''Soulidium'' is an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band formed in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States, in 2006, currently consisting of frontman Michael McKnight, guitarist Braeden Lane, bassist Bobby "Fuzzy" Farrell, and drummer Eric Dietz. Under their original line-up, the band released their debut album, '' Children of Chaos'' in mid-2007. The band has toured many well-known bands, including

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lowery ...

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and

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. Numerous years after entering into a period of inactivity while attempting to release their sophomore album, initially titled "Fly 2 the Sun, around mid-2011, it was finally released, now re-titled "Awaken" in late 2015. The band had disbanded in 2017, but has reunited in 2022 and is currently working on a new album titled "Revolution" to be released in 2023.

History

Formation, ''Children Of Chaos'' (2006–2009)

Soulidium was formed in late 2006, by vocalist Michael McKnight. Guitarist AJ Maldonado would be the next member to join the band after seeing an ad posted by McKnight on Myspace. Soon to follow was guitarist Eric Beausoleil who AJ recommended to McKnight. After months of searching, drummer Danny Cayocca was found in Springfield, Missouri. Bassist and final member to join was Jake Jaden. The same year, the band began recording their debut album, '' Children of Chaos'', which was released on June 19, 2007. The song from their album, ''Trapped'' appears in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the film

Saw IV ''Saw IV'' is a 2007 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and a story by Melton, Dunstan, and Thomas Fenton. It is the fourth installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to 2 ...

, released on October 23, 2007. It was recorded entirely at Long View Recording Studio in Massachusetts. The album featured string work by American

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

, whose credits include

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Blondie, and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

and mastering by the

-winning

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

, whose credits include

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

The album was well received by fans and critics alike and was considered an overall success. Later in 2007, the band members discovered that McKnight had stolen the copyrights of the music which had been entirely written by the other band members without McKnight’s help. McKnight only ever wrote lyrics for the band but chose to secretly steal the creative credits for all musical composition after having been trusted by his fellow band members to handle the submission of the copyrights during his solo trip to California to meet with the band’s distributor. This betrayal lead to mistrust and an inability to continue working with McKnight so the band members who’d collectively composed the creative work, left the group. This led the disgraced McKnight to immediately begin replacing members in a continued attempt to prosper off of the creative work he’d stolen from the unsuspecting original members. McKnight’s shameless audacity knows no bounds. Although, strangely enough, drummer, Danny Cayoca, chose to continue playing drums for the thieving McKnight despite him having shown himself to be a crook with no integrity. In 2008, to prepare for touring, McKnight recruited guitarists Shadow Morte and Chris Polidoro and bassist Jadis Lucien. After switching through a few drummers, Danny Cayocca returned to the band on May 20, 2008. In 2008, American guitar manufacturer

Dean Guitars Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Its products include solid-body electric guitars, bass guitars, and acous ...

sponsored and added ''Soulidium'' to their artist roster.

''Awaken'' (2009–2017)

After finishing a second tour with

, along with

and

that began July 29, Soulidium has begun work on writing their second album. Recording began in early 2009 with the band as a 3-piece. In December 2009, Soulidium released a demo preview of one of the songs from their upcoming album titled "S.O.A." to their MySpace page. In February 2010, the band released another demo preview of one of the songs from their upcoming album titled "Sacrificing You" to their MySpace page. In March 2010, Soulidium recruited guitarist Spyder Zero Prime and bassist Ilyn Nathaniel to complete the band's lineup as it will appear on the second album. On April 24, 2010 during the 98RockFest the group debuted live a new track titled "Reluctant Goodbye".

singer

Lajon Witherspoon Lajon Witherspoon (born October 3, 1972) is an American singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of Atlanta-based rock band Sevendust. Members from bands such as Staind, Seether, Alter Bridge, and Diecast have listed Witherspoon and Sevend ...

has joined Soulidium on their upcoming radio single "Fly 2 The Sun" which was recorded by Producer Shawn Grove, (

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, ''The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early h ...

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, r ...

), at Jan Smith Studios in Atlanta, GA. Michael McKnight has titled the new upcoming album " Fly 2 The Sun". Soulidium originally announced on their official website that a limited edition EP would first be released in late 2011, however a release date for the full LP will be announced pending the outcome of current negotiations with label interests. In October 2010, the band uploaded a video to their official YouTube channel featuring a documentary-styled presentation of the making of their upcoming album, along with a live version of "Sacrificing You", which is also off the upcoming album. In December 2010, Soulidium was named by

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

as being one of the top 5 upcoming bands to watch in 2011. The article compared Soulidium's live shows to those of "Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails". The article goes on to define the bands fascination with vampires by stating "The Tampa-based quintet has a fascination with vampires, but not in a Twilight kind of way. Instead, the hard rock collective draws their inspiration from the sophistication of the creatures and incorporates that element into their records and live performance." The album finished recording in June 2011 and was slated for release in August 2012. That release date was, however, canceled with the band under discussions for the album to have a major label release. In October 2015, after years of inactivity, the band regrouped and announced the arrival of their second album, now re-titled "Awaken", which was released on October 30. Soon after the album's release, Shadow Morte, Danny Cayocca and Ilyn Nathaniel left Soulidium to form the group Together in Exile, replacing their respective roles with Braeden Lane, Bobby "Fuzzy" Farrell, and Eric Dietz in December.

Revolution (since 2022)

In 2022 Michael McKnight officially rejoined with Soulidium bandmates Danny Cayocca, Jerry “Shadow” Morte, and Ilyn Nathaniel. A new album titled "Revolution" is to be released in 2023 through Dark Empire Entertainment. A new single titled Phantom in the Wire is to be released on July 29, 2023.

Musical style and influences

Michael McKnight referenced musical figures including

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

, and

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

as influencing the band and their music. Commenting on influences, McKnight wrote, "I believe that music, film, & video are siblings. Visual and audio work together to entertain, inspire, and move the spirit. Our vision for Soulidium was that we would follow no rules. We wanted to penetrate all realms where emotion is born, and that is why we choose to do this on our own before going to the right label for support. We wanted to prove that we had what people wanted before our dreams got stamped out by a suit who was tainted by the "safe & generic way" to bring it. It's hard to argue with happy fans who love what we do."

Band personnel

Current

* Michael McKnight -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(2006–2017; 2022–present) * Jerry “Shadow” Morte -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2008–2015; 2022–present) * Ilyn Nathaniel -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(2010-2015; 2022–present) * Danny Cayocca -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2006–2007; 2008–2015; 2022–present)

Former members

* Braeden Lane -

(2015–2017) * AJ Maldonado -

(2006–2007) * Eric Beausoleil -

(2006–2007) * Bobby "Fuzzy" Farrell -

(2015–2017) * Jake Jaden -

(2006–2007) * Eric Dietz -

(2015–2017) * Chris Polidoro -

(touring member) (2008–2009) * Jadis Lucien -

(touring member) (2008–2009) * Spyder Zero Prime -

(2010–2012)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:850 height:370 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:30 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2006 till:07/30/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:orange legend:Bass id:Drums value:blue legend:Drums id:Tour value:yellow legend:Touring id:Lines value:black legend:Studio albums Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2006 LineData = at:06/19/2007 color:black layer:back at:10/30/2015 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:MM text:"Michael McKnight" bar:AJ text:"AJ Maldonado" bar:SM text:"Jerry 'Shadow' Morte" bar:BL text:"Braeden Lane" bar:EB text:"Eric Beausoleil" bar:CP text:"Chris Polidoro" bar:SZP text:"Spyder Zero Prime" bar:JJ text:"Jake Jaden" bar:JL text:"Jadis Lucien" bar:IN text:"Ilyn Nathaniel" bar:BF text:"Bobby Farrell" bar:DC text:"Danny Cayocca" bar:ED text:"Eric Dietz" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:MM from:01/01/2006 till:09/30/2016 color:Vocals bar:MM from:01/01/2022 till:end color:Vocals bar:AJ from:01/01/2006 till:11/01/2007 color:Guitar bar:SM from:03/20/2008 till:11/01/2015 color:Guitar bar:BL from:12/01/2015 till:09/30/2016 color:Guitar bar:SM from:01/01/2022 till:end color:Guitar bar:EB from:01/01/2006 till:11/01/2007 color:Guitar bar:CP from:03/20/2008 till:11/01/2009 color:Guitar bar:CP from:03/20/2008 till:11/01/2009 color:Tour width:3 bar:SZP from:03/01/2010 till:03/01/2012 color:Guitar bar:JJ from:01/01/2006 till:11/01/2007 color:Bass bar:JL from:03/20/2008 till:11/01/2009 color:Bass bar:JL from:03/20/2008 till:11/01/2009 color:Tour width:3 bar:IN from:03/01/2010 till:11/01/2015 color:Bass bar:BF from:12/01/2015 till:09/30/2016 color:Bass bar:IN from:01/01/2022 till:end color:Bass bar:DC from:01/01/2006 till:11/01/2007 color:Drums bar:DC from:05/20/2008 till:11/01/2015 color:Drums bar:ED from:12/01/2015 till:09/30/2016 color:Drums bar:DC from:01/01/2022 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Albums

* '' Children of Chaos'' (2007) * '' Awaken'' (2015) * Revolution (2023)

DVDs

* ''Dark of Night'' (2009)

Singles

* "Trapped" * "The Light" * "Live Forever" * "Fly 2 the Sun" * "Phantom in the Wire"

Soundtracks

References

External links

Official website

Biography of Soulidium on Dark Empire Entertainment

Biography of Soulidium on Dean Guitars

Soulidium on Rolling Stone Online
{{Soulidium Musical groups from Tampa, Florida Hard rock musical groups from Florida Musical groups established in 2006