JS Clayden Mark D. Clayden Dan Rayner Tim Rayner Simon Hutchby
Past members
Johnny A. Carter Stuart Toolin Jim Davies Matt Grundy D.J. Walters Matt Godfrey Jason Bowld
Pitchshifter (originally Pitch Shifter) are an English industrial rock band from Nottingham, formed in 1989. The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden.[5] The band's early material was characterized for its gritty industrial metal sound with downtuned guitars and the use of drum machines, and has been cited as one of the originators of the genre along with Godflesh. With later albums the group's music became increasingly more melodic and strongly influenced by nu metal and drum and bass; particularly evident of their 1998 release www.pitchshifter.com, which has been compared with groups like The Prodigy.[5]
Although Pitchshifter has found little mainstream success, the band managed to gain a platinum certification with the release of the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack. Since its formation, the band has released six studio albums, three EPs and eight music videos. The band has played in various festivals around the world including Ozzfest, Phoenix Festival and Damnation Festival.[6]
History
Formation and Industrial (1989–1991)
Pitchshifter was formed in 1989 (initially spelled Pitch Shifter) by guitarist and programmer Johnny Carter and bassist Mark Clayden, later joined by Stu Toolin, and then Jon "JS" Clayden (Mark Clayden's brother).[5] During this time, the band played with local bands and soon gained attention of the Peaceville Records. During this time, JS went to live in France to sell paintings.
During 1990, the band started recording their début album, Industrial, with the main vocalist being Mark Clayden instead of JS, who contributed with backing vocals. The band later went on a small tour with bands like Napalm Death.
Submit, Desensitized and Phoenix Festival (1992–1995)
The band later joined the British label Earache Records where they released their mini-album/EP Submit.[7][8] Later, Stuart Toolin left the band, and the band hired Matt Godfrey to fill his place for some shows. Matt later left the band and they hired drummer D.J. Walters, now being a four-piece band. Later, the band released their second album, Desensitized.[5]
The band played at the Phoenix Festival in Long Marston, England, in 1995. The band's manager, armed with a tractor, arranged for an enormous crop circle replica of the band's famous "eye" symbol to appear in the adjoining field to the festival site during the night prior to their performance there. The crowd's enthusiasm for the band when they performed was so high that they rushed the stage, making Pitchshifter's performance the first in the history of the festival to be stopped early.[6]
Spelling change and www.pitchshifter.com (1997–1999)
Vocalist JS Clayden in June 2008
During this time, the band changed the spelling of their name from 'Pitch Shifter' to 'Pitchshifter', and recruited former The Prodigy live guitarist Jim Davies, with the band returning to their five-piece form.[5] The band later released their single "Genius", which was later included in Test Drive 5 and the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack, which helped the band to gain platinum recognition.[6]
In 1998, the band released their fourth album www.pitchshifter.com,[5] which is their best selling album, selling around 60,000 copies in the U.S.[9] The band later played in Ozzfest 1998 and Livid in support of their album. During 1999, they played on Reading Festival and again at Dynamo.
Deviant (2000–2001)
In 2000, founder Johnny Carter and drummer D.J. Walters left the band, and the band hired guitarist Matt Grundy and drummer Jason Bowld. The band later released their fifth album Deviant, which had appearances from drummer John Stanier and Jello Biafra. The band played in that year's Ozzfest. The cover used a picture of one of Gee Vaucher's Paintings, who did artwork for Crass and Carcass. The painting shows a cross between the Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II. Due to outrage over the use of a caricature of the Pope, the album was banned in Poland. The band apologized for the artwork and changed it.
PSI and hiatus (2002–2003)
Live rhythm guitarist Matt Grundy announced his departure from the band in January 2002. The following month, Pitchshifter played their first show of the year at Ministry of Sound (London). This show marked the debut for guitarist Dan Rayner whom, along with his brother Tim, had previously worked with the band in 2001 as an additional programmer for the album PSI. This time serving as the group's touring rhythm guitar player (switching to live lead guitar in 2003). PSI - the sixth studio album was released on May 7, 2002. The band then went to a few more shows until their last show in 2003 when the band went on an "indefinite hiatus".
During this time as well, Jon worked as a teacher at the Los Angeles Recording School teaching Music Business Communications and was a featured member of Pigface during the supergroup's 2003 United II tour of the US. During the tour, he performed vocals on songs including Pigface's "Insect/Suspect" and Pitchshifter's classic "Genius."
Return and None for All and All for One (2006–2008)
During late 2006, there were rumours that band was going to return, which were later confirmed and the band announced the "Back From the Dead" tour, supported by various bands including Funeral for a Friend. Davies did not return to the band to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Tim Rayner. The band released the None for All and All for One EP, with some copies given away for free in certain shows. There were some rumours that the band was working on a new album, but the band has denied.
In 2009, the band announced in their official website that they were working on a new album. Frontman JS Clayden stated that "It's been refreshing to get back in the demo studio. We are taking this record in a few places we haven't been before in terms of guitar work. Brian Harrah [Professional Murder Music and Tura Satana] is writing with me on guitar at The Manor Studios, and Jason is jamming at his place. So far we are having a blast and kicking ass. There are a few new moves in terms of song timing and vocals that have us all jazzed. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what we came up with."[10] In late 2009, guitarist Tim Rayner was diagnosed with b celllymphoma while on vacation in Australia and underwent treatment.[10] In February 2010, he arrived in the UK and started radiotherapy.[11] The band headlined the Wakefield Rock Festival on 15 May 2010.[10][12]
The band's statement, made on their website in 2011, is "We're excited to be back in the studio. Looking at a 2012 release right now; but we're not under any pressure to finish on someone else's deadline - so we'll do it right and finish on our own schedule."[13] However, no further updates were published, and in July 2015, the official website's domain had been purchased and replaced with a Japanese website unrelated to the band; years later, JS Clayden admitted that "we carried the website for such a long time that it felt like a burden being lifted to let it go".[14]
Reunion tour and occasional shows (2018–present)
In June 2016, the band tweeted "Looking at some live shows in Feb 2018 in the UK".[15] This was followed by an announcement in April 2018 that the band would reunite for a short tour the following November to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the www.pitchshifter.com album; Simon Hutchby from earthtone9 would be replacing Jason Bowld on drums,[16] as Bowld could not break away his commitments with Bullet for My Valentine.[17] When asked about a longer term reunion, J.S. Clayden emphasized that the current band members live in different cities and countries.[18] Select demo material from the band's would-be seventh album, Sprint Finish, was released on the band's Bandcamp page.
In January 2020, the band announced they were releasing a "redux" of Un-United Kingdom, with additional guest vocals, to coincide with the day of Brexit.[19] Jason Bowld and Mark Clayden guested on former guitarist Jim Davies' album Headwars.[20]
In July 2020, the band released a re-recorded version of "Everything's Fucked" for the EFKD 2020 EP. Later that year, the band successfully crowdfunded though Kickstarter a retrospective diary book entitled Chasing The Broken White Line, chronicling the band's 1998 world tour; a sequel book, Tokyo or Bust, was announced in 2022.
In July 2023, the band re-joined to perform two shows in the UK, one of them as part of the 2000trees festival.[21]
www.pitchshifter.com is the fourth album by the British industrial metal band Pitchshifter. It was released in the United Kingdom by Geffen Records on 2 March 1998, and in the United States by DGC Records on 7 April 1998. The record, which was their first released through a major label, sold just over 60,000 copies in the US alone—selling nearly twice as much as the group's proceeding album Deviant did.
Deviant is the fifth album by the British industrial metal band Pitchshifter, released in 2000. It was a follow-up to the commercially successful album www.pitchshifter.com, but was seen by the record label as a disappointment. Promotional videos by DOSE Productions were made for the tracks "Hidden Agenda" and "Dead Battery". The track "Everything's Fucked" was originally released as "Everything Sucks". Jello Biafra makes an appearance on the track "As Seen on TV". By March 2002, the album had sold 33,000 copies in the U.S., just over half the amount www.pitchshifter.com had sold at the same time.
PSI is the sixth studio album by the industrial rock band Pitchshifter, released in 2002. Their previous two albums had been released on a major label, but this was released by the minor Mayan Records, a subsidiary label owned by Sanctuary Records. "Eight Days" and "Shutdown" were released as singles.
Submit is a mini-album by the British band Pitch Shifter, released on 23 March 1992 by Earache on LP, cassette and CD.
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.
Industrial is the debut album by the band Pitch Shifter. It was released in 1991 on Peaceville Records. It is the only Pitchshifter album featuring Mark Clayden on lead vocals. After Industrial was released, the band released a single "Death Industrial" with two new tracks that would later be released on Submit.
Infotainment? is the third album by the band Pitch Shifter, released in 1996.
P.S.I.entology was the only DVD release from the British band Pitchshifter. The DVD was the second release from PSI Records which is run by members Mark Clayden and J.S. Clayden. The DVD was released ostensibly as a "thank you" to the band's loyal fan base. The release prompted the band to reform after their 2003 split to take part in a seven date tour of Britain in October of 2004.
James Donald Davies is the former live and studio guitarist for English band the Prodigy. He is also a former member of Pitchshifter.
Apartment 26 were a nu metal/industrial metal band from Leamington Spa, England, formed in 1998. They released two albums on the major labels Hollywood Records and Atlantic Records, Hallucinating and Music for the Massive respectively. After being dropped from Atlantic Records, the band disbanded in late 2004.
The Remix War is a remix album by Pitch Shifter, released in 24 January 1995 by Earache. The EP is composed of remixes of select songs from Pitchshifter's prior release, Desensitized. The bands who worked on the remixes were Therapy?, Gunshot, and Biohazard.
Un-United Kingdom is an EP released by Pitchshifter in 1999. The EP is dedicated to band's good friend, Ken Owen from Carcass, who suffered a severe intracerebral hemorrhage and spent ten months in a coma before ultimately recovering.
Earthtone9 is an English alternative metal band from Nottingham.
None for All and All for One is a limited edition EP of new material written in secret by the British alternative band Pitchshifter. The EP was given away free with every ticket purchased for every show on the 'Back From the Dead' tour in March 2006. It was also available through their store on the PSI Records website until October 2007. 'Predisposed ' is a cover of the This Is Menace song 'Predisposed'. The EP was re-released for download in 2018 in preparation for the band's reunion tour.
Monster Voodoo Machine is a Canadian metal band formed in 1991 within Toronto, Ontario. They released two studio albums and three studio EPs in the 1990s, followed by a disbandment in 1998. They reformed in 2007 for sporadic live shows.
JS Clayden is a British singer/songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Pitchshifter. He moved to several towns in the United Kingdom, settling in Nottingham, England for a number of years before emigrating to Los Angeles, California. He is also the brother of Pitchshifter's bassist, Mark Clayden.
This Is Menace was a British metalcore supergroup formed in 2004. Metal Hammer has called the band "the most underrated metal supergroup of the 2000s".
AxeWound is a British-Canadian heavy metal supergroup formed in 2012 comprising lead vocalist Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats, guitarist and co-vocalist Matthew Tuck of Bullet for My Valentine, guitarist Mike Kingswood of Glamour of the Kill, bassist Joe Copcutt of Zoax and Rise to Remain, and drummer Jason Bowld of Pitchshifter.
Jason Bowld is a British drummer currently playing with the heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine, and formerly of Pitchshifter, This Is Menace and AxeWound. Bowld's first show with Bullet for My Valentine was at Wembley Arena in 2010, their original drummer Michael Thomas wasn't able to play. Bowld said Matt Tuck rang him and gave him the setlist with no rehearsals, he had two days to learn the set. In 2021, Jim Davies of Pitchshifter, Jamie Mathias of Bullet For My Valentine, Tut Tut Child and Jason, formed Shadow Addict, an electro metal band.
Press to Meco was an English band hailing from Crawley and Croydon. The band was known for its fusing of intricate riffs, progressive sensibilities, math-influenced structures, pop choruses and three-part harmonies.
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