Warlord UK

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Warlord
Origin Birmingham, United Kingdom
Genre(s) Death metal
Thrash metal
Years active 1990 – unknown
Label(s) Nuclear Blast
Former members
Mark White - vocals, bass guitar

Warlord UK were a death metal band from Birmingham, England. Formed in 1990, the original line up consisted of Mark White (bass guitar, vocals), Andrew 'Bear' Stone (guitar), Michael Gorst (guitar) and a drum machine. They eventually recruited a human drummer and recorded one album for Nuclear Blast, with the help of Dave Ingram. After some touring the band decided to split up.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

Old friends from school, White, Stone and Gorst decided to form a band, then known only as 'Warlord'. For the bands first few shows, the use of a drum machine was required, as they did not have a drummer. In 1992, Neil Hutton was recruited as Warlord's drummer. Local musician and entrepreneur Robert 'Bob' Lamb took the band under his wing and attempted to plug the band into the UK metal 'scene', using all manner of rock and roll clichés. The band's first demo tape, Alien Dictator was recorded soon afterwards in Kings Heath, Birmingham.

The tape was strong enough to attract the attention of the major record label Island Records, however Island's interest was short-lived, claiming that they had no idea how to market the band. Warlord (without the UK tag at this point) carried on regardless, embarking on a short UK tour with fellow Brummies Cerebral Fix.

The demo was very well received and Warlord played a string of gigs soon after, performing their own versions of the Amebix classic "Chain Reaction", New Model Army's "51st State", Slayer's "Raining Blood" as well as their own compositions.

[edit] Departure of Neil Hutton

1995 saw the departure of Neil Hutton who went on to play drums for Benediction and more recently Stampin' Ground, and so Warlord were once again in search of a drummer. Warlord had asked Anita Harris, a friend of theirs, to handle their mail and it was through Anita that Warlord's new drummer was recruited. Neil Farrington was a seasoned drummer from the Black Country, who had played with countless local bands since 1985. Neil settled in almost immediately. Benediction vocalist Dave Ingram successfully negotiated a three album deal between Warlord and the German record label Nuclear Blast, on the condition that he did guest vocals on three of Warlord's tracks. These ended up being the Amebix cover versions "Nobody's Driving" and "Chain Reaction" (from Amebix's third album Monolith) and Slayer's "Raining Blood".

[edit] Debut album

Warlord's debut album, Maximum Carnage was recorded at Rhythm Studios, Bidford-on-Avon, England with producer Paul Johnson. Nuclear Blast did precious little to promote the finished product, but again Warlord (now known as Warlord UK), cracked on, supporting Benediction on an 11 date European tour in February 1996, covering Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. All of the European dates were very well received, particularly their show in Cologne, Germany. Upon Warlord's return to the UK after the European dates, the band did a gig in their home town to around twenty people. Morale within the band was pretty low by then, but was raised again when they were booked by London promoter Devil's Church as the main support for Swedish band At the Gates, who were touring the UK.

[edit] At the Gates UK tour & break up

Warlord UK turned up at the first show on the At the Gates UK tour (coincidentally in Birmingham) only to be told by Mike, the Devil's Church promoter, that they were not allowed to play. Mike had splattered Warlord UK's name across the UK's metal press as the main support for At the Gates, but as it turned out, the shows for Warlord were not to be. Feeling completely and utterly betrayed, Warlord UK split up. Nuclear Blast did nothing to salvage the situation, although they were probably unaware of what was going on. The band members went their separate ways musically, although personally they were still friends.

[edit] Reunion, Reformation and the Final Curtain

A chance meeting in a Birmingham rock club in 1998 saw the musical reunion of Mark White, Neil Farrington, Andrew Stone and Michael Gorst and they decided to reform as Warlord UK. Mark White ditched the bass guitar to concentrate on vocal duties. Matthew Evans (a friend of Neil's) joined them as the bass guitarist. The two guitars of Mick Gorst and Andrew Stone was further reinforced by the addition of a third guitarist, "Uncle Tony" Warburton of Cerebral Fix, who by then had split after four albums.

The reunion was not to last, however. Mark, Andrew and Michael settled into relationships with their girlfriends and called time on their musical careers. Matthew Evans was last seen in the crowd at the Reading Festival in 2002. Tony and Neil went on to form the Damn Dirty Apes with Matthew Ritchie and Simon Reeves, who is now the producer at Musoplex; Neil also ventured into punk rock with Last under the Sun, and Sensa Yuma (with whom he toured mainland Europe) and worked briefly with original Venom guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn. Tony Warburton had a break from his career for six months and reformed Cerebral Fix with Neil Farrington who was spending quality time with his son. Cerebral Fix have now reformed and play London on Saturday 16th June 2007,and the Bloodstock Festival in August 2007.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Sources