Mark Robert Boals (born December 5, 1958) is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

. He is currently a member of the band

Foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals ...

. Boals' first album with Malmsteen, 1986's ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wo ...

'', achieved platinum status in the US and sold several million copies worldwide. As a young child, he learned to play the piano and bass guitar. Although Boals has never had any vocal lessons or training, as a teenager he gained experience as a vocalist in local groups. Boals is the founder and vocalist for the band

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

, and had a brief stint as the bassist for

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as "Alone Again (Dokken song), Alone Again", " ...

Career

In 1982, Boals joined

Savoy Brown Savoy Brown (originally Savoy Brown Blues Band) were an English blues rock band formed in Battersea, south west London, in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they ...

and toured around Canada and the U.S. through 1983. Although several songs were written for a proposed new album, the record never materialized due to mainman

Kim Simmonds Kim Maiden Simmonds (5 December 1947 – 13 December 2022) was a Welsh musician who was the founder, guitarist, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the blues rock band Savoy Brown. Simmonds has led Savoy Brown since its inception ...

running into legal problems at the time. During these years Boals also performed with his band Lazer. While with Savoy Brown, Boals met

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock a ...

and joined his band as bassist in 1984 touring throughout the U.S. and opening up for

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

in Europe. Deciding to focus on singing and being a frontman, Boals moved to California in 1985. He joined

's Rising Force and performed on the ''

'' album. Boals' first show with Malmsteen was at Day on the Green in San Francisco, CA in front of 80,000 fans. After leaving Yngwie in 1986, he gave up music for a time, trying to find himself in cinematography and working for Warner Brothers. In this period he recorded, with Mike Slamer, a soundtrack for the film White Water Summer (1987); he also appeared on Maestro Alex Gregory's "Paganini's Last Stand" (

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death ...

) in 1992. Boals' next venture was Billionaires Boys Club, a short lived supergroup featuring former Accept guitarist Jörg Fischer, future

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex- Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Cere ...

bassist Magnus Rosén, and former Yngwie Malmsteen bandmate, drummer Anders Johansson. The group's sole album, ''Something Wicked Comes'', was released on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in 1993. Then in 1996, Yngwie Malmsteen called Boals and asked if he wanted to perform on several songs on the cover album '' Inspiration''. Boals accepted, and resumed his role as vocalist with Yngwie Malmsteen for the album ''

Alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world ...

''. The band subsequently went on tour. In March 2000, Boals won the No.1 Vocalist Prize in the Japanese music magazines '' Burrn!'' and ''Young Guitar''. At the end of that year, on the same day, his second solo CD, entitled

Ring Of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

and Yngwie Malmsteen's '' War To End All Wars'', with Boals on vocals, were released. However, after many years of musical magic and friendship, the team of Malmsteen and Boals had decided to move in different directions, and Boals formed a new band, Ring of Fire, named after his solo album. At the beginning of this year, Ring of Fire recorded their subsequent debut ''The Oracle'' album at the George Bellas Studios in Chicago. Alongside Boals were George Bellas, Vitalij Kuprij,

Virgil Donati Virgil Donati (born 22 October 1958) is an Australian drummer, composer and producer. He holds the drum sticks in the traditional style and is also proficient at the keyboard. Donati formed Planet X with Derek Sherinian and was the band's princ ...

and Philip Bynoe. In addition Boals has participated in two exciting projects of Lion Music in Finland. He appears on the Jason Becker tribute "Warmth in the Wilderness", singing a version of David Lee Roth's "Hammerhead Shark" with Lars Eric Mattsson. Speaking about Mattsson, in 2005 he also recorded an album ''War'' with Boals lead singing on track "Deep In The Shadows". As Malmsteen urgently needed a singer for his current tour, Boals has toured again with him in Europe, but only as guest vocalist. Also Boals is featured on vocals on two songs, "Into The Light" and "I Will Always Be There", for the Empire CD ''Hypnotica'' (2001). Another cool project where Boals took part in, was "Genius Rock Opera" Trilogy by Daniele Liverani. There he was recording as the main character (Genius) on Episode 1: A human into dreams' world (2002) and Episode 2: In search of the little prince (2004). But he refused to sing on the last Episode because of personal reasons and was replaced by D. C. Cooper. In 2004 Boals recorded two songs for young Japanese guitarist named

Takayoshi Ohmura Official Site, ''"Profile"'' is a Japanese musician and songwriter. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his first instrument was the piano, which he began playing when he was three years old. By the age of 11, he had started to play acoustic guitar, mov ...

. Ohmura's debut album, entitled "Nowhere To Go", features additional guest appearances by

Doogie White Douglas "Doogie" White (born 7 March 1960) is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz and Alcatrazz. He has also notably sung for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Tank. Early li ...

(

, Cornerstone, ex-

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

) and Richie Kotzen (ex-

Mr. Big Mr. Big may refer to: Entertainment In film and literature * Mister Big (James Bond), a villain in the novel and film ''Live and Let Die'' * ''Mister Big'' (1943 film), a 1943 musical * ''Mr. Big'' (2007 film), a 2007 documentary In televisi ...

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

). Commented Boals:

After I was asked by the representatives of Ohmura, I listened to his demo. I thought his music was good and he has a talent to play guitar, and I thought it'd be great to support this young Japanese musician. I also thought it would be great to share the vocals with the other singers, Richie Kotzen and Doogie White, so I recorded two songs here in L.A. and sent them to Japan.

Boals has also performed with

Lana Lane Lana Lane is an American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums. She is married to music producer Erik Norlander, who co- ...

, Indigo Dying, Empire and Chris Brooks. 2000s years Boals recorded 3 solo albums as well as three studio albums and one live DVD with his own band, Ring Of Fire. The project album called ''The Codex'' Boals recorded with Magnus Karlsson in 2007. The album project marks the return to recording after a 3 years hiatus for Boals. In 2007 Boals started looking for a serious, permanent band situation and

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 i ...

became a perfect opportunity for a singer to exploit and expand his vocal abilities. In 2008 Boals appeared on his first Royal Hunt album ''Collision Course... Paradox 2''. Boals also appeared on Uli Jon Roth's album titled ''Under A Dark Sky'' on which he shared vocal duties with Liz Vandall. The band with Boals toured the world from July – December 2008. In 2009, he also worked with such bands like Vindictiv and

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

, and completed work on the latest Royal Hunt album ''X'' which was released in January 2010. Mark is also currently handling vocal duties in the band Seven The Hardway featuring guitarist Tony MacAlpine which released a self-titled album in August 2010. Mark Boals with Royal Hunt in 2008

A press release dated June 19, 2011, announced that Boals would be recording vocals for the Wagnerian opera metal project Lyraka. In 2012, he sang lead vocals for Joshua Perahia's band and their album, "Resurrection". Since 2013, he performed with Dio Disciples, replacing former Judas Priest singer Tim "Ripper" Owens. After singing backing vocals on Dokken's 2012 album '' Broken Bones'' and performing acoustic shows with

Don Dokken Donald Maynard Dokken (born June 29, 1953) is an American singer and musician. He's best known for being the lead singer, occasional guitarist, and founder of the glam metal band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style wh ...

for the past couple of years, Boals was announced as the new full-time

bass player in November 2014 replacing Sean McNabb. Boals also appears on an EP project from the band Metal Hell called Decadence, which includes Mark Zonder fro
Fates Warning
2014 he started performing in the Las Vegas show, "Raiding the Rock Vault", as lead vocalists, and also plays guitar and bass. 2019 Boals started performing with other Las Vegas show called "Tenors of Rock". Boals also now sings with the rock band

whom are actively producing and performing concerts to audiences worldwide. Foundry is currently working with producer Colin Brittain.

Discography

;Solo albums *'' Ignition'' (1998) *''

'' (2000) *''Edge of the World'' (2002) *''All The Best!'' (2020) ;Yngwie J. Malmsteen *''

'' (1986) *'' Inspiration'' (1996) *''

'' (1999) *'' War to End All Wars'' (2000) ;Foundry * ''Single – THUNDER ROLLS'' (2019) * ''Single – INTOXICATE'' (2019) * ''Single – NOT THIS TIME'' (2019) * ''Single – ANOTHER WAY'' (2021) * ''Single – LET YOU GO'' (2021) * ''Single – WAITING FOR YOU'' (2021) ;Shining Black ft. Mark Boals/Olaf Thorsen * ''Shining Black'' (2020) * ''Postcards From The End Of The World'' (2022) ;Renaissance Rock Orchestra *''A Song of Hope'' (2021) ;Maestro Alex Gregory *''Paganini's Last Stand'' (1992) ;Billionaires Boys Club *''Something Wicked Comes'' (1993) ;Thread *''Thread'' (1996)Thread
/ref> ;Lana Lane *''Project Shangri-La'' (2002) ;Erik Norlander *''Music Machine'' (2003) ;Ring of Fire *''The Oracle'' (2001) *''Burning Live in Tokyo'' – live album (2002) *''Dreamtower'' (2003) *''Lapse of Reality'' (2004) *''Battle of Leningrad'' (2014) *''Gravity'' (2022) ;Empire *''Hypnotica'' (2001) ;Genius: A Rock Opera *''Part 1: A Human into Dreams' World'' (2002) *''Part 2: In Search of the Little Prince'' (2004) ;

*''Nowhere to Go'' (2004) ;Lars Eric Mattsson *''War'' (2005) ;Indigo Dying *''Indigo Dying'' (2007) ;The Codex *''The Codex'' (2007) ;Royal Hunt *'' Collision Course... Paradox 2'' (2008) *'' X'' (2010) *''Royal Hunt – Dystopia (2020)'' *''Royal Hunt – Dystopia Part 2 (2022)'' ;Uli Jon Roth *''

Under A Dark Sky ''Under a Dark Sky'' is a progressive rock album by Uli Jon Roth, featuring Mark Boals and Liz Vandall on vocals. It marks the first official release in the long-awaited series of Symphonic Legends, which is a cycle of music written for Roth's al ...

(Sky of Avalon)'' (2008) ;Adrian Galysh *''Tone Poet'' (2013) ;Vindictiv *''Ground Zero'' (2009) *''World Of Fear'' (2015) ;Wolf *'' Ravenous'' (2009, backing vocals on one song) ;Seven the Hardway *''Seven The Hardway'' (2010) ;Jayce Landberg *''Good Sleepless Night'' (2010, ''Track 8)'' ;Iron Mask *''

Black as Death ''Black as Death'' is the fourth studio album by Belgian power metal band Iron Mask, released on December 16, 2011 by AFM Records. All songs were composed by Dushan Petrossi. The album marks another change in band-lineup, comprising ex-Yngwie ...

'' (2011) *''

Fifth Son of Winterdoom ''Fifth Son of Winterdoom'' is the fifth studio album by Belgian power metal band Iron Mask, that was released on November 8, 2013 by AFM Records. All songs were composed by Dushan Petrossi. ''LA Weekly'' named its cover as the second most ridicu ...

'' (2013) ;Holy Force * ''Holy Force'' (2011) ;Bogusław Balcerak's Crylord *''Blood of the Prophets'' (2011) ''(tracks 4, 6, 11, 12)'' *''Gates of Valhalla (2014) (tracks 3, 9)'' ;Kuni *''Rock'' (2011) ;Lyraka *''Lyraka Volume 2'' (2012) ;Joshua Perahia *''Resurrection'' (2012) ;Magnus Karlsson *''

Free Fall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on i ...

'' (2013, one song) ;RavenBlack Project * ''Breaking Through the Mist'' (2013) ;Thunder Rising * ''Thunder Rising'' (2013) ;Marius Danielsen * ''Legend of Valley Doom'' (2013) ;Dramatica * ''Fall of Tyranny'' (2016) ;Vivaldi Metal Project * ''The Four Seasons'' (2016) ;Ark Storm * ''Voyage of the rage'' (2018) ;Tribute albums *'' Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen'' (1997) *''We Will Rock You: A Tribute to

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

'' (2000) *''Warmth in the Wilderness: A Tribute To Jason Becker'' (2001) *''24/7/365: A Tribute To

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

'' (2007) ;Soundtracks *''"Restless heart"'' from the film " White Water Summer" (1987) Soundtrack recorded with Mike Slamer.

References

External links

*
Foundry Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boals, Mark 1958 births Living people Musicians from Youngstown, Ohio American heavy metal singers American rock bass guitarists American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American male singers Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American pianists Royal Hunt members Labyrinth (band) members Iron Mask (band) members Joshua (band) members American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force members