Steadfast (band)
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Voorhees is a
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
band formed in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
, England. From early 1991 until late 2001 they released records on international record labels and toured Europe and the USA.


History


Origins and early years

In the late 1980s, vocalist Ian Leck and guitarist Sean Readman were members of Durham
straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...
hardcore band Steadfast. In 1990, while still in Steadfast, Leck began a brief side project, heavily inspired by
Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
with bassist Buzzard, who had recently been released from prison for
grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the ...
, drummer Gary Cousins and guitarist Darrell Hindley, who both played in another Durham straight edge hardcore band called False Face. Buzzard departed from the band a few weeks after formation, leading to hiring of David "Brownie" Brown. By the time Steadfast and False Face had broken up in 1991, the four members decided to regroup with the addition of Steadfast guitarist Sean Readman, who had a single rehearsal with Know Your Enemy material, before deciding to distance themselves from those songs and pursue a faster
Boston hardcore Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. Beginning in the early 1980s, bands such as SSD (band), SSD, DYS (band), DYS, Jerry's Kids (band), Jerry's Kids and Negative FX formed a nascent hardcore scene in the city that w ...
-inspired sound under a different name. Taking on the name Voorhees, in reference to
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-kil ...
from the
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
franchise, the band played their first performance in September 1991 at the Durham Rowing Club in support of punk band Sour Face. Soon after, the recorded their debut demo ''Everyone's Good at Something... Except Us!'' in
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
. The demo was recorded for free by Leck, as a part of his college music engineering course. Soon after, they won two free days recording time at
Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...
's North Studios, but Brown left the group a few days beforehand, leading to Readman performing bass on the recordings. By the time they began performing again, they had hired former-Steadfast bassist Paul Rugman-Jones to take over for Brown. This recording was released as the ''Violent'' EP in April 1993 through Armed with Anger records. The band then opened for
Slapshot A slapshot (also spelled as slap shot) is a powerful shot in ice hockey. Its advantage is a high-speed shot that can be taken from a long distance; the disadvantage is the long time to set it up as well as its low accuracy. It has four stage ...
on their UK headline tour, and recorded two
Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little know ...
covers for a tribute compilation. Hindley and Cousins left the group around this time, leading to the band recruiting Sour Face drummer Michael Gillham and new guitarist Graeme Nicholls.


1994–1998: ''Spilling Blood Without Reason'' and ''Fireproof'' EP

The band recorded their debut album ''Spilling Blood Without Reason'' at Studio 64 in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
with producer Matthew Burke. They had originally written sixteen tracks for the album, but because their name was based on Friday the 13th, they decided to write an additional ten tracks so that each side of vinyl could consist of thirteen tracks. In August 1994, headlined a European tour, intended to be supported by Finnish band Selfish, but when Selfish dropped out Force Macabra were booked to replace them. The tour was planned to last for three and a half weeks, but due to Force Macabra also dropping out, it only lasted two. Voorhees recorded a
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
Session for
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
at Maida Vale studios in London in March 1995, which was first broadcast the following month. The session was then re-recorded for a split EP with Stalingrad. At the beginning of 1996, they had their first US headline tour, supported by
Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album ''Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universa ...
. After this tour, Readman and Gillham left the band causing the hiring Richard Armitage on guitar and Gareth Pugh on drums. A few days later, Nicholls announced he was moving to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
and could no longer be a part of the band, being replaced by James Atkinson, a local skater. This line-up was set to make its live debut on their 1996 European headline tour, but it was cancelled shortly before it was intended to take place, and instead first performed publicly in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, supported by Stalingrad. Pugh was soon replaced by Local Student Chris, who performed with the band opening for
Sick of it All Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sic ...
in
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
and then
Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
before being forced to take part in military service in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. This meant that Gillham returned to the band for a short period, when they headlined their second US tour with support from
Dropdead Dropdead is an American hardcore punk band based in Providence, Rhode Island. They have been active in the punk scene since 1991, having been formed in January of that year. The band's songs are generally short and very fast-paced, with few las ...
,
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...
, Devoid of Faith and
Kill Your Idols Kill Your Idols is an American hardcore punk band from New York, active from 1995 through 2007 and again from 2013 to the present. They were signed to SideOneDummy Records. Their releases on SideOne were Funeral for a Feeling (2001), a split ...
. During this period they recorded the ''Fireproof'' EP at Technical Ecstasy studios in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. After the tour, David Allen became their new drummer and Rugman-Jones left the band to become an environmental biologist after the tour, leading to ban hiring new bassist Andrew Wright.


1999–2001: ''13th'' and ''Crystal Lake's Legacy''

From August 1998 and April 1999, the band recorded their second album at Lowfold Studios in
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
, which would be released under the name ''13th'' through Armed with Anger and Six Weeks records. Wright was asked to leave the band soon after due to his addiction to
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
, with his role briefing being filled by Atkinson, before hiring Steve Stewart. This line-up toured the US with Kill Your Idols,
the Nerve Agents The Nerve Agents were an United States of America, American punk rock band formed by Andy Granelli, Andy Outbreak and Eric Ozenne (ex-Redemption 87). Their angry brand of music juxtaposed yelled, sometimes ranting vocals with distorted and oft ...
and
the Explosion The Explosion is an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. On February 13, 2007, the band announced that they had left Virgin Records, and on April 30, 2007, that they were to split up. On September 4, 2007, the band played their ...
in 1999, and then took part in a European tour. They then recorded their third album ''Crystal Lake's Legacy'', which was released in 2001, before breaking up.


2004–present: Reunions

In October 2004, the 'Spilling Blood Without Reason' line-up of Voorhees got together for a one-off show, "Night of the Living Dead at Sea", which was played on a ferry boat on the Mersey River in Liverpool. On 23 and 24 April 2010, Voorhees re-banded to do shows in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
(Netherlands) and
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
(UK). These gigs were meant to be with the classic 'Spilling Blood' line-up, but the volcano ash cloud which grounded all flights to and from Europe the week previous meant Graeme and Paul could not make it as they got stuck in the US Sam Layzell filled in for both shows. He also played in Leeds bands such as Closure, Bonestorm and SickFuckinO with Ian Leck. Ian Leck and Sam Layzell have gone on to provide vocals and bass respectively for Rot in Hell alongside fellow Voorhees guitarist James Atkinson. On Sunday 13 May 2012 Voorhees played an impromptu set at Morrowfest in Nottingham as a tribute to their friend John Paul Morrow who died 10 years ago. This prompted them to reform with a pick and mix line up from all the previous incarnations of the band, they played with Negative Approach in Manchester on Tuesday 16 October 2012, followed by '20 years of Violent' at Bradford 1 in 12 club 23 March 2013, 'Slow End Fest' in Eindhoven 8 June 2013, with Sick of it all (20 years since the first time they played together) in Manchester 28 August, with Indecision in London (Underworld, Camden) on 25 October 2013 and in October 2014 Voorhees returned to Eindhoven for Bloodshed Fest.


Musical style

Voorhees play the genre
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
, influenced by
SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses Integrated circuit, integrated circuits to store data persistence (computer science), persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-stat ...
,
Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little know ...
and
Negative FX Negative FX was a hardcore punk band from Boston, formed in 1981. Though the band lasted only a short time, playing a total of five shows (six flyers exist), the band was well known for their involvement in the local straight edge scene of the ...
.
Maximumrocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...
described their music as "harkening back to the days of hardcore bands having something that drove them, the kind of anger and frustration that drives some people out of the room and has others turning it up louder".
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
described the band's sound as a "blistering" cross between " Discharge and
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,Bonn ...
". In his book ''Armed with Anger'', Ian Glasper described them as "ultra raw -
Boston hardcore Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. Beginning in the early 1980s, bands such as SSD (band), SSD, DYS (band), DYS, Jerry's Kids (band), Jerry's Kids and Negative FX formed a nascent hardcore scene in the city that w ...
workship... like a bloody machete through buttered brains", and in ''Trapped in a Scene'' he described their sound as a "bad-tempered take on brutal old school hardcore".


Discography

;Albums * ''Spilling Blood Without Reason LP'' (1994, Armed with Anger records) * ''13 LP'' (1999, Six Weeks records and Armed with Anger records) * ''Crystal Lake's Legacy LP'' (2001, Six Weeks records) ;EPs * ''Violent 7-inch'' (1993, Armed with Anger records) * ''Everybody's Good at Something... Except Us!'' (1994, Armed with Anger records) * ''Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie / State Oppression'' (1994, Armed with Anger records) * ''What You See Is What You Get'' (1997, Crust records) * ''Fireproof'' (1998, Chainsaw Safety records) * ''Bookburner'' (2000, THD records) ;Splits * ''split 7-inch w/ Stalingrad'' (1995, Thinking Smart records and Caught Offside records) * ''split LP" w/ Devoid of Faith'' (1999, Coalition records and Gloom records) * ''split 7-inch w/ Kill Your Idols'' (2000, Indecision records) * ''split 7-inch w/ Insult'' (2000, Balowski records) * ''split CD w/ Out Cold'' (2000, Blackfish records) * ''split 12-inch w/ Out Cold'' (2001, Deranged records) * ''split 7-inch w/ Radio Alice'' (2004, Hermit records) ;Demos * ''Everybody's Good at Something... Demo Tape'' (1992) * ''Fowlers Yard Demo Tape'' (1992 unreleased) ;Compilations * ''Smiling at Death CD'' (1996, Grand Theft Audio records) * ''The Final Chapter CD'' (2008, Violent Change records) ;Compilations appearances * ''Consolidation 7-inch'' 2000 copies made – Armed With Anger – 1992 * ''Illiterate 12-inch'' 2000 copies made – Ebullition – 1993 * ''All For One... One For All CD'' – Grand Theft Audio – 1995 * ''Endless Struggle: The Worst of the 1 in 12 Club'' vol. 12/13 2×12″ 2000 copies made – 1 in 12 Records – 1995 * ''The Boredom & the Bullshit 7-inch'' 1000 copies made – Refusenik – 1995 * ''Strictly Ballroom 7-inch'' 1000 copies made – Caught Offside – 1996 * ''A Means to an End 12-inch'' 2000 copies made – Armed With Anger – 1997 * ''Reproach 7-inch'' 5000 copies made – Ugly Pop – 1998 * ''Decade of Dissidence – Worst of the 1in12 Club Vol 14/15 CD'' 1000 copies made – 1 in 12 Records – 1999 * ''Hurt Your Feelings CD'' – Six Weeks – 2001 * ''Indecision Records Split Series CD'' – Indecision – 2001 * ''Off Target CD'' – Coalition – 2004 * ''The Bitter Days Ahead CD'' – Ghost City – 2005


Members

;Current * Ian Leck – vocals (1991–2001, 2004, 2010, 2012–present) * Sean Readman – guitar (1991–1996, 2004, 2010, 2012–present), bass (1991) * Rob Bewick – bass (2016–present) * Dave Allen – drums (1997–2001, 2012–2013, 2013–present) ;Past * David Brown – bass (1991) * Darrell Hindley – guitar (1991–1993) * Gary Cousins – drums (1991–1993) * Michael Gillham – drums (1993–1996, 1997, 2004, 2010) * Graeme Nicholls – guitar (1993–1996, 2004) * Gareth Pugh – drums (1996–1997) * Local Student Chris – drums (1997) * Paul Rugman-Jones – bass (1991–1997) * Andrew Wright – bass (1997; died 2009) * Richard Armitage – guitar (1996–2001) * James Atkinson – guitar (1996–2001), bass (1997) * Steve Stewart – bass (1997–2001, 2004) * Sam Layzell – bass (2010, 2012–2016) * Jonny Payne – bass (2012) * Steven Fletcher – drums (2013) * Tom Chapman – guitar (2012–2018)


Timeline


References


External links


Official Myspace

Official website from later period

BBC Radio 1 – Peel Session Page

Voorhees' Discogs entry


{{DEFAULTSORT:Voorhees (band) British hardcore punk groups Musical groups from County Durham Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom