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Karl Willetts | |
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 Willetts with Memoriam in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 21 September 1966 England |
| Genres | Death metal |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Karl Willetts (born 21 September 1966) is an English death metal vocalist, best known as the lead singer of Bolt Thrower and Memoriam.
Willetts joined the British death metal band Bolt Thrower in 1988. Before that, he drove the backline of the band. He stayed with Bolt Thrower until 1994, after the recording of ...For Victory . He left the band mainly because he wanted to go back to university and finish his degree.
Willetts rejoined as a session vocalist for the recording of Mercenary and left shortly thereafter because of financial reasons and lack of commitment. In the meantime, he got a job as a salesman of insurances besides other jobs. He resides in Solihull. Rumours persisted he had returned in 2001, but he did not. However, in November 2004, he actually did re-join Bolt Thrower after the departure of Dave Ingram. Willetts now has a degree in Cultural Studies from the Birmingham University. Willetts stayed in Bolt Thrower until the band broke up in 2016, following the death of drummer Martin Kearns the year before.
Willetts also did some guest vocals with UK punk band Doom on their Peel Sessions album [1] and UK death metal band Benediction on two accounts; one on "Jumping at Shadows" which appears on The Grand Leveller and Dark is the Season; [1] the other on "At the Wrong Side of the Grave", which is a cover of The Accüsed and appears on the Transcend the Rubicon album. [1]
Willetts was a vegetarian for a long while, but started eating meat prior to 2006. [2]
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.
Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete Sandoval, who remains the band's sole constant member throughout their discography, in 1986. The band's current lineup consists of Sandoval, bassist David Vincent, vocalist Brian Werner and guitarist Richie Brown. They are currently signed to Earache Records.
Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.
Martin Kearns was an English drummer, specializing in death metal, known for his association with Bolt Thrower since 1994. He joined the band at age 17 after playing in several local bands in Coventry, playing anything from metal to reggae, having been playing pub gigs since the age of 14.
David Richard Bjerregaard Ingram is a death metal vocalist from Birmingham, England. He began his career replacing Mark "Barney" Greenway in UK death metal band Benediction when Greenway decided to focus solely on Napalm Death. Ingram stayed with Benediction until March 1998, when he joined Bolt Thrower, officially replacing Martin van Drunen after having handled vocals temporarily for the band during a show on 4 July 1997 in Zwickau Germany.
Strange Fruit Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom.
Martin van Drunen is a Dutch death metal vocalist who started out in the band Pestilence. In this band, he also performed the bass duties live. He recorded two albums with them, Malleus Maleficarum and Consuming Impulse. After his departure from Pestilence, van Drunen joined Asphyx as the singer and bass player in 1990 and recorded six studio albums in total. He performed the vocals on Comecon's second album Converging Conspiracies in 1993 and then formed his own band called Submission. In 1995, he was asked to replace Karl Willetts in the UK death metal band Bolt Thrower. He did two tours with them, but never recorded an album.
In Battle There Is No Law! is the debut album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Loco studios by Andrew Fryer, and mixed at Clockwork by Alan Scott. It was released on Vinyl Solution as Sol 11 on 20 June 1988, and re-released on Vinyl Solution as Sol 11 in 1992, with a different album sleeve. The album was again re-released in 2005 with the old album sleeve restored. The sound of the album dominantly featured characteristics of grindcore, with lyrics socio-politically charged as the members had roots in crust punk, and created a sound that was heavily influenced by their roots.
War Master is the third album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in September 1990 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. It was released on Earache Records: Mosh 29 in 1991.
The Peel Sessions 1988–90 is a Bolt Thrower album consisting of three Peel Sessions. It is released on Strange Fruit: DEI 8118–2 in 1991 and recorded live in the studio. It is produced by Dale Griffin.
The IVth Crusade is the fourth studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill Studios in August 1992 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. The album was engineered by John Cornfield and mixed at Fon studios. It was also engineered by Alan Fisch and Steve Harris. It was released through Earache Records as Mosh 70 in 1992. The album title comes from the Fourth Crusade and the capturing of Constantinople. The cover artwork is a painting from Eugène Delacroix, showing "The Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople".
...For Victory is the fifth album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill studios in 1994, produced by Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower. A limited edition contains a live CD titled Live War.
Mercenary is the sixth album by the British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Chapel Studios, Lincoln, England, December 1997 to January 1998. The album was produced by Bolt Thrower and Ewan Davis. It was released on Metal Blade Records in 1998.
Who Dares Wins is a compilation of various rare Bolt Thrower tracks from EPs and other sources: Tracks 1–4 are from the Cenotaph EP, tracks 5–8 are from the Spearhead EP and the tracks 9 and 10 are from the same session as "...For Victory", previously released on "Rareache" and the Japanese version of ...For Victory. It is released on Earache Records, Mosh 208 on 14 September 1998. The cover art is also taken from the Spearhead EP.
Haunting the Chapel is an extended play (EP) released by American thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest-selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP. Recorded in Hollywood, the recording process proved difficult when recording drums in a studio without carpet, although it resulted in drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gene Hoglan who was to become an influence in his drumming style and speed. It was during the recording of this session that Lombardo first had the double bass added to his kit. Hoglan, working for Slayer at the time, sat at the kit and played a double bass for the first time. Lombardo was impressed and although Hoglan never gave him lessons, he did give him tips regarding the use of the double kick drum.
Asphyx is a Dutch death metal band formed in Oldenzaal, Overijssel in 1987 by Bob Bagchus and Tony Brookhuis. No original members are still in the band. Vocalist Martin van Drunen is the only current and long-term member that appeared on their debut album.
Lee Robert Dorrian is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later as frontman of doom metal band Cathedral. He is currently singing with Septic Tank and With the Dead.
Those Once Loyal is the eighth and final studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower, released on 11 November 2005 by Metal Blade Records. Recorded with producer Andy Faulkner at Sable Rose Studios in Coventry, England, it was the first Bolt Thrower album since Mercenary (1998) to feature vocalist Karl Willetts, who rejoined the band in November 2004.
Peel Sessions are live music sessions recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show.
Memoriam is a death metal band from Birmingham, England. The band was formed in 2016 by former Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willetts, alongside Scott Fairfax on guitar, Frank Healy on bass and Andy Whale on drums. In 2020, Andy Whale left the band and was replaced by Spike T. Smith. In an interview, Willetts stated that the band was originally formed as a tribute to the late Bolt Thrower drummer Martin Kearns. To date, the band has released five studio albums, two of which reached the charts in Germany, For the Fallen at number 16 and The Silent Vigil at number 32. The band's latest album, Rise to Power, was released on 3 February 2023. The band originally signed to Nuclear Blast, but left after the first three albums for Reaper Entertainment, a new label established by previous Nuclear Blast employee Florian Milz.
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