Chastain (band)
Encyclopedia
Chastain is a Power
/heavy metal
project formed in 1984 by guitarist David T. Chastain
.
The band was put together in 1984 by Mike Varney
, president of Shrapnel Records
for a David T. Chastain solo album. Varney had noticed the shred guitar
ability of Chastain, member of the Cincinnati-based band CJSS and, at the same time, he wanted to create an output for the talent of young singer Leather Leone, formerly with the San Francisco band Rude Girl. The first band line-up included Leone, Chastain, CJSS bassist Mike Skimmerhorn and drummer Fred Coury
, who would later play in Cinderella
. In 1986, Chastain readily declared that "I could never work with these people on a full-time basis because they live all over the country (...). We just get together once a year, record an album and then go off and do our own things". In the case of Chastain, he wrote music for CJSS and his solo albums, as well as producing other artists and managing his own record label.
Their debut album Mystery of Illusion
was released worldwide in 1985, followed by Ruler of the Wasteland
(1986) and The 7th of Never
(1987). Drummer Ken Mary
(Fifth Angel
, TKO
) replaced Coury from 1986 to 1988. The fourth album The Voice of the Cult
was released in 1988. On 1990's For Those Who Dare
, new virtuoso bass player David Harbour
replaced Skimmerhorn and drummer John Luke Hebert replaced Mary, who went to play for Alice Cooper
. Having put on hiatus CJSS to favour the more commercially successful Chastain, the band became also David T. Chastain main touring occupation, with a succession of world tours until 1991.
After some years of quiescence, when David T. Chastain dedicated his time to other solo projects, in 1995 appeared Sick Society
and in 1997 In Dementia
, which were recorded with a new cast: Kate French on vocals, Kevin Kekes on bass and former Trouble
member Dennis Lesh on drums.
Until the appearance of the 2004 album, In an Outrage
the band disapperared again. The line-up for this album, in addition to David Chastain and singer Kate French, saw also her husband, Larry Howe and Dave Starr (both ex-Vicious Rumors
) on board.
Guitar :
Bass :
Drums :
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
/heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
project formed in 1984 by guitarist David T. Chastain
David T. Chastain
David T. Chastain is an American guitarist and owner of and .Chastain is a metal guitarist who emerged in the mid-'80s along with a wave of other neo-classical guitarists. He has released about 50 recordings under multiple names, including David T...
.
The band was put together in 1984 by Mike Varney
Mike Varney
Mike Varney is an American musician, record producer, music publisher and impresario. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records and Blues Bureau International. He also has a 50% stake in Magna Carta Records, a New York-based label...
, president of Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
for a David T. Chastain solo album. Varney had noticed the shred guitar
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
ability of Chastain, member of the Cincinnati-based band CJSS and, at the same time, he wanted to create an output for the talent of young singer Leather Leone, formerly with the San Francisco band Rude Girl. The first band line-up included Leone, Chastain, CJSS bassist Mike Skimmerhorn and drummer Fred Coury
Fred Coury
Fred Coury is best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming inspirations....
, who would later play in Cinderella
Cinderella (band)
Cinderella is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They were famous for being a glam metal band, but then shifted over towards a more hard...
. In 1986, Chastain readily declared that "I could never work with these people on a full-time basis because they live all over the country (...). We just get together once a year, record an album and then go off and do our own things". In the case of Chastain, he wrote music for CJSS and his solo albums, as well as producing other artists and managing his own record label.
Their debut album Mystery of Illusion
Mystery of Illusion
Mystery of Illusion is the debut studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1985 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
was released worldwide in 1985, followed by Ruler of the Wasteland
Ruler of the Wasteland
Ruler of the Wasteland is the second studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. During the same year, David T. Chastain released also two other studio albums with his second band CJSS...
(1986) and The 7th of Never
The 7th of Never
The 7th of Never is the third studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1987 through David T. Chastain's own record label Leviathan Records in the USA. In Europe the album was released by Massacre Records...
(1987). Drummer Ken Mary
Ken Mary
Ken Mary is a heavy metal drummer known for having played in many groups such as Accept, Fifth Angel, Chastain, TKO, Impellitteri, House of Lords, Bonfire and Alice Cooper...
(Fifth Angel
Fifth Angel
Fifth Angel is an American heavy metal/ power metal band from Bellevue, Washington.-Biography:Fifth Angel was formed in the suburbs of Seattle in late 1983, specifically, in the Bellevue area...
, TKO
TKO
-In game, music and film:* Three Kingdoms Online, a browser based strategy game* "TKO" , an episode of Babylon 5* "T.K.O. ", a song from Elvis Costello's Punch the Clock album* "TKO", a song from Le Tigre's This Island...
) replaced Coury from 1986 to 1988. The fourth album The Voice of the Cult
The Voice of the Cult
The Voice of the Cult is the fourth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1988 through Leviathan Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
was released in 1988. On 1990's For Those Who Dare
For Those Who Dare
For Those Who Dare is the fifth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1990 through Leviathan Records. New members David Harbour and John Luke Hebert were part of the band that played in Leather Leone solo album Shock Waves in 1989.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
, new virtuoso bass player David Harbour
Paul David Harbour
Paul David Harbour is an American musician, virtuoso bass guitar player, piano and guitar player, and a composer from Dallas, TX. He collaborated with renowned guitarists David T. Chastain, Michael Harris and Tony MacAlpine...
replaced Skimmerhorn and drummer John Luke Hebert replaced Mary, who went to play for Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
. Having put on hiatus CJSS to favour the more commercially successful Chastain, the band became also David T. Chastain main touring occupation, with a succession of world tours until 1991.
After some years of quiescence, when David T. Chastain dedicated his time to other solo projects, in 1995 appeared Sick Society
Sick Society
Sick Society is the sixth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1995 through Leviathan Records. It is the first album after five years released by David T. Chastain under the name Chastain and the first to feature the singer Kate French, who replaced Leather...
and in 1997 In Dementia
In Dementia
In Dementia is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1997 through Leviathan Records. The album was re-issuued in Europe by Massacre Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
, which were recorded with a new cast: Kate French on vocals, Kevin Kekes on bass and former Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
member Dennis Lesh on drums.
Until the appearance of the 2004 album, In an Outrage
In an Outrage
In an Outrage is the eight studio album by the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 2004 through Leviathan Records. The album was re-issuued in Europe by Massacre Records in 2006.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
the band disapperared again. The line-up for this album, in addition to David Chastain and singer Kate French, saw also her husband, Larry Howe and Dave Starr (both ex-Vicious Rumors
Vicious Rumors
Vicious Rumors is an American power metal band founded in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.The brainchild of Geoff Thorpe, the band has been active on the metal scene since its inception in 1979...
) on board.
Current members
- Kate French - vocals
- David T. ChastainDavid T. ChastainDavid T. Chastain is an American guitarist and owner of and .Chastain is a metal guitarist who emerged in the mid-'80s along with a wave of other neo-classical guitarists. He has released about 50 recordings under multiple names, including David T...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Dave Starr - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Larry Howe - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Former members
- Leather Leone - vocals
Guitar :
- Pat O'BrienPat O'Brien (guitarist)Pat O'Brien is the lead guitarist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He was born in Northern Kentucky. He graduated from Conner High School in Hebron, Kentucky in 1983. He currently resides in Florida and is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. He owns a collection of guns...
Bass :
- Mike Skimmerhorn
- David HarbourPaul David HarbourPaul David Harbour is an American musician, virtuoso bass guitar player, piano and guitar player, and a composer from Dallas, TX. He collaborated with renowned guitarists David T. Chastain, Michael Harris and Tony MacAlpine...
- Kevin Kekes
Drums :
- Fred CouryFred CouryFred Coury is best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming inspirations....
- Ken MaryKen MaryKen Mary is a heavy metal drummer known for having played in many groups such as Accept, Fifth Angel, Chastain, TKO, Impellitteri, House of Lords, Bonfire and Alice Cooper...
- John Luke Hebert
- Dennis Lesh
- Stygian
Discography
- Mystery of IllusionMystery of IllusionMystery of Illusion is the debut studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1985 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
(1985) - Ruler of the WastelandRuler of the WastelandRuler of the Wasteland is the second studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. During the same year, David T. Chastain released also two other studio albums with his second band CJSS...
(1986) - The 7th of NeverThe 7th of NeverThe 7th of Never is the third studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1987 through David T. Chastain's own record label Leviathan Records in the USA. In Europe the album was released by Massacre Records...
(1987) - The Voice of the CultThe Voice of the CultThe Voice of the Cult is the fourth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1988 through Leviathan Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
(1988) - For Those Who DareFor Those Who DareFor Those Who Dare is the fifth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1990 through Leviathan Records. New members David Harbour and John Luke Hebert were part of the band that played in Leather Leone solo album Shock Waves in 1989.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
(1990) - Sick SocietySick SocietySick Society is the sixth studio album of the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1995 through Leviathan Records. It is the first album after five years released by David T. Chastain under the name Chastain and the first to feature the singer Kate French, who replaced Leather...
(1995) - In DementiaIn DementiaIn Dementia is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 1997 through Leviathan Records. The album was re-issuued in Europe by Massacre Records.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
(1997) - In an OutrageIn an OutrageIn an Outrage is the eight studio album by the American heavy metal band Chastain, released in 2004 through Leviathan Records. The album was re-issuued in Europe by Massacre Records in 2006.-Track listing:All songs by David T...
(2004) - The Reign of Leather (2010)