Onslaught
Formed: 1982
From:
Bristol,
United Kingdom
Last Known Status: Active
Background
Onslaught was formed in 1982 by Nige Rockett (guitar) and Steve Grice (drums). The band began life under the influence of the second generation of hard-core punk bands like Discharge, G.B.H, & The Exploited and the more metal influence of Motorhead. After 2 years of writing and hard gigging a deal was secured with underground label Children of the Revolution, and the band released its first album, Power From Hell, in 1985 with the lineup of Nige Rockett (Guitars), Steve Grice (Drums), Paul Mahoney (Vocals) and Jason Stellard on bass. The album was fervently received by the nascent thrash underground and contained a number of tracks that were to grow to become considered as thrash metal anthems, including the eponymous Onslaught (Power From Hell), Angels of Death and Death Metal (itself the subject of some conjecture – was this tune the first usage of the term ’Death Metal’ anywhere?) In 1986, Onslaught with the addition of new vocalist Sy Keeler signed to the mighty ’Music for Nations’ records which saw the release of the highly acclaimed ’The Force’ album, for many this is the definitive Onslaught record, containing more thrash classics like ’Let There Be Death, Metal Forces and Fight with the Beast’, the album received rave reviews across the world and catapulted Onslaught in to the higher circles of thrash metal and were seen by many as Europes hopefuls to end the American domination of the metal scene.. Touring with Motorhead, a legendary appearance at the 1st Dynamo Festival and shows with Anthrax and Nuclear Assault, simply added more firepower to Onslaughts evergrowing arsenal.. The huge success of ‘The Force’ album saw a wealth of major labels chasing Onslaughts signatures for the release of the 3rd album ‘In Search Of Sanity’. Onslaught eventually signed with ‘London records’ before releasing ISOS in 1989, but this was not to be without controversy.. Sy Keeler was unceremoniously sacked by the record company and Steve Grimmett was brought in as his replacement. The album was the bands biggest selling album to date, containing blistering thrashers like ‘Lightning War’ ‘Powerplay’ and the epic ‘Welcome To Dying’.. but die-hard Onslaught fans found the album too much of a departure from previous releases, due to the over-polished production and the replacement of Sy Keeler… Was this Onslaughts ’Final Moment’….? No, 15 years pass, Power From Hell & The Force are re-released on cd through the ’Blackened’ label, the interest in Onslaught is still strong, little did people know the band had reformed and had been secretly writing / rehearsing for 6 months at a hideaway outside Bristol.. Onslaught are returned with Sy Keeler once again at the mic. They then signed a worldwide deal with the impressive ’Candlelight’ label and the band entered ‘Backstage Studios’ Derbyshire, with long time friend Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Exodus) at the production / mixing helm..to record their 4th studio album ’Killing Peace’ The album was released to much critical acclaim in March 2007.
Latest Onslaught News
Below is our complete Onslaught news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
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Entombed Added to Onslaught, Susperia London Gig
Long-running Swedish metallers ENTOMBED have been added to the May 7 concert at the Underworld in London, England featuring ONSLAUGHT and SUSPERIA.
ENTOMBED will release its new album, "Serpent Saints – The Ten Amendments", in Germany on July 13 through Threeman Recordings via a special arrangement with Candlelight Records. The 10-song effort will mark the group's first release with drummer Olle Dahlstedt (ALPHA SAFARI, ex-MISERY LOVES CO.), who replaced Peter Stjärnvind in 2006. The band has also scheduled a special showcase gig on May 3 at the Ballroom in Hamburg, Germany. Songtitles set to appear on the new CD include "In the Blood" and "The Dead, The Dying and the Dying to be Dead". Mastering duties will take place at the end of the month with Soren Elofsson at Cosmos Mastering in Stockholm, Sweden.
With regards to the musical direction of the new album, the band previously said, "'Serpents Saints' goes wider and deeper than the 'When In Sodom' EP but it's a pretty good indicator. It's no concept album but an ambitious attempt at creating a solid album with some recurring themes. Almost like the soundtrack to the film with the same name."
Susperia To Join W.A.S.P. On European Tour
Norwegian melodic thrashers SUSPERIA will join US metal gods WASP as “Special Guests” on selected shows of the forthcoming European tour. Some confusion has arisen over which dates the band will play, due to incorrect information being published in certain parts of the media. SUSPERIA will join the Lawless crew on the following dates: More...
Onslaught Forced To Halt Greek Show Due To Injury
The reformed lineup of the classic U.K. thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT was forced to halt its show in Thessaloniki, Greece on Saturday (January 27) due to an injury sustained to a stage-diver.
Commented the group's vocalist, Sy Keeler: "While we encourage audience participation at our shows, you have all got to look out for one another. The fan was about to perform a backflip into the mass which was the pit when he slipped and mashed his head against the stage and knocked himself out, forcing us to halt proceedings for five minutes while he recieved medical attention. We really thought we'd witnessed a serious injury, but within minutes he was back on his feet. I must add that the pit crew/security were second to none with their work helping people stay safe; this was just an unfortunate accident. I am pleased to report he made a full recovery in time to witness NAPALM DEATH."
IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson aired "Twisted Jesus" from the new ONSLAUGHT album "Killing Peace" on his January 27 BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "Rock Show". You can listen to the program again online at this location (the song airs at just after two hours).
Here are some additional Onslaught tour dates:
February 12 - (PL) Warsaw, Stodola Club
February 18 - (NL) Thrash Til' Burg Fest, 013 Club Tilburg
March 03 - (UK) Killing Peace Album Launch Party Bristol, Yate
Onslaught Release New Track Online
A full-length version of the new ONSLAUGHT track "Shock & Awe" is available for streaming via the band's newly re-launched web site. You can check it out at this location. The song comes off the reformed lineup of the classic U.K. thrash outfit's upcoming album, "Killing Peace", due on March 5 via Candlelight Records.
"Killing Peace" was recorded at Backstage studio in Derbyshire, England with producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE). The complete track listing is as follows:
01. Burn
02. Killing Peace
03. Destroyer of Worlds
04. Pain
05. A Prayer for the Dead
06. Tested to Destruction
07. Twisted Jesus
08. Planting Seeds of Hate
09. Shock & Awe
The band has also re-recorded its classic first-album title track, "Power from Hell". The song was reborn on the 6/6/06 and mixed by Andy Henderson.
ONSLAUGHT's current lineup includes Sy Keeler (vocals), Nige Rockett (guitars), Steve Grice (drums), James Hinder (bass) and the group's latest addition, guitarist Alan Jordan (ex-MIRROR MIRROR, FRANKENSTEIN).
Commented Keeler: "We've had positive response from all who've heard our 'masterpiece' and we're so looking forward to the release on March 5th. The artwork (by Jeff Williams) for the album excites us as much as the music; each lyric page has great artwork linked to the song."
ONSLAUGHT is currently putting together gigs for 2007. Already confirmed are dates in Greece with NAPALM DEATH and Warsaw, Poland on February 12, which will be shot for a DVD release. A video for the album's title track, "Killing Peace", will be shot this month.
January 27 - (GR) Thessaloniki, Hydrogios
January 28 - (GR) Athens, An Club
February 12 - (PL) Warsaw, Stodola Club
Vader, Solitude Aeturnus Polish Gig To Be Filmed
VADER, SOLITUDE AETURNUS, and ONSLAUGHT will team up for a mini-festival on February 12, 2007 at the Stodola Club in Warsaw, Poland. All three bands' sets will be filmed for separate DVD releases, tentatively due next year. A fourth, as-yet-undisclosed group will also appear on the bill.
VADER will team up with BRUTAL TRUTH for three "Extreme The Dojo Tour Vol. 17" Japanese dates in early March.
VADER will enter Hertz Studio in Poland in March 2007 to re-record 25 of the best songs from their entire discography for a 25th anniversary release, to be issued in 2008. The set will also include a DVD containing tons of bonus features, such as archival recordings, live shows, video clips and other special material. Jaroslaw Szubrycht, a well-known Polish journalist who recently finished a book about SLAYER, will write a VADER biography.
VADER's "Impressions in Blood" album entered the Polish national chart at position No. 8. The band's video for the song "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" has been posted online at YouTube.com. The clip was shot with director Andrzej Wyrozebski, who is said to be one of the leading movie producers in Poland. Janusz Kr?l (known from the Polish fantasy movie "Wiedzmin") was responsible for all special effects and the whole set design. Slawomir Panasewicz (who has worked on over 140 video clips!) was a cameraman.
"Impressions in Blood" was recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland and features artwork by Greek artist Seth (ROTTING CHRIST, PARADISE LOST).
Brutal Assault Festival Lineup Nearly Complete
The 11th edition of the Brutal Assault festival is scheduled for August 10th - 12th in Svojsice U Prelouce (100 km east of Prague), Czech Republic.
Organizers have issued the following update:
This year’s event promises more impressive expansion and confirms that the organizers don’t intend to stagnate. On the contrary, from year to year, the festival’s program is more and more various and promises more and more foreign metal crowd-pullers for the fans of promiscuous extreme genres. Thanks to the participation of many first-rate metal bands, this event aspires to become a major metal festival in central Europe.
It’s difficult to say which band can be branded as the headliner because this year’s lineup offers up several giants of the metal genre.
Great attraction, especially for fans of atmospheric or symphonic black metal are Norwegians black metal gurus DIMMU BORGIR. In their case we can look for a frosty and dark concert experience.
The next exclusive guest comes from the USA. FEAR FACTORY, who were well known as a representatives of dehumanized cyber metal, but nowadays they come with a new actual face of the year 2006. More...
Onslaught Sign With Candlelight Records
Reformed classic British thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT has signed a deal with Candlelight Records for the release of their long-awaited fourth album, "Killing Peace". The band are scheduled to enter the studio the first week of July with producer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS) to begin recording the effort for an October 23 release. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Destroyer of Worlds", "Pain", "Tested to Destruction", "Burn", "Shock and Awe", "Prayer for the Dead", "Twisted Jesus", and "Killing Peace". The band's current lineup includes Sy Keeler (vocals), Nige Rockett (guitars), Steve Grice (drums), James Hinder (bass) and the group's latest addition, guitarist Alan Jordan (ex-MIRROR MIRROR, FRANKENSTEIN).
ONSLAUGHT recorded three albums in the late 1980s — including the underrated "In Search of Sanity" (1989, Polydor), featuring ex-GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett — before calling it a day.
Upcoming ONSLAUGHT shows:
Jun. 17 - Lorca Rock - Lorca, SPA
Aug. 05 - Monsters of Rock - BUL
Aug. 12 - Brutal Assault Festival - CZR
Sep. 16-17 - Thrash Domination - Tokyo, JPN
Sep. 30 - Bloodstock - Derby, UK
Onslaught To Play One-Off UK Date With Testament
Reformed classic British thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT will play a one-off date with TESTAMENT and XENTRIX at Bradford Rio's on June 3. This will be the only U.K. date that TESTAMENT will be playing with ONSLAUGHT and XENTRIX. It will be ONSLAUGHT's last U.K. appearance before going off to record their new studio album.
ONSLAUGHT will enter the studio the first week of July to begin recording their fourth CD, "Killing Peace", tentatively due in September via an as-yet-undisclosed label. The band's current lineup includes Sy Keeler (vocals), Nige Rockett (guitars), Steve Grice (drums), James Hinder (bass) and the group's latest addition, guitarist Alan Jordan (ex-MIRROR MIRROR, FRANKENSTEIN). Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Destroyer of Worlds", "Pain", "Tested to Destruction", "Burn", "Shock and Awe", "Prayer for the Dead", "Twisted Jesus", and "Killing Peace".
ONSLAUGHT recorded three albums in the late 1980s - including the underrated "In Search of Sanity" (1989, Polydor), featuring ex-GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett - before calling it a day.
Onslaught To Enter Studio In July
Reformed classic British thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT will enter the studio the first week of July to begin recording their new album, "Killing Peace", tentatively due in September via an as-yet-undetermined label. The band's current lineup includes Sy Keeler (vocals), Nige Rockett (guitars), Steve Grice (drums), James Hinder (bass) and the group's latest addition, guitarist Alan Jordan (ex-MIRROR MIRROR, FRANKENSTEIN).
ONSLAUGHT recorded three albums in the late 1980s - including the underrated "In Search of Sanity" (1989, Polydor), featuring ex-GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett - before calling it a day.
ONSLAUGHT have been confirmed for the Brutal Assault festival, set to take place August 10 12 at Svojsice U Prelouce (100 km east of Prague) in the Czech Republic. Also scheduled to appear are AMORPHIS, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, DIMMU BORGIR, GOREFEST, MAYHEM, and SICK OF IT ALL, among others.
My Dying Bride To Headline Bloodstock 2006
British Doom Metallers MY DYING BRIDE have been confirmed as the headliners of the 6th annual Bloodstock Festival to be held at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, UK on 29th-30th September 2006. MY DYING BRIDE are only the second UK band to have headlined the event, previously SAXON headlined in 2001 and 2003.
The current Bloodstock line-up is shaping up as follows:
AGANKAST
AWAKEN
AXEL RUDI PELL
BEYOND AFTERLIFE
BRAINSTORM
CAPTIVE AUDIO
DEADFALL
DIED SMILING
EDEN
ENEMY UNKNOWN
ILLUMINATUS
MACHINE MEN
MAEL MORDHA
MAJESTY
MARSHALL LAW
MY DYING BRIDE
OMNIUM GATHERUM
ONSLAUGHT
PRIMAL FEAR
SPELLBLAST
STEEL TORMENTOR
SWORN AMONGST
Another 6 bands are to be announced over the forthcoming weeks, including 2 special slots given over to bands that have entered a raffle to play the show. Any band interested in entering the raffle should contact the organisers at the BLOODSTOCK festivals new website.
In related news, the second BLOODSTOCK OPEN-AIR festival is taking place on July 14th-15th 2006 at Catton Hall, South Derbyshire, UK. Currently confirmed bands are:
ASHTAR
ATHEIST
ENSIFERUM
NOCTURNAL RITES
PYRAMAZE
RAUNCHY
SEASON'S END
TURISAS
More bands will be announced over the forthcoming weeks. Tickets (which will be sent out during April) for both shows are available from bloodstock.uk.com.
More Bands Confirmed For Bloodstock 2006
Bloodstock 2006 has announced that the UK's reformed thrashers ONSLAUGHT have been confirmed to join PRIMAL FEAR, MACHINE MEN, OMNIUM GATHERUM, DIED SMILING, ENEMY UNKNOWN, BEYOND AFTERLIFE and STEEL TORMENTOR to be the first 8 bands for the 6th annual BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL to be held at the Assembly Rooms in Derby on 29th - 30th September 2006. Details with links to the bands respective websites are now online at bloodstockfestival.com.
There will be 25-26 bands in total, so another 17-18 will be announced in the forthcoming months.
Tickets for the 2-day show are £51 including a £1 booking fee. Or combine tickets and merchandise with the Bloodstock Open Air for the Supporters Club pass for £120. Tickets and Passes are available to buy online now at bloodstockfestival.com. The artwork for Bloodstock 2006 will be online shortly, with details of some new 2006 merchandise.
In related new, the first bands for the second BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR festival on July 14th - 15th, 2006 will be announced shortly. Separate tickets for this show will be available when the first bands are announced.
Reunited Onslaught Play First Gig In 15 Years
The reformed lineup of the classic U.K. thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT played their first gig in almost fifteen years Friday night (November 25) in Bristol, England. The group's setlist was as follows:
01. Let There Be Death
02. Angels Of Death
03. Metal Forces
04. Destroyer Of Worlds
05. Shellshock
06. Demoniac
07. (New Song)
08. Flame Of The Antichrist
09. Tested To Destruction
10. Killing Peace
11. Lightning War
12. Seeds Of Hate
13. Onslaught (Power From Hell)
You can check out photos and a review of last night's performance at RockersDigest.com.
In a recent interview with RockersDigest.com, bassist James Hinder spoke about the band's decision to reunite and their future plans. With regards to what made the band want to reform, Hinder said, "Nige [Rockett, guitar] and Steven [Grice, drums] have known each other for years, they've known each other for 20-plus years and they were friends after the band split up and they live very close to one another in Bristol. They became aware of the fact that a label had released, unbeknown to ourselves, 'Power from Hell' and 'The Force' and they were selling. They weren't selling huge quantities, probably selling a couple of thousand copies a year whatever, but obviously somebody was making some remuneration from that. So they were scratching their heads as to what was going on with this. Anyway, Steven received a royalty statement, I can't remember which company, but he received a royalty statement for five pence! He sat and thought, 'This is silly,' because somebody somewhere is taking the piss here. So he got together with Nige and they thought about it for a while and thought, 'Why don't we ask Simon [Keeler, vocals] and Jim?' So with Sy, apparently there was one of these classic moments. Steven used to do some printing work for Sy. So they were at Sy's place of work and Steve asked, 'Can you do this job for me? And by the way, do you fancy getting ONSLAUGHT back together?' Simon apparently got up and made a cup of tea and came back and said, 'Course I would, you f**king idiot!'
"Steven rang me, I was up in the flat living in Cheltenham at the time and I received this call one day expecting someone harassing me from work or whatever, slammed my laptop down, picked the phone up and shouted 'Yes!' And it was Gricey. He said 'Hello, you alright? How do you fancy getting the band back together? And I said 'What the f**k are you on, you twat?' but he said, 'No, seriously.'
"Anyway, we got together in a pub, we all sat round a table the four of us, we laid down the ground rules for what we were trying to achieve. And the great contrast of what we have now is that this band is a 100% democracy. None of us need it, with a capital N, we do it because we want to do it and we do it because we love it. But nobody in the band needs it or, I don't know, everything that goes with being on a major label, you know, all the kind of idiots that are telling you you're the greatest thing since sliced bread and all the rest of it. There's a difference, a shift now, more of an inner confidence and I think it's reflecting on the new tunes we are coming out with. They're very, I think, representative of the genre and very competent I believe. I'll leave for other people to say what they're like, but I'm very happy with what we're doing and I'll leave it at that. I get my own internal satisfaction out of it."
You can read the entire interview at RockersDigest.com.
ONSLAUGHT recorded three albums in the late 1980s, including the underrated "In Search of Sanity" (1989, Polydor), featuring ex-GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett, before calling it a day.
Hypocrisy To Headline X-mass Festivals
Hypocrisy will invade Europe once again as headliners of this year's X-Mass-Festivals. Also featured on the bill are label-mates Exodus and Wintersun, along with Naglfar and Primordial.
X-mass Festibals 2005:
Dec 04 Paris, FR - La Locomotive
Dec 05 Essen, D - Zeche Carl
Dec 06 Berlin, D - K17
Dec 07 Munchen, D - Backstage
Dec 08 Brno, CZ - Fleda
Dec 09 Engelsdorf, D - Hellraiser
Dec 10 Wien, A - Planet Music
Dec 11 Insbruck, A - Hafen
Dec 12 Rome, ITA - Alpheus
Dec 13 Pratteln, CH - Z7
Dec 14 Ludwigsburg, D - Rockfabrik
Dec 15 Hanau, D - Halle 2
Dec 16 Strasbourg, FR - La Laiterie
Dec 17 Tilburg, NL - 013 (w/ Onslaught and 6 more acts TBA - 2 stages)
Dec 18 Antwerpen, BL - Hof Ter Loo (w/ Onslaught and 3 more acts TBA)
For more information, visit www.metallysee.com.
