| The Malfated | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Alternative |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Malfated Recordings |
| Website | www.malfated.com |
| Members | |
| Karl Steiger Robert Ackerman |
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| Past members | |
| Natasha Spencer David Keys |
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The Malfated are an independent guitar band from London, England, who gained a cult following using online websites such as MySpace. The band formed in 2004, and were one of the first UK bands to join MySpace in 2004. They use a drum machine, which they call 'Bel The Expendable Drum Machine'. Line ups have gone through various changes, Karl Steiger being the only constant. The current line up of The Malfated is Karl Steiger (vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion) and Robert Ackerman (all guitars, bass, keyboards).
The Malfated's lyrics and music are predominantly written by frontman Karl Steiger, with occasional musical input from guitarist Natasha Spencer. Their sound draws from a large range of guitar genres - gothic rock, rock music, rock and roll, heavy metal, punk rock, indie rock, glam rock, deathrock, psychedelic rock, alternative metal, and pop - and their fanbase is largely made up of individuals from various alternative subcultures. The Malfated are part of a significant new breed of British bands using the Internet to reach out to people, rather than being dependent on television and printed mass media. Upon their arrival on MySpace, The Malfated regularly out-performed bigger bands such as Green Day in the MySpace charts, and continue to remain a mainstay.
Although The Malfated have been approached by various independent labels, the band decided to go it alone, recording, pressing and distributing their own material which they then sold online. This meant that they retained complete control of the material they were able to record and release, as well as being able to release the sleeve artwork of their choosing. Their debut CD, 'Rat Candy', was released in June 2006 to immediate fanfare, and has currently sold in excess of five thousand copies, in an age when a big star on a big label need only sell three thousand singles to reach Number One in the UK Singles Chart. By the end of 2006, the band had already debuted five new songs from their forthcoming, and as-yet-untitled second album, on their MySpace profile.
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The group are sometimes mistaken for a pure Gothic or emo band because frontman Karl Steiger occasionally wears black eyeliner and eyeshadow in promotional band pictures. The band claim to have no particular band image policy, with each member of The Malfated dressing however he or she chooses.