POWERRAGE have their voice back. The Ottawa band led by former EXCITER guitarist John Ricci announced on November 9 that Jo Steel of ICE WAR is their new vocalist.
"We have found a new singer!" the band wrote, noting that Steel is from their hometown and that they're excited to keep delivering "raw and brutal metal to fans all over the globe." Photos of the new lineup are promised in a few weeks. The band also teased upcoming shows in the USA, with dates to be announced later, and reported that rehearsals are "very loud and very intense."
The search began in late September, when POWERRAGE put out an open call following the exit of Jacques Bélanger, the former EXCITER singer who fronted their debut. We reported on that split at the time; the band never gave a reason for it.
With Steel on board, the lineup now reads Ricci on guitar, Todd Pilon (ex-WITCHKILLER) on bass and Lucas Dery on drums. Ricci has said Pilon was the one who pushed him to start a new band after he left EXCITER in 2018, and that Dery won the drum stool on attitude as much as chops.
The group's first full-length, Beast, came out in April 2026 on High Roller Records, mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound, with cover art by Mario Lopez. Ricci has described the eight-song record as roughly half slow, doomy material and half fast, thrashy songs, and was clear that he didn't want POWERRAGE to become "another EXCITER." Steel's arrival means the next chapter, starting with those U.S. dates, will introduce a new voice to that sound.