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Michael Vescera to Perform at Otakon 2023

Washington, D.C. (July 17, 2023) – American heavy metal singer Michael Vescera will be a guest at Otakon 2023, according to Otakorp Inc. He will be a guest singer at the -yaiba- concert.

Vescera has been a singer for various bands and projects, such as Loudness, Obsession, Yngwie Malmsteen, ANIMETAL USA, D-Metal Stars and presently Animaze X.

In 2011 Mike started ANIMETAL USA (Sony Music), playing heavy metal versions of Japanese anime theme songs (following in the steps of the Japanese project Animetal). This project features Rudy Sarzo on bass, Scott Travis on drums (later, Jon Dette on drums), and Chris Impelliterri on guitar. "ANIMETAL USA 1" and "Animetal W" both charted at number one In Japan. Two successful tours of Japan followed, sharing the bill with JAM Project, along with an appearance at "LoudPark" and Anime Expo in Los Angeles. ANIMETAL USA also collaborated and recorded the theme song for the Naruto spin-off, "Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals" as well as a song for Ressha Sentai ToQger 2 mini album - 2014 (Columbia), "I've been working on the railroad" (metal version), ANIMETAL USA with Shogo Kamata (Japanese vocal).

In mid-2016, in a spin-off of the ANIMETAL USA project, Vescera with Rudy Sarzo on bass, John Bruno (Obsession) on guitar, and BJ Zampa (House of Lords) on drums, recorded a new project. This project, D-Metal Stars, "Metal Disney" was released in October 2016 on Walt Disney Records in the Japanese market. It reached No. 3 on the Amazon Japan Hard Rock / Metal Best Sellers chart, and No. 2 on the Children's Chart. The album was then released for the U.S. market in March 2017 by Universal Music Group, landing on the Billboard, iTunes, and Amazon charts.

In 2018, Vescera produced and arranged a rock guitar project called "Disney Super Guitar" (titled "Super Guitar Disney" in Japanese market). This is an instrumental release featuring a guest lead guitarist on each song, featuring Zakk Wylde, Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, Richie Kotzen, Orianthi, Ron Thal, Mike Orlando, Phil X, Jeff Watson, and Tak Matsumoto. Super Guitar Disney became a No. 1 Best Seller on the Amazon Japan Anime Chart, and No. 3 Best Seller on Amazon Japan Rock Chart.

Mid-2018, Michael launched a new project called Animaze X. This is a project started by the members of D-Metal Stars that encompasses a wider variety of music themes, such as superheroes, popular cartoons, Broadway musicals and movie soundtracks, all played in the metal style.

Otakon 2023 will be held from July 28 to July 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty-ninth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Historically, Otakon has drawn up to 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see https://www.otakorp.org/

For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2023, see https://www.Otakon.com/

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