Exit State
Exit State | |
|---|---|
| Exit State live at the SOS Festival 2011, Manchester UK Exit State live at the SOS Festival 2011, Manchester UK | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Burnley, Lancashire, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Rock, metal, hard rock, Alternative rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | King Prawn Records Rocksector Records |
| Members | Roy Bright Adam Stephenson Peat Hicks Philip Ireland |
| Past members | Lee Walmsley, Sara Leigh, Jason Shuttleworth, Eddie Sims, Graham Storton, Scott Knowles, James Henderson. |
| Website | www.exitstate.com |
Exit State are a British rock band. Formed in 2005 by Roy Bright, its current lineup has been active since 2008. They have released two EP's and two studio albums.
History
Exit State are a Hard Rock band from Burnley, Preston & Haslingden, Lancashire (UK). Their cited influences include Foo Fighters, Metallica, Led Zeppelin and The Who. Exit State have been likened to Foo Fighters, Lostprophets and Therapy?[1][2]
Formation (2005-2008)
Exit State was formed in 2005 by Roy Bright following the breakup of East Lancashire rock band Deponeye. Deponeye had started to make some advances in the industry during 2004 when two of their songs saw inclusion onto the soundtrack for the racing video game FlatOut and a record deal offer from Revolver Records[3] however, founder member Roy Bright felt that commitment levels to move deponeye forward were not shared with the other members and as such the band folded in the summer of 2004.[2] The then 3-piece was made up of original members Roy Bright, Sara Leigh and Lee Walmsley who began writing original compositions early 2005 and started playing small shows in Burnley & Manchester. Many of the early songs were old deponeye songs already established.[2]
During the spring of 2006 bass guitarist Walmsley expressed, at a meeting with Bright, the need to move on and leave the band preferring to play indie rock music as appose to hard rock. Walmsley was replaced on bass guitar by Bright's close friend Jason Shuttleworth bass player for Burnley heavy metal band I.C.O.N. This was a temporary fix to honour a number of shows in the East Lancashire area & Manchester.[2]
Shuttleworth was replaced by drummer Leigh's boyfriend Eddie Sims however Sims expressed a preference to play guitar so Graham Storton, a bass guitar player known to Bright in the local area was recruited to be the bands permanent bass player. Shortly after Leigh announced that she would be moving to London and leaving the band and Sims followed suite shortly after.[2]
This left Bright with many problems to be solved as drummers and guitarists seemed to be in short demand in his local area. Bright approached close friend Adam Stephenson to be the bands permanent guitarist and also asked I.C.O.N's newly appointed drummer James Henderson to take care of drumming duties on a temporary basis until a firm replacement could be found. Stephenson was unable to step in immediately so I.C.O.N's guitarist Scott Knowles helped out briefly for one show which was to be the last that Leigh played with the band.[2]
In the November of 2006 Adam Stephenson joined Exit State and remains the bands guitarist to date.
Exit State started to find their footing in the North West of England rock community and a healthy local following began to quickly grow. In the summer of 2007 the band entered a Preston based battle of the bands competition.[2] It was during the run in this competition that it was becoming obvious that drumming duties for both I.C.O.N and Exit State were taking its toll on Henderson and that he needed to be replaced as quickly as possible with a permanent drummer. As chance would have it East Lancashire classic rock band The Freespirits broke up almost at the same point and Bright quickly swooped in to bag Freespirits drummer Peat Hicks. The band continued in the battle of the bands competition with Hicks to the semi finals where their participation ended.[2]
It was decided at that time the band would enter the recording studio to begin work on their first EP which would be later titled 'Anybody Out There'. The band travelled to Calder Recording Studios in Mytholmroyd and enlisted the aid of record producer Steve Fenton.[2] Fenton had previously worked with The Happy Mondays, T-Rex, John Helliwell & The New Mastersounds.[4]
Anybody out There/Bad Days EP (2008-2009)
The band used 'Anybody out There' to secure more shows up and down the country and also to gain radio exposure. During a show in Leeds February 2008, the band were approached by Fenton as he intended to reform his then moth-balled record label Cone Records with a view to signing the band later in the year once the label was back up and running. The band agreed to look at the offer when the label was up and running should they not have been approached by anyone else.[2]
May 2008 saw the bands 'Anybody Out There' EP receive critical acclaim being described in Rock Sound Magazine issue 109 as "satisfyingly heavy, unexpectedly catchy and unashamedly experimental...Impressive!".[2]
During the summer of 2008 the band were approached by Riverbeat Records offering to sign the band but this was decided against as the band felt it wasn't a favourable move.[2] At this time front man Bright had his jaw broken in an unprovoked attack outside a nightclub in Burnley.[2][5] During the three month break the band decided to act upon issues surrounding bass player Storton's role in the band and the decision was taken to replace Storton. During this time Producer and now record label boss Steve Fenton approached the band interested in signing them to his now up and running newly named King Prawn Records. Fenton agreed to sit on the contract until a permanent bass player was found.[2]
Late September 2008 Bright, Stephenson & Hicks travelled to Preston to speak with bass player Phil Ireland whom they had come across as he had been playing for various bands in the Preston area. Ireland joined the band the week later and was announced as the new permanent bass player for Exit State in October 2008.[2]
Talks with Fenton resumed and the band received their contract November 2008 and signing to King Prawn Records February 2009. During January 2009 Exit State had returned to Calder Recording Studios once again under the guidance of producer Fenton, as the deal was considered to be secure, where they re-recorded all tracks on the 'Anybody Out There' EP to take into account Ireland's new bass lines and influence on the band and re-record Hicks drums as a new & tight understanding by the rhythm section of Hicks & Ireland had quickly developed. Vocals were left untouched with only sparse re-records on the guitars.[2]
June 30, 2009 saw the release of Bad Days on King Prawn Records.[5] and the EP received much critical acclaim from online reviewers including Manchester Music[6] and Komodo Rock [7] however, they hadn't seemed to pick up much in the way of reviews from the notable magazines.[2]
Death of a Rockstar (2009 - 2010)
Exit State continued to tour heavily in 2009 and saw them gain support slots with ex-Iron Maiden/Wolfsbane front man Blaze Bayley and Witchfynde. The band once again entered the studios of Calder Recordings with producer Steve Fenton in September 2009 to begin work on their first studio album that was to be later titled Death of a Rockstar. The album was completed at The Chairworks Studios, Castleford during Christmas 2009 and was mastered by Ray Staff at AIR Studios London.[2]
During April 2010 Exit State signed their first professional management deal with the management arm of Rocksector Records[8] which lead them to support former AC/DC front man Dave Evans and The Black Spiders. Other support slots included The More I See featuring ex-The Prodigy guitarist Gizz Butt and a tour with The Black Mollys featuring two members of Enuff Z'nuff.[2]
May 31, 2010 saw the release of their debut album Death of a Rockstar to much critical acclaim from both online reviewers and UK magazines. Issue 64 of Black Velvet magazine stated "The true joy of this band though is their refusal to conform to stereotypes, combining metal, pop & plain old rock n roll effortlessly & without apologies" whilst in the July 2010 Issue 124 of Big Cheese Magazine[2] Tom Williams stated "Give these guys a big welcome to the scene; I think they'll be sticking around a while."
However, Rock Sound Magazine seemed to have performed a U-turn on the band[2] with Faye Lewis stating in July 2010 Issue 137 "unfortunately the bad outweighs the good here and when vocalist Roy Bright sings you just wish he'd stop!". Despite Rock Sounds disapproval there has been more good reviews than bad with Circle Pit TV saying "These guys are the real deal and at CIRCLE PIT, we believe that they are going to go on from strength to strength, pushing the envelope and continuing to improve on an already massive sound"[9] and Chinners of Mudkiss Fanzine stating "These guys have put together this stunning solid debut album with some interesting and relevant subject matter which should be heard by many, if they can transfer these songs well within their live performances their future should be very promising."[10]
June 2010 Exit State announced that they are to be the main support on a full UK tour with former CITV Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan's Marseille. The tour will run from September to December 2010.[11]
Video - Lost Beyond Belief (2010)
The music video for 'Death of a Rockstars' opening track Lost Beyond Belief began receiving airplay on Kerrang! TV May 2010. [12]
Label Change - Exit State sign to Rocksector Records (2011)
On the 13th july 2011, Exit State announced that they were to leave King Prawn Records and join the ranks of Rocksector Records.[13] According to the announcement the agreement was mutually beneficial between both labels and the band themselves and that "a move to a label with artists like Fury UK, Attica Rage, former AC/DC singer Dave Evans, Falling Red & many more, puts them exactly where they need to be to make the very best of the brilliant things which have happened to the band during the past 12 months".[13] The move however, delayed the initial release of their 2nd album 'Black Veins' album to Oct 2011.[13]
Black Veins (2011)
The band have announced that their 2nd studio album entitled 'Black Veins' will be released Monday 3rd October 2011.[14] The 12 track album [15] represents quite a leap in terms of sound quality and development, according to Bright[16] and recent reviews seem to point to the band having produced a landmark product for themselves. Don Jackson-Wyatt of Circle Pit Rock and Metal Webzine states "What I will say about the entire album is that Exit State have not only marked their identity and sound on it, but they have paved the way for other bands to follow them for years to come. Previously I have mentioned that they are influenced by certain massive bands, but now its their turn to influence others and I feel that they are more than capable of doing that."[14] Black Veins also features a guest guitar solo piece on the track 'All For You' by ex-The Prodigy guitarist Gizz Butt.[14]
Famous Relative
Front man Roy Bright has a famous half-brother in the form of ex-Premier League Footballer Mark Bright a regular BBC Sports commentator for Match of the Day[17]
Members
Current members
- Roy Bright – vocals, guitar
- Adam Stephenson – guitar
- Philip Ireland – bass, backing vocals
- Peat Hicks – drums, backing vocals
Past members
- Lee Walmsley - bass
- Sara Leigh – drums, backing vocals
- Jason Shuttleworth - bass
- Eddie Sims - bass, guitar
- Graham Storton - bass, backing vocals
- Scott Knowles - guitar
- James Henderson - drums
Discography
Albums
| Year | Release details | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Black Veins
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| 2010 | Death of a Rockstar
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EP's
| Year | Release details | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Bad Days
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| 2008 | Anybody Out There
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References
- ^ Female First Interview - Exit State, In Their Own Words
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Circle Pit Exit State Exclusive Interview
- ^ BBC Radio Lancashire - Introducing: Exit State
- ^ Calder Recording Studio - Studio Engineers Section
- ^ a b Lancashire Evening Telegraph - Interview with Exit State
- ^ Manchester Music - Bad Days review
- ^ Komodo Rock - Bad Days review
- ^ Rocksector Records - Exit State news section
- ^ Circle Pit TV - Death of a Rockstar review
- ^ Mudkiss Fanzine - Death of a Rockstar review
- ^ Marseille Official Website
- ^ Music Week - Box TV Playlists - Weds 26th May 2010
- ^ a b c Official Exit State Website - Announcement
- ^ a b c Circle Pit TV - Black Veins album review
- ^ Metalship - Black Veins album review
- ^ UK Classic Rock Blog - Interview with Roy Bright
- ^ Lancashire Evening Telegraph Exclusive Exit State Interview