Tytan is a British rock band that lasted about two years during the early 1980s by former
Angel Witch
Angel Witch are a British heavy metal band which formed in London in 1976 as part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement.
Biography Formation
The band formed, originally under the name of Lucifer, of guitarist and vocalis ...
bassist Kev Riddles. The album ''Rough Justice'' was released after their split. They formed out of the
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
movement and are best known for their strong melodies. The band reformed in 2012 to play Keep It True in Germany and have been touring since. In 2016 the band recorded a follow-up album ''Justice Served'' with Chris Tsangarides for High Roller Records. It was released in May 2017.
History
Tytan was formed at the height of the
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
in the autumn of 1981 by the former
Angel Witch
Angel Witch are a British heavy metal band which formed in London in 1976 as part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement.
Biography Formation
The band formed, originally under the name of Lucifer, of guitarist and vocalis ...
rhythm section, bassist Kevin Riddles and drummer
Dave Dufort
Dave du’Fort (also known as Hermien JD) is a British rock drummer who has played with Ian Hunter, Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield and Screaming Lord Sutch, and was a member of the new wave of British heavy metal bands E. F. Band, Angel Witch and ...
(ex-
E. F. Band), Scottish vocalist Norman 'Kal' Swan, and guitarists Steve Gibbs and Glasgow born Stewartie Adams. The latter unfortunately had to leave the band and Gary Owens (ex-
A II Z
A II Z were an English heavy metal band founded in 1979 in Manchester, England, by the guitarist Gary Owens. The original line-up consisted of David Owens (vocals), Gary Owens (guitar), Cam Campbell (bass), Karl Reti (drums). For a short time ...
, Aurora) had a brief stay before
Steve Mann (ex-Liar,
Lionheart) joined.
Signed to Kamaflage Records, a subsidiary of DJM, Tytan recorded their lone album at Ramport Studios in Battersea with Will Reid-Dick manning the boards. Former
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
and
Lionheart drummer Les Binks joined the band just in time for the recording in place of Dave Dufort. Jody Turner of
Rock Goddess
Rock Goddess are an English all-female heavy metal band formed in Wandsworth, South London, in 1977 by sisters Jody Turner and Julie Turner.
The band were initially active during the new wave of British heavy metal musical movement, releasin ...
made a guest vocal appearance on the song 'Women On The Frontline.' Binks would be replaced by Tony Boden on the band's October 1982 UK tour with the
Tygers of Pan Tang
Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and pe ...
who was gone shortly thereafter, replaced by
Simon Wright (ex-Tora Tora, A II Z, Aurora).
Kamaflage folded before the album was released but managed to release the single 'Blind Men and Fools' in both 7" and 12" formats in September 1982 before the band split up the following summer. Wright would join
AC/DC and subsequently work with
Dio,
Rhino Bucket, and
UFO. Vocalist Kal Swan moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
with former
Lone Star guitarist Tony Smith whose replacement was future
Dio and
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
guitarist
Doug Aldrich. Swan and Aldrich went on to record a further 3 albums in the 1990s under the name
Bad Moon Rising
"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released in April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. ...
.
Steve Mann returned to
Lionheart and recorded the 1984 ''Hot Tonight'' album with the band before joining the
McAuley Schenker Group,
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, keto ...
, and German prog rock act
Eloy.
In 1985, London-based label Metal Masters released the shelved Tytan tapes as the ''Rough Justice'' LP. A Japanese CD bootleg followed in the early 1990s, before Majestic Rock Records gave the album an official CD re-issue in 2004 and again in 2006, with 4 BBC 'Friday Rock Show' session live tracks ('Cold Bitch', 'The Watcher', 'Far Side of Destiny' and 'Blind Men and Fools') and a live DVD added as bonus on the second edition.
In 2012, an invitation to perform at Keep It True XV Festival in Germany saw Tytan reform with a revised line-up. Joining original band members Kevin Riddles, Steve Gibbs and Steve Mann were vocalist Tom Barna (from the band Diamond Faith), Andrew Thompson on keyboards, and Angel Witch drummer Andrew Prestidge. Steve Gibbs left the band in early 2014. Drummers Chris Benton and then Mikey Ciancio joined during 2012 and 2013 respectively, and between 2015 and 2017 James Wise took over the role, followed by current drummer Seth Markes. Meanwhile, Dave Strange joined the band in November 2014, when Steve Mann departed. Dave Strange was replaced in 2021 by guitarist Peter Welsh. Tom Barna's replacement, Tony Coldham, performed his last show with the band on 13 October 2018, as he had decided to concentrate on his other outfit, The Deep. In December 2018, the band recruited vocalist Grant Foster. In 2021, Tony Coldham returned to complete the current Tytan lineup.
In 2017, Tytan released their follow-up album to ''Rough Justice'', ''Justice Served''.
Discography
*''Blind Men and Fools'' 7"& 12" (Kamaflage, 1982)
*''Rough Justice'' (Metal Masters, 1985 / Majestic Rock, 2004 & 2006/ High Roller Records 2017)
*''Justice Served'' (High Roller, 2017)
See also
*
List of new wave of British heavy metal bands
The late 1970s–early 1980s period in the United Kingdom introduced a movement of young musicians, generally identified as the new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM). The movement spawned more than a thousand hard rock an ...
References
External links
Tytan Facebook pageTytan Last.fm page
{{Authority control
English heavy metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups from London
New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups