Stormzone are a heavy metal band from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

formed in 2004. The band's current line-up consists of vocalist John "Harv" Harbinson, bassist Graham McNulty, guitarists Steve Moore and Dave Shields, and drummer Davy Bates. The band have, to date, released four studio albums on SPV Records, three albums on Metal Nation Records, and one on Metalapolis Records. The band have enjoyed considerable success, playing major rock festivals such as

Sweden Rock The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to dea ...

. Firefest, Z-Rock,

Raismes Fest Raismes () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. The flutist Gaston Blanquart (1877–1962) was born in Raismes. Raismes is known for hosting the annual rock music festival Raismes Fest. Population Notable residents *Pierre P ...

and

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

, as well as performing extensively across the UK and Europe. Their releases and performances have been met with general critical acclaim from publications such as ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

''. Two albums have had covers designed by renowned fantasy artist

Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews (born 6 July 1945) is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Career Trained at the West of England College of Art, Matthews worked in advertising for Plastic Dog Graphics before turning ...

, with more recent albums featuring artwork by John Harbinson himself. Other notable activities for the band have included performing as George Lynch's band, the "Lynch Mob", and supporting Y&T, White Lion, Tesla,

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

and

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 ...

. Initially beginning as a studio-only band crafting keyboard-driven AOR style rock, culminating in the release of the well-received ''Caught In The Act'', Stormzone have taken a distinctive turn in recent years, focusing on a more guitar-heavy, NWOBHM style classic metal sound, with

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

influences. This re-invention of the band's sound has seen them enjoy considerable success, starting with a record contract with SPV/Steamhammer Records, and later with Metal Nations Records, under the management of Jess Cox ( Neat Records/ original Tygers of Pan Tang vocalist), and then with German label Metalapolis Records in 2020.

Early history

Stormzone were formed as a studio project in 2004, by current and founding vocalist John "Harv" Harbinson. Harbinson had previously enjoyed success in bands such as No Sweat, Den of Thieves (who enjoyed considerable and continuing success in the Japanese rock market), Fastway, and a brief tenure in Sweet Savage. Beginning life as a new creative outlet for Harbinson after a brief break from the rock industry, Harbinson set about recruiting

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s: drummer Julian Watson, bassist Pete Macken, keyboardist Stephen Prosser (who would later find success as keyboardist for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

tribute-act Flash Harry), and guitarist Keith Harris, who would continue to work with Harbinson through all subsequent incarnations for the band. After a tenure with this line-up, which saw the release ''Caught In The Act'', Harbinson decided as a side project to join an Iron maiden tribute band formed by Steven Doherty and Stephen Stranaghan. He joined bassist Graham McNulty, guitarists Steven Doherty and Stephen Stranaghan and brought along long-term bandmate Keith Harris. During rehearsals, the band decided to compose some original material, which led to the realisation of Stormzone's current incarnation as a functioning live band. In 2008, current drummer Davy Bates replaced Glenn Gray as a stand-in for the "Firefest" festival in Nottingham, England, which led to a permanent slot within the band's line-up. Following extensive live success in Europe, the band decided to record a new album in the vein of their rapidly evolving classic metal style, having already caught the attention of rock industry producer/DJ Neal Kay, (famed as the man who discovered

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

) who consequently agreed to co-produce the resulting album, 2010's ''Death Dealer''.

Later history

Following ''Death Dealer'' and a subsequent live tour supporting Tesla, and an appearance at 2009's Sweden Rocks Festival guitarist Steve Doherty left the band due to family commitments. He was replaced by 21-year-old guitarist Chris Polin, who had been known to the band due to his presence in Belfast metal band Sorrowfall. Six weeks after Doherty's departure, the band were back onstage, supporting Y&T in a sold-out show in Stormzone's home-town of Belfast. After the departure of Chris Polin in early 2011, Steve Moore joined the band. Having played previously with Riff Master General and

Fireland Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main ...

, he has toured with the likes of Kreator and DragonForce and has appeared on, and engineered, several albums. After supporting

on the Spanish leg of their 2011 European tour, the band played the W.E.T. stage at

Festival in Germany. They then set about recording their third album ''Zero To Rage'', which was released by SPV/Steamhammer in November 2011. It was produced by Steve Moore at FireMachine Studio in Antrim, Northern Ireland. ''Three Kings'' was released in September 2013 on Metal Nation Records. An official video for the title track was recorded in August 2013. After several tours in the UK and Ireland with

, and appearances at Sonisphere Festival and Bloodstock Open Air in 2014, the band recorded their fifth album ''Seven Sins'', again produced by Steve Moore at FireMachine Studio. The album is currently available via Metal Nation Records. The band recorded a further album ''Lucifer's Factory'' on Metal Nations before moving to German label Metalapolis Records for their most recent album ''Ignite The Machine'' in 2020.

Members

*John "Harv" Harbinson - Lead Vocals * Steve Moore - Lead and Rhythm Guitars *David Shields - Lead and Rhythm Guitars *Graham McNulty - Bass Guitar And Backing Vocals *David Bates - Drums

Equipment

*Graham McNulty - Spector basses and Hartke amplifiers *Steve Moore - Jackson guitars,

Fractal Audio In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as illus ...

Axe-FX, Line 6 wirelesses, D'Addario strings

Discography

''Caught in the Act'' (2007)

*Spellbound *Hold Onto Her Love *Stranger Things Have Happened *Nervous Breakdown *Crying In The Rain *Call Of The Wild *Beating Of A Heart *New World *Tuggin' At My Heartstrings *Sky High *Rock On Through The Night

''Death Dealer'' (2010)

*Death Dealer *Secret Gateway *The Memory Never Dies *Immortals *Destiny Of Legends/The Legend Carries On *Labyrinth *Wasted Lives *Stand Up And Fight *The Chosen One *World Of Sorrow *The Greatest Sacrifice *Final Journey

''Zero To Rage'' (2011)

*Where We Belong *Zero To Rage *The Jester's Laughter *This Is Our Victory *Fear Hotel *Hail The Brave *Uprising *Last Man Fighting *Empire Of Fear *Monsters *Voice Inside My Head *Cuchulainn's Story

''Three Kings'' (2013)

*The Pain Inside *Spectre *Stone Heart *Alive *Night of the Storm *Beware in Time *Three Kings *The Pass Loning *I am the One *Wallbreaker *Never Trust *B.Y.H. *Out of Eden

''Seven Sins'' (2015)

*Bathsheba *Another Rainy Night *Your Time Has Come *The One That Got Away *I Know Your Pain *Seven Sins *You're Not the Same *Raise the Knife *Abandoned Souls *Special Brew *Master of Sorrow *Born of the Damned

''Lucifer's Factory'' (2018)

* Dark Hedges * Lucifer's Factory * Cushy Glen * Last Night in Hell * Albhartach * We Are Strong * Broken Window * The Heaven You Despise * Hallows' Eve * Your Hell Falls Down * In for the Kill * The Last Goodbye * Time to Go

''Ignite The Machine'' (2020)

* Tolling Of The Bell * Ignite The Machine * My Disease * Each Setting Sun * Dragon Cartel * Nothing To Fear * Revolution * New Age Necromancer * Dealer's Reign * Flame That Never Dies * Under Her Spell * This Is Heavy Metal

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Heavy metal musical groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Hard rock musical groups from Northern Ireland