Colin Abrahall
Ross Lomas
Colin "Jock" Blyth
Scott Preece
Past members
Sean McCarthy
Andrew "Wilf" Williams
Kai Reder
Joseph Montero
Charged GBH, commonly known as GBH, are an Englishstreet punk
band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist
Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy (replaced by Ross Lomas by the
time they had signed to Clay records) and Drummer Andy "Wilf" Williams.
GBH were early pioneers of English street punk, often nicknamed "UK82", along with Discharge, Broken Bones, The Exploited and The Varukers. GBH have gone on to influence several punk rock musicians.
The name GBH was inspired by then-bassist Sean McCarthy's trial for grievous bodily harm.
Though the core line up of Colin, Ross and Jock has stayed the same
throughout their history the drum stool has been occupied by a number of
incumbents following Wilf's departure after the Midnight Madness and
Beyond album and Oh No It's GBH again 12" ep. 1986 saw the arrival of
German drummer Kai Reder who played on three albums and an EP (No Need
To Panic, A Fridge Too Far and From Here To Reality, as well as the "Wot
A Bargain" 12"), Kai was then replaced by American, Joe "Fish"
Montanero for one album (Church of The Truly Warped), this was the
band's last release for the Rough Justice label.
The drum stool was then
occupied from around 1994 by former Bomb Disneyland/Bomb Everything
drummer Scott Preece, who has remained to this day and played on all
releases since.
Biography
Charged GBH embarked on several English and mainland US tours during the early 1980s, including several gigs at the 100 Club. 1982 saw the release of GBH's first LP, City Baby Attacked By Rats
which reached number 17 in the UK charts as well as Number 2 in the
respected UK Indie charts where the bands singles had also taken up
residence, leading to a memorable appearance on legendary UK TV
programme "The Tube" doing "Give Me Fire" (UK Indie chart no 2).
Lyrically, the album dealt with criticism of British and European
culture, violence, morbidity
(especially in reference to the song "Passenger On The Menu", which
describes in graphic detail the experiences of the passengers on the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571), atheism, nihilism
and humour.
Colin and I in Dublin Ireland at Fibers pub
Musically, the album was loud and fast, with few songs
exceeding three minutes. The success of the first album was repeated
with second LP "City Baby's Revenge" in 1983 and saw more extensive
touring in America and Europe and higher profile UK shows including the
Carlisle Punk festival which they co headlined with fellow UK82
stalwarts The Exploited, and also featured the likes of Toy Dolls, Chelsea and The Destructors. In 1984 the band dropped the "Charged" from their name and became just GBH (grievous bodily harm) .
Throughout their recording history it has become a tradition to include
a cover version on many of the Albums. Boston Babies - Slaughter and
The Dogs (City Baby Attacked By Rats), I Feel Alright - The Damned / The
Stooges (City Baby's Revenge), Avenues and Alleyways - Tony Christie
(No Need To Panic), Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes (A Fridge Too
Far), Destroy - The Vibrators (From Here To Reality), I Need Energy -
Zero Boys (Church of The Truly Warped).
They and many of their UK82 peers such as The Exploited, Picture Frame Seduction, Discharge, and The Varukers
have all enjoyed resounding success among street punks in the USA.
Although many of their contemporaries have evolved towards other styles
over the years, GBH have remained fairly faithful to their original UK82
sound in subsequent releases. However, the band have experimented to
some degree with a more speed metal-inflected sound, notably with their 1992 release Church of the Truly Warped, although they have since returned to a more purist punk sound. The band is still active and touring and maintain a strong following both in England and the rest of Europe, as well as in the United States and Japan.
Batz Without Flesh was founded in 1986 by Claude S. Willey Jr.
(vocals, synthesizer, guitar), John Dugan (vocals, horn, synthesizer)
and John Knetz alias Sloth (guitar, effects and samplers) With
their mixture of Electrowave and EBM, they were particularly successful
in the early 1990s and landed some underground hits with songs like
Futureshock, Retention, Auto-Suggestion, 21-375 or Avalanche. Batz Without Flesh themselves described their style as "Angry Hard Beat Electro-Punk." Electronic and industrial icons such as Throbbing Gristle,
Suicide, Clock DVA, The Human League and Portion Control served as
models. After the debut EP Batz Without Flesh, released in 1987, John Dugan left the band. The 1989 album A Million Bricks was played by Claude Willey and John
Knetz with the help of the guest musician Vinnie Spit alias SPIT (bass,
drums). A year later also, 'Sloth' left the project and devoted to the rock band Zen Guerrilla. The third publication No Memory was developed by Willey and SPIT. In 1992, this was the last album released. Claude S. Willey then founded the band Exterior Mirror and released Batz Without Flesh.
Name
The name "Batz Without
Flesh" has always been misinterpreted as "bats without meat", which
often pushed the group into the gothic environment. What was meant here, however, was actually a fight on the mental level (Battles Without Flesh)
Advanced Art was one of the pioneers of Finnishelectronic music. Started by Jana, Pete and Vince in Tampere, Finland, the band was active from 1985 to 1995. The band themselves opened their shows claiming "We play pop", others described their music as synthpop, EBM and electro-industrial. The creative core of Advanced Art consisted of Jana (lyrics) and Vince (music).
After the band's demo and indie vinyl stage Poko Rekords signed Advanced Art in 1991. The collaboration resulted in two maxi singles and two albums. Advanced Art were also one of the very few Finnish bands at the time to appear on MTV Europe.
The band never toured extensively but concentrated on one-off performances, sometimes in unusual locations. Visual elements were an integral part of Advanced Art live shows.
X Marks the Pedwalk (sometimes written as X-Marks the Pedwalk) is a Germanband whose styles range from post-industrial dance to electronic body music. X Marks the Pedwalk’s influence in the industrial and electronic music scenes was considerable during the 1990s, as they were one of the first and most popular acts from the now defunct record label, Zoth Ommog.
History
X Marks
the Pedwalk was founded by Sevren Ni-Arb (born André Schmechta, May 13,
1969) in 1987. Schmechta - himself a classically trained musician -
became interested in synthesizers
at an early age, and found himself part of several bands after he was
able to buy his first keyboard at the age of 16. At that time, with
influences such as Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk, and DAF, Schmechta started a band called Scarecrow with his school-mate Regan Eracs (born Jörg Böhme).
Shortly after releasing their first single, 1988's "Black Door", the members of Scarecrow were offered to sign to German DJTalla 2XLC's new record label, Zoth Ommog. Thereafter, the project name was changed to X Marks the Pedwalk, and both members adopted pseudonyms for themselves.
Schmechta, who did the writing, production,
and engineering of all X Marks the Pedwalk tracks, was the only
consistent member throughout X Marks the Pedwalk’s history. After the
release of the first album, Freaks, and then the "Cenotaph"
single, Böhme left the band in 1992 to pursue other interests, and
Schmechta enlisted the help of his brother Raive Yarx (born Thorsten
Schmechta, June 14, 1971).
At this time, Schmechta decided to focus on music as a career, and built T.G.I.F. Studios (an acronym
for "Thank God It's Friday!"). Although a new member had arrived, X
Marks the Pedwalk's musical style did not change drastically until after
the Schmechta brothers' first two efforts together: Human Desolation and The Killing Had Begun. 1995's single "Facer", however, saw the combination of "Techno-Dance and Crossover-Industrial with EBM-elements". The final two X Marks the Pedwalk albums, Meshwork and Drawback, received favorable reactions by many fans within Europe, and thanks to the latter's release by Metropolis Records, helped build an extended fanbase in North America. Some listeners, however, rejected the new sound of X Marks the Pedwalk (see Meshwork).
André Schmechta put aside his work on X Marks the Pedwalk in the late
90's (along with his multitude of side-projects) to concentrate on his
family and career.
He is married to Stefanie Eckmann (born March 21, 1969) who has
contributed vocals to X Marks the Pedwalk under the name Estefania, and
has two children: Lennard Christian and Luis Maximilian.
X Marks the Pedwalk returned in late 2009/early 2010 with a new album and single, with live shows in 2010.
Live
The first X Marks the Pedwalk concert was performed in Wiesbaden, Germany on December 16, 1989, where they opened for industrial music artists Vomito Negro. Most live material at that time came from their then just-released single "Arbitrary Execution", and the previously released Scarecrow single "Black Door".
Their first tour throughout Germany began after the release of Freaks, with an additional concert being played in Budapest, Hungary. Three subsequent concert tours throughout Germany occurred again after the release of "Cenotaph", Human Desolation, and The Killing Had Begun. With few exceptions, these live shows took place in Germany.
X Marks the Pedwalk was a band that consisted of two members at a
time (secondary members Böhme and Thorsten Schmechta never appeared
together on an album with André Schmechta), therefore, they never
performed completely live, but rather relied heavily on the
incorporation of DAT playback. This was complemented with "live overdubs, drum-effects, lead-melodies, [and] atmospheres...", and André Schmechta on lead vocals. Estefania did not appear on an X Marks the Pedwalk release until The Killing Had Begun, and never toured live with them.
As of 2004, X Marks the Pedwalk still receives requests to play live,
although André Schmechta has said that "at the moment it's impossible
to plan a tour or concerts".
Side projects
Throughout
the course of X Marks the Pedwalk's history, André Schmechta especially
formed or joined several side projects as a creative outlet for music
that had a different sound than X Marks the Pedwalk. This is a list and
short description of some of the other ventures taken upon by members of
X Marks the Pedwalk. PAX was a project that was created as the result of a working
relationship between André Schmechta and Heiko Daniel. Schmechta, who
was producing an album for Daniel, felt that they had "something
fascinating, easy, emotional and outstanding." From this, two albums and an EP were born. Ringtailed Snorter was a solo-project by André Schmechta, the
first song of which was written as a tribute to a friend who had died.
Ringtailed Snorter differs from X Marks the Pedwalk in its use of "clean
structures" and "minimal soundscapes to leave more [space in] the minds
of the audience." Hyperdex-1-Sect was a one-time collaboration between André and
Stefanie Schmechta and Jonathan Sharp of the project New Mind. Their
release features remixes by the artists' main projects (X Marks the
Pedwalk and New Mind, respectively), as well as a remix by cEvin Key's project, Download. U-Tek saw the coming together of Alexis Schaar (also known as
AL/X/S, former producer for X Marks the Pedwalk) and André Schmechta to
form a project that combined Alexis's dance and club music background
with Schmechta's EBM background. The duo's second project, A-Head focused less on this interaction and more on creating alternative electro music. Deluga was a darkwave project by Thorsten Schmechta, Stefanie Schmechta, and Falk Aupers. The project never got past the first demo stage.
Some other projects by André Schmechta included two with wife Stefanie, Viviane and Polyxena, the latter also featuring Heiko Daniel, and Lighthouse with friend Bernd Schöler.
Timeline
1969 - André Schmechta is born.
1969 - Stefanie Eckmann is born.
1971 - Thorsten Schmechta is born.
1987 - X Marks the Pedwalk is formed under the name Scarecrow, with its initial members being André Schmechta and Jörg Böhme.
1988 - Scarecrow released their first single, "Black Door".
Scarecrow is signed to Zoth Ommog records, and changes their name to X
Marks the Pedwalk.
1989 - "Arbitrary Execution" single is released. X Marks the Pedwalk plays their first live show.
1990 - "Danger/Disease Control" single is released.
1991 - "Abattoir" single is released.
1992 - The first full-length album, Freaks is released, followed by the "Cenotaph" stand-alone single.
1992 - Jörg Böhme leaves the band and is replaced by Thorsten Schmechta. André Schmechta builds T.G.I.F. studios.
1993 - "The Trap" is released, followed by the second full-length album, Human Desolation. "Paranoid Illusions", the second single from the aforementioned album, is also released.
1994 - The third full-length CD, The Killing Had Begun, is released followed by a best of collection titled Airbacktrax. Stefanie Eckmann makes her first appearance.
1995 - The "Facer" single is released in Europe, along with the Cleopatra Records release Four Fit (another collection). The fifth album, Meshwork is also released.
1996 - X Marks the Pedwalk releases their final album, Drawback.
1998 - André Schmechta switches careers and sells T.G.I.F. studios. Metropolis Records releases the collection Retrospective.
2003 - X Marks the Pedwalk makes a brief reappearance on Dying Culture Records with a 2CD best-of collection called Experiences, and contributes two new tracks to the release, "Bloom" and "Hothead".
2004 - André Schmechta meets with former X Marks the Pedwalk
producer Alexis Schaar (also of A-Head and U-Tek) in the latter's studio
in Hamburg for a small recording session. Details on this interaction have yet to be elaborated.
2009 - sevren ni-arb has announced a new album will be released later this year.
2010 - The comeback: X Marks the Pedwalk releases single Seventeen and album Inner Zone Journey. Re-Union show at Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2010 in Leipzig, Germany. Impressions:
2010 - sevren ni-arb has announced a first Live DVD.
Philosophy and style
X Marks the Pedwalk was inspired by the late 1980s European and CanadianElectronic body music
scenes, yet its members were looking to create a sound that was unique
to themselves. Early X Marks the Pedwalk was often compared to fellow
industrial musicians Skinny Puppy; Front Page magazine titled an article about X Marks the Pedwalk, "Die deutschen Skinny Puppy?!" (The German Skinny Puppy?!).
Later, however, as their style progressed, X Marks the Pedwalk would
begin to find other bands compared to them. According to André
Schmechta, "The concept and themes for the lyrics around [X Marks the
Pedwalk] were influenced by the idea to lighten up the dark side of
[the] human psyche…"
Although the latter may be true, in as much as it was an objective
strived for by the band, X Marks the Pedwalk found most of its audience
in fans of gothic and industrial music
- scenes typically associated with dark culture. What Schmechta
describes as X Marks the Pedwalk's "aggressive percussion and
synthesizer sequences" may have contributed to its place within the harder dance music scenes.
In addition to Skinny Puppy, comparable bands include many of the Zoth Ommog label-mates of X Marks the Pedwalk. Some of the more prominent similar acts include Leæther Strip, Evil's Toy, Armageddon Dildos, Spahn Ranch, Mentallo & The Fixer, Birmingham 6, and Funker Vogt.
Members
Sevren Ni-arb (born André Schmechta, 13 May 1969): Founder, songwriter, vocalist, producer, and engineer.
Regan Eracs (born Jörge Böhme): Early member of X Marks the Pedwalk, from 1988 to 1992.
Raive Yarx (born Thorsten Schmechta, 14 June 1971): Concepts, structures, and electronics. Became a member in 1992.
Estefania (Stefanie Schmechta née Eckmann, born 21 March 1969): Secondary vocalist, debuted on the album, The Killing Had Begun.
Equipment
In
1992, André Schmechta created T.G.I.F. studios, recording not only all
of X Marks the Pedwalk's subsequent material, but also albums by fellow
electronic music artists Armageddon Dildos (who were also on Zoth Ommog)
and Evil's Toy, among others. T.G.I.F. was built and designed
specifically for the creation of electronic and industrial music, what
follows is a list of some of the equipment utilized by Schmechta not
only as both a writer and performer, but also as a producer:
The name X Marks the Pedwalk comes from a satirical story by science fiction author Fritz Leiber that describes the beginnings of a war between pedestrians and motorists. The story is glancingly referenced in Stephen King's book Danse Macabre.
Since the earliest days of X Marks the Pedwalk, members have assumed pseudonyms
for themselves. André Schmechta was known as Sevren Ni-arb ("Brain
Nerves" spelled backwards), his brother Thorsten was Raive Yarx (Yarx is
"X-Ray" spelled backwards). Early member Jörg Böhme was called Regan
Eracs (Regan is the name of the possessed child in The Exorcist, and Eracs is "scare" backwards). Stefanie Eckmann Schmechta, because she was a student of Spanish, listed her name as Estefania.
The phrase Tyske Ludder
directly translated means "German whores" in Danish and Norwegian and
was used in those countries to describe a native woman that was
romantically involved with a German soldier during World War II.
Discography
Albums
1994: Bombt die Mörder? – KM-MUSIK
1995: Dalmarnock – KM-MUSIK
2006: Союз (Sojus) – Black Rain
2006: Bombt die Mörder? – Re-Release with many remixes at Black Rain
2006: Dalmarnock – Re-Release with many remixes at Black Rain
2009: Anonymous - Black Rain
2011: Diaspora - Black Rain
2015: Evolution - Golden Core
EPs
1996: Creutzfeld E.P. – EP at KM-MUSIK
2006: Creutzfeld E.P. – Re-Release of the EP with many remixes at Black Rain
2008: SCIENTific technOLOGY E.P. - EP at Black Rain
2013: Bambule E.P. – E.P. at Black Rain
Remixes & Other appearances
2006: In Sedens – Remix for Grandchaos – God Is Dead (Tyske Ludder Remix) (3:49) – Deathkon Media
2007: Methods To Madness – Remix for – Brain Leisure – Defect (Tyske Ludder Remix) (5:15) – Vendetta Music
2007: When Angels Die – Remix for E-Craft – FunnyStuff & Violence (BrutallyComeFirstRmx) (4:06) – COP International
2008: Blasphemous Radicals E.P. – Remix for Nurzery (Rhymes) – My Babylon (Tyske Ludder Remix) (3:51) – COP International
Armageddon Dildos is a German electro-industrial-duo consisting of Uwe Kanka (vocals) and Dirk Krause (synthesizer). The act was formed in 1988 in Kassel Germany, and the name comes from the slang term for intercontinental ballistic missiles.
They perform songs in both German and English.
The Armageddon Dildos have been popular within their native Germany.
Outside of Germany they have a cult following among industrial music
lovers. In the United States their music has had some airtime on experimental music radio stations.
Off Road Tracks Vol. 5 – (CD) 1997 - Track #6 "Guilty" - Metal Hammer (Germany)
The History Files - Volume One – (CD) 1997 - Track #10 "East
West (Dildo Effect Mix)", Track #11 "In My Mind (Like A Knife...)",
Track #12 "East West (Airplay Mix)" and Track #13 "Z.O.D." - Zoth Ommog
Totentanz Vol. II - The History of Zoth Ommog – (2xCD) 1997 - Disc #1, Track #7 "East West" and Disc #2, Track #3 "Never Mind" - Zoth Ommog
Described by Sweden's national tabloid Expressen as "a perfect union of Front 242 and the B-52's," Was a great Swedishelectropunk, EBM band, formed in 1984 with some
demo releases by Joel Rydström and Magnus Fransson.
Made their debut with the EP "Columna Vertebralis" in
1989 and became the first hard Swedish electronic act. Annelie
Bertilsson joined the band for their 12" "Fundamental" in 1990 and soon
became a regular member of the group.
The group reached a peak with
their "Moosehair Underwear" which was mostly mixed and mastered by
Jürgen Engler and Chris Lietz at Atom H (Die Krupps HQ).
I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous (1991) (A Swedish Depeche Mode cover album: CRD collaborates with one track: "Something to Do" in which they altered some of the lyrics.)
The Banzai Beats (1991)
Superluminal (1991)
Trojan Whores (1992)
Moosewear (1993)
Nej till EU (1994)
Sucking Dry (1994)
Motörhead Tribute (1995) (A Scandinavian Motörhead cover album: CRD collaborates with "Deaf Forever".)
Cultivated Bimbo was a great Swedish band that began as Synthmusik / EBM / industrial and gradually switched over to hip hop, rap / metal and hardcore. First EP No Configuration 1 'and' 2 '(1991) the typical time-EBM.
The first album "Tunes From A High Wire '(1991) were more industrialized, like Skinny Puppy. In the EP 'Blasting In Progress' (1992), it weighed more than the hip hop / industry, which became more pure hip hop album 'Your Guide to Useful Life' (1993).EP'98 .6 '(1994) of the album weighed hip to metal.
The album 'album.1995. ' (1995) was more straight rock / hardcore / rap.
They lay on the Swedish label Energy Rekords and were on their collections.
They had songs on the collections' I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous: A Swedish Tribute To Depeche Mode '(1991) where they made a synth pop of cover of' New Life ',' ElectronicBeats From The North '(1992) and' Virtual Energy Vol 1, (1992) & 'Vol 2' (1994).
