Earthtone9 (stylized earthtone
9) is an English
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band from
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England.
History
Signing to Copro Records in 1998, the band's first major release was the album ''lo-def(inition) discord'', which comprised songs from their three demos with a few new tracks. The record was produced on a budget of £500. Their harshest and noisiest recording, it quickly grabbed the attention of the British rock press, with favourable reviews in ''
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm D ...
'' and ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' and a five-star rating in mainstream
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
magazine ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
''.
After extensive touring, ''...Discord'' was followed in 1999 by ''Off Kilter Enhancement''. Again it was a critical success, but commercial recognition was limited. The band had more time and money to play with this time, and it is here that the classic et9 sound crystallised – harsh metal inspired by
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
and
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
, mixed with softer textured moments, with
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
-esque dynamics and arrangements, not to mention enigmatic song titles and lyrics (e.g. "Möe=ra (t-talk)", "i nagual eye"). Barely a year later, after the departure of original bassist Graeme Watts, who was replaced by David Anderson, the band delivered their third album – voted 16th best album of 2000 by ''Metal Hammer'' – ''
arc'tan'gent
''arc'tan'gent'' is the third album by British metal band earthtone9.
The album received critical acclaim on its release. It was rated #16 in both ''Metal Hammer'' and ''Rock Sound'' magazines' "Albums of 2000" polls, and #24 in ''Terrorizers e ...
''. It was described by the band as the first record they were truly happy with, having for the first time not been rushed in the recording process.
During a break in touring and rehearsing following the release of ''arc'tan'gent'', Karl Middleton briefly entered the studio to lay down additional vocals on a song called 'unhinged' by the rising post hardcore UK band
Landmine Spring. The song featured on their first full-length album ''Elephantine'', which was released in 2001 via Loudspeaker records, and also lead to Landmine Spring playing on Earthtone9's autumn tour.
Apart from some minor distribution of their existing material, attempts at an American record deal failed. The band announced their dissolution in early 2002. After their farewell tour, their rejected demo saw release as the ''Omega'' EP.
In 2004, ''hi-point (rem)'', which was a remastered version of 2000's first EP ''hi-point'', was released.
Post break-up
All members continued to play in bands – notably, Karl Middleton joined
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
supergroup The Blueprint.
Furthermore, Karl Middleton and Simon Hutchby are now in
Twin Zero
Twin Zero are a British progressive rock band, formed in 2003.
Biography
The band's first release was 7" vinyl "Earthbound" on Danish label Futhermocker Records. Released in November 2004, this featured one 7 minute track split over both sides ...
, and Middleton is also in the Brighton-based band 'Blackstorm', as well as providing guest vocals on "Alpha Signal Three", a track on second album ''
Very Fast Very Dangerous'' by British rock band
Reuben
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
. Owen Packard has played guitar and guested on the ''This Is Menace'' album on the track "No End in Sight".
Reunion
In May 2010, the band announced they were reforming "to play a handful of gigs to remind everyone just how good they were". A great hits compilation, ''Inside, Embers Glow...'', was released for free download in July 2010. Their first announcement of a new gig came at the end of May when they were the first band confirmed for the 2010 edition of the
Damnation Festival
Damnation Festival is a one-day heavy metal music festival currently held annually at Bowlers Exhibition Centre. Manchester. It was held at held at Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester from 2005 to 2006 and then University of Leeds, Leeds, England ...
. Their first gig however was at
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
on Saturday 31 July 2010. On Sunday 30 January 2011, Earthtone9 announced that they will be embarking on a six date United Kingdom tour with
The Ocean,
Maybeshewill
Maybeshewill are an English post-rock band from Leicester, England. Their music is characterised by the use of programmed and sampled electronic elements alongside guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.
History
Maybeshewill were formed by guit ...
and Humanfly.
Earthtone9 announced that they were searching for supporters through
Pledge Music
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
for their new EP ''For Cause and Consequence'' that features four new songs which at the time were already in production. The EP was released on 16 May 2011 featuring 4 new tracks; "Tide of Ambition", "Ghosts", "The Trail That We Carved Out" and "Reborn". The EP was available for download for fans who had contributed via the
Pledge Music
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
scheme. The download also featured videos for "Tat Twam Asi", "Evil Crawling I" and new track, "Tide of Ambition".
Their fourth full-length album, titled ''IV'' was released in April 2013 to highly positive critical acclaim. The band also reformed to support
Pitchshifter
Pitchshifter are an English industrial rock band from Nottingham, formed in 1989. The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden. The band’s early material was characterized for ...
for a short UK tour in 2018, and joined the 2020 line-up for the experimental music festival
ArcTanGent Festival
ArcTanGent Festival (also known as ATG) is a three-day British rock festival held annually at Fernhill Farm in Somerset, England since 2013. It is the most popular British summer festival for math rock, post rock, progressive metal and experimen ...
.
On the 26th July, 2022, it was announced on the bands Facebook page that they are going back into hibernation as of immediate effect. "We’re calling time on the idea of releasing new material, and playing the odd show just isn’t working out. We’ve all got new musical projects going on and the time feels right to draw a line under this and do new things.".
Band members
![Earthtone9-owenpackard-2002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Earthtone9-owenpackard-2002.jpg)
Current
*Karl Middleton – lead vocals
(1998–2002, 2010–2022)
*Owen Packard – guitar
(1998–2002, 2010–2022)
*Joe Roberts – guitar
(1998–1999, 1999–2002, 2010–2022)
*Gez Walton – guitar
(2012–2022)
*Neil Kingsbury – bass
(2016–2022)
*Simon Hutchby – drums
(1998–2001, 2010–2022)
Former
*Dave Anderson – bass
(2000–2002, 2010–2012)
*Alex Baker – drums
(2001–2002)
*Richie Mills – drums
(2001)
*Jamie Floate – bass
(2000)
*Graeme Watts – bass
(1998–2000)
*Simon Johnson – guitar
(1999)
*Justin Greaves – drums
(1998)
*Russ Stedman – bass
(2012–2016)
Timeline
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bar:Floate text:"Jamie Floate"
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bar:Stedman text:"Russ Stedman"
bar:Kingsbury text:"Neil Kingsbury"
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bar:Walton from:01/06/2012 till:26/07/2022 color:Guitars
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bar:Floate from:01/03/2000 till:01/07/2000 color:Bass
bar:Anderson from:01/07/2000 till:13/04/2002 color:Bass
bar:Anderson from:01/05/2010 till:24/06/2012 color:Bass
bar:Stedman from:24/06/2012 till:01/06/2016 color:Bass
bar:Kingsbury from:01/06/2016 till:26/07/2022 color:Bass
bar:Greaves from:01/01/1998 till:01/03/1998 color:Drums
bar:Hutchby from:01/03/1998 till:01/07/2001 color:Drums
bar:Mills from:01/07/2001 till:01/08/2001 color:Drums
bar:Baker from:01/08/2001 till:13/04/2002 color:Drums
bar:Hutchby from:01/05/2010 till:26/07/2022 color:Drums
* Note: Earthtone9 was inactive from 2002 until 2010.
* Note: From July 2022, the band has been put into hibernation for the foreseeable future.
Discography
Albums
*''Lo-def(inition) Discord'' (24 August 1998)
*''Off Kilter Enhancement'' (19 July 1999)
*''
Arc'tan'gent
''arc'tan'gent'' is the third album by British metal band earthtone9.
The album received critical acclaim on its release. It was rated #16 in both ''Metal Hammer'' and ''Rock Sound'' magazines' "Albums of 2000" polls, and #24 in ''Terrorizers e ...
'' (25 September 2000)
*''IV'' (8 April 2013)
EPs
*''Hi-Point'' (10 April 2000)
*''Omega'' (8 April 2002)
*''Hi-Point (rem)'' (23 August 2004)
*''For Cause & Consequence'' (16 May 2011)
Live albums
*''Live from London Garage'' (31 July 2012)
Compilation albums
*''Inside, Embers Glow... a Collection of earthtone9's Aural Communiqués 1998-2002'' (1 June 2010)
Music videos
*"Tat Twam Asi" (2000)
*"Amnesia" (2002)
*"Evil Crawling I" (2010)
*"Tide of Ambition" (2011)
*"Preacher" (2013)
References
External links
Official siteOriginal site
{{Authority control
British alternative metal musical groups
British nu metal musical groups
English heavy metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1998
Musical groups disestablished in 2002
Musical groups from Nottingham