For Flavio Mezzodi, a childhood dream has come true. The musician from Solothurn, where Swiss hard rock legends Krokus are from, has been officially named the band's new drummer.

"At age 10 I wanted nothing more than to play in a rock band and play all over the world," he states. "And now that dream has become reality".

Krokus bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr says: "The precision and groove of Flavio's drum work is exactly what our band needed. We are extremely happy that we found him."

Adds Krokus singer Marc "The Voice" Storace: "Flavio is a great human being and musically fits perfectly into our lineup. With him on drums, we will rock with even more power.

"Now we are complete again."

Flavio learned his drum skills at the Dante Agostini Drum School in Paris. He also teaches at numerous drumming schools. He played professionally with Swiss acts Stefanie Heinzmann and the band Fox.

Mezzodi grew up listening to Krokus. One of the first records he ever heard was the band's 1980 "Metal Rendez-Vous" release.

Over the almost four decades, Krokus' drummer slot has been often vacant. Freddy Steady left the band multiple times. The other Swiss drummer, Dani Crivelli, tragically died about three weeks ago.

Krokus' 17th studio album, "Dirty Dynamite", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 17. This marked the first time in Krokus' history that the band has landed in the Top 20 of the German chart.