Rick Pierce is a founding member, lead guitar and songwriter of the legendary Seattle hard rock band TKO, whose debut release Let It Roll continues to cement the band’s cult-like status. TKO toured the world with the likes of AC/DC, Van Halen and other huge acts. Rick’s unique arsenal of guitar pyrotechnics provided the backbone of the unmistakable TKO sound.

Following his successful stint with TKO, Rick remained true to his metal roots and teamed up as lead guitarist for power metal band Q5 with Floyd Rose, acclaimed inventor of the Floyd Rose tremolo system. Buoyed by tremendous word-of-mouth and subsequent critical acclaim for their self-released first album, Q5 was signed by the influential British metal label, Music for Nations (Metallica, Manowar). Q5’s album Steel the Light, produced by Floyd, is still considered a classic in metal and hard rock circles worldwide and continues to sell in all formats to this day. The opening thrasher Missing in Action is one of Rick’s best known compositions. Polygram Records released the album in North America and distributed the next album, When the Mirror Cracks on Cliff Bernstein and Peter Mensch’s Squawk label.

Suicide Squad, a project with his former singer in TKO, Brad Sinsel marked Rick’s return to Music For Nations, and after Q5’s split MFN signed Rick’s new band, Nightshade for the indie chart topping album Dead of Night. Two more Nightshade albums followed.

Q5 staged a reunion (Floyd couldn’t take part) at Sweden Rock Festival in 2014.  This ultimately resulted in a third Q5 album on Frontiers Records.  Rose and Pierce then began a new songwriting/recording collaboration with Floyd again as producer and Rick on guitar joined by Chris James on vocals, Izzy Rehaume on bass and Frankie Rongo on drums. Chris is Floyd’s discovery from Southern California while Frankie and Izzy are Rick’s past touring and recording mates, Frankie with Nightshade and Q5, and Izzy with the (ex-Metal Church) Ronny Munroe Project.  RPG are recording their new project between Floyd’s studio in Southern California and the studio in Washington State where Rick did the tracking for Q5’s New World Order.

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