Optimum Wound Profile were an

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...

band from

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, England, active between the years 1991-1996. Combining elements of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

, and sampling/programming technologies they released three albums and toured across Europe. Formed in 1991 by guitarist Roki and vocalist Phil Vane, the pair quickly recruited Simon Finbow (vocals) and Ian Barnard (bass), followed by Dom Cattermole on drums. Picked up by an Ipswich promoter shortly after forming, the band entered the studio in the middle of 1991 to record two demos. On the strength of these OWP signed to Roadrunner Records at the end of the year. Optimum Wound Profile's first album, ''Lowest Common Dominator'', was released in the summer of 1992, and received positive reviews in ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' and other music press. Featuring Niall Corr on drums, who had replaced the departed Dom Cattermole, the band's sound at this point was a hybrid of hardcore punk and industrial metal. A successful European tour, with Jason Whittaker of Whiteslug replacing Snapa Harvey, followed the release before the band returned to the UK to begin work on the follow-up. ''Silver Or Lead'' was released in mid-1993 to much critical acclaim, and entered the UK Rock Chart at number 11, where it stayed for several weeks. This album saw the band's sound take a much more metal turn. By this stage all of the drums were programmed. The album was produced by

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres. Career Some of the bands he has worked for include: *3 Inch ...

, who has worked with Slipknot,

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

and Bullet For My Valentine among a host of others. Another successful European tour followed, but Roadrunner Records declined the option of a third album. In 1994, OWP signed to

We Bite Records In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (object ...

and in January 1995 released ''Asphyxia''. Having parted company with Phil Vane, all vocals were provided by Simon Finbow. The album was the band's most critically acclaimed release to date. Optimum Wound Profile spent two years after the release of ''Asphyxia'' writing a fourth album, 'Cult Of Saints 1425'. Only demo versions of these songs exist as the band decided to split up in 1996. In 2007,

Metal Mind Productions Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy metal. MMP is also publisher of ''Metal Hammer'', the largest and the oldest heavy metal magazine. As a concert agency, it organises Met ...

licensed the first two OWP albums from Roadrunner Records for re-release in August the same year. Late in 2007 Optimum Wound Profile reformed with former members Simon, Roki and Jason being joined by Barnie Mills (bass) and Malcolm Peck (drums), to concentrate on the unreleased Cult Of Saints album. The band entered the recording studio for the first time in twelve years in spring 2008 to record demos. The project has since been put on hold. Roki (Martyn Peck), Simon Finbow, Dom Cattermole and Mark Schorah now play in

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation ...

band These Are End Times. Phil Vane continued to sing for

Extreme Noise Terror Extreme Noise Terror (often abbreviated to ENT) are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore,Bon ...

until his death in February 2011. Jason Whittaker and Martyn Peck also run Antigen Records, whose roster includes Henry Homesweet, The Waxing Captors, John Callaghan, Earth Mother F*cker, These Are End Times, Sealionwoman, Jack Rundell and Optimum Wound Profile.

Discography

*''Lowest Common Dominator'' CD, LP, Cassette ( Roadrunner Records 1992) *''Silver or Lead'' CD, LP (Roadrunner Records 1993) *''Asphyxia'' CD (We Bite Records 1995) *'Cult of Saints 1425' unreleased *''Lowest Common Dominator'' - remastered Gold CD (

2007) *''Silver or Lead'' - remastered Gold CD (

2007)

Band members

*Simon Finbow - vocals (1991–present). See also: Chocolate, These Are End Times. *Martyn Peck (aka Roki) - guitar / programming (1991–present). See also: Raw Noise, Whiteslug, Conspiracy Of Noise, These Are End Times. *Jason Whittaker - samples / programming (1993–present). See also Whiteslug. *Phil Vane - vocals (1991–1994). See also:

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

, Conspiracy Of Noise. *Ian Barnard - bass (1991–1996). *Niall Corr - drums (1992–1993). *Dom Cattermole - drums (1991–1992). See also These Are End Times. *Snapa Harvey - samples / programming (1991–1992). See also

Deviated Instinct Deviated Instinct are an English extreme metal band formed in Norwich in 1984. They are considered pioneers of both crust punk and death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distort ...

. *Barnie Mills - bass (2007–2008). *Malcolm Peck - drums (2007–2008). See also Red Flag 77. *Mark Schorah - trumpet (2008). See also:

The Ballistics The Ballistics were a ska band from Ipswich, England. Formed in 2002, they have built up a healthy following across the UK and have garnered airplay in the U.S., Germany, Argentina and Brazil. The band's first album, ''Go Ballistic'', was release ...

, These Are End Times.

References

External links

Antigen Records
{{Authority control British industrial music groups