Swashbuckle are an American heavy metal band based in Plainsboro,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and were signed to

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

. Formed in 2005, the band is known for its

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

image and humorous stage performances.

History

Swashbuckle was formed in early 2005 when bassist Patrick Henry and guitarist Justin Greczyn met each other at a

Red Lobster Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong ...

and realized their mutual love for

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, . ...

and

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. They decided to form a band and release a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

in early 2005, then after they had found drummer Mike Soganic and guitarist Joe Potash, they released the ''Yo Ho Demo'' later that year. The band members then took up the stage names of Admiral Nobeard (Henry), Commodore Redrum (Greczyn), Captain Crashride (Soganic), and Rowin' Joe Po (Potash). Their debut album ''Crewed by the Damned'' was released independently in 2006, and shortly after Rowin' Joe Po (Joe Potash) quit the group to join New Jersey thrash metal band Eliminator. The band began a tour of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in August 2007. They completed the North American Paganfest tour alongside Korpiklaani, Primordial,

Moonsorrow Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from th ...

, and Blackguard in April and May 2009. They completed the European Paganfest tour alongside Korpiklaani,

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (German for " The Apocalyptic Riders") is a Weimar, Germany based heavy metal band signed to Nuclear Blast in Europe and The End Records in North America. Musical style The band's original style, featured on th ...

Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li * ''Unleashed'' (2016 film), a film starring ...

, Alestorm, and

Ex Deo Ex Deo is a Canadian death metal band formed in Montreal, Quebec in 2008. The band is a side project of Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono, and is based on the history of the Roman Empire. History Ex Deo was formed in 2008 as an artistic proje ...

in September 2009. They appeared on the Monsters of Death tour in November and December 2009 alongside Vader,

Decrepit Birth Decrepit Birth is an American death metal band from Santa Cruz, California. They have released two studio albums through Unique Leader Records and two through Nuclear Blast, and a demo independently. All of their studio albums feature artwork ...

Warbringer Warbringer is an American thrash metal band formed in 2004. Century Media Records signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign W ...

The Amenta The Amenta are an Australian Heavy metal music, metal band formed in 1997 as Crucible of Agony. By 2002 the line-up was Cesium 137 (aka Mark Bevan) on lead vocals, Diazanon (Dave Haley) on drums, Ethion (Erik Miehs) on guitar, Endrin (Nathan Je ...

, and

Augury Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin ''aus ...

. They appeared on Tour From Afar alongside Ensiferum also in November 2009. They toured alongside

Heaven Shall Burn Heaven Shall Burn are a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently si ...

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell ...

Dark Tranquility Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded a ...

, and Dealock in Europe as part of the Darkness over Xmas tour in December 2009. They toured alongside

Korpiklaani Korpiklaani (Finnish: ) is a Finnish folk metal band from Lahti who was formerly known as Shamaani Duo and Shaman. History Shamaani Duo While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music ...

Týr (; Old Norse: , ) is a god in Germanic mythology, a valorous and powerful member of the and patron of warriors and mythological heroes. In Norse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among the Germanic peoples, ...

and

White Wizzard White Wizzard is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 2007. They have released one EP and four albums: ''Over the Top'' released in 2010, ''Flying Tigers'' released in 2011, '' The Devil's Cut'' released in 2013, and '' Inf ...

in January 2010 and supported

Hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...

on a

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

tour during May 2010. Swashbuckle also went On Tour as a supporting act for

Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to S ...

's "Panic Over North America Tour", along with

Death Angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gone ...

, Augury, and

Mutiny Within Mutiny Within is an American heavy metal band from Edison, New Jersey. The band was formed in 2002 by bassist Andrew Jacobs. Background Formation, Signing to Roadrunner and debut album (2009–2010) They would go through a number of lineup ...

. Swashbuckle performed at the 20th Anniversary of the Wacken Open Air Festival in the summer of 2009 and have also appeared at the Legacy Open Air Festival, The Summer Nights Open Air Festival, and the Metal Days Open Air Festival. In 2010, Swashbuckle parted ways with drummer Captain Crashride (Mike Soganic) who went on to join Non-Stop. Bootsmann Collins (Paul Christiansen) was announced as his replacement. Soon after this they began working on their new album entitled ''Crime Always Pays'', set for a September release. Swashbuckle tune their instruments to D standard tuning. "Crime Always Pays" was released by Nuclear Blast on September 10, 2010. The band also took part in the "70,000 Tons Of METAL" Festival along with other well known acts such as Amon Amarth, Exodus, Fear Factory, Sabaton, Sodom, Nevermore, Testament, Obituary, Death Angel and Ensiferum. As of 2011, Bootsmann Collins has been replaced by Legendary Pirate King Eric "The" Brown. Alestorm in their album ''

Back Through Time ''Back Through Time'' is the third studio album by Scottish heavy metal band Alestorm. It was released on 3 June 2011 by Napalm Records and is the first Alestorm recording to feature Gareth Murdock on bass and Peter Alcorn on drums.

'' reference the band in the song 'Swashbuckled'. In February 2014 Swashbuckle, once again, was invited to set sail, as performers on the "70,000 Tons Of METAL" cruise. In August 2014 Swashbuckle released their anticipated, vinyl recording disc release, "We Hate the Sea EP" on Get This Right records.

Band members

Current members

* Admiral Nobeard (Patrick Henry) -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, bass (2005–present) * Commodore Redrum (Justin Greczyn) -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s (2005–present) * Legendary Pirate King Eric "The" Brown ( Eric W. Brown) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2011–present)

Former members

* Captain Crashride (Mike Soganic) - drums (2005-2010) * Rowin' Joe Po (Joe Potash) - guitars (2005-2006) * Cabinboy Arsewhipe (Ryan Hemphill)- keyboards (2005) * Bootsmann Collins (Paul Christiansen) - drums (2010-2011)

Timeline

Discography

*'' Crewed by the Damned'' (2006) *'' Back to the Noose'' (2009) *'' Crime Always Pays'' (2010) *'' We Hate the Sea'' (EP) (2014)

References

{{Authority control 2005 establishments in New Jersey American musical trios American thrash metal musical groups American death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey Musical groups established in 2005 Nuclear Blast artists