Biography

Beginning in a bedroom in late 1998 when Rhodri and Adam started jamming together with a few riffs which ended up turning into their first song - black tower. From there the rest has pretty much fallen into place - a darkened blend of extreme metal and a passion for the sound of traditional and thrash metal, which has created something quite different to the rest of the UK's underground scene. and, although the influences of bands such as Iron Maiden, Carcass, Burzum, Metallica, Samael and Dissection are heavy, the band have taken these influences and put their own heavy stamp upon the sound that has come forth....

In the spring of 1999 Andy Myers joined the band on drums (he had already played with Adam and Rhodri in their first band, a little project under the name of 'Immemorial'). Joel Lander (bass) joined in the summer of 1999 and it was decided that it was time to record their first demo and studio time was booked at the Adelaide Studios in Brentwood, Essex.

In august the self-titled demo cd was released and it surprised everybody with its inventive blend of both black and death metal. Recorded and mixed in two days it was subsequently released to instant problems - Andy had to leave due to other commitments, which meant that a new drummer had to be found before the band could back up their new release with live performances. Andy was eventually replaced by a new drummer named Andy Bramley.

During this time it was decided that a keyboardist would also be needed for the live scenario - this led to Cassandra Mayhew joining around november 1999. It was also decided that a second guitarist would be beneficial to the Solace Denied live sound and so James Masterson was drafted in as a second guitarist for the live dates until a permanent second guitarist was found.

Finally the band were ready to grace the live stage and their debut came at London's Red Eye on December 10th 1999 supporting 'Throw Bricks At Coppers'. Subsequent live dates ensued with confidence and performance improving with every gig.

In april 2000 the search for a permanent second guitarist finally ended as Robin Kirby was brought in to fill the position permanently and after several impressive gigs a healthy following was created within the underground scene. Robin was from a strong 80's thrash background, and brought a new edge to the band's already strong live sound.

However, nothing goes according to plan, and Robin announced that he was leaving at the end of 2000 to concentrate on his other musical projects. also, seeing as christmas 2000 was a time of change again, it was decided that it was time to part company with Andy Bramley. this paved the way for our old drummer Andy Myers to return!

Andy Wenham-Prosser ended the relatively quick search for a new guitarist at the end of january 2001 and rehearsals immediately started for the band to start gigging again. However, the closure of the Red Eye left the London "scene" without a venue, so gigs were very hard to come by and shows were arranged outside central London supporting the likes of Akercocke and Extreme Noise Terror - and, although Cassandra departed due to university commitments, the live shows continued to improve and expand.

November 2001 saw the release of the second demo "of hopes and fears" and the band set to work in support of the CD, with an appearance on a Terrorizer covermount CD alongside the likes of Emperor, My dying bride, Borknager, Mortiis, Converge, Soilent Green and Superjoint Ritual. Additionally, it's release also saw the band opening for Marduk and Bal sagoth as well as a place on the bill at the Terrorizer Xmas bash 2001 alongside Impaled Nazarene, Scalplock, Gorerotted, Sloth and the Enchanted.

2002 started well with the band being voted 'best unsigned act' in the annual Terrorizer magazine poll and 5th best unsigned act in the Kerrang! poll. A few setbacks however drew the band to a slow point including founder member and long-standing vocalist Adam Loader announcing his departure, due to his developing estrangement from the musical ethic, consequently resulting in the withdrawal from several further gigs.

Auditions for a replacement singer were held throughout june. Finally the decision was made to recruit former Frustrum vocalist, Hal Sinden, which coincided with his band's demise the previous month.

During the lengthy process of re-working material, Bassist Joel Lander made the decision to quit the band in lieu of surmounting personal issues.

Solace Denied have recently cemented a strong business arrangement with a collection of other well established UK metal bands to promote their releases unanimously, and now continue to work on stronger, darker material for a new release some time in 2003.


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