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BOLT
THROWER
Those
Once Loyal
Karl
Willetts – Vocals
Barry Thomson – Guitar
Gavin Ward – Guitar
Jo Bench – Bass
Martin Kearns - Drums
BOLT
THROWER were formed in 1986 by Barry Thomson (guitar)
and Gavin Ward (bass). They were soon joined by Alan
West (vocals), and completed the line-up with the addition
of Andy Whale (drums). Inspired at that time by bands
such as Sacrilege, Discharge, Slayer and Candlemass,
the four piece went on to record two demos 'In Battle...'
and 'Concession of Pain' - the latter was sent to the
late, great, John Peel which resulted in the band being
offered a session. At this time Gavin Ward decided to
switch to guitar and then recruited Jo Bench on bass
to complete the five-piece line-up. At the start of
1988, BOLT THROWER recorded their first Peel Session;
after the transmission was aired Vinyl Solution contacted
the band and a deal was agreed. Unfortunately, Alan
West decided that he no longer wanted to carry on with
the band and was replaced by Karl Willetts. With this
line-up they went on to record the album 'In Battle
There Is No Law' recorded at Loco Studios in Wales and
released in the summer of 1988.
After
constant gigging around the UK, the band was contacted
by both Earache Records and war gaming company, Games
Workshop. The result was 'Realm of Chaos' the band’s
second studio album, and was released on Earache Records
in 1989, and featured cover and booklet artwork from
the artists at Games Workshop.
The
band was also honoured with the opportunity to record
two more Peel Sessions (which were later released as
an album). Bolt Thrower were starting to create a reputation
of being one of the most powerful live acts around when
they made their first tour of Europe in 1990. At the
start of 1991 they recorded 'Warmaster' at Slaughterhouse
Studios, Driffield with Colin Richardson producing and
went on to do another successful tour of Europe and
the U.S.
Next
came 'The IVth Crusade' - recorded at Sawmills Studios
in Cornwall in 1992, it showed the band had continued
to create their own unique style of music that was easily
identifiable as BOLT THROWER. The band promoted the
album extensively with tours in Europe and Australia.
The recording of '...For Victory' in 1994, (at Sawmills,
again), was immediately followed by the bands second
tour of the U.S. This unfortunately saw the departure
of drummer Andy Whale and vocalist Karl Willetts, who
decided they didn't want to continue in the band. But
the album was released later in the year and the band
replaced them with drummer Martin Kearns and Martin
Van Drunen on vocals.
With
this line-up the band carried on the promotion of the
album with two European tours.
The next couple of years turned into an endurance test
for the band with Van Drunen leaving due to illness,
the ending of the bands relations with Earache Records,
the subsequent signing to Metal Blade Records, and the
eventual departure of Martin Kearns. Kearns went on
to be replaced by Alex Thomas for the recording of the
first release on Metal Blade - 'Mercenary', (1998),
and the vocalist on this album was to be the re-instated
Karl Willetts. But Willetts found he was unable to commit
to touring, so Dave Ingram (who had recently left Benediction),
filled his position.
'Mercenary'
was greatly received all over the world - in particular
Germany, where it made the band’s first entry
in the German album charts. Another sold-out tour of
Europe followed, and so did another departure, this
time it was drummer Alex Thomas. Martin Kearns was re-recruited,
just in time to do the 'Full Force' festival for the
second time, and joined again as a full time member.
In
January 2001, the band did a few dates in Holland and
Germany, re-affirming their status as one of the best
live acts around. Inspired by the response from the
shows, the band went straight into the studio to record
their 7th album – 'Honour, Valour, Pride'. The
album was once again highly received by both the press
and the fans, and a European tour with Dave’s
former band mates Benediction followed in 2002.
The
band’s next major show was to be the Rock Hard
anniversary festival, but unfortunately for the band
and the fans, they had to cancel the show, due to the
birth of Dave’s baby. A few months later, when
the band were beginning to write material for their
8th album, Ingram decided he was unable to continue
in the band and the remaining members found themselves
faced with the dilemma of who to replace him with.
Ex-member
Karl Willetts was the first port of call, and much to
the joy of everyone involved, he instantly agreed to
re-join as a full time member of the band again. Karl
warmed-up his voice straight away, by re-recording his
vocals on a demo version of HVP; the results showed
that his vocal ability was still there in force.
With
the line-up complete once again, the next few months
were spent writing and re-writing the new material until
the band were 100% satisfied with the completed songs.
The band spent the summer of 2005 recording the new
material, and the results will be revealed soon when
the band unleashes their 8th studio album at the end
of the year. A European tour is already booked for 2006
and more tours are being planned. The future is looking
good.
Here’s to 20 glorious years of Bolt Thrower....
IN
A WORLD OF COMPROMISE… SOME DON’T
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