Fudge Tunnel | |
|---|---|
 L-R: David Ryley, Alex Newport, and Adrian Parkin | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Nottingham, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1988–1995 |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | Nailbomb |
| Past members | Alex Newport David Ryley Adrian Parkin |
Fudge Tunnel were an English band formed in Nottingham by Alex Newport, David Ryley and Adrian Parkin. They were known for straddling noise rock and metal, with their sound being compared to American band Melvins. [1]
Fudge Tunnel formed in 1989. [3] After two singles on Pigboy/Vinyl Solution Records ("Fudge Tunnel" in 1989, "The Sweet Sound of Excess" in 1990), they signed to Nottingham's Earache Records. [4] Their debut album was Hate Songs in E Minor , which attracted a large amount of press interest, [4] after the original album artwork was confiscated by the Nottingham Vice Squad. [5]
Fudge Tunnel's reputation was built around their massive guitar sound and ironic sense of humour, and they were popular with the British music press - at least at first. The band's first release was "Single of the Week" in NME magazine in January 1990, [4] with NME declaring "Absolutely and totally the best single ever to be released in 1990. Total nine guitar attack-rock". [6]
The band undertook several European tours in 1991 and 1992 including support slots with Fugazi, Silverfish and The Jesus Lizard, as well as support slots with Swervedriver, Godflesh, [4] and regular performances at popular London venues The Camden Falcon and Camden Underworld.
Two more albums were to follow in 1993 (Creep Diets) and 1994 (The Complicated Futility of Ignorance). [4] Newport also was active with Nailbomb, a collaboration with Max Cavalera (Sepultura), [4] who released one studio album and one live album of their Dynamo Open Air Festival performance. [7] [8] [9] Fudge Tunnel considered The Complicated Futility of Ignorance to be their best album and, satisfied with what they had achieved, quietly disbanded in late 1995. [10] [11]
Following their disbandment, David Ryley ran his label BGR Records for a while. Adrian Parkin played with Tubesurfer until 1996 when they too split up, and then returned to being a quantity surveyor in Bolton. Alex Newport went on to pursue a successful career as a producer/mixer and now lives and runs his own studio in New York. He has produced albums by At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Bloc Party, City and Colour, and many others. [12] He also formed the band Theory of Ruin, who released one album, Counter Culture Nosebleed and the Frontline Poster Child EP, both on Escape Artist Records and currently is playing in Red Love with Matt Tong.
In May 2020, Fudge Tunnel released the live compilation Best of the Desk: Volume One, Live In Europe 1993, featuring recordings from various shows on the band's 1993 European tour. [13]
Sleep is an American stoner/doom metal band from San Jose, California. Guitarist Matt Pike and bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros have been the only constant members throughout the band's history. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on metal in the 1990s.
Bolt Thrower was a British death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their last label was Metal Blade Records. The band had a succession of members, and had toured Europe, the United States, and Australia. Over the course of their 30-year career, Bolt Thrower released eight studio albums, three EPs, one live album, three compilation albums and two demos. Their albums have sold over 100,000 copies in the United States as of 2005.
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Nailbomb was an American heavy metal band formed in 1994 as a side project by Max Cavalera of Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly and Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel. The band recorded and released only one studio album, Point Blank, and played a warmup live performance and their last performance at 1995 Dynamo Open Air Festival two days later, after which the band disbanded.
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Proud To Commit Commercial Suicide is a live album by industrial metal band Nailbomb and captures the band's only live appearance at the 1995 Dynamo Open Air Festival. The album cover is a picture of the aftermath of the infamous Jonestown suicides. The album's title is in reference to the fact that the band promised that they would only ever release one album.
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Hate Songs in E Minor is the debut studio album by British rock band Fudge Tunnel. It was originally released in May 1991 through Earache Records, and issued in the United States on 20 August 1991 through Relativity Records. It followed in the wake of two critically acclaimed singles, after which the group were signed to Earache. The album consists of 11 songs, 9 of which were written by the band and 2 covers: "Sunshine of Your Love", originally recorded by the band Cream, while the last track on the disc, "Cat Scratch Fever" was originally recorded by Ted Nugent. The album is also dedicated to Nugent. The track "Hate Song" was included on a six-disc, 100-plus-track box set titled Metal: A Headbanger's Companion.
To Walk a Middle Course is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Kylesa. Released on March 22, 2005, by Prosthetic Records, it was produced by English record producer Alex Newport, who is known for his projects Fudge Tunnel and Nailbomb.
The Complicated Futility of Ignorance is the third and final studio album by English rock band Fudge Tunnel, released in September 1994 by Earache Records. The album is notable for being the band's heaviest.
Creep Diets is the second studio album by British rock band Fudge Tunnel, released on 26 April 1993 by Earache Records. It was distributed by Columbia Records in the United States as part of Earache's deal with Columbia, where it sold less than 15,000 copies.
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