Rick Wakeman has recorded with some of the greatest legends in rock history – David Bowie, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart…yes, of course, Elton John, and both Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

His latest excursion, however, might well be the heaviest record he has ever performed on.  “DICE AND THUNDER,” the latest single by all-star metal/prog aggregation NUCLEAR MESSIAH, sees Wakeman join forces with former Megadeth maestro Chris Poland, Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Rainbow frontman Ronnie Romero, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and Fred Aching (BulletBoys), for three minutes of blistering, seething mayhem.

A sonic detonation that could crack the sky, “DICE AND THUNDER” is a driving skull-splitter – and with Poland’s screaming guitar to the fore, how could it not be?

But Wakeman’s keys give as good as they get, igniting the carnage with a portentous overture, and embedding themselves so deep inside the performance that, even as his organ leads the track to its fade, you should be cueing it up to blaze again.

Stream/Download “DICE AND THUNDER”: https://orcd.co/diceandthunder
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/0jlGPaC5W2E

A thunderous all-star concept set, the full NUCLEAR MESSIAH album is called BLACK FLAME – and how appropriate is that? The God of Hellfire himself, Arthur Brown, starred on NUCLEAR MESSIAH’s first single, a cover of Lucifer’s Friend’s classic “Ride The Sky,” which was released before Christmas (watch it on Cleopatra Records’ official YouTube page HERE); and the new year opened with the incendiary title track, “Black Flame” itself (watch it on Cleopatra Records’ official YouTube page HERE).

Like that track, “DICE AND THUNDER” is a Chris Poland original and, for anyone schooled in the art of Megadeth’s most combustible albums, you can already guess what that means.

The heart of NUCLEAR MESSIAH, Poland’s melodic fluidity, experimental phrasing, and sheer command of tone, have inspired generations. From Megadeth’s PEACE SELLS… BUT WHO’S BUYING? to his work in OHM and Damn the Machine, Poland’s guitar sound remains one of the most distinctive in modern music.

“Chris isn’t just a guitarist — he’s a spirit of sound,” says Brian Perera, Cleopatra’s founder and the album’s executive producer. “NUCLEAR MESSIAH was built around his brilliance and brought to life by an army of legends who share his passion and precision.”

NUCLEAR MESSIAH is a monumental all-star metal project built around the visionary guitar work of Chris Poland (Megadeth), uniting 34 legendary musicians from across five decades of rock and metal into one cinematic, apocalyptic statement on the full album, BLACK FLAME, which will be released on April 24 via Cleopatra Records.

Produced by Brian Perera, Derek Hughes, and Jürgen Engler for Cleopatra Records with a commanding spoken introduction to the album by William Shatner, BLACK FLAME is an apocalyptic, cinematic, sonic album uniting a staggering line-up of 36 of the most iconic musicians in rock and metal history. Representing every era of heavy music, and uniting icons from thrash, classic rock, hard rock, and progressive metal, the appearances include:

Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Glen Drover, Shawn Drover, Chris Adler (Lamb of God, Megadeth), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses, Sons of Apollo), Mick Box (Uriah Heep), Joel Hoekstra(Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Ranger), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Beck, Bogert & Appice, King Kobra), Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell), Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio), Don Airey (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne), Rick Wakeman (Yes), Jonathan Cain (Journey, The Babys), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion), Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Gary Moore, Uriah Heep), Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Last in Line), Alan Davey (Hawkwind), Vinnie Moore (UFO, Alice Cooper), Joe Bouchard (Blue Öyster Cult), Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Andrew Freeman (Last in Line, Lynch Mob), Marc Lopes (Ross the Boss, Metal Church, Let Us Prey), Pat Travers (Pat Travers Band), Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Lords of Black), Arthur Brown (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Kingdom Come), Lance Lopez (Supersonic Blues Machine, Billy Gibbons), Greg T. Walker (Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd family), Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Death, Sadus), Thor (Thor), Fred Aching (Dead Groove, Kings of Thrash, BulletBoys, Powerflo, BillyBio), and Jürgen Engler (Die Krupps).

For now, roll the dice and crash with the thunder, because NUCLEAR MESSIAH demand nothing less.