"http://www.karlsmetal.com/apps/blog/entries/show/17993500-get-em-slandered
Album review in New york"
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Si Staples
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Recording ArtistSi Staples commented on Iron Mathew Collins's blog post International Day of Heavy Metal
"\m/"
Manager/PromoterKingdomz X Heavy Metal Ent. left a comment for Si Staples
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Welcome to Kingdomz X, Si! We built the kingdom, but our members are its rulers. Make yourself at home, and take advantage of our features. You have any questions, feel free to hit us up at [email protected]
Thanks for joining!
"
Profile Information
- Which Best Describes You?
- Recording Artist
- What Brand Of Metal Describes What You Perform Or Listen To??
- Heavy Metal
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- http://slandermetal.com
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- http://Slander Uk
- Bio
- Slander was formed in 1990, following a last minute request from the Blackpool Gazette to make up the numbers for a local Rock Battle, in Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Andy Saxon-Lamb and Steve Slater were given 24 hours notice to recruit musicians and rehearse their set.
After rehearsing through most of the previous night, they hammered out a 30 minute set to an unsuspecting crowd. From the positive audience reaction it was clear that their brand of heavy metal was a winning formula. Andy and Steve then recruited musicians with similar ideas to themselves. First to join them was Andy Gregson on rhythm guitar, who played with them at the rock battle gig. Then Andy “Eddie” Edwards on the drums and finally Joe Tyerman, joined following a number of unsuccessful attempts at recruiting a suitable bass player.
The band then started working on new material and began to play gigs all over northwest England. During the first 6 months of the band being together, they recorded their first demo tape Initial Penetration, which sold all 300 copies in a matter of months and was well received not only in the UK, but also in Europe and the USA.
In late 1990 Slander’s 'Fighting Talk' appeared on Radio 1’s Friday Rock Show’s ’ Rock Wars’. The feature showcased the talents of unsigned bands and was hosted by the late Tommy Vance. Unfortunately, they were runners up, but this only spurred the band on to return to the studio for 2 more sessions.
The best 12 tracks from all the previous demo sessions were released on their self financed debut album ' Careless Talk Costs Lives ' in late 1991. The album received airplay on many radio stations around the world; most notably Alan Freeman played five different songs from the album on his Radio 1 rock show. Paul Mills reviewed the album for Kerrang magazine and gave it a favourable ' KKK ' rating saying “Cry of the Wolf is quite likely to leave you breathless and nursing an aching neck”. 'Careless Talk Costs Lives ' sold out in less than 6 months and is still regarded as a very rare and collectable title by record collectors worldwide.
Following the release of ' Careless Talk Costs Lives ', Slander found themselves further in demand as a live act with the band performing shows all over the UK, in pubs, clubs and the university circuit. They also recorded a video of ' Cry of the Wolf ' for ITV’s James Whale show, which sadly was not shown. It was around this time that Andy Gregson and Joe Tyerman decided to leave the band because of other commitments. They quickly recruited a new bass player in Gaz Clarke, but found it more difficult to replace Mr. Gregson. This left the remaining members with a dilemma. Should they recruit a new guitarist and cancel their bookings or carry on as a four piece? They opted to continue touring as a four piece and found that the format suited Slander much better and have remained a four piece unit ever since.
Another session in the studio in between gigs saw some new material (‘Hangman ' and ' Ends of the Circle ' ) that was put onto a demo tape, with four of the best songs from ' Careless Talk Costs Lives ' and was reviewed by James Sherry at Metal Hammer. He gave the untitled demo 4 out of 5 stars saying “They’ll certainly never be trendy and I’m sure they’d never want to be. Un-cool, very Metal, very heavy and really quite good”. Towards the end of 1992 Eddie left the band and the remaining members relocated to Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom following some very successful gigs in the area. They were joined by their new drummer Sinbad and started to gig on a full time basis. As the bands popularity increased, they began to play larger venues and became favourites at biker events and open air festivals. Slander toured constantly throughout 1993 and received regular mentions in Kerrang magazine. They Joined the Headbangers Ball Tour that featured notable bands like Saxon and Samson and found the tour very successful. Towards the end of 1993 the band were becoming increasingly aware of the changes in musical taste and that their brand of heavy metal was becoming less popular due to the increasing popularity of Grunge. They decided to go their separate ways at the end of 1993.
Andy and Eddie always kept in touch and in November 2008 they talked about a Slander reunion. Following a chance meeting in a pub in St. Anne’s, Andy’s brother met Joe Tyerman and asked him how he felt about a reunion. He said yes without hesitation, so then they turned their attention to finding Steve. Steve got in touch following an appeal in the Blackpool Evening Gazette and the line-up was completed.
Slander was back and the band sounded better than ever. They rehearsed through the early months of 2009 and made their comeback appearance at the King Edward VII music venue in Blackpool in April and then followed a showcase performance at the Wycliffe Rooms in Lutterworth.
The feedback from the audience at both gigs was very positive, as is the communications received via the band’s myspace page. Slander are receiving enquiries from all over the world asking about a re-release of ' Careless Talk Costs Lives ' and have received a lot of support from Germany, Greece, Brazil and USA. In July 2010, Slander played a gig that was streamed around the world on Globegig TV. This was later released as the DVD ‘No Frills & Studio Fills’, but only in limited numbers. The DVD sold out within days. As ‘Careless’ was originally just demo recordings the band decided they wanted to re-record it again as it was intended. They wanted to re-shape some of the old songs and add some new ones to replace songs that they didn’t intend to include on the 1991 release.
The band started recording at The Zoo Recording Studio, Nuneaton, United Kingdom with producer Carl Harris in November 2009. Rather than rush the recordings, the band decided to gig during the spring and summer of 2010, as this is their first love, delaying the recording process further. They reconvened in late autumn and started working on the album again. During January 2011, Joe decided to leave the band amicably to pursue other interests and Andy added the bass lines to the unfinished recording that were later credited to a J Lloyd Brockenheimer. The album was fully finished and mastered late January 2011. Since then Alan Odix joined the band on Bass but moved on in Feb 2012 and has now been replaced by Pete Hewitt.
By a stroke of luck during January, a gentleman called Bruce Wanzie Jr had picked up a bootleg copy of ‘Careless’ in a record shop in Philadelphia, USA. Bruce placed some kind comments on ‘You Tube’ and Andy started corresponding with him. Bruce also reviewed ‘Careless’ on Karl’s Metal.com and introduced the band to Iordan K at Stormspell Records and we agreed to release a 2CD set of the new and old versions of ‘Careless’.
The album was released in late April and all through the Summer of 2011 the band played around the UK bringing their brand of Heavy Metal to their fans.
Steve Slater left as vocalist after this period and was replaced with Simon Staples who brings with him another vocal dimension to the band.
The band are currently writing and demoing tracks for their 2nd studio album and have just released an EP of covers. Thanks to everyone who has bought an album and to those who have supported us and travelled to see us during the past few years.
Keep Rocking Friends – Simon, Andy, Eddy & Pete.
- Record Label (If Signed)
- Stormspell Records
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 12:51pm on July 13, 2012,
Manager/PromoterKingdomz X Heavy Metal Ent. said… 
Welcome to Kingdomz X, Si! We built the kingdom, but our members are its rulers. Make yourself at home, and take advantage of our features. You have any questions, feel free to hit us up at [email protected]
Thanks for joining!
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