Cyclone Temple

Cyclone Temple was a thrash metal band formed from the remnants of Znöwhite, in Chicago, Illinois.^[1] The two key members responsible for producing Znöwhite's Act of God Scott Schafer and Ian Tafoya - now using his given name Greg Fulton - formed Cyclone Temple. The band never received commercial attention, due to the grunge explosion of the 1990s.

History

Cyclone Temple started life as Znöwhite. After vocalist Debbie Gunn left Znowhite for unspecified health reasons the three remaining members of Znowhite (Greg Fulton, Scott Schafer, and John Slattery) recruited singer Brian Troch (formerly of the local Chicago band Hammeron). They performed for a brief period of time as Znowhite, but after signing with Combat Records they decided to change the name of the band to Cyclone Temple. They arrived on the scene at the worst time, right when thrash metal was beginning its fall to the more modern sounding fad 'Grunge'. Cyclone Temple's first album I Hate Therefore I Am was released in 1991. Soon after, Combat Records's parent company Relativity Records was bought out by Sony BMG. Sony shut down Combat Records soon after buying Relativity.^[2] Troch was fired after the tour for I Hate Therefore I Am. He was replaced for Cyclone Temple's 1993 releaseBuilding Errors in the Machine EP by Marco Salinas (aka Marcos Jacob of the Mexican rock band Cohetica). In 1994, with a third new singer, Sonny DeLuca, Cyclone Temple released their last recordingMy Friend Lonely. That release featured the re-recorded old tracks from the out-of-print/hard to find Building Errors In The MachineEP and new tracks. Both recordings met with limited success in the United States, but did extremely well overseas. Alas, almost as soon as they started, Cyclone Temple disappeared. More current reviews of both full-length CDs reveal that Cyclone Temple's style may have been too far ahead of its time, combining elements of thrash, groove and even reggae. Their sound seems to be better suited to (if not blatantly echoed in) today's diverse musical styles. I Hate Therefore I Am is still considered by many Metal fans to be one of the last, great, pre-Grunge, Thrash Metal recordings. Guitarist Greg Fulton and bassist Scott Schafer went on to form Rebels Without Applause. Sonny DeLuca went on to work briefly with SOiL and was a founding member of Arista recording artists From Zero but stepped aside, reportedly due to musical differences.^[3] Brian Troch worked on Shooting Hemlock and The Reign of Terror.

Discography

• I Hate Therefore I Am (1991)
• Building Errors In the Machine (1993) (EP)
• My Friend Lonely (1994)

References