Dan Donegan, guitarist for multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated hard rock band Disturbed, has unveiled his new project, Fight Or Flight. Fight Or Flight will release its debut album, "A Life By Design?", on July 23 via Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "First Of The Last", will hit radio May 21.

"During our hiatus from Disturbed, the separation anxiety from the fans came rather quickly," explains Donegan. He began writing songs on his own, and last year connected with Dan Chandler, frontman for the band Evans Blue, about a possible collaboration. The two emailed each other songs back and forth and met in person whenever Chandler was in Donegan's hometown of Chicago. When they had enough material to record, Donegan turned to his Disturbed brother of over twenty years, drummer Mike Wengren, and the three entered the studio. The result is a collection of hypnotic and hard-hitting songs fortified by Donegan's trademark riffing and Chandler's melodic sensibility. Ra's Sean Corcoran on bass and backing vocals, and Jeremy Jayson on guitar and backing vocals complete Fight Of Flight's lineup.

"This is more hard rock," Donegan affirms. "It's got edgy moments, but there's more melody across the board. We had the chance to experiment as well. There are acoustic guitars and some electronics even. It's different all around."

The stomping first single, "First Of The Last", is an energetic anthem that's meant to be cranked as loudly as possible. It's one of the more driving tracks on the record, and it's got my signature style," Donegan explains. "Lyrically, it's more cryptic. Dan and I spent a lot of time discussing conspiracy theories, and those conversations inspired the song."

Disturbed went on an open-ended hiatus in 2011, following the completion of the touring cycle for its 2010 album "Asylum". The band's frontman, David Draiman, has since launched a new project, Device, with former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo, while Disturbed bassist John Moyer branched out recently by joining Adrenaline Mob, a new group also featuring ex-Dream Theater and Avenged Sevenfold drummer Mike Portnoy.



Pictured below: Disturbed's Mike Wengren and Dan Donegan with Evans Blue singer Dan Chandler