Matter (band)
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| Matter | |
|---|---|
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| Origin | Brighton, England |
| Years active | January 1998 – August 2002 |
| Genres | Grindcore Technical Metal |
| Labels | Undergroove Records |
| Members | Dom Lawson Gavin Rushman Jamie Perryman James Burt |
| Website(s) | None |
Matter was a technical grindcore band formed in the town of Lewes north of Brighton in the 1998. The band (excluding vocalist Dom Lawson) had been playing as a group for a couple of years and had been searching for a singer. Until a mutual friend had recommended Dom Lawson to drummer James Burt who went to see him play bass/vocals in his band No Legs. He liked what he heard and gave Dom a demo tape of some of their instrumental tracks and invited him for a tryout for the band. Jim himself joined the other two members in 1998 and Dom was the final member of the band to join in January 1999; the band roster was complete.
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Dom "The Distressed Crow" Lawson - Vocals
- Gavin Rushman - Guitar
- Jamie Perryman - Bass
- James "Flammer" Burt - Drums & Backing Vocals
[edit] Discography
[edit] Demos
- Demos (1999)
- Blackleg Demos (2000)
[edit] Studio Albums
- Blackleg (Album, 2001)
[edit] The Split
During Spring 2002 on Matter's website (www.matter666.com) it was declared that Matter were splitting up. Soon after, a statement was given. The merchandise slowly began to sell out. And then the website was taken down. The statement declared was as follows:
MATTER STATEMENT - AUGUST 2002
"It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to officially confirm that Matter is royally (censored). Myself and Jim Burt decided to call it a day after a series of unfortunate incidents and problems with the rest of the band. As you may know, Jamie decided to quit, which is fair enough, his call etc etc. Sadly, the manner of his leaving left a lot to be desired and left us with a rather sour taste in our overactive mouths. Nonetheless, Jamie is not to blame for the band splitting up. Jim and I just felt very disillusioned about the whole thing. We were in a great position, had released a (censored) great first album and were looking forward to getting some cool tours and moving everything up a notch or two. Unfortunately, Gav showed no interest in continuing either...or at least that's all we can assume from the total lack of contact we received from him after Jamie's last gig...and rather than attempt to recruit new people and go through months of fannying about, the sensible option seemed to be to knock the whole thing on its ugly, wart-encrusted head. After feeling gutted for a few weeks, we have both decided to think positive (an unusual concept for either of us, but needs must when the devil (censored) in your lunchbox). Jim is currently hitting things for the delightful Landmine Spring and I will shortly be getting a band together with some mates in Brighton. Expect something loud and filthy to emerge in 2003. Or not. Thanks to everyone who has supported the band over the last couple of years, especially anyone who bought the album or came to see us making a racket. At least two of us had a (censored) great time doing it, so it's not all doom, gloom and roping arcs of (censored).
An extra huge CHEERS goes out to Undergroove, and all who sail in her. Keep your ears peeled for the mighty Johnny Truant...flying the flag for quality noise. Bunch of skinny (censored), mind. Keep it evil and hopefully see you again, somewhere sweaty, dark and poorly-attended.
Cheers...Dom & the circus of (censored)ery that was MATTER."
[edit] Trivia
- The name Matter was chosen because they didn't want a name with a lot of connotations and they weren't concerned about their image. Alternative names for the band were McCracken and Rick Allen's Arm.
- Mr McCracken is Dominic Lawson's old dentist. The song Full Credit is dedicated to him having an amusing name.
- The band originate from the Brighton area, which is the gay capital of England. Accusations that members of the band were homosexuals were denied.
- The band share very little in musical taste. Common denominators include Candiria and Soundgarden. Lawson likes pretty much anything metal, but is heavily into classic and death metal, Gav hates pretty much everything, and only rarely will he even admit to liking anything at all, although Soundgarden's Superunknown album was heavy on his playlist, James Burt likes a varying amount of music. His favourite band is 'The Police', he is well into his eighties disco pop and in the metal genre, is mainly into the old New York scenes, i.e. Helmet, Quicksand etc, while Jamie prefers death metal.
- Guitarist Gavin Rushman and bassist Jamie Perryman had been playing in bands together since 1995.
- Additional vocals on Stabbed were courtesy of Paul Catten of Medulla Nocte.
- All lyrics were written in pen by Dom Lawson.
- The last line of song Bad Loser "Der teufel hat seine finger in spiel" translates from German as "The Devil has his fingers in the game".
- Dom Lawson plays bass in the band Bowlrider.
- On the demos for Blackleg Dom Lawson attempted to sing. This variant of vocals can't be heard anywhere on the final album.
- Jamie Perryman usually drove the tour van. One particular low point for the band was sleeping in the van at a Rotherham gig.
- Blackleg was produced by Dave Chang at Philia Studios in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Dave Chang has produced work by artists such as earthtone9, Stampin' Ground, Landmine Spring.
- Matter featured on rock magazine coverdisks during 2001. Bloated was found on the Rock Sound in February and Bad Loser on Copro Records 'Cop Out' magazine in December.
