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This article is about the British heavy metal band. For the computer role playing game, see Shadow Keep.
Shadowkeep

Shadowkeep is a British heavy metal band, formed in Guildford, England in 1999 by guitarists Chris Allen (ex-Intense[1] and Sire) and Nikki Robson (also formerly of Sire).

Biography

In October 1999, Shadowkeep recorded their debut six-track EP[2] at Thin Ice Studios in Surrey, England, with Belgian vocalist Rogue Marechal (ex-Halcyon) fronting the band.[3] The EP was produced by Threshold guitarist Karl Groom. A record deal with Limb Music followed in June 2000, and the band went on to release two albums on this label: Corruption Within[4] (in September 2000) and A Chaos Theory[5] (in 2002). Support slots followed with the likes of Dio,[6] Halford,[7] Symphony X,[8] Angel Witch, Dream Evil[9] and Flotsam and Jetsam.[10] These major shows led to appearances at festivals in the UK,[11] USA,[12] Greece,[13] Germany[14][15] and the Netherlands.[16] Unfortunately, however, a planned appearance at the Monterrey Metal Fest in Mexico in 2005[17] had to be cancelled when the band's drummer and singer quit at the eleventh hour.[18]

Shadowkeep have undergone several significant line-up changes over the years.[19] Jim Daley (who had previously played on Patricia Morrison's solo album Reflect On This)[20] was initially the band's bass guitarist, but he was succeeded by Steve Scott[21] (ex-Dragonheart), then by Steve Kightley (ex-Spirit Of Rush) and Fredrik Englund (ex-Soul Source), before the arrival of Texas-based Stony Grantham[22] in time for the Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Festival in Cleveland in 2004.[23] A short tour of Texas, with Ancient Cross in support,[24] was duly arranged for the following May.[25]

At the band's inception, Allen and Robson's former Sire colleague Russell King was drafted in on drums, but he was later replaced by Dave Edwards (ex-Pete Wadeson Band), then by Scott Higham[26] (ex-Angel Witch) and subsequently by Mauricio Chamucero.[27] Divine Ruins' drummer, the late Mike Pittman, deputised for some US tour dates in 2003.[28] Higham then briefly rejoined the band in early 2004,[29] with New Zealander Lawrence Paterson replacing him for a short while later that same year.[30] When Paterson also moved on (joining first Chokehold,[31] then Blaze Bayley's band), Mike Pittman again helped out temporarily,[32] until Scott Higham took his place for a third stint in the band.[33] However, he departed once more, during the early recording sessions for the third Shadowkeep album, and joined Pendragon.[34] Omar Hayes (ex-The Delta Sun)[35] became Shadowkeep's new drummer in 2008.

Vocalist Rogue Marechal departed Shadowkeep in late 2002. He resurfaced for a one-off performance with the band Balance of Power at the 'Rock The Nations' festival in Istanbul in August 2005.[36] Together with ex-Shadowkeep bassist Steve Kightley, he then went on to form a new band called Chaosgenesis,[37] adopting the name from a song on Shadowkeep's second album.

Initially, former Sire[38] and Angel Witch bandmember Richie Wicks took up the vocalist's position,[39] but within a few months he had left to concentrate fully on vocal duties with the Tygers of Pan Tang.[40] His replacement was US vocalist Ronnie Stixx (ex-Divine Ruins),[41] with whom work began on a proposed third album, which would have different working titles at various stages in the process, including Beware The Signs,[42] The Awakening and Beyond The Stratosphere.[43] A two-track promotional CD featuring Stixx's vocals saw the light of day in 2003,[44] but further recordings were abandoned when Stixx left Shadowkeep in 2005. He went on to front Wycked Synn,[45] Vicious Rumors[46] and Blood Red Skies.[47]

In late 2005, Richie Wicks officially became Shadowkeep's frontman,[48] and work recommenced on the third album, which would now be entitled The Hourglass Effect[49], inspired by the following concept:

"The phrase 'hourglass effect' is derived from how a star similar in age and size to ours which died billions of years prematurely appears after its supernova. The resulting planetary nebula takes the shape of an antibody or hourglass and is quite beautiful yet chillingly deadly.

"The album... is a conceptual piece based around a time in the not-too-distant future where the sun is prematurely dying and rapidly expanding. On Earth, when the news breaks matter-of-factly we go from riot, to calm, to denial, to partial evacuation, to a new world. Billions are left behind to die. Song topics range from losing your loved ones in desperate acts of euthanasia, to dreams of being wolverine-killers and chosen ones. Once the evacuation has taken place we hear of mutiny, madness and the death of many of the survivors whose minds simply couldn't process the fact that they'd just witnessed the demise of their home, life and history."[50]

The Hourglass Effect was eventually released on Dutch label Melissa Records in November 2008.[51] At this point a reviewer from the UK's The Sun newspaper described the band as, "The new New Wave of British Heavy Metal."

Richie Wicks departed the band in 2009, and went on to form a Dio-era Black Sabbath tribute band called Heavenly Hell.[52] His replacement was Matt Oakman (formerly of Structured Chaos and Born Of War),[53] who made his live debut at The Pipeline venue in London on 6 February 2010.[54]

As of 2008 - 2010, keyboard player Scot Collins (ex-Tainted Grace)[55] completed Shadowkeep's line-up, with bass guitarist Mark Fielden deputising for Stony Grantham during live shows on the 'With Force We Come' UK tour. Grantham was obliged to remain in Austin, Texas at this time, due to ongoing commitments with other bands: Drifter[56] (an Iron Maiden tribute band, with Erika Tandy on vocals) and Sad Wings[57] (a Judas Priest tribute band, featuring vocalist Jason McMaster).

Shadowkeep played a co-headlining gig alongside Pythia at the Peel music venue in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England on 1 May 2010.[58]

Members

Current members

  • Matt Oakman - vocals (2009 – present)
  • Nikki Robson - guitar (1999 – present)
  • Stony Grantham - bass guitar (US) (2004 – present)
  • Mark Fielden - bass guitar (UK) (2009 – present)
  • Scot Collins - keyboards (2008 – present)
  • Omar Hayes - drums (2008 – present)

Past members

Vocals

Bass guitar

  • Jim Daley (1999 – 2000)
  • Steve Scott (2001)
  • Steve Kightley (2002)
  • Fredrik Englund (2003)

Drums

Timeline

Discography

Albums

EPs

  • Shadowkeep (1999)[63]

Appearances on compilation albums

References

  1. ^ http://www.musicmight.com/artist/uk/basingstoke/intense Biography of Intense at www.musicmight.com
  2. ^ http://www.progressiveworld.net/shadowkeep4.html Review of Shadowkeep EP at www.progressiveworld.net, May 2003
  3. ^ http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/ShadowKeep.htm Interview with Rogue M., vocalist for the UK band Shadowkeep - Interview at www.metal-rules.com, July 2000
  4. ^ http://www.progressiveworld.net/shadowkeep.html Review of Corruption Within album at www.progressiveworld.net, September 2000
  5. ^ http://www.billboard.com/album/shadow-keep/corruption-within/448158#/album/shadowkeep/a-chaos-theory/560052/review Review of A Chaos Theory album at www.billboard.com, 2003
  6. ^ http://www.lookatstubs.com/bands/ronnie_james_dio.htm Dio & Shadowkeep at Hof Ter Lo, Antwerp, Belgium on 3 May 2000 - Archived concert details at www.lookatstubs.com
  7. ^ http://oliviercordina.over-blog.com/pages/Archive_1996_2010-28431.html Halford & Shadowkeep at Elysée Montmartre, Paris, France on 29 October 2000 - Archived concert details at Rock 'N' Tapas website
  8. ^ http://www.rockersdigest.com/Article/21 Symphony X / Shadowkeep - Gig review from The Mean Fiddler in London, England at www.rockersdigest.com, 18 October 2003
  9. ^ http://www.rockersdigest.com/Article/5/Dream-Evil Dream Evil / Falconer / Shadowkeep - Gig review from Camden Underworld in London, England at www.rockersdigest.com, 27 September 2003
  10. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?Mode=Search&searchtext=metalfest&PageNum=17 ...Confirmed for Texas Metalfest - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 9 June 2004
  11. ^ http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/bands-profile.php?id=26 Profile of Shadowkeep at official website for Bloodstock festival in Derby, England, June 2001
  12. ^ http://www.metal-reviews.com/tgos/bwbk2.htm Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Festival (Concert Review) - Review of festival appearance in Cleveland, Ohio at Ultimate Metal website, 4 June 2004
  13. ^ http://www.up-the-hammers.gr/news_archive_uth4.html Shadowkeep and Dream Weaver added to the line-up! - News article at Up The Hammers IV festival website, 26 October 2008
  14. ^ http://www.home-of-rock.de/Konzertberichte/Festivals/Balingen/Vorbericht_28_bis_29_06_2002.html News article at German website about Shadowkeep's appearance at Bang Your Head festival aftershow, 28 June 2002
  15. ^ http://www.truemetalfan.org/kitIV.htm Review of Shadowkeep's appearance at Keep It True IV festival at www.truemetalfan.org, 1 April 2005
  16. ^ http://users.telenet.be/denofiniquitybe/revmmm2008.htm Mario's Metal Meeting 2 Festival, 2008 - Concert review from Club 013 in Tilburg, the Netherlands at Den Of Iniquity website, 9 November 2008
  17. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=33033 Warcry, Shadowkeep confirmed for Mexico's Monterrey Metal Fest - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 17 February 2005
  18. ^ http://www.bravewords.com/news/28574 Shadowkeep issue apology for Monterrey cancellation; looking for a new singer - News article at Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles website, 5 June 2005
  19. ^ http://www.truemetalfan.org/skeep.htm Shadowkeep: Rising from the ashes - Interview with Nikki Robson, originally pubished in Headache magazine, February 2003
  20. ^ http://www.patriciamorrison.co.uk/Interview.htm Interview with Patricia Morrison by Allen Melrose, 2005
  21. ^ http://www.rockforum1.net/rock-zone-f2/historia-t347-30.htm 2001: Shadowkeep introduce two new members, Steve Scott (bass) and Scott Higham (drums) - News article at www.rockforum1.net, 10 June 2009
  22. ^ http://power-metal-music.site11.com/biography/shadowkeep/ Biography of Shadowkeep at Power Metal Music website
  23. ^ http://www.bravewords.com/news/19746 Shadowkeep seek video footage, photos... - News article at Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles website, 8 November 2004
  24. ^ http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=226235 Ancient Cross... chosen to support the 2005 Shadowkeep Texas tour - Shadowkeep & Ancient Cross 2005 tour details at SoundClick website, 9 September 2009
  25. ^ http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/intense/184789-shadowkeep-awaken.html Shadowkeep awaken - Shadowkeep's 2005 touring schedule on www.intense-uk.com, 15 February 2005
  26. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=10699 Shadowkeep seek new drummer - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 20 March 2003
  27. ^ http://www.metaluk.com/news/displayNews.cfm?iNewsArticleID=4839 Shadowkeep unveil new line-up - News article at www.metaluk.com, 19 July 2003
  28. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/hellstrumstreetteam Biography of Mike Pittman at Hellstrum's MySpace blog, 17 September 2007
  29. ^ http://www.mariosmetalmania.com/News%20Archive%202004.html Shadowkeep have begun recording for their third full-length album... - News article at www.mariosmetalmania.com, 16 May 2004
  30. ^ http://www.metaluk.com/news/displayNews.cfm?iNewsArticleID=7636 Shadowkeep lose drummer, gain festival - News article at www.metaluk.com, 2 November 2004
  31. ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=57902 Chokehold's entry in Encyclopedia Metallum, 20 February 2006
  32. ^ http://users.telenet.be/mettal/ThoughtsOfMetal/news/2005/newsapril2005.htm Shadowkeep: Drummer leaves the band, no replacement yet - News item at Thoughts Of Metal website, 29 April 2005
  33. ^ http://www.tartareandesire.com/news/Shadowkeep_announce_new_members/5249/ Shadowkeep announce new members - News article at www.tartareandesire.com, 20 October 2005
  34. ^ http://www.silhobbit.com/mambo/content/view/82/101/ Pendragon announce new drummer - News article at Silhobbit website, 20 March 2008
  35. ^ http://www.myspace.com/deltasun The Delta Sun at MySpace, 31 July 2005
  36. ^ http://www.rockdetector.com/artist/uk/balance+of+power Biography of Balance of Power at www.musicmight.com
  37. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=71243 Former Shadowkeep singer resurfaces in Chaosgenesis - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 25 April 2007
  38. ^ http://metaltoinfinity.00freehost.com/InterviewSHADOWKEEP.html Interview with Chris Allen at Metal To Infinity website, 26 November 2008
  39. ^ http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=1402&StartTime=9%2F25%2F2002+5%3A01%3A54+PM Shadowkeep has been joined by Richie Wicks... - News article on www.KNAC.com, 10 October 2002
  40. ^ http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/interviews.php?intid=34 Interview with Robb Weir (guitar), Craig Ellis (drums) and Richie Wicks (vocals) of the Tygers of Pan Tang at www.metalcrypt.com, 21 November 2002
  41. ^ http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3872 Biography of Divine Ruins at www.progarchives.com, 12 December 2009
  42. ^ http://www.mariosmetalmania.com/News%20Archive%202004.html Shadowkeep, who are at work writing their next album... - News article at www.mariosmetalmania.com, 23 January 2004
  43. ^ http://www.bravewords.com/news/19510 Shadowkeep line-up finally complete - News article at Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles website, 2 November 2004
  44. ^ http://www.mariosmetalmania.com/CDDVDreviews2005.html#S Review of The Awakening promotional CD at www.mariosmetalmania.com, April 2005
  45. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=44404 Wycked Synn: Former Shadowkeep singer joins the fold - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 18 November 2005
  46. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=102916 Vicious Rumors to tour Europe in the fall - News article at Blabbermouth.net, 15 August 2008
  47. ^ http://www.myspace.com/bloodredskiespowermetal Blood Red Skies at MySpace, 19 August 2006
  48. ^ http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=18818 Shadowkeep frontman laying down vocals for new CD - News article at www.metalunderground.com, 14 August 2006
  49. ^ http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/musicians/richie_wicks.htm?root=14&keep_theme=Metal_Temple_com Interview with Richie Wicks from Shadowkeep at www.metal-temple.com, 21 November 2008
  50. ^ http://www.empireonline.com/forum/tm.asp?m=389581&mpage=6 Shadowkeep updates - News article at Empire online forum, 25 May 2006
  51. ^ http://www.metalunderground.com/bands/details.cfm?bandid=2621 Shadowkeep signs with Melissa Records - News article at www.metalunderground.com, 14 September 2008
  52. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8176/is_20100204/ai_n51813441/ Come on and feel the noise... - News article in the Sevenoaks Chronicle newspaper about Richie Wicks & Heavenly Hell, 4 February 2010
  53. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=139077019&blogId=520916398 Welcome aboard SK, new vocalist Matt Oakman - Shadowkeep press release, 4 December 2009
  54. ^ http://www.thepipelinebar.co.uk/events.php Live Bands: Raising Sand and Shadowkeep - Gig details at The Pipeline venue's official website, 6 February 2010
  55. ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=3540275314 Tainted Grace's entry in Encyclopedia Metallum, 28 February 2009
  56. ^ http://www.myspace.com/drifterlive Drifter at MySpace, 4 September 2005
  57. ^ http://www.myspace.com/sadwingstexas Sad Wings at MySpace, 10 April 2006
  58. ^ http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=f3012eefe7b865073ff7783f24ab3c58&showtopic=78082 Shadowkeep & Pythia gig details and promotional flyer at www.basschat.co.uk, 1 May 2010
  59. ^ http://www.drummerszone.com/news/newsItem.php?type=1&n01ID=5166 In memoriam: Michael Pittman (1962 - 2007) - Obituary for Mike Pittman at www.drummerszone.com, 29 August 2007
  60. ^ http://www.billboard.com/album/shadow-keep/corruption-within/448158#/album/shadow-keep/corruption-within/448158/review All Music Guide entry for Corruption Within album, quoted at www.billboard.com, 2004
  61. ^ http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200344.html#shadowkeep Review of A Chaos Theory album at Dutch Progressive Rock Pages website, 2003
  62. ^ http://www.metalrage.com/reviews/2453/shadowkeep-the-hourglass-effect.html Review of The Hourglass Effect album at www.metalrage.com, 16 November 2008
  63. ^ http://www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=8249 Entry for Shadowkeep EP at www.proggnosis.com online database, 1999
  64. ^ http://www.melissarecords.com Biography of Shadowkeep at the official Melissa Records website
  65. ^ http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/1808220 Shadowkeep's version of Queen of the Reich - song details at ReverbNation.com, 15 August 2000
  66. ^ http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=2699 Review of Keep It True IV DVD at www.metalcrypt.com, 25 July 2006

External links

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