The Axis of Perdition
Encyclopedia
The Axis of Perdition is a British
industrial
black metal
band, from Middlesbrough
. They are signed to Code666 Records.
The band rose from the ashes of Minethorn and consists of Tetsuo Unit BRJ (a.k.a. Brooke Johnson, vocals, guitars, bass and programming) and Test Subject MGB (a.k.a. Michael Blenkarn, guitars, keyboards and programming).
experimentation with industrial music
and dark ambient
textures. The Axis of Perdition's debut album stated that "Axis of Perdition plays something there isn't words for yet (exclusively)".
Their sound is primarily based on distorted guitars with black metal
vocals, programmed drums, and discordant sound effects including screams and static. The black metal
aspects of the music are digitally distorted, interspersed with atmospheric soundscapes formed by synthesizers and field recordings. The Axis of Perdition's tracks tend to feature shifting free-form arrangements that lack a typical verse-chorus structure and tend toward lengthiness (one such track, from Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital, is over twelve minutes long).
Tapping inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft
, Ramsey Campbell
and the Silent Hill
games (their EP Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara is named for the dark deity of the games) as well themes of urban decay and mental illness, The Axis of Perdition are often compared to groups like Anaal Nathrakh
and Blut aus Nord
for their similar grim, urban industrial metal
aesthetics.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band, from Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
. They are signed to Code666 Records.
The band rose from the ashes of Minethorn and consists of Tetsuo Unit BRJ (a.k.a. Brooke Johnson, vocals, guitars, bass and programming) and Test Subject MGB (a.k.a. Michael Blenkarn, guitars, keyboards and programming).
Music
The Axis of Perdition's output comprises black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
experimentation with industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
textures. The Axis of Perdition's debut album stated that "Axis of Perdition plays something there isn't words for yet (exclusively)".
Their sound is primarily based on distorted guitars with black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
vocals, programmed drums, and discordant sound effects including screams and static. The black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
aspects of the music are digitally distorted, interspersed with atmospheric soundscapes formed by synthesizers and field recordings. The Axis of Perdition's tracks tend to feature shifting free-form arrangements that lack a typical verse-chorus structure and tend toward lengthiness (one such track, from Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital, is over twelve minutes long).
Tapping inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell
John Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
and the Silent Hill
Silent Hill
is a survival horror video game series consisting of seven installments published by Konami and its subsidiary Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4, have been developed by an internal factor, Team Silent...
games (their EP Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara is named for the dark deity of the games) as well themes of urban decay and mental illness, The Axis of Perdition are often compared to groups like Anaal Nathrakh
Anaal Nathrakh
Anaal Nathrakh are a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 who fuse black metal, grindcore, death metal and industrial music. They are currently signed to Candlelight Records....
and Blut aus Nord
Blut Aus Nord
Blut Aus Nord is a black metal band from Mondeville, Calvados, France, which has incorporated avant-garde elements in its music.-Biography:Vindsval began a solo project, under the name "Vlad", in 1994. He released two demos before changing the project's name to Blut aus Nord, before the release of...
for their similar grim, urban industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
aesthetics.
Current line-up
- Brooke Johnson - Vocals, Jazz Guitar, Ambience. (also member of the bands Mine(thorn), Halo of the Sun, Pulsefear, Hesper Payne, Nord, Irradiant and Monument)
- Michael Blenkarn - Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Keyboard & Piano, Programming, Ambience. (also member of the bands Wodensthrone and Phaleg)
- Ian Fenwick - Bass Guitar. (also member of the band Mine(thorn) and Hesper Payne)
- Dan MullinsDan MullinsDan Mullins is an English metal drummer. He is most known for being the drummer of the death/doom metal band My Dying Bride. Mullins has cited drummers such as Buddy Rich, Mike Portnoy, Sean Reinert, and Paul Mazurkiewicz as influences....
- Live Drums & Percussion. (Also a member of The Raven Theory ex-Bal-SagothBal-SagothBal-Sagoth is a symphonic black metal band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993.Originally formed as an epic/symphonic black metal band with strong death metal elements, vocalist/lyricist Byron Roberts took the name 'Bal-Sagoth' from the Robert E. Howard short story "The Gods of Bal-Sagoth"...
, and My Dying BrideMy Dying BrideMy Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. The band released their tenth studio album, For Lies I Sire,...
, amongst others) - Leslie Simpson - Flotsam. (also actor: Films: Dog Soldiers, The DescentThe DescentThe Descent is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who, having entered an unmapped cave system, become trapped, and are hunted by subterranean flesh-eating humanoids....
, DoomsdayDoomsday (film)Doomsday is a 2008 British science fiction film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film takes place in the future. Scotland has been quarantined because of a deadly virus. When the virus is found in London, political leaders send a team led by Major Eden Sinclair to Scotland to find a...
and Stage: director/actor threeovereden
Discography
- Corridors (demo, 2002)
- The Ichneumon Method (And Less Welcome Techniques)The Ichneumon Method (And Less Welcome Techniques)The Ichneumon Method is the debut album by British cinematic industrial black metal band The Axis of Perdition. It was released in 2003 on Rage of Achilles, catalogue number ILIAD035....
(album, 2003) - Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara (The Red God)Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara (The Red God)Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara is an EP by British cinematic industrial black metal band The Axis of Perdition. It was released on 15 November 2004 on Code666 Records, catalogue number CODE026....
(EP, 2004) - Deleted Scenes from the Transition HospitalDeleted Scenes from the Transition HospitalDeleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital is an album by British cinematic industrial black metal band The Axis of Perdition. It was released on 28 March 2005 on Code666 Records, catalogue number CODE027....
(album, 2005) - UrfeUrfeUrfe is the third studio album by British industrial black metal band The Axis of Perdition. It was released on January 16, 2009 on Code666 Records. It is a concept album about a man named Urfe who travels through the ruins of a desolate city all the while being led by a mysterious figure who goes...
(album, 2008) - Tenements (Of The Anointed Flesh) (album 2011)