Ol Drake
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| Ol Drake | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Oliver Drake |
| Born | March 28, 1984 Huddersfield, UK |
| Genre(s) | Thrash metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Rhythm guitar, lead guitar |
| Years active | 2000-Present |
| Label(s) | Earache Records |
| Website | Official Evile Website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Moser Custom Shop 'Bastard V' | |
Oliver "Ol" Drake is the lead guitarist of English thrash metal group Evile.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Ol was born on March 28, 1984, in Huddersfield, England. Having had a Father who played the guitar since the 1970s, He and his brother, Matt Drake were brought up in a very musical environment by their parents, with the sounds of artists such as Queen and Jimi Hendrix. Matt, after having received Classical guitar lessons when young, obtained an electric guitar for a birthday. Matt started Ol on the path of metal by introducing him to the music of Metallica and Guns n Roses. Ol, then aged 16, would pick up Matt's guitar when possible and teach himself from then on.
When Ol reached college, due to a course in Music, he obtained an interest in music theory, jazz and classical music, which opened up his playing and progress on the guitar. Ol would also develop an interest and skill in playing the Drums.
He would spend many years notating guitar tablature for a huge majority of Annihilator's back catalogue. Annihilator main man Jeff Waters, impressed by his work, would dedicate an entire page to his tabs on the Annihilator website.[1]. Ol therefore drew a huge influence from Jeff Waters' guitar stylings.
Ol made a guest appearance on The Berzerker bassist Sam Bean's Solo project The Senseless. He performed a guest solo on the track "Promise".
[edit] Evile
In 2000, Matt Drake and Ben Carter got together to form a covers band. Due to Ol having advanced slightly on the guitar by this time, they asked him to join the band. After acquiring Mike Alexander on the bass, they would play many shows together over the next few years.
In 2004, they would form Evile. They would record an EP All Hallows Eve in 2004 (which contained an instrumental track entirely written by Ol named "Torment") and a demo Hell in 2006. Soon after, the band would sign to Earache Records, and release their Flemming Rasmussen produced debut, Enter the Grave worldwide. Ol would create the concept for the album art of Enter the Grave.
Ol performs all guitar solos with Evile, with the exception of a solo in "We Who Are About to Die" (at 5:26) which is played by Matt Drake.
[edit] Influences
Ol has cited guitarists such as Jeff Waters, Alex Skolnick, Kirk Hammett and Marty Friedman as an influence. He also shows an interest in the style of Andrew Latimer of United Kingdom progressive band Camel.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Evile
- All Hallows Eve EP (Self Released) 2004
- Hell Demo (Self Released) 2006
- Enter the Grave (Earache Records) 2007
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Guitars
- Neal Moser MCS Red "Bastard V" Import-T w/ Bill Lawrence L500XL Bridge Pickup
- Neal Moser MCS Black "Bastard V" Import-T
[edit] Amps
- Randall Amplifiers 4"x12" cabinets.
- Randall Amplifiers MTS RM100M Head.
- Randall Amplifiers V2 Head
[edit] Effects
- Homebrew Electronics Powerscreamer
- Homebrew Electronics Mimic Delay
- Boss NS2 Noise Surpressor
[edit] References
- ^ Ol Drake's Annihilator Tablature. Annihilator website. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
