Avenger are an English heavy metal band from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Associated with the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

scene, they released two albums in the 1980s before splitting up. The band reunited in 2005.

History

Brian Ross, Mick Moore and Gary Young founded Avenger late in 1982 after Ross and Moore's previous group,

Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...

, split up. The group began recording demos. "Hot 'n' Heavy Express", was their first appearance on record, included on a

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of t ...

compilation EP. Their debut single for Neat, "Too Wild to Tame", followed in October 1983 after the addition of guitarist John Brownless.Martin C. Strong. ''The Great Metal Discography''. Second ed. Canongate, 2001, p. 45 Shortly after this, lead singer Brian Ross left the group to join

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

; Satan's singer, Ian Swift, promptly joined Avenger as lead vocalist. Adding guitarist Les Cheetham, they released their first LP, ''

Blood Sports A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities charact ...

'', in 1984. This began a period of the band playing regularly in western Europe, at the time a hub of the emerging metal scene. A second album followed shortly after on Neat, entitled '' Killer Elite'', along with a three track accompanying video. The group toured the United States in 1986, replacing Les Cheetam with Greg Reiter. Drumming duty of the US tour fell to Darren Kurland. After four months, returning to England, the group broke up, blaming poor record label support preventing the band exploiting their potential in the United States. Ian Swift joined

Atomkraft Atomkraft are an English speed metal band from Newcastle, who were part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1979, disbanded in 1988, and reformed in 2005. Their "Total Metal" approach draws inspiration from fellow ...

with Gary Young later joining Blitzkrieg. The group's entire discography was released in 2002 by

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

. As well as Brazilian Label Frontline Rock rereleasing both albums in Latin America in 2003. In February 2005, the core lineup of Young, Swift and Moore reunited and added north-east session musician, Liam Thompson (formerly guitar/vocals of Death in Blood) and guitarist Glenn Howes (formerly Blitzkrieg,

Tygers of Pan Tang Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...

, Earthrod and

Fist A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges; in ...

) and toured across the UK and Europe with US group Y&T, among others. The Avenger line-up changed again in 2007 with the departure of original bassist Mick Moore. The new line-up of Avenger featuring Ian Swift on vocals, Gary Young, Liam Thompson, Sean Jefferies (former guitarist of Fallen Skies, Earthrod) and Huw Holding (former bassist of Order of the Black Sun, Nord, Cardinal Synne) and have since toured with or played alongside bands such as

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

, Candlemass,

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, Rage,

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

, Sinner,

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, Skyclad and Diamond Head in 2007. Their most recent album, ''The Slaughter Never Stops'', was released 1 December 2014 to positive reviews.

Members

Current members

*Ian Swift – lead vocals (1984–1986, 2005–2009, 2013-present) *Sean Jefferies – guitar (2006–2009, 2010–present) *Liam Thompson – guitar, backing vocals (2005–present) *Gary Young – drums, backing vocals (1982–1986, 2005–present) *Mark Mabungway Kirby – bass (2022–present)

Former members

*Brian Ross – lead vocals (1982–1984) *Andy Watson – lead vocals (2009–2011) *Roddy B – lead vocals (2011–2013) *Dean Thompson – guitar (2008–2011) *Glenn S. Howes – guitar (2005) *Les Cheetham – guitar (1984–1985) *Mick Moore – bass (1982–1986, 2005, 2007) *Ian 'Fuzz' Fulton – bass, backing vocals (2010–2015) *Huw Holding – bass (2006–2009, 2015–present) *Daniel McEwan - bass (2018 - 2021)

Discography

*''One Take No Dubs...'' – Live in the studio (

compilation, 1982) *"Too Wild to Tame" / "On the Rocks" 7" (Neat Records, 1983) *''

'' (Neat Records, 1984) *'' Killer Elite'' (Neat Records, 1985) *''Too Wild to Tame'' (

compilation, 2002) *''The Slaughter Never Stops'' (Rocksector Records, 2014)

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Myspace pageOfficial Reverbnation pageOfficial YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avenger English heavy metal musical groups Musical quintets Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 1982 establishments in England New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups