Revenge of the Psychotronic Man

Revenge of the Psychotronic Man
Also known as Revenge of..., RPM
Origin Manchester, England, UK
Genres Punk Rock, Hardcore, Thrash
Years active 2004–present
Labels TNSrecords
Website revengeofthepsychotronicman.com
Members Andy Psychotronic
Matt Woods
Big Hands
Past members Liam Revenge
Davey Psychotronic

Revenge of the Psychotronic Man are a fast paced punk band with hardcore influences based in Manchester, United Kingdom and formed in 2004. They are sometimes referred to as Revenge Of..., Revenge or RPM. The band has had music released in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA and has toured the UK and mainland Europe extensively.

Career

The band has released two split EPs, 2 7" Eps and two full length albums on TNSrecords.

The 2009 album Make Pigs Smoke received critical acclaim from many music publications worldwide, such as Razorcake,[1] Riot 77 and many other punk fanzines. Big Cheese magazine and Rebel Noise[2] both rated the release 5/5.

The 2011 International Split EP was released on TNSrecords, Stikman Records and 5FeetUnder Records and also featured the following bands: Mighty Midgets (Denmark), Fist Of The North Star (band) (USA) and Broken Aris (Sweden). This again received critical acclaim from established and more underground press, with Big Cheese Magazine again rating the release 5/5[3] and being featured in Rockfreaks' (Denmark) best new music of 2011.[4]

The 2012 album, Shattered Dreams Parkway again received critical acclaim from the likes of Louder Than War, Big Cheese, Leeds music Scene, Lights Go Out Fanzine and many more. The album has been collectively released by TNSrecords, Boss Tuneage records, Pumpkin Records, 5FeetUnder Records, DeadLamb Records and Entes Anomicos.

The band has supported established acts such as Bad Religion,[5] Discharge, NoMeansNo, Smoke Or Fire The Queers and The Briefs. they have played gigs in the UK, Germany,[6] The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and The Czech Republic and, as of May 2012, have played nearly 300 shows.[7]

The band has also received airplay on many radio stations worldwide such as The Punk Rock Demonstration and The BBC Radio 1 Punk Show whom they recorded a live Maida Vale Studios session for in June 2013.[8]

In June 2013, they recorded a Maida Vale Session for the Radio1 Punk Show. This has been released on 7" vinyl.

In 2014, to mark the bands 10 year anniversary, a new 7" was released, including two new recordings of old tracks plus collaborations with Tim G (MTV Mash Ups) and band/DJ, From The Cradle To The Rave, to produce dance remixes.

History

Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man were formed in 2004 and their name is a reference to the film of the same name.[9] The makers of the film have since endorsed the band and produced a film trailer/music video using one of the bands songs.[10]

The original line up included Andy Davies (bass/vocals), Davey Psychotronic (guitar/vocals) and Christopher ‘Big Hands’ Hinsley on Drums. Liam McDevitt joined on guitar in 2005. He has since played for The Hyperjax and The Termites. The band produced a full length album ‘Shitty Zombies’ and an EP ‘Party In The Van’ before McDevitt left and was replaced by Gizmo guitarist, Matt Woods in 2007. Andy Davies started TNSrecords with Tim Bevington in 2008 and the band recorded an exclusive track ‘Get Pissed, Talk Shit, Dance Like An Idiot’ for the labels, now sold out, debut compilation release as well as featuring live at the labels sold out launch night.

The second TNSrecords release was a split EP between Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man and ska-punk band The Fractions. This has also sold out of its first pressing. It featured four Revenge Of... tracks and 3 from The Fractions and received favourable reviews from the underground punk scene.

Davey Psychotronic left the band in 2008 to move to London, but has contributed backing/gang vocals to recent releases.

As a 3 piece the band made their first visit to mainland Europe later in 2008.The bands first release as a 3 piece, Make Pigs Smoke (which is a reference to Alan Partridge) was a 14 track album was released in May 2009 through TNSrecords to critical acclaim from established magazines as well as a huge number of independent fanzines and webzines, highlighting the bands underground credentials. This album has sold out of its first pressing and is available as a free download from the bandcamp page, highlighting the bands aims to make music accessible to all.

After the success of this release the band played successful UK tours and high profile support slots with the likes of Bad Religion. In 2011 Revenge Of... released their second split EP, this time sharing CD space with Mighty Midgets (Denmark), Fist Of The North Star (band) (USA) and Broken Aris (Sweden). It was released on TNSrecords in the UK, 5FeetUnder Records in Denmark and Stikman Records in the USA. This release has again received great acclaim and allowed the band to tour mainland Europe twice (as of April 2012).

The follow up album Shattered Dreams Parkway was released on 12" vinyl and CD in October 2012 through TNSrecords & a collective of labels including Boss Tuneage, Pumpkin, Entez Anomicos (Germany) 5FeetUnder (Denmark) and Dead Lamb (Ireland). This has again received great acclaim from the underground press and some more established publications such as Big Cheese magazine and Louder Than War.[11]

In June 2013, the band recorded a live session at Maida Vale Studios for Mike Davies and the BBC Radio 1 punk show. They were also endorsed and played by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music [12] In September 2013, Steve Lamacq picked a track as one of his five choices for a limited edition vinyl, which was given out at the AIM Awards ceremony.

Other Projects

Bassist and vocalist Andy Davies co-runs TNSrecords and writes TNSfanzine. The label has released 25 punk/ska CDs/vinyls to date. The band discusses DIY politics both in their music and in interviews. Both the band and the label has become notable for its rejection of mainstream music culture and work to promote like-minded musicians working together collectively. The label and the band have been referenced in many dissertations and essays related to DIY culture. DIY culture has been written about extensively by Andy in TNSfanzine. TNS fanzine is a punk rock fanzine which started in 2003 and has featured in exhibitions and is a prominent part of Salford Zine Library.[13][14]

All members have been involved in promoting underground punk gigs and bands. As part of TNSrecords Andy Davies runs a stage at Strummercamp Festival[15] in Cheadle Hulme

Guitarist Matt Woods formerly played drums in English Dogs and External Menace, as well as playing with The Dangerous Aces and Barnyard Masturbator amongst others. Andy Davies and Big Hands formerly featured in Midlands punk band McGraw who gained some notoriety in the early 2000s and were twice featured in Kerrang magazine.

Discography

Compilations

References

  1. ↑ Razorcake review of Make Pigs Smoke
  2. ↑ Rebel Noise 5/5 Review of Make Pigs Smoke
  3. ↑ Band featured in Big Cheese Magazine
  4. ↑ Rockfreaks - Best New Music of 2011
  5. ↑ Bad Religion Gig Review
  6. ↑ Review of German Gig
  7. ↑ Revenge of... Gig History
  8. ↑ Radio One Punk Show
  9. ↑ The Psychotronic Man
  10. ↑ Psychotronic Man film trailer using the bands track
  11. ↑ http://louderthanwar.com/revenge-of-the-psychotronic-man-shattered-dreams-parkway/
  12. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02zg2xy
  13. ↑ Andy interviewed by BBC Manchester
  14. ↑ Contact Music Interview
  15. ↑ Strummercamp Festival Review and Pictures

External links