Cradle of Thorns

Last updated

Cradle of Thorns
Videodronepresskit.jpg
Background information
Also known asVideodrone (1998-2000)
Origin Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1988–2000, 2006–2015
Labels
MembersTy Elam
Steve Thiriot
Matt Wilkinson
Past membersDavid File
Kris Kohls
Rohan Cowden
Tamera Slayton
Jay Caruso
Scat Elis
Chris Goodsell
Mavis
Marianne Ray
Chris O'Brian

Cradle of Thorns was an American rock band. Formed in 1988 in Bakersfield, California by singer Ty Elam, the band was initially defined by their gothic rock style. After releasing their debut album, Remember It Day, independently in 1990, the band signed with Triple X Records, and would come to be defined by a more dance music-oriented style influenced by heavy metal and industrial rock. In 1998, the band changed their name to Videodrone and signed with Korn's vanity label Elementree Records, releasing their self titled fourth album, Videodrone the following year, which featured a mix of industrial music and nu metal. Videodrone disbanded two years later, but reformed under their original name from 2007 to 2015.

Contents

History

Formation and Remember It Day (1988–1990)

In 1988 vocalist Ty Elam formed Cradle of Thorns. They toured extensively and earned an underground following. They released an independent record entitled Remember It Day in 1990.

Feed-Us (1994–1995)

The band signed with Triple X Records (label of Jane's Addiction and Social Distortion) and in 1994 released Feed-Us, produced by Ross Robinson.

Download This! (1996–1998)

1996's Download This! saw the departure of female vocalist Tamera Slayton and bassist Scat Elis. New bassist Purdy Spackle joined the group. The song "Bulimia Blowjob" features an appearance by vocalist Aimee Echo of Human Waste Project and TheSTART, and Jeff Schartoff, of Human Waste Project and Professional Murder Music.

Name change and Videodrone (1998–2000)

For their fourth album, bassist Purdy Spackle was replaced by Mavis. They renamed themselves Videodrone, as a play on the film Videodrome , because the band wanted a name that sounded futuristic and retro at the same time, evoking the 1980s, the decade in which the film was released. [1] Their twelve-track, self-titled CD was released in 1999 with appearances from Korn's Jonathan Davis on "Ty Jonathan Down", Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and DJ Lethal on "Human Piñata", and Psycho Realm on "Pig in a Blanket". Also from Korn, Head played guitar on "Power Tools for Girls" and Fieldy produced the album.

Break up and post-Videodrone projects (2000–2006)

After touring with Korn, Rob Zombie, Orgy, and Machine Head, lack of label support and drug problems spelled the end for Videodrone (as detailed in the interview with Elam on the "All Over Again" maxi-single). Drummer Kris Kohls went on to play for Adema and vocalist Ty Elam would go on to play in local Bakersfield bands Karmahitlist, Three Chord Whore, and Arrival of Fawn after Videodrone's demise in 2000.

Reformation (2007–2015)

In 2007, Ty Elam resurrected the band under its original moniker Cradle of Thorns with all new members. The song "All Over Again" was released as a single, which can be heard on the band's official MySpace page. Elam later appeared on metal band Mastiv's album, End of the Silence, released in 2011. By 2015, Cradle of Thorns's official homepage ceased, and nothing has been stated regarding the group's future since.

Style and influences

Cradle of Thorns initially began as a gothic rock band before shifting to a "heavy, but dark dance" style [2] that fuses heavy metal, [3] [4] industrial rock [3] [4] and hard rock [4] with genres such as funk, gothic rock, jazz, opera [4] and hip hop. [3] This style has been classified as industrial and nu metal. [5] The band's influences include horror film scores and Korn. [1] They have been described as a cross between Korn, Orgy and Marilyn Manson. [5]

Members

Current

Former

Timeline
Cradle of Thorns

Discography

Cradle of Thorns

Videodrone

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
Dance

[6]
"Faceplant"199915Videodrone
"All Over Again" [7] 2008Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director
TitleYearDirector(s)
"Ty Jonathan Down"
(featuring Jonathan Davis)
2000Jonathan Davis [8]

Related Research Articles

Nu metal is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos or other displays of musical technique, and emphasizes rhythm with instrumentation that is heavily syncopated. Nu metal guitarists typically use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to produce a heavier sound. Vocal styles are often rhythmic and influenced by hip hop, and include singing, rapping, screaming and sometimes growling. DJs are occasionally featured to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic background music. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.

Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, and has been described as a "brief but extremely media-hyped stylistic fad".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orgy (band)</span> American industrial rock band

Orgy is an American industrial rock band formed in 1997, from Los Angeles, California. They have described their music as "death pop". The band is best known for their cover version of the New Order song "Blue Monday", and the song "Stitches", both from their 1998 album Candyass. Then they released their second album, Vapor Transmission, which was released in 2000, with "Fiction " and "Opticon" as singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anathema (band)</span> British rock band

Anathema were an English rock band from Liverpool. The group was formed in 1990 by Vincent and Daniel Cavanagh, bassist Jamie Cavanagh, drummer/keyboardist John Douglas, and vocalist Darren White.

Adema is an American rock band from Bakersfield, California. The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez, guitarist Tim Fluckey, guitarist Mike Ransom, bassist Dave DeRoo, and drummer Kris Kohls. After their first two albums, Adema, and Unstable, the band was plagued with years of conflict and lineup changes. Ransom left the band in 2003 followed by Chavez later in 2004 due to conflicts between themselves and other members of the band. Luke Caraccioli replaced Chavez in early 2005 for one album, Planets, but then left a few months later in late 2005. Vocalist Bobby Reeves and guitarist Ed Faris, both from the band Level, were recruited to join as well, but only released one album, Kill the Headlights in 2007, before entering a hiatus. The band's original lineup reformed in late 2009 and toured, but both Ransom and Chavez left again before any new music would be recorded. Fluckey took over lead vocals from 2011 to 2017. The lineup released an EP, Topple the Giants. In 2013 Ransom returned once again; Chavez rejoined the band again in March 2017, only to leave again in 2019. He was replaced by Ryan Shuck. The band continued performing with Shuck, releasing 2 singles and a 3 song EP until Feb 2024 when Shuck departed from the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacrimas Profundere</span> German gothic metal band

Lacrimas Profundere is a gothic metal band from Germany. Their name means "to shed tears" in Latin. Their stylistic aesthetic has changed over time; originally a gothic death-doom band, they have simplified their style to a more mainstream gothic rock/metal style with more influences from bands such as HIM, The 69 Eyes, before returning to their heavier gothic doom roots on their 2019 album Bleeding the Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Arvizu</span> American bassist

Reginald Quincy Arvizu, also known as "Fieldy", is an American musician, best known as the bassist for nu metal band Korn. He is also the guitarist/bassist for rock band StillWell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid Bath</span> American sludge metal band

Acid Bath was an American sludge metal band from Houma, Louisiana, active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined doom metal roots with influences from hardcore punk, death metal, gothic rock, and blues to create the band's unique sound. They broke up after the death of bassist Audie Pitre in a traffic collision in January 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave DeRoo</span> Musical artist

David Clark DeRoo is an American rock musician, known primarily for his role as bassist of the rock band Adema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Lant</span> British metal vocalist and bassist

Conrad Thomas Lant, also known by his stage name Cronos, is an English musician. He is the founder, vocalist and bassist of heavy metal band Venom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Shuck</span> American musician

Ryan Shuck is an American musician and co-founder of industrial rock band Orgy and electronic rock band Julien-K. He was the guitarist and backing vocalist of Dead by Sunrise, the alternative rock side project of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington. He was also the lead singer of the rock band Adema from 2019 to 2024. Initially in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shuck played in the Bakersfield-based rock band Sexart alongside future Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis and future Adema bassist Dave DeRoo.

Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums before disbanding in 2010. The band reformed in 2021, playing two "rebirth" shows that year. The new single "N.F.G." was released, along with a music video in December of 2022. "The Killer Inside" released on April 20th, 2023.

Rorschach Test is an American industrial band from Denver, Colorado, formed by James Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathstars</span> Swedish metal band

Deathstars is a Swedish industrial metal band from Strömstad. Formed in 2000, the group are noted for their dark horror-themed lyrics, pessimistic and misanthropic social commentary, distinctive trademark face paint, dark stage uniforms and physical appearances that correspond to gothic fashion. They have released five full-length studio albums; Synthetic Generation (2002), Termination Bliss (2006), Night Electric Night (2009), The Perfect Cult (2014), and Everything Destroys You (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatres des Vampires</span> Italian gothic metal band

Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band, mostly noted for the predominant theme of vampirism within their lyrics. The band's early material was credited as melodic black metal or symphonic black metal, but the group completely abandoned all black metal influence by the mid-2000s. Theatres des Vampires have released eleven full-length albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.A.P.D. (band)</span> American funk metal band

L.A.P.D. was an American funk metal band formed in 1989 in Bakersfield, California. From 1989 to 1992, the member line-up was James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, David Silveria and Richard Morrill. The group has released one studio album, one extended play, and one compilation album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valor Kand</span> Musical artist

Valor Kand is a singer, guitarist and songwriter best known for his involvement with Christian Death, an American death rock and gothic rock band.

Lord Kaos is an Australian black metal band that formed in Sydney in 1994. For several years the group was the most prominent act of its style in the country with one founding member going on to record and perform with several Norwegian black metal bands including Dimmu Borgir. While Lord Kaos only released one album, the group was a considerable influence on the local heavy metal music scene as not only arguably the first but one of the few bands to record and perform Norwegian-style symphonic black metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On Thorns I Lay</span> Greek death-doom band

On Thorns I Lay is a Greek death-doom metal and gothic metal band founded in Athens in 1992. The group has gone through different stylistic facets throughout its career, starting with brutal death metal in their early days, then transitioning to a blackened death doom symphonic style with their first EP, and later embracing atmospheric doom-death in their early albums and later gothic metal with their subsequent albums. On Thorns I Lay is among the bands of the first major gothic doom wave that systematized the principle of contrasting vocals known as the "beauty and the beast" style that became popular in the late 1990s. Towards the end of the first part of their career in the early 2000s, they shifted towards a more stripped-down and introspective rock-metal style.

<i>Videodrone</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Videodrone

Videodrone is the fourth and final studio album by the rock band Cradle of Thorns and the only album to be released under the name Videodrone. It was released in 1999 on Elementree Records. The intro of "C.O.B." features a rendition by the band of the popular Christmas song "Silent Night", followed by instrumental noises for the rest of the track's duration.

References

  1. 1 2 Byrkit, Becky. "Videodrone Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  2. "Korn Plans Include Tour, Its Label's Releases". Billboard. July 18, 1998. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Gallucci, Michael. "Videodrone Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Yeske, Katherine. "Cradle of Thorns". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Katz, Daniel J (March 19, 1999). "Videodrone OFTEN SLOPPY BUT SHOWS POTENTIAL". The Tech. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  6. "Videodrone – Chart History: Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  7. All Over Again (track listing). Cradle of Thorns. Riot, Inc. Media. 2006. RIM-0001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Johnson, Tina (January 25, 2000). "Korn Frontman Shoots Videodrone Clip; Family Values CD/Video on Way". MTV News . Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2013.