Cauldron Born

Cauldron Born was an American heavy metal band formed by guitarist Howie Bentley. They released three albums between 1997 and 2002, one of which was God of Metal, a compilation of the original Cauldron Born demo and a demo of a project Bentley worked on pre-dating Cauldron Born.

In January 2012, it was announced on the band's Facebook page that they have reformed and plan to release a new EP under the title Sword and Sorcery Heavy Metal. The lineup for the EP will consist of Bentley, ...And Rome Shall Fall vocalist David Louden, original drummer Bill Parsons, and new bassist John Leeson.

Beginnings and Beyond the Shade Gates (1990-1993)

The band can be traced back to a demo recorded with Bentley playing guitar and bass, Kevin Harp playing drums, and Cat Denton providing vocals. The demo consisted of four songs, “Dreaming with the Incubus”, “Wicker Man”, “Unleashing Wrath”, and “On Broken Wings of Sorrow”, all of which were written by Bentley. The demo was called “Beyond the Shade Gates”, and was released in 1998 under the Cauldron Born on the God of Metal compilation.

Formation and Swords, Sorcery, and Science (1994)

After the previous project, Bentley decided to form a full band. He scrapped the songs that he had recorded for his previous demo, and replaced them with new, more refined songs. While living in Atlanta, he enlisted two musicians: bassist Shawn Kasack and drummer Bill Parsons. Bentley had managed to find two bandmates who were up to his caliber, and he then went on to search for a singer. In the sparse metal community of the 90’s, that wasn’t exactly the easiest feat. He tried out several horrible vocalists. After searching for far too long, he finally landed with Christian Schulze, a unique Brazilian singer. The four then proceeded to record a demo, again consisting of four songs, three of which ended up on the band’s debut album. They were “Calling From the Crystal Tower”, “In Fate’s Eye a King”, “Crusader”, and “The Final Incantation/In The Dreaming City”. The demo tape, called Swords, Sorcery, and Science, was passed around the metal underground, and it came time for the band to choose a label. After having problems with labels telling them what the album should sound like, they chose the Italian indie label Underground Symphony, who told them that “they could record whatever they wanted, so long as it was a metal album.”

Born of the Cauldron & God of Metal (1997-1998)

Before recording began, Schulze was no longer with the band, so it was back to searching for a new singer. They found Danny White, who had quite a range, and unique style as well. The band recorded at MG studios, and many argue that the production on the subsequent album was the best they ever got. The album consisted of eight songs, and was named after the seventh track, Born of the Cauldron. The album yielded such live favorites as “Unholy Sanctuary” and “The Final Incantation/In the Dreaming City”, which fans consider some of the best Cauldron Born songs. It was released in 1997, and the band played several metal festivals in support of the album.

In 1998, Cauldron Born released their Swords, Sorcery, and Science demo along with the aforementioned Beyond the Shade Gates. The cover of the album was humorous, it depicted Howie Bentley atop a dragon holding a sword, with dead bodies in the river below wearing shirts that said “Foo Fighters”, “Pantera”, and “The Offspring”. The compilation was called God of Metal.

...And Rome Shall Fall (2002)

After the release of God of Metal, the band took a hiatus of sorts, during which Danny White abruptly left the band, much to the distress of the remaining members. However, Bentley carried on writing material for the follow-up to Born of the Cauldron. When the songs were finished, the band then found their new vocalist David Louden. This time the album was taken to the studio of Bentley’s friend Corbin King (now of Vainglory fame), but the quality suffered from the electronic drum sound. The album, however, is considered by most to be Cauldron Born’s masterpiece. It again consisted of eight songs, this time showing a more power metal flavor, which was added to by Louden’s wailing vocals. The album, called …And Rome Shall Fall after the second track, was a partial concept album based on the stories of Robert E. Howard. It was released in 2002. In the year that followed, Louden had left, and touring vocalist Zane Matthews came into the picture. The band again played several metal festivals in the Northern U.S, as well as some local shows in the Atlanta area.

Break-up and projects beyond Cauldron Born

In 2003 Bentley decided to call it quits with Cauldron Born. Since the break-up of the band in 2003, the band members have gone on to do several different things. Bassist Shawn Kasack plays in Rusty Cooley’s band, Outworld. Zane Matthews joined Halcyon Way, playing guitar. David Louden has no known musical endeavors. Christian Schulze became a devout Christian, and has done several projects since Cauldron Born, one of which was NV375, featuring Bill Parsons. Parsons has worked on a few projects, none of which released anything to my knowledge. Danny White dropped off the face of the earth. Bentley has since started up a new band, Briton Rites, and has recently released their debut album.

Influence

Cauldron Born was heavily influenced by metal gods Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, as well as progressive metal bands like Helstar and Fates Warning. Influences from thrash bands like Megadeth as well as doom bands like Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, and Witchfinder General can also be found. One of the most notable aspects of Cauldron Born is Bentley's flowing, poetic lyrics. He wrote based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, the songs on ...And Rome Shall Fall mostly deal with dark fantasy, whereas the songs on Born of the Cauldron have more to do with dark occult themes, especially seen on "The Final Incantation/In The Dreaming City", which many fans hold as one of the band's finest lyrical and musical masterpieces.

Born of the Cauldron Reissue

On December 10, 2007, a California label called Stormspell Records is set to release a reissue of the first Cauldron Born album. It has been remixed and remastered, and includes a bonus track, a Warlord cover called "Lucifer's Hammer". More information can be found on the website for Stormspell Records, on the page dedicated to this particular release (http://stormspell.com/label/cauldron-born.html).