Ian Arkley is a British heavy metal guitarist and singer. His current band is the UK

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

outfit My Silent Wake.

Biography

Arkley first gained attention as a member (and leader) of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Seventh Angel Seventh Angel are an English Christian metal band that formed in 1987 in Halesowen, West Midlands. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. The band initially released two albums, ''The Torment'' (1990) and '' La ...

. Signed to

Under One Flag Under One Flag is a now-defunct British record label from London, which aimed at a heavy metal audience, particularly a thrash metal audience. They were best known for re-releasing classic heavy metal albums, from the likes of Venom and Dark A ...

, Seventh Angel released first album ''

The Torment ''The Torment'' is the debut studio album by the British Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel, released on Music for Nations in 1990. The album established the band as "one of England's leading thrash metal bands" by ''The Daily Telegraph'' ...

'' (1990), followed by ''

Lament for the Weary ''Lament for the Weary'' is Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel's second studio album, released in 1992 on Music for Nations. The album saw the band incorporating doom metal elements to thrash. The album garnered generous reviews from Briti ...

'' (1992). After Seventh Angel split, Arkley formed

Ashen Mortality Ashen Mortality were a British doom metal band formed in 1993 by Ian Arkley (Seventh Angel) and Melanie Bolton. They and Paramaecium are among the best known Christian doom metal bands, though they were always wary of being typecast as such. T ...

, adopting a doomier style mixed with mediaeval influences and some

death vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

. Ashen Mortality self-released two albums, ''Sleepless Remorse'' and ''Your Caress''. Arkley was briefly a member of the Australian doom band

Paramaecium Paramaecium (sometimes typeset as Paramæcium) was an Australian death/doom metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like flutes, cellos and violins on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus o ...

and recorded the album ''

A Time to Mourn ''A Time to Mourn'' is the third album by Paramaecium. It was released in 1999. According to Andrew Tompkins the album art is of a Los Angeles model, the band actually does not know who the woman is. Themes ''A Time to Mourn'' explores theme ...

'' with them. Ashen Mortality split in the autumn of 2004, playing their last gig on Halloween of that year. With two of the members in the final line-up of Ashen Mortality, Arkley formed My Silent Wake. My Silent Wake recorded a two-song demo in mid-2005, and the limited 100 copy run sold out almost immediately, and resulted in a record deal with indie label Bombworks Records. My Silent Wake released their first full-length album ''Shadow of Sorrow'' on Bombworks Records in spring 2006. Drawing on similar influences to Ashen Mortality, My Silent Wake is a more experimental progression for Arkley, with more open soundscape arrangements, but also a heavier aspect to the sound. My Silent Wake went on to record a further three albums and a split album with The Drowning. The band are still active. Arkley recorded two albums with the

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

band The Other Window. Arkley is also involved in a collaboration with the Visionaire frontman in a band called Century Sleeper who released ''Awaken'' in 2006. Seventh Angel later reformed in 2008, and released the album "The Dust of Years" in 2009, which saw the band take a more Death/Doom approach to their previous style. Since 2010 Arkley has also been involved with the industrial/darkwave band

Attrition Attrition may refer to *Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material **War of Attrition, fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970 **War of attrition (game), a model of agg ...

, contributing guitar. During this time, Arkley has also been active with My Silent Wake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkley, Ian English Christians English heavy metal guitarists Living people British performers of Christian music Christian metal musicians Paramaecium members Year of birth missing (living people)