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Enochian Theory is an English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
/
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
/
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band, formed in 2004 in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, England. The original lineup of the band consisted of drummer Sam Street, bass guitarist Shaun Rayment, guitarist Scott Ware, and singer/guitarist/keyboard player Ben Harris Hayes.


Enochian Theory


Formation

The band members met through their individual involvements in the south coast of England local music scene Drummer Sam Street, bass guitarist Shaun Rayment and guitarist Scott Ware came together to start jamming after meeting in school. In September 2004, Ben Harris-Hayes came to audition for the band after being handed an advert/flyer for the band by his sister and impressed them with his vocals and songwriting ability. He became a permanent member shortly after and with the line-up complete, Enochian Theory were formed. The band began to write and demo music, completing their first recording in March 2005.


Our Lengthening Shadows

Their first recording was 'Our Lengthening Shadows', a seven track CD, which was sold at shows and via the band's website. It was well received by the local music press who saw great promise in the band and their songs. The innovative rock/metal E.P opened new doors for the band and allowed them to secure shows around the UK. The E.P would eventually sell out. Over the course of supporting its release, the band's sound continued to evolve and led them back into the studio for their next recording.


A Monument to the Death of an Idea

The band entered The Old Blacksmiths studios in Portsmouth, during June 2006 with Emmy nominated producer and engineer Rich Tamblyn in order to record the five new tracks that would make up their second record. It was entitled A Monument to the Death of an Idea and would showcase the progressive, hard rock and atmospheric style they had developed over the course of the past two years. The EP was ready for release by August that year. With the 2005 Our Lengthening Shadows E.P. now discontinued and the self-financed A Monument to the Death of an Idea, initially only available only through the band, Enochian Theory managed to secure support shows with several established bands including Twin Zero, Red Sparrowes and Ephel Duath. In order to promote the release on a wider scale, the band used their musical knowledge and contacts they had made since their formation and formed a partnership called Anomalousz Music Records Ltd. (based on Ben's old tape trading/promo company name) By setting up their own record label, A Monument to the Death of an Idea would become available worldwide. The band signed with CODE 7/Plastic Head Distribution to handle this, allowing the CD to become available through all major music outlets such as Play.com,
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
, and
HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...
. With the CD now available worldwide, press coverage followed with such music publications as ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...
'', ''
Classic Rock Magazine ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...
'', ''
Zero Tolerance Magazine ''Zero Tolerance'' is an extreme music magazine, launched in September 2004 by Lisa Macey and Leon Macey and published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North A ...
'', ''Power Play'' Big Cheese, Black Velvet, ''Play Music'', the Greek version of Rock Hard and Spanish rock and metal magazine This Is Rock all featuring articles about the band and reviews of the E.P. The band chose to release "Namyamka" to rock and internet radio stations making it available as a downloadable single and shot a video to accompany it which was made available for request on rock channels
Kerrang! TV Kerrang! TV was a British music television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The network used the branding of the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' under a brand licensing agreement with Bauer Media Group. The channel primarily b ...
,
Scuzz Scuzz was a British 24-hour rock and metal music television channel owned and operated by Sony Pictures Television. It was launched on 17 April 2003 and went on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on the Sky satellite platform, available in ...
and
Rockworld TV Rockworld TV was a British television channel which featured rock music, and was aimed to highlight "underground" lifestyles and artists. It broadcast on Sky Digital ch. 378, and also streamed content online. Officially it was only on the air fr ...
. To further support the release of the E.P and the "Namyamka" single, the band booked and embarked on their first UK tour, entitled 'Theory in practice'. It was promoted by their Anomalousz Music Records label and booked for them by The S-a-N Agency. It initially ran through the month of October as a three-band bill with two other up-and-coming bands, SpeedTheory and About A Plane Crash, who had been receiving positive reviews of their own in many magazines and other media outlets. It took them to venues in Liverpool, Cardiff, Brighton, London, Nottingham, Leicester and Cambridge. With the success of the first leg, and with positive feedback from crowds and venues alike, the band extended the tour, with a short second leg which ran in early December. The itinerary took the band to venues and places they had not seen during their first leg, including Plymouth, Exeter and Cheltenham.


Personnel change

On 21 December 2007, it was announced via the band's official website that guitarist Scott Ware had left the band. The remaining members wished him well in his future endeavors. The remaining members continued as Enochian Theory and auditioned for a new guitarist early in 2008. The band played a well-received and successful homecoming gig show at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth 24 June, with a stand-in second guitarist. In August 2008, while recording their new CD, the band decided that they would continue recording and touring as a three-piece.


Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio

On 28 May 2008, the band officially announced on their website that their next full-length release would be called ''EVOLUTION: Creatio Ex Nihilio''. After the departure of Scott, Ben took over complete song-writing duties and submitted strong, completed demos for most of the album, with 'The Fire Around The Lotus' being the first full song to be submitted to his bandmates. In regards to the process of getting the record started, Ben is quoted as saying "''It was a relief, you know? We'd not written anything new for almost 2 years and that was becoming a thing that was destroying the band. I won't blame anyone or anything, but simply say the relief I had at writing 'The Fire Around The Lotus' and 'Waves of Ascension' was like a floodgate opening in me...and I never looked back. Someone had to write music...and I just let the voice in my head do it's thing''." The band had been working on the new material since the turn of the year and had thirteen tracks written and ready to take into the studio. Pre-production for the new recording began at the beginning of July, with the recording of the album completed on 12 October 2008. The finished recording was mixed and mastered in Sweden by David Castillo, who had co-produced the
Katatonia Katatonia is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for their love of death metal. Increasing popularity ...
record 'The Great Cold Distance' on the
Peaceville Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society, as well as a former drummer of Sore Throat) in Dewsbury, England, in 1987. ...
label as well as mixing the
Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...
record 'Watershed' on the
Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
label. It was mixed in Castillo's recently completed new state-of-the-art recording facility 'Ghostward' and had the honor of being the first project worked on there. The artwork for the album was conceived and realized by Swedish artist Robin Portnoff, after the band sent him the lyrical and musical themes behind the album. The band began their pre-release preparations by headlining a show at the Enska Club in Portsmouth on 2 May, and then providing support for chart-topping Australian rockers -
The Butterfly Effect ''The Butterfly Effect'' is a 2004 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Logan Lerman, Ethan Su ...
at their show at the Hamptons venue in Southampton on Thursday 14 May 2009. In the weeks prior to its release, tracks from the new album received rotation on
Kerrang radio Kerrang! Radio is a British specialist rock music radio station related to ''Kerrang!'' magazine, broadcast nationally on DAB and online. Launched in 2002, it is owned and operated by Bauer Media and forms part of the Kerrang! Network, which a ...
and
Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...
's
BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
rock show. The album was released through the band's own independent label on 3 August 2009, with CODE 7/Plastic Head Distribution once again handling distribution. The release was met with exceptional reviews in musical publication across Europe, including the English, German and Polish editions of ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...
'', ''
Classic Rock Magazine ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...
'', ''
Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...
'', ''
Zero Tolerance Magazine ''Zero Tolerance'' is an extreme music magazine, launched in September 2004 by Lisa Macey and Leon Macey and published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North A ...
'', ''Power Play'', the German, Greek and Italian editions of Rock Hard, Big Cheese, Spanish magazine 'This Is Rock', Italian magazine 'Metal Maniac', Norwegian magazine 'Helvete', Finnish magazine 'Inferno' and Romanian rock and metal magazine 'Maximum Rock'. It was also reviewed on nearly 100 websites throughout Europe. On 29 April 2010, the band released a press release via the musical press and their official website, saying they had signed a deal with Mascot records. As part of this deal the album was re-released worldwide through the label on 27 September of that year.


'Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio' Tour 2009 - 2011

In May 2009,
Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
reported that the band had been confirmed to appear at the
ProgPower Europe ProgPower Europe (formerly ProgPower) is a progressive metal festival held annually in the Netherlands since 1999. Notable headliners have included Sons of Apollo, Evergrey, and Caligula's Horse. History The beginnings of ProgPower Europe ...
2009 festival. Festival organisers were quoted saying "probably hardly anyone has ever heard of this band, but that will definitely change when they will release their new album in August 2009." and also "ENOCHIAN THEORY definitely will surprise many of you." The festival took place between 2–4 October at JC Sjiwa in Baarlo, The Netherlands. On 11 November 2009, the official website for The
Metalcamp MetalDays was a heavy metal music festival held annually Slovenia. It saw increased popularity every year with more media coverage, and saw bands like Megadeth, Slayer, Amon Amarth, Volbeat and Sabaton and many more play at the festival. It was ...
festival confirmed that Enochian Theory were to co-headline the second stage at the 2010 event. Festival organisers at the time were quoted as saying "Enochian Theory are gaining more and more reputation with their music, crossing various genres. The aim of pushing themselves as musicians and expanding their sound further creates an even more epic addition to their already impressive repertoire". The festival took place between 5–11 July 2010 in Tolmin, Slovenia. To support the release of the new album, the band began working with booking agents in the UK and around Europe to arrange their own tour. The tour itself began on 21 September and ran through into 2011 seeing them tour England but also make their first forays into Scotland, Holland, France, Ireland, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. During the course of the tour, the band have secured the prestigious support slot for Spocks Beard on a full European tour as well as
Katatonia Katatonia is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for their love of death metal. Increasing popularity ...
's show in Southampton, UK on 6 November 2009. In conjunction with
Classic Rock Magazine ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...
and Factory Music booking agency, Enochian Theory were part of the Progression 2.0. - 'The New Breed' UK tour in March 2011. They were joined by Touchstone and Jurojin. The itinerary for the tour covered Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and London.


Life...And All It Entails

Following the conclusion of the Progression 2.0. tour, Ben began writing songs for the follow-up to 'Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio'. By August the writing process was complete and they were ready to record. The key difference between the debut record and this, is that Ben wrote and arranged it solely on his own, due to various external reasons. "Life...' is a tough record, personally. I was in a bit of a state, mentally...and perhaps it shows in the music and lyrics''" said Ben when quizzed about the writing process. Adding, "''I just had to do it, expel some negaitivity and exorcise some demons...as if to say''." The album was recorded at the end of 2011, with the band adopting the role of lead producer and recording alongside noted engineer, Rob Aubrey, who previously had worked with
Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...
, IQ, Spocks Beard and
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
at his 'Aubitt Studios' in Southampton, England. In December 2011, the band's label announced the title and track-listing for the new album. Entitled ''Life...And All It Entails'', the album will consist of 13 tracks. This finished recording would be the second full album by the band and was released on 12 March 2012 on the Mascot Record/Music Theories Recordings label. Enochian Theory shot a music video for the track "Inversions" with the UK production company "One Name Films". This video would feature "The Lost Orchestra" visually for the first time and was released for internet viewing in May 2012. In August 2012, Enochian Theory signed a Publishing deal with "Northern Music", the management company behind acts such as
Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
, Opeth, and Katatonia.


Life...And All It Entails Tour 2012 - 2013

On 7 July 2012, Enochian Theory performed at the 'Night of the Prog' festival in St Goarhousen, Germany. They joined
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...
& Band, Spock's Beard, Katatonia,
The Flower Kings The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 1994 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Roine Stolt. The group began as Stolt's touring band to support his third solo album ''The Flower King''. They continued performing after the ...
,
Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
and others performing at the two-day festival. The band undertook three exclusive headline shows during September 2012, where they played 'Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio' and 'Life... And All It Entails' in their entirety over the course of the evening. These were held in England and Germany. Following these dates, the band were the support for
Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...
at their shows in Brighton and Milton Keynes on 17 and 19 October 2012. On 19 November 2013, the band played their largest UK show, while providing support for
Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
at their show at the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire. On 1 March 2013, the band embarked on a fifteen date European tour with
Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...
recording artists
Threshold Threshold may refer to: Science Biology * Threshold (reference value) * Absolute threshold * Absolute threshold of hearing * Action potential * Aerobic threshold * Anaerobic threshold * Dark adaptation threshold * Epidemic threshold * Flicke ...
. The tour took in England, Holland, Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovenia and Belgium. This was Enochian Theory's most extensive tour of mainland Europe to date. On 6 April 2013, the band provided support band for The
Von Hertzen Brothers Von Hertzen Brothers is a Finnish rock group formed in 2000, by three brothers. Their music is a mix of classic rock and progressive elements, folk, punk and contemporary rock. Each of the brothers have a notable history in the Finnish rock sce ...
in Cardiff, Wales. On 7 April 2013, Enochian Theory appeared at the HRH Prog festival. They were joined on the bill by
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
,
The Enid The Enid are a British progressive rock band founded by keyboardist and composer Robert John Godfrey. Godfrey received his main musical education from The Royal College of Music. He is previously known for his work with Barclay James Harvest ...
,
Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...
,
Mostly Autumn Mostly Autumn are an English rock band. The group formed in 1995 and have built their reputation through constant touring, never signing to a major label. They produce music heavily influenced by 1970s progressive rock. According to the BBC, M ...
,
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English rock music, rock band formed by singer Arthur Brown (musician), Arthur Brown in 1967. The original band included Vincent Crane (Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwoo ...
,
It Bites It Bites are an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, Egremont, Cumbria, in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All the Heroes", which gained them a Top 40, Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit. Initi ...
and many more. The event was sponsored by Classic Rock's Prog magazine. On 13 April 2013, the band played an exclusive headline show in Southampton UK, where they again played 'Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio' and 'Life... And All It Entails' in their entirety over the course of the evening. Following the band's appearance at the HRH Prog festival and headline show in Southampton, they embarked on a UK tour with
The Enid The Enid are a British progressive rock band founded by keyboardist and composer Robert John Godfrey. Godfrey received his main musical education from The Royal College of Music. He is previously known for his work with Barclay James Harvest ...
. The tour ran from 23 – 25 April with shows in Newcastle, Glasgow and Manchester. They then played a further three shows with The Enid on 10, 30 and 31 May visiting Leicester, Birmingham and London. The band ended the touring cycle for the album providing support for
Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...
on their UK tour between 12–16 May. They visited Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and London.


Hiatus and current projects

In 2018 the band announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus.Official announcement on band's website of new video shoot and opportunities for remixing of their songs
Enochiantheory.co.uk
Since then, Ben Harris-Hayes has released several singles and two albums under the 'OCEANICA' name to critical acclaim. The debut album 'OneDark' was released in 2019 with the follow up 'Panta Rhei' being released in 2023. The next release is a twenty one minute EP entitled 'Try Not To Dwell On It...' which is due for release on the 1st of July 2025. https://oceanicauk.bandcamp.com/ Shaun Rayment launched his own recording studio company "SDR Audio Production" in 2014, and continues to work as a Mastering engineer in the UK. https://www.sdraudioproduction.co.uk


Previous members

Scott Ware - Guitar (2004–2007)


Discography

* ''
Our Lengthening Shadows Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...
'' (2005) * '' A Monument to the Death of an Idea'' (2006) * '' Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio'' (2009) * '' Life...And All It Entails'' (2012)


References


External links


OfficialWebsite

Enochian Theory Website

Enochian Theory MySpace

Anomalousz music records website

Official MySpace page

Mascot Records website

Anomalousz music records website

Namyamka video clip

Robin Portnoff’s website

Interview with Enochian Theory
{{Authority control English progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 2004 English progressive metal musical groups