to capitalize on the resurgence of interest in the hard rock of the late '80s and pre-grunge '90s. The same year, Slaughter embarked on another package tour, this time with Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil who had performed with Tim Kelly, Mark Slaughter and Blas Elias at a Las Vegas charity event earlier in the year. Ironically, that's when the band met Jeff Blando, a talented young soundman and guitarist from Orlando, Florida. After the tragic passing of Tim Kelly, he would become the fourth member of Slaughter. 1998–1999: Eternal Live and Rock Never Stops tour On February 5, 1998, Slaughter's guitarist, Tim Kelly, was driving on rural road Route 96 in Arizona when an 18-wheeler jack-knifed and collided with his car. He died of injuries in Baghdad, AZ. He was 35. The terrible news came when Slaughter was compiling tracks for its planned live album for CMC International. The album the band was finishing at the time of Kelly's death, Eternal Live, turned out to be a tribute to the late guitarist. The 12-song collection of live tracks, recorded in late 1997 in Mexico City in front of more than 20,000 fans and hometown Las Vegas, featured some of the last moments on stage for Tim Kelly. "We'd been recording shows for a live album, but when Tim died, we decided that these were the shows we had to use because it was his last times with our fans," Mark Slaughter would later explain. Dana Strum would agree: "And I think he'd be pleased that his last recordings were not just in the studio, but were with our fans there too." The album was full of memories. Five of the songs on Eternal Live were Top 40 radio tracks, and six of them were No.1 MTV video hits. It also contained Slaughter epics "Up All Night", "The Wild Life", "Mad About You" and their melancholy anthem, "Fly To The Angels". Another enhanced CD from the band, Eternal Live, revealed biographical text and some live concert footage when popped into a CD-Rom drive. The band members were grieving at the death of the guitar player. Uncertain if the band would continue or tour after Tim's passing, the only logical decision for them to consider was to recruit Jeff Blando, former guitarist for Left For Dead, who had been a friend to Tim Kelly and had toured with the band the