Hecate Enthroned

Hecate Enthroned

Hecate Enthroned are a symphonic black metal band from the North of England.

Biography

The band formed in 1993 under the name Daemonum by singer Jon and guitarist Nigel. After a few practices and recording a demo, vocalist Jon left the band after taking up an offer to join Cradle of Filth as their bassist. However during which time Jon was also heavily involved in the production of Dusk... and her embrace. A year or so later, Jon rejoined and they changed their name to Hecate Enthroned, this time playing a more melodic black metal style. In 1995 they recorded their demo "Ode for a Haunted Wood", which got the attention of the British label Blackend Records. Blackend had it re-mastered under the title Under Promethean Shores (Unscriptured Waters) in 1996.

1997 saw the release of their first full-length album, The Slaughter of Innocence (A Requiem for the Mighty), as well as subsequent tours with bands like Dark Funeral, Enthroned, Sigh and Usurper. Through this release, some opinioned the band were "copying" fellow countrymen Cradle of Filth's sound, mainly in Jon's vocal approach, though upon listening both bands' sounds were quite different; Hecate Enthroned's being more guitar influenced and straight-forward in terms of arrangement versus Cradle of Filth's keyboard-heavy symphonic madness, plus the lyrical structures were different (CoF's erotic vampirism versus HE's overt Satanism).

Leaving little time to pass, the band went back to the studio in 1998 to record Dark Requiems...of Unsilent Massacre. Slower and darker in approach, this was considered to be HE's darkest release, fusing grinding guitars and melodic, creepy keyboard lines with lyrics that touched more on the romantic and macabre side while still retaining their dark Satanic roots.

In 1999 the band unanimously decided to fire vocalist Jon, due to quite a few problems between him and the rest of the band. They ended up getting vocalist Dean (from the band EWOC) to record the vocal lines for their follow-up album, Kings of Chaos. This saw a dramatic change in musical focus, leaning heavily more towards death metal, but not forsaking its original black metal sound. Some have even considered this to be their most "original" sound yet, claiming it to be a combination of Deicide and Emperor.

2001 saw the release of a small EP of original songs (with a cover of "Buried Alive" by fellow Englishmen Venom), entitled Miasma, that served as an appetite whetter for their next full-length album, 2004's Redimus (Latin for "Reborn"), their second album under their new death metallish sound. After the album was released, vocalist Dean decided to leave the band, as well as keyboardist Daz, who were then replaced by new singer Dagon and keyboardist Pete.

In 2005 Dean returned to Hecate Enthroned. This return was followed by several sold-out gigs in the Czech Republic and numerous gigs around the UK. 2006 saw HE embark on a UK headline tour playing in London, Southampton, Nottingham, Bradford and Wolverhampton, as well as applying the finishing touches to a brand new studio album.

2007 saw them perform in Norway at Inferno Festival alongside Immortal as well as several shows in Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany.

Current lineup

• Nigel - Guitars
• Andy - Guitars
• Rob - Drums (ex-Necropsy and Chaos Born)
• Dylan - Bass (ex-Grimorium)
• Pete - Keyboards
• Dean - Vocals

Former members

• Jon Pritchard (1993-1994), (1995-1999) Bass, vocals (ex-Cradle of Filth)
• Marc (1993)-(1997) Guitars
• Paul (1996-1997) Bass (Also in: Reign of Erebus, ex-Exhume, ex-Mephisto)
• Michael (1996-1999) Keyboards (ex-Mephisto and Chaos Born)
• Craig (1995-1996) Drums
• Dean - (1999-2004) Vocals
• Daz - (1999 - 2002) Keyboards
• Dagon - (2004-2006) Vocals

Discography

• An Ode For A Haunted Wood (Demo, 1995)
• Upon Promeathean Shores (EP, 1996)
• The Slaughter of Innocence (Full-length, 1997)
• Dark Requiems... (Full-length, 1998)
• Kings of Chaos (Full-length, 1999)
• Miasma (EP, 2001)
• The Blackend Collection (Best of/Compilation, 2004)
• Redimus (Full-length, 2004)

External links

• Hecate Enthroned on MySpace
• Hecate Enthroned official website