Paul Allender | |
|---|---|
 Allender in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul James Allender |
| Born | 17 November 1970 Colchester, England |
| Genres | Extreme metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Paul James Allender [1] (born 17 November 1970) is an English guitarist, best known for his work with the English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. He was a longtime member with stints in the band from 1992 to 1995 and then again from 1999 to 2014.
He joined the band as the guitarist late 1991, and stayed until late 1994 when he left Cradle of Filth to join The Blood Divine. In 1998 Paul Allender started another band called Primary Slave. In 2000, just before Primary Slave signed a recording contract, he rejoined Cradle of Filth on the band's album, Midian after receiving a call from Dani Filth, along with drummer Adrian Erlandsson and keyboardist Martin Powell.
In April of 2014, Paul Allender once again left Cradle of Filth.
In 2013, Allender was involved with the formation of a new project named "White Empress". In an interview with "The Age of Metal", White Empress vocalist Mary Zimmer (formerly of Luna Mortis), said:
Paul and I actually have a number of mutual friends and acquaintances and it was Melissa Ferlaak of Plague of Stars (formerly of Visions of Atlantis, Aesma Daeva, Echoterra) who put us in touch with each other. We talked about working on some new music together and he set me the instrumental tracks he'd been working on. They were phenomenal and I decided to lay down vocals for 3 songs. Everything went really well together and we made an official band. White Empress is really all about the concept of "The Empress". The entire band is in essence "The Empress". She's her own creative concept, her own image, her own identity that comes from all of us in the band (meaning I'm not the Empress, necessarily). White Empress is an entire band with a fantasy avatar. It's visual and audio all tied into one huge concept. The band is fantastic, we all contribute equally to the creative process and we've come up with some amazing things for everyone. The Empress is Coming!! [2] [3]
An EP was released in January 2014. [4] [5] Their debut album - Rise of the Empress - was released through Peaceville Records on 29 September 2014. It was initially funded through a Pledge Music campaign. [6]
In 2016, Allender changed the direction of the project, removing all of the singing and replacing it with narration. The band then had the style of a horror audiobook with cinematic film. White Empress released the single "Revenant" in 2016, and then went on indefinite hiatus.
Speaking on his playing style, Allender has said:
"To tell you the truth... I don't jam. I've always played what actually I see in my head. Therefore, when I play, I don't use any specific scales or anything in order or that's musically correct or anything... I've always concentrated on mixing lead-oriented riffs, but in like a rhythmic sense. That's the way I've always been because I've never really been interested in doing ultra-fast lead work. I've always mixed the two up. Just concentrating on the 16th notes and stuff on the right hand, making sure it all sinks in. It's the guitar and it's the way we dress onstage, it's all part of this troupe, this uniformed-like togetherness... It just comes out dark as fuck". [7]
Allender also has an art side project known as "Vomitorium: The Dark Art Of Cindy Frey And Paul Allender". He also produced the artwork for New Project's debut album Ultraviolent Light.[ citation needed ]
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band consists of its founding member, vocalist Dani Filth, drummer Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Donny Burbage, and keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff.
Damnation and a Day is the fifth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 10 March 2003 and is Cradle of Filth's only album on a major label, Sony Records, after which they transferred to Roadrunner. It features the one hundred and one-piece Budapest Film Orchestra including the forty-piece Budapest Film Choir. The album is partly based on John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost.
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh is the debut studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 24 February 1994 through Cacophonous Records, following three demos released between 1991 and 1993. The album's sound is significantly more raw than on subsequent releases, and frontman Dani Filth's vocals differ from his later style and technique. The album is a then-unusual hybrid of gothic metal and black metal. This would be the only album featuring guitarist Paul Ryan and keyboardist Benjamin Ryan; guitarist Paul Allender also left the band at this point, but returned five years later for Midian.
Dusk... and Her Embrace is the second studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on August 28, 1996. and is their first release on the label Music for Nations.
Midian is the fourth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 30 October 2000, through Music for Nations. The album marks the return of guitarist Paul Allender to the band, as well as the introduction of drummer Adrian Erlandsson and keyboard player Martin Powell. It also features Doug Bradley as the narrator for various songs.
Bitter Suites to Succubi is the third EP by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 22 May 2001, through the band's own Abracadaver label.
The Blood Divine were a British gothic metal band, founded in the summer of 1995 by Paul Allender, brothers Paul and Benjamin Ryan, and Darren White. Allender and the brothers Ryan had recently left Cradle of Filth after the release of The Principle of Evil Made Flesh and White had recently parted ways with Anathema. They recruited drummer William A. 'W.A.S.' Sarginson and bassist Steve Maloney and were quickly signed up by Peaceville Records.
Live Bait for the Dead is a live album by Cradle of Filth, recorded at Nottingham Rock City on 14 April 2001 and released on 19 August 2002. The album was released and distributed on the band's own Abracadaver label. The same gig is included on the DVD Heavy, Left-Handed and Candid. Following the same format as Lovecraft & Witch Hearts, the main album is supplemented by a second disc of rare tracks and remixes. This would be bassist Robin Eaglestone's final recorded appearance.
Dave Pybus is a English extreme metal musician, best known as the former bass player of Cradle of Filth.
Thornography is the seventh studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 17 October 2006, by record label Roadrunner. It was produced by former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, engineered by Dan Turner and mixed by Andy Sneap, and once again features narration by Doug Bradley. It is Cradle of Filth's second album as a five-piece, as keyboardist Martin Powell left the band in 2005. This would also be the band's final album to feature drummer Adrian Erlandsson, and the only full-length to feature guitarist Charles Hedger.
V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein is the first EP by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth, and the first release following their 1994 debut studio album The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. It was released on 22 April 1996, and was the band's final release for Cacophonous Records.
Cradle of Filth was formed in Suffolk, England, in 1991. The band's original members consisted of vocalist Dani Filth, guitarist Paul Ryan, keyboardist Ben Ryan, bassist John Pritchard and drummer Darren Gardner. With this line-up, Cradle of Filth recorded a demo in 1992, titled Invoking the Unclean. Soon after, they recorded their second demo, Orgiastic Pleasures Foul with new guitarist Robin Eaglestone and new drummer Was Sarginson. Robin left the band shortly afterwards, but following the departure of John Pritchard, Eaglestone returned to take his place as bassist. Guitarist Paul Allender joined the band at the same time. Following these changes, another demo was recorded, titled Total Fucking Darkness. Sarginson left the band soon after, paving the way for the entry of drummer Nicholas Barker.
Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is the eighth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 28 October 2008, through record label Roadrunner. It is the band's fourth concept album, after Cruelty and the Beast (1998), Midian (2000), and Damnation and a Day (2003), dealing with the life of the 15th-century French baron Gilles de Rais.
Luna Mortis, formerly The Ottoman Empire, was an American heavy metal band based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is the ninth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 1 November 2010 by record label Peaceville and is a concept album centred on the demon Lilith. It is Cradle of Filth's only album to feature keyboardist Ashley Ellyllon, and is also the band's final album with Dave Pybus as their bass player and James McIlroy as their second guitar player.
Midnight in the Labyrinth is an orchestral compilation album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. The re-recorded songs selected are from the band's first four releases. The title comes from the lyrics of "Mistress from the Sucking Pit", a bonus track on some editions of Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa.
Evermore Darkly... is the fourth EP by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth, released in October 2011. A companion piece to the 2010 album Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa, it contains two new tracks in "Transmission from Hell" and "Thank Your Lucky Scars", plus demo versions of some Venus Aversa tracks. An orchestral version of "Summer Dying Fast" is also included as a taster for the subsequent Midnight in the Labyrinth collection. The CD was originally packaged with a DVD containing a documentary, a live show from 25 June 2011's Graspop festival, and the promo video for "Lilith Immaculate".
The Manticore and Other Horrors is the tenth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 29 October 2012 in Europe and on 30 October in USA. It is the band's only album as a three-man group rather than its six-man staple. It was also the last release with Paul Allender on guitar, who departed the band for a second time in April 2014.
Hammer of the Witches is the eleventh studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 10 July 2015 and is their first release under record label Nuclear Blast. Hammer of the Witches features the band's new line-up following the departure of Paul Allender and James McIlroy, which includes new guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Richard Shaw and new keyboardist and female vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
