RING OF FIRE was a highly anticipated 'supergroup' boasting an impressive array of seasoned performers. Fronting the whole project was former YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB vocalist and TED NUGENT bassist MARK BOALS, the band actually having evolved from the frontman's own solo 'Ring Of Fire' album. The RING OF FIRE band originally featured another former YNGWIE MALMSTEEN man Barry Dunaway on bass. For recording of 'The Oracle' album Boals was joined by MOGG/WAY and AUDIODROME guitarist GEORGE BELLAS, STEVE VAI bassist Phillip Bynoe, ARTENSION keyboard player Vitalij Kuprij and PLANET X and FREAKHOUSE drummer Virgil Donati.

The album was initially released in Japan during July on the Marquee Inc. label and then licensed into Europe by the Italian Frontiers concern for a December release. A live album and DVD, 'Burning Live In Tokyo', was set for August 2002 release. Originally announced as including a medley of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN songs in the form of 'You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget/Magic Mirror' these tracks would later be pulled due to disagreement with the Swedish guitarist's agents.

The band parted ways with keyboard player Vitalij Kupri in December. European versions of the 'Dreamtower' album on the Frontiers label, released some four months after Japanese issue, added an extra exclusive track 'Undone'. The group, switching labels to the King concern, added keyboard player Steve Weingart in July of 2003. Both Boals and Bynoe also came to attention outside of their priority band activities, delivering choral vocals for a Daniele Liverani 2004 GENIUS outing 'In Search of The Little Prince'.

RING OF FIRE, switching labels in Japan from Avalon Marquee to King Records, issued a new studio album, Lapse Of Reality' recorded at Skunk Studios in Burbank, California, in July of 2004. Boals also donated his vocals to tracks on Japanese guitarist TAKAYOSHI OMURA's debut album 'Nowhere To Go'. Whilst conducting a series of vocal clinic gigs in Japan during September Boals took time out to guest onstage with Omura at the Shibuya O-West in Tokyo, performing three songs then encoring alongside erstwhile RAINBOW vocalist Doogie White. Boals would also work on Tomio Terada's conceptual album 'Flight Of The Soul', featuring on the song 'Tempestus Rex'.

During 2005 Virgil Donati recorded tracks for VERTIGO, the band unit assembled by former TOTO man Joseph Williams.