Bolt
Thrower in 2005
Background information
Origin
Coventry,
England
Genre(s)
Death
metal
Years active
1986 –
present
Label(s)
Vinyl
Solution
Earache
Records
Metal Blade Records
Website
boltthrower.com
Members
Karl
Willetts
Jo
Bench
Gavin Ward
Barry
Thompson
Martin
Kearns
Former members
Andy
Whale
Martin van Drunen
Alex
Thomas
Dave
Ingram
Alex Tweedy
Alan West
Bolt Thrower are a death
metal band from Coventry,
England.
They formed in 1986
and released their first album with Vinyl
Solution in 1988.
They then shifted to a new record label, Earache
Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label.
Their current label is Metal Blade Records. The band
has had a succession of members and have toured Europe, the United
States and Australia.
The band takes its name from a weapon in the popular tabletop
strategy game Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
The lyrics and artwork of their second and third album were based on
Warhammer as well as its futuristic companion Warhammer
40,000, with much of the art actually being provided by the game's
publisher, Games Workshop. The general theme of
their lyrics is war and its consequences.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 1.1 Early
history: 1986-1988
- 1.2 1989-1994
- 1.3 1995
to present
- 2 Members
- 2.1 Current
line-up
- 2.2 Former
members
- 3 Discography
- 3.1 Demos
- 3.2 Studio
Albums
- 3.3 Live
and compilation albums
- 3.4 Video
clips
- 4 Audio
files (mp3)
- 5 Miscellanea
- 6 External
links
- 7 References
|
History
Early history: 1986-1988
Bolt Thrower were formed in September 1986
as a hardcore
and thrash
metal band, influenced largely by thrash bands such as Slayer and
hardcore punk bands like Crass and Discharge.
The band was founded by bassist Gavin
Ward and guitarist Barry Thompson in a Coventry pub toilet during a
hardcore punk gig.
Shortly thereafter Andrew Whale and Alan
West joined on drums and vocals respectively. In April 1987
the In Battle There Is No Law demo was recorded
with this line-up.
Their second recording was the Concession of Pain
demo, which they made in September of 1987. Gavin had switched to
guitars and they recruited Alex Tweedy to play the bass. However,
Alex did not show up for the recording, and so Gavin played both guitar
and bass for the demo. Two weeks after the recording session, Gavin's
girlfriend Jo
Bench replaced Tweedy.
With this line-up they recorded their first Peel session on January 3, 1988,
with John
Peel, the alternative disk jockey of BBC
Radio One.
He had received their second demo and became enthusiastic about the
band. They recorded four tracks for it, resulting in a deal with Vinyl
Solution to release one album. Just before the recording of their first
full-length album, they replaced their singer with their driver Karl
Willetts. Their debut LP, In Battle there is no Law
is only a half hour in length and has a primitive and raw sound often
categorized as grindcore.
1989-1994
The cover of the 1989 album Realm of Chaos, similar
to the cover of Rogue Trader, the first edition of Warhammer
40,000
They were not satisfied with the deal with Vinyl Solution as
it was a pure hardcore label at that time. The label
did little promotion for Bolt Thrower and their blend of death metal
and hardcore punk, so after one album Bolt Thrower decided to leave
Vinyl Solution and were signed by Earache
Records. Earache Records had also signed many other death metal bands
including Carcass and Napalm
Death. The band worked a little on their style and changed to
playing faster, more aggressive and powerful songs, becoming more of a deathgrind
band. The production of this album was not great, though it was an
improvement on previous attempts. The artwork was done by Games
Workshop (they produce games such as Warhammer) as a gaming supplement they
produced had a similar name to the album Bolt Thrower was about to
release. After Games Workshop heard the recording of the songs for Bolt
Thrower's second Peel session, which was recorded on 6 November
1988,
they offered to do the expensive artwork for Bolt Thrower's album. The
band accepted this offer. The record was released in 1989 with the title of
Realm of Chaos
and with the subtitle Slaves To Darkness. Most of
the lyrics to the songs were also influenced by the game, but not
merely because of the deal with Games Workshop. Karl, Andy and Gavin
were very much into the games Games Workshop produced and they wrote a
couple of songs about these games. Some obvious examples are "Plague Bearer" and
"World
Eater". Most lyrics can however be projected on war, the general theme
Bolt Thrower uses. After the recording of Realm of Chaos
they went on the Grindcrusher Tour with label mates
Napalm
Death, Carcass and Morbid
Angel. On the Cenotaph EP one song ("Realm of
Chaos") appears that is recorded during this tour. This EP also
features the two CD-bonus tracks from War Master
and Realm of Chaos plus the song "Cenotaph".
Continuing, they recorded their third and final Peel session
on 22
July, 1990.
On this three songs from the upcoming album were performed in raw
versions as well as "Lost Souls Domain" off Realm Of Chaos.
Next step in the history of Bolt Thrower was the album titled War Master.
This album is very ingenious, they took out the grindcore
influences becoming more death metal band. They put in some more
skills in playing and making it all sound far more sophisticated. And
this time the production was done skilfully. It was recorded, as the
previous album in the Slaughterhouse studios, which burned down two
weeks after the recordings were completed. Again Games Workshop offered
to do their artwork; however as it was considered too expensive, Bolt
Thrower declined the offer. The former head-designer of Games Workshop
would do the artwork, resulting in quite similar artwork as that of Realm
of Chaos. For the U.S. tour they did to promote the War
Master album, they used an old US school bus as tour bus,
loaded with many computer games. All three Peel Sessions were then
released on one CD named The Peel Sessions 1988-90
in 1991.
Their next step was the albumThe
IVth Crusade. The title has a double meaning,
as it was their fourth studio album (not counting the Peel sessions),
but the album title also refers to the Fourth
Crusade and the capturing of Constantinople. The cover artwork is
a painting from Eugène Delacroix, showing "The
Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople".
They downtuned
their guitars even more and wrote slower songs which were heavier and
more bombastic. It leans more towards doom metal influenced by bands like Candlemass,
in combination with their own massive death metal sound. The album was
followed by the tour World Crusade with the Polish death metal
act Vader
and the Swedish
death metal band Grave in Europe. The band toured the US
again as well as Australia. During this time a single was
released called Spearhead containing a very heavy,
extended remix of the CD track "Spearhead" plus two new tracks and
"Dying Creed" off the album.
Band logo
Classic line-up (from 1988 to 1994):
- Karl Willetts : Vocals
- Gavin Ward : Guitar
- Barry Thompson : Guitar
- Jo Bench : Bass guitar
- Andy Whale : Drums
Their next album is called ...For
Victory and was released in 1994.
It was the final album with Karl Willetts and Andrew Whale. Both left
the band because of changing life directions.
The latest American tour did not go well, they returned home
prematurely and by this time the band was quite fed-up with touring.
They too made a partial return to their Hardcore/thrash
metal roots, whilst not forgetting their doom influences, though the
vocals tended to sound a bit different: less growling,
but more hardcore punk styled; they were somewhat more like hoarse
screaming, especially on "When Glory Beckons" and "Armageddon Bound". A
limited edition of the album exists containing a bonus Live CD, called War
(sometimes called "Live War"). After the album release Karl Willetts
was replaced by Dutchman Martin
van Drunen, and Martin Kearns, who took over the drum
kit.
1995 to present
In 1995 and 1996
the band did two European tours.
Then in 1997, Martin van Drunen decided to
leave the band again as he had never felt he really became a part of
Bolt Thrower, and also because he got a disease that made his hair fall
out due to which he felt insecure on stage.
For at least one show in Germany long time friend Dave
Ingram stood in. Martin Kearns decided to leave again. The position at
the drum
kit is now taken by Alex Thomas. Karl Willetts temporarily
rejoined the band to do the vocal duties on the next album. The band
switched record labels from Earache to Metal
Blade Records, because since the US ...For Victory
tour they had seen a lack of success with Earache. Earache had also
wanted to get rid of them and Bolt Thrower wanted to leave Earache as
soon as possible, so they parted company.
The album titled Mercenary
was released on 8 September 1998
in Europe
and on 10
November 1998 in the USA, and features 9 tracks. It is over all a bit
slower than its predecessors. However, it is definitely very heavy and
sounds very much Bolt Thrower. And Karl returned to perform his
previous style of singing; the hardcore punk influences have
disappeared again. After the album recording, Karl left the band again
and the band have recruited Dave Ingram permanently after he left Benediction.
In November 1998, Earache Records released Who Dares
Wins, an album featuring various older recordings, including
the songs from the Spearhead EP and Cenotaph EP. The band themselves do
not agree with the release this album, as it is a cheap cash-in from
Earache and they warn not to buy it. Originally, it was titled No
Guts - No Glory but the title was changed because one song on
Mercenary has the same title and Metal
Blade objected. Following the release of the album a European tour was
done, called Into the Killing Zone with Dave
Ingram on vocals.
After a short European tour in 2001
(only 5 dates),
they started to work on a new album. Honour - Valour - Pride
was released in late 2001 on Metal Blade and shows a
progression from the direction taken on Mercenary.
It contains 9 tracks; the digipak has one bonus track. Martin Kearns
is now back with the band after he settled his things in his life. Alex
Thomas departed since he lacked interest in the musical direction of
Bolt Thrower.
In 2004 the band began working on new
material for their latest album. They intended to record it in the May
of 2004, with the release set to the end of the year by Metal Blade.
Meanwhile a European tour and a US tour were prepared. Unfortunately,
right before the recording could begin, Dave Ingram decided to leave,
due to health and personal issues.
This put off the new record and tours, and priority was set to finding
a new singer. On 18 November 2004, the band announced the return of Karl
Willetts. Recording of the album, titled Those
Once Loyal, started in May 2005; it was
released on 11 November in Germany, 14 November in the rest of Europe
and 15 November in the USA 2005. It has been met with widespread
critical acclaim from magazines such as Rock
Sound, Rock
Hard and Metal Hammer. A European tour followed
in January and February 2006
A second leg followed in April, with dates in Scandinavia,
UK, Spain and more.
A US tour was planned to take place later in the year, however lack of
financial support from the label forced the band to cancel these plans.
The band are now considering leaving Metal Blade, although they are
currently continuing to work on an (as yet untitled) new album. .
Meanwhile, Earache has coincided the release of Those
Once Loyal with a re-release of the Realm of Chaos
featuring new artwork. The band encourage people not to buy it as (like
Who Dares Wins) it was released without their
consultation let alone consent. Furthermore, it has been alleged that
the band has not received royalties from Earache for a number of years.
Members
Current line-up
- Barry (Baz) Thomson - Rhythm/Lead
guitar (1986 -)
- Gavin Ward - Rhythm
guitar (Bass on demos) (1986 -)
- Jo
Bench - Bass
guitar (1987 -)
- Martin (Kiddie) Kearns - Drums (1994 - 1997,
2000 - )
- Karl Willetts - Vocals (1987 -
1994, 2004 -)
Former members
- Alex Tweedy - Bass
guitar (1987)
- Alan West - Vocals (1986 -
1988)
- Dave Ingram - Vocals (1997, 1998
- 2004)
- Martin van Drunen - Vocals (1995 -
1997)
- Alex Thomas - Drums (1997 - 1999)
- Andrew (Andy) Whale - Drums (1986 - 1994)
Discography
Demos
- In Battle There Is No Law (self-released
cassette, 1987)
- Concession Of Pain (self-released
cassette, 1987)
Studio Albums
- In Battle there is no Law
(Vinyl Solution, 1988)
- Realm of Chaos - Slaves to
Darkness (Earache MOSH13, 1989)
- Cenotaph (EP)
(Earache MOSH33, 1990)
- War Master
(Earache MOSH29, 1991)
- The IVth Crusade
(Earache MOSH70, 1992)
- Spearhead (EP)
(Earache MOSH73, 1993)
- ...For Victory
(Earache MOSH120, 1994)
- Mercenary
(Metal Blade, 1998)
- Honour - Valour - Pride
(Metal Blade, 2001)
- Those Once Loyal
(Metal Blade, 2005)
Live and compilation albums
- The Peel Session
(EP)
(Strange Fruit, 1988)
- The Peel Sessions 1988-90
(Strange Fruit, 1991)
- War
(Earache, 1994)
- Who Dares Wins
(Earache, 1998)
Video clips
- "The IVth Crusade" (1992)
- "...For Victory" (1998)
- "Inside the Wire" (2000)
- "Cenotaph" (2001)
Audio files (mp3)
- Mercenary (1997)
- Honour - Valour - Pride
(2001)
- Those Once Loyal (2005)
Miscellanea
- Bong-Ra,
a popular artist from the hardcore/breakcore
electronic music genre, released an LP in 2005 titled Grindkrusher.
It almost exclusively features samples and remixes of various Bolt
Thrower recordings, as well as a song entitled Jo Bench.
- Dev/Null made a song called "Bolt Thrower in a Chinese
Restaurant". It is not sure whether there is any definite link.
- A Bolt Thrower Tribute project was created in the late
1980s. One tape was produced titled 'Colt-Thrower - Under the Sign of
the Black Horse' It was released on cassette only, and 30 copies were
produced. The idea was a Christmas present to the band members. It
consists of the tracks "Intro", "Through the Eye of Jap", "Dwarf in
Torment" and "Outro".
- Wesley Willis made a song called "Bolt
Thrower" on the album Rock & Roll Will
Never Die!
- Danish Death Metal Band Illdisposed made a song called Throw
your Bolts on their Album Burn Me Wicked.
- The Japanese
grindcore
band Butcher
ABC used the Bolt Thrower band logo for the promotional poster of Maryland
Deathfest 2006.
- Jo
Bench performed spoken word lyrics as a guest in the The Project Hate MCMXCIX
song "Resurrected for Massive Torture" on their album Armageddon
March Eternal (Symphonies of Slit Wrists).
External links
References
- Sharpe-Young,
Garry (2003). Rockdetector: A-Z of Death Metal.
Cherry Red. ISBN
1-901447-35-9.
- Christe,
Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast : The Complete
Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. Harper Entertainment. ISBN 0-06-052362-X.
- Vinylnet Record Label Discographies. link. - Earache catalogue numbers
where applicable.
| v • d • e Bolt Thrower |
| Karl Willetts | Gavin
Ward | Jo
Bench | Barry Thompson | Martin
Kearns |
| Dave Ingram | Alan
West | Martin van Drunen | Andrew
Whale | Alex
Thomas |
| Discography |
Studio albums: The
Peel Session | In Battle There Is No Law
| Realm of Chaos
| Cenotaph | War Master
The IVth Crusade
| Spearhead
| ...For Victory
| Mercenary
| Honour - Valour - Pride
| Those Once Loyal' |
| Live albums: War |
| Compilations: The Peel Sessions 1988-90
| Who Dares Wins |