Flotsam and Jetsam
| Flotsam and Jetsam | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Speed metal , thrash metal |
| founding | 1981 |
| Website | www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com |
| Founding members | |
| Eric AK | |
| Edward Carlson | |
| Michael Gilbert | |
| Jason Newsted (until 1986) | |
| Kelly David-Smith | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Eric AK |
guitar |
Steve Conley |
guitar |
Michael Gilbert |
bass |
Jason Ward (since 1991) |
Drums |
Ken Mary (since 2017) |
| former members | |
bass |
Phil Rind (1986) |
bass |
Mike Spencer (1987) |
bass |
Troy Gregory (1988-1991) |
guitar |
Mark Simpson (1997-2010) |
singing |
James Rivera (2001, on tour) |
Drums |
Craig Nielsen (1997-2011) |
guitar |
Edward Carlson (1984-2014) |
Drums |
Kelly-David Smith (1984–1997, 2011–2014) |
Drums |
Jason Bittner (2014-2017) |
Flotsam and Jetsam is a US Speed - / thrash metal - band from Phoenix , Arizona , founded 1981st
history
1981–1986: The first steps
Originally the band, initially only consisting of Jason Newsted , was called "Gangster", until it was renamed "Paradox" with the drummer Kelly Smith. The first professional appearance together with the guitarists Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton they completed under the name "Dredlox". Singer Eric A. Knutson joined the band in 1983, as did Edward Carlson, who replaced Kevin Horton on guitar. At that time the band called itself "Dogz". The band chose the final name "Flotsam and Jetsam" because of a song of the same name that they had written. This was inspired by a chapter in JRR Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings .
The band played mainly in local clubs, but also in California, along with bands like Megadeth , Armored Saint , Alcatrazz , Exciter , Malice and Autograph. The then 17-year-old Michael Gilbert replaced Mark Vasquez after his departure in early 1985. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes , Metal Shock and Iron Tears , which attracted leading metal indie labels.
1986-1988: Doomsday for the Deceiver
After the band contributed songs on the albums Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII , they got a contract with Metal Blade Records . Then came 1986 the first album with the title Doomsday for the Deceiver , produced by Brian Slagel and released in July 1986. The record is regarded by many as a milestone in Thrash Metal history.
Bassist Jason Newsted , who was also the main songwriter on the first album, left Flotsam and Jetsam in October 1986 to join the band Metallica and replace their late bassist Cliff Burton . Jason's last appearance with Flotsam and Jetsam was on October 31, 1986. With the Sentinel Beast bassist Mike Spencer a replacement was found for a short time, with whom Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to Metallica's label Elektra Records and in 1987 they completed a European tour with Megadeth.
1988-1992: No Place for Disgrace and When the Storm Comes Down
However, Mike Spencer lost his position to Troy Gregory in 1988 and that same year the band's second album, No Place for Disgrace , was recorded, considered by many metallers to be a particularly strong metal album. It was released in May 1988 and includes a cover version of Elton John's hit Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) . The band toured America as the opening act for King Diamond and toured Europe with Megadeth and Testament on the So-Far-So-Good-So-What festival tour.
Fifteen months after its release, Flotsam and Jetsam was signed by major MCA label and began working on their third album When the Storm Comes Down , which was released in 1990. The band expected to make their breakthrough with the album, but the disc suffered mainly from the below-average production. As grunge and death metal were very popular at the time, many fans dropped the band.
1992-1995: Cuatro
Shortly afterwards, Troy Gregory left Flotsam and Jetsam and the band had to find a bassist again. She found Jason Ward, considered by many to be as talented as Jason Newsted. However, MCA urged the band to record music in a different direction, as Thrash Metal would likely keep them unknown forever. So it came about that Cuatro , published in 1992, has a complete style change; there is no more speed or thrash song on it. Chris Cornell co-wrote the song The Message . The album became quite successful, also thanks to the good production by Neil Kernon . Nevertheless, the band was still denied entry into the Billboard charts . Flotsam and Jetsam now also made an effort in terms of promotion: Unlike before, four singles were released from Cuatro, and videos were made for the songs Swatting at Flies and Wading Through the Darkness .
1995–1999: Drift and High
In April 1995 the fifth album Drift was released , which Jason Ward dedicated to his brother Jeff, who died in 1993 (drummer with Nine Inch Nails , Lard ). Flotsam and Jetsam stayed true to their quieter and more modern Metal in order to gain more listeners and released three singles. After the album was released, the band was still relatively quiet, and a longer break followed.
While Flotsam and Jetsam were on tour with Megadeth and KORN , the group was dropped by MCA and soon returned to their old label Metal Blade Records .
The 1997 album High featured the song titles in the lettering / logo of well-known bands such as Iron Maiden , Metallica , Kiss , Van Halen , AC / DC , Judas Priest , Misfits etc. The songs were more experimental than before, and the album also contained a faster version of the Lard song Fork-Boy , but it didn't impress fans as much as their two debut works. With high , guitarist Michael Gilbert and drummer Kelly Smith left the band, making way for Mark Simpson (guitar) and Craig Nielsen (drums). For a long time Flotsam and Jetsam played in Germany at the Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen and toured Europe with Anvil and Exciter with the new band members Simpson and Nielsen.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
In 1999 Unnatural Selection appeared , after which Mark Simpson took a break. In 2000 he returned, however, as a new album was announced. In May 2001 the eighth work My God is published and Mark wrote the majority of the songs. Meanwhile, Eric AK formed a country / western band called "The AK Corral". Demotivated by the lack of success for 15 years, he left Flotsam and Jetsam. Nevertheless, the band did not break up, but took a longer break. With James Rivera a singer was found who represented Eric in live performances. The band later noticed, however, that Eric could not be replaced by any other singer, whereupon James left the band again.
2002–2006: Live in Phoenix and Dreams of Death
Flotsam and Jetsam were only sporadically active between 2002 and 2003, but Eric AK returned to the stage for a few concerts in 2003 in the greater Phoenix and Los Angeles areas. A recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live DVD Live in Phoenix . Shortly after, Eric AK officially rejoined the band and Flotsam and Jetsam were planning a comeback album. The lyrics of the new songs were very much influenced by AK's nightmares in which he killed people who were close to him. When he then presented the lyrics in the studio, it turned out that a concept album was created in which not only the title ( Dreams of Death , the second song from the album No Place for Disgrace ) reminds of old times. The album was released on the Crash Music label and was released on September 12, 2005 in Germany.
2006 to date: Live in Japan, Once in a Deathtime and The Cold
On February 17, 2006, the second live DVD Live in Japan was released , showing the band performing on the 2004 Thrash Domination Tour in Japan. For more than nine years Flotsam and Jetsam played live again in Germany at the Bang Your Head Festival in June 2006. Ed Carlson, who was prevented from doing another job, was replaced by former guitarist Michael Gilbert.
In 2006 Flotsam and Jetsam's first album, Doomsday for the Deceiver , celebrates its 20th anniversary. A special edition containing two CDs and one DVD was released on this occasion. One CD contains the original version of the album and the songs from the Iron Tears demo, while the second CD contains a remastered version with four bonus tracks from the 1985 Metal Shock demos. The DVD contains live performances from 1984 and 1985 including four unreleased tracks, interviews and photos.
In spring 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This gig was released as a live DVD Once in a Deathtime . Metal Mind Productions from Poland released remastered versions of the albums When the Storm Comes Down , Cuatro , Drift and Dreams of Death, some of them with bonus tracks .
From June 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to a new record label: Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian Welch .
The band headlined the German music festival Keep It True in November 2008.
A short European tour in August 2009 was the last with longtime guitarist Edward Carlson. He left the formation in friendship in March 2010 and was replaced by the former guitarist Michael Gilbert, who made his comeback on the European tour in April 2010. As a replacement for the temporarily absent bassist Jason Ward, Shane Martinez played this tour.
On September 14th 2010 the 10th studio album The Cold was released. Following the recordings, guitarist Mark Simpson left the band in 2010 for professional reasons, whereupon Edward Calson rejoined her.
About a year later, former drummer Kelly-David Smith returned to the band to replace defunct Craig Nielsen.
The twelfth studio album Ugly Noise was released on December 21, 2012 . For the first time since the 1997 album High , the two founding members Michael Gilbert (guitar) and Kelly David Smith (drums) can be heard again.
After the classic No Place for Disgrace was re-recorded and released in 2014, the thirteenth album Flotsam and Jetsam was released in 2016 .
The fourteenth album The End of Chaos was released on January 18, 2019 .
Discography
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Albums
- Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)
- No Place for Disgrace (1988)
- When the Storm Comes Down (1990)
- Cuatro (1992)
- Drift (1995)
- High (1997)
- Unnatural Selection (1999)
- My God (2001)
- Dreams of Death (2005)
- Live in Phoenix (2005, Mausoleum Records )
- Once in a Deathtime (2008)
- The Cold (2010)
- Ugly Noise (2012)
- No Place for Disgrace 2014 (new recording, 2014)
- Flotsam and Jetsam (2016)
- The End of Chaos (2019)
Singles and EPs
- Flotzilla (1987)
- Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (1988)
- Suffer the Masses (1990)
- The Master Sleeps (1990)
- Never to Reveal (1992)
- Wading Through the Darkness (1992)
- Cradle Me Now (1992)
- Swatting at Flies (1993)
- Smoked Out (1995)
- Blindside (1995)
- Destructive Signs (1995)
Video albums
- Live in Phoenix (2004)
- Live in Japan (2006)
- Once in a Deathtime (2008)
swell
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Flotsam and Jetsam at Allmusic (English)
- Flotsam and Jetsam at Discogs (English)
- Flotsam and Jetsam on Myspace
- Flotsam and Jetsam band profile on Nuclear Blast
- Flotsam and Jetsam at laut.de