Channel Zero is a Belgian
heavy metal band formed in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1990. They are one of the best known heavy metal bands from Belgium. They disbanded at the height of their career in 1997, however in 2009, the band announced a series of reunion gigs starting in January 2010.
History
Channel Zero was formed in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1990. They released their first album ''Channel Zero'' in 1992. Their second album ''Stigmatized For Life'' (mixed by
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell ...
of
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...
) followed in 1993.
They achieved their breakthrough with the album ''Unsafe'' in 1994. The album featured guest vocals of Billy Milano of
S.O.D. and
Richard 23
Richard Jonckheere (born 20 January 1963), better known by his stage names Richard23 and Richard JK, is a Belgian musician. He has been a member of Front 242 (which he joined in 1983) and was a founding member of Revolting Cocks (which he left ...
of
Front 242
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.
History Formation
Fr ...
. Their last studio album ''Black Fuel'' was released in 1996.
In 1997, the band announced their break-up. They released one last live album of their performance at
Marktrock
Marktrock is a music festival held each year around 15 August, in the heart of the university town of Leuven, Belgium. There is also a smaller Marktrock festival in Poperinge, which is held on the last Saturday of August.
The name Marktrock comes ...
,
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
in 1997, simply titled ''Live''. Franky De Smet Van Damme went on to form his own band Skitsoy, while Xavier Carion later formed Sons of Jonathas.
In 2010, the band played six reunion shows in the AB concert hall in Brussels. The first three sold out within 49 minutes, and the next two announced one week later, again sold out.
A single, "Black Flowers", was released in January 2010. On 5 April 2010, de Smet revealed that they are working on a new album, during an interview he gave during 'De zwaarste lijst', a radio show on the Belgian radio station
Studio Brussel
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...
.
The band played concerts at the
Graspop Metal Meeting
Graspop Metal Meeting is a Belgian heavy metal festival held in Dessel each year since 1996, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to covid restrictions. Despite the small size of the festival grounds (upholding a perimeter of only ~4 km) the festiva ...
in 2010 and 2011 in
Dessel
Dessel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Dessel proper. In 2021, Dessel had a total population of 9,659 inhabitants. The total area is 27.03 km².
Nuclear industries
...
. They also played at
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiv ...
in 1995, back when the festival was still known as Torhout-Werchter, and in 2010.
The band's former drummer, Phil Baheux, died on 10 August 2013, at the age of 45.
In October 2013, the band announced that they will continue the work made on the new album, with
Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Hellyeah and Stone Sour and is currently the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry.
Early life
Mayorga was born in Forest Hill ...
playing the drums as a session drummer. Chris "Seven" Antonopoulos became the permanent drummer after the album's release. Their sixth studio album, ''Kill All Kings'', was released on 24 June through
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
. Christophe Depree, from fellow Belgian metal band After All, joined the band as a second guitarist in late 2017.
Members
;Current members
* Franky De Smet-Van Damme – vocals
(1990–1997, 2009–present)
* Mikey Doling – guitars
(2009–present)
* Christophe Depree – guitars
(2017–present)
* Tino De Martino – bass
(1990–1997, 2009–present)
*
Seven Antonopoulos
Chris Antonopoulos (born on 7 November 1973 in Dallas, Texas) is an American rock drummer, most notable for his tenure in
Opiate for the Masses.
Career
Antonopoulos joined Phoenix/Los Angeles hard rock band Opiate for the Masses as a drummer in ...
– drums
(2013–present)
;Former members
* Phil Baheux – drums
(1990–1997, 2009–2013; died 2013)
* Xavier Carion – guitars
(1990–1997)
* Patrice Hubloux – guitars
(1990–1992; died 1995)
* Peter Iterbeke – guitars
(1992–1993)
;Session members
*
Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Hellyeah and Stone Sour and is currently the drummer for the industrial metal band Ministry.
Early life
Mayorga was born in Forest Hill ...
– drums
(2013–2014)
;Timeline
Discography
Albums:
* ''Channel Zero'' (Shark Records – 1992)
* ''Stigmatized for Life'' (Shark Records – 1993)
* ''Unsafe'' (Play it Again Sam – 1994)
* ''Black Fuel'' (Play it Again Sam – 1997)
* ''Feed 'Em with a Brick'' (
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City.
History
The label was launched in 1980 in t ...
– 2011)
* ''Kill All Kings'' (
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
– 2014)
* ''Exit Humanity'' (Joint Venture Channel Zero – 2017)
Live albums:
* ''Live'' (Play it Again Sam – 1997)
* ''Live at the Ancienne Belgique'' – CD + DVD (
CNR Records
CNR is a Dutch audio and video label. It was founded in 1937 as CNR Records by Cornelis Nicolaas Rood, who made his fortune as a producer of lampshades and other lighting materials.
Rood regarded his record label merely as a hobby, but things ch ...
/ Roadrunner Records – 2010)
* ''Unplugged'' (2015)
EPs:
* ''Suck My Energy'' (Play It Again Sam – 1995)
* ''Help'' (Play It Again Sam – 1995)
* ''Heroin'' (Play It Again Sam – 1995)
* ''Fool's Parade'' (Play It Again Sam – 1996)
Singles:
* "Run W.T.T." (Play It Again Sam – 1995)
* "Call On Me" (Play It Again Sam – 1997)
* "Black Flowers" (Roadrunner Records – 2010)
* "Hot Summer" (Roadrunner Records – 2011)
* "Electronic Cocaine" (Metal Blade Records – 2014)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Channel Zero
Belgian heavy metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2009
Musical quartets
Roadrunner Records artists
Metal Blade Records artists