sun Red Sun'' (1994) *James Murphy (guitarist), James Murphy – ''Feeding The Machine'' (1999) *Iron Maiden Tribute – ''Slave To The Power'' (2000) *Savatage – ''Poets and Madmen'' (2001) *Roger Staffelbach's Angel of Eden – "The End of Never" (2007) *Mistheria – "Dragon Fire" (2010) *Delta – "The End of Philosophy" (2013) *American Mafia – "Rock 'N' Roll Hit Machine" (2014) *Forces United – II (2015) *Crimson Cry – Lost Reality (2017) ;Other releases *Many Moons – "Many Moons" (1996)

References

External links

John West Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, John American male singers American heavy metal singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Badlands (American band) members Lynch Mob (band) members Living people Native American singers Musicians from Syracuse, New York 1964 births 20th-century American guitarists Royal Hunt members 20th-century American male musicians Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force members Frontiers Records artists Shrapnel Records artists