Left Spine Down

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Left Spine Down
Left Spine Down Promo Photo 2008.jpg
Left Spine Down Promo Photo, 2008; left to right: Jeremy Inkel (rear), kAINE D3L4Y (front), Jared Slingerland (rear), Tim Hagberg (middle), Denyss McKnight (front) and Matt Girvan.
Background information
Origin Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Digital hardcore, punk rock, electronica, drum and bass, heavy metal, industrial rock, industrial metal
Years active2003–present
Labels Metropolis Records, Synthetic Sounds (Canada) (Current Label),
Danse Macabre (Europe), Bit Riot Records (USA)
MembersKaine Delay
Galen Waling
Dan Curtis
Bill E. Organ
Adrian Black
Past members Jeremy Inkel
Matt Girvan
Jared Slingerland
Denyss McKnight
Tim Hagberg
Website http://www.leftspinedown.com

Left Spine Down (LSD) is a Canadian band based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that plays what they call "cyberpunk": a mixture of electronica, metal, punk, and drum & bass. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The group formed in Vancouver in 2001 with Matt Girvan, Frank Valoczy and Kaine Delay, with Jeremy Inkel replacing Valoczy in 2003 (Jared Slingerland joined the following year). They spent the next five years honing their skill and recruiting talent, all the while drawing attention to Bill Leeb, who hired both Inkel and Slingerland into Front Line Assembly for the Artificial Soldier tour and album in 2006. [3] LSD had begun to build a cult following, both local and abroad, and not until they found bass player Denyss McKnight and Tim Hagberg did they self-release their debut Smartbomb EP , in June 2007. [4] [5] [6] The EP was produced by Front Line Assembly/Noise Unit's Chris Peterson. [7] Their debut LP, Fighting for Voltage, was released in April 2008 on Synthetic Sounds in Canada, and a Canadian tour followed in support of the album. [8] [9] Bit Riot Records picked up the rights to the release of Fighting for Voltage in the US and released the album in September 2008. [10] [11]

On March 3, 2009, and again via Synthetic Sounds the band released their second full-length album entitled Voltage 2.3: Remixed and Revisited . The album featured three new songs; "Welcome to the Future" with covers of "Territorial Pissings" by Nirvana and "She's Lost Control" by Joy Division; along with remixes and segues. [12] In January 2011 the band's fourth music video was released (She's Lost Control) which made it into rotation on MuchMusic in Canada. [13]

The band has toured North America extensively with Revolting Cocks, SNFU, 16 Volt [14] and Chemlab [15] and opened for groups such as The Birthday Massacre, Combichrist, DOA, Genitorturers [16] and Front Line Assembly.

In May 2011 Left Spine Down signed with Metropolis Records. [17] They released their second full-length album, Caution , on August 23, 2011, which was preceded by a new single and video for the track "X-Ray". [18] [19] [20] [21] The album was produced by well known industrial music producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie and features the band as a four-piece stripped down from their previous incarnations as a five and six-piece band. [22] [23]

In late 2011, Skinny Puppy lead singer Nivek Ogre's side project ohGr announced a December 2011 West Coast USA and Canada tour consisting of nine performances supported by Left Spine Down. [24] [25]

In 2012, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult announced their 25-year anniversary tour covering over 30 dates in the USA tour featuring direct support by Left Spine Down. [26] [27]

After the Back From Beyond Tour with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult in 2012, the band took a hiatus to focus on other projects; Kaine Delay kept Left Spine Down active, with appearances both on stage and on record, by supporting major acts such as The Soft Moon and 3TEETH at local gigs, as well as efforts for cancer benefits, namely the Electronic Saviors compilation series and the annual Bowie Ball, a yearly tribute festival in Vancouver for charity in honour of fallen rock legend David Bowie, who died of Liver Cancer in 2016. [28] Galen Waling went to join industrial legends the likes of PIG, Lords of Acid and En Esch (ex-KMFDM) across the world as a live drummer, [29] Matt Girvan went on to work at a local venue while working on his own music, and Jeremy Inkel left the band in 2016, continuing to work with Front Line Assembly until his sudden death in January 2018. [30]

The band had announced a new lineup on April 19, 2018, and are hard at work on a "brutal" new album with Kurt Maas (Deny Your Maker). A cross continent and European tour are hoped for 2019. [31]

Members

Current members

[31]

Former members

Discography

Albums

Date of releaseTitleLabel
2007 Smartbomb EP Synthetic Sounds
2008 Fighting for Voltage Synthetic Sounds / Bit Riot Records
2009 Voltage 2.3: Remixed and Revisited Synthetic Sounds
Smartbomb 2.3: The Underground Mixes Synthetic Sounds
Fighting for Voltage/Voltage 2.3 Double Disc Deluxe Edition (Europe) Synthetic Sounds / Danse Macabre Records
2011 Caution Metropolis Records

Music Videos

YearTitleDirector(s)
2009"Last Daze"Casey O'Brien
"Reset"Thana Fauteux
"Welcome to the Future"Brian Moelker
2010"She's Lost Control"Troy Sobotka
2011"X-Ray"Troy Sobotka

Related Research Articles

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy. They became known in the 1980s as pioneers of the industrial music genre – although by the early 1990s they had changed to a more disco-oriented sound – and as a frequent target of censorship groups, including the PMRC, which objected to the band's humorous and satirical references to Satan, Jesus and sex in their song lyrics and stage shows.

Front Line Assembly Canadian electro-industrial band

Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The band's membership has rotated through the years, including Michael Balch, Rhys Fulber, and Chris Peterson, all of whom are associated with several other acts.

Noise Unit is a Canadian industrial band, founded by Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly as a side project. The band has seen several changes in line-up, with Bill Leeb being the only permanent member.

<i>Artificial Soldier</i> 2006 studio album by Front Line Assembly

Artificial Soldier is the thirteenth full-length studio album by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly, released in 2006. This is the first Front Line Assembly album to feature new member Jeremy Inkel.

Jeremy Inkel Musical artist

Jeremy Michel Neville Inkel was a Canadian electronic musician based in Vancouver. He was best known as a keyboard player and programmer for Left Spine Down and electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly as well as producing tracks for various well known musicians worldwide. He began his work with Left spine Down in 2003 when he replaced original member Frank Valoczy. He was invited into Front Line Assembly in 2005 and made his first contributions to their 2006 album Artificial Soldier. He also made contributions to Front Line Assembly side-projects Noise Unit and Delerium. Inkel died from complications with asthma at the age of 34 on January 11, 2018.

<i>Fallout</i> (Front Line Assembly album) 2007 remix album by Front Line Assembly

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Synthetic Entertainment Musician production

Synthetic Entertainment is a concert promotion and music management/booking company focused on industrial, metal, punk and electronic rock music, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company spawned an in-house record label titled Synthetic Sounds distributed by Canadian indie giant Sonic Unyon.

Jared Slingerland Musical artist

Jared Slingerland is a Canadian guitarist and electronic musician based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as a member of the electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly (FLA).

<i>Smartbomb</i> (EP) 2007 EP by Left Spine Down

The Smartbomb EP is the first studio release by Canadian Cyberpunk/Industrial metal band Left Spine Down. The album was released on June 26, 2007 via the band's website and online music retailers such as iTunes and Amazon.com.

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<i>Smartbomb 2.3: The Underground Mixes</i> 2009 remix album by Left Spine Down

Smartbomb 2.3: The Underground Mixes is the second remix album by Canadian Cyberpunk/Industrial metal band Left Spine Down. The double album features remixes from across the industrial and EBM spectrum from mind.in.a.box, Angelspit and Cyanotic to Psy'Aviah and Dismantled; along with all three of the band's music videos.

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<i>Echogenetic</i> 2013 studio album by Front Line Assembly

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<i>Echoes</i> (Front Line Assembly album) 2014 remix album by Front Line Assembly

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<i>WarMech</i> 2018 soundtrack album by Front Line Assembly

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References

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  15. [ dead link ]
  16. News :: Vancouver hosts Genitorturers and Left Spine Down
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