Heir Apparent (band)

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He Apparent
General information
origin Seattle , Washington , United States
Genre (s) Power metal , progressive metal
founding 1984, 1998
resolution 1990
Website www.heirapparent.com
Founding members
Terry Alan Gorle (Sapien and Nemesis 1983, Heir Apparent 1984–1989, since 1998)
Paul Davidson (1984–1987, 2000, 2011)
Derek Peace (Nemesis 1983, Heir Apparent 1984–1990, 2000, since 2011)
Jim Kovach (Nemesis 1983, Heir Apparent 1984)
Current occupation
Electric guitar
 Terry Alan Gorle (Sapien and Nemesis 1983, Heir Apparent 1984–1989, since 1998)
singing
 Will Shaw (since 2015)
Electric bass
 Derek Peace (Nemesis 1983, Heir Apparent 1984–1990, 2000, since 2011)
Drums
 Ray (also: Raymond) Schwartz (also: Black) (1984–1989, 2000, since 2011)
former members
singing
 Steve Benito (1987–1990)
singing
 Michael James Flatters (2000)
singing
 Bryan Hagan (2002–2003; † 2012)
singing
 Mike Bair (2003)
singing
 Peter Orullian (2003-2006)
singing
 Jeff Carrell (2012)
singing
 Sean Aust (2012)
Electric guitar
 Klaus Derendorf (1989–1990)
Electric bass
 Duane Bakke (1986-1987)
Electric bass
 Todd Pederson (1987)
Electric bass
 Randy Nelson (1987)
Electric bass
 Jay Wegener (1998)
Drums
 Bobby Ferkovich (2003-2006, 2012)
Drums
 Jeffrey McCormack (1989–1990, 2004–2006)
Drums
 Bryce Stockton (2001)
Drums
 Gary Stafford (2001)
Drums
 Thomas Kellener (2001-2002)
Drums
 Clint Clark (2003-2004, 2012)
Keyboards
 Nathan McCoy (1985)
Keyboards
 Michael Jackson (1987–1990)
Keyboards
 Op Sakiya (2003-2006)
Live and session members
singing
 Cory Rivers (Nemesis 1983-1984)
Electric bass
 Scott Bringedahl (Sapien and Nemesis 1983)
Drums
 Matt Bazemore (Nemesis 1983)

Heir Apparent ( English for " heir to the throne ") is an American heavy metal band that, after their founding runs in 1983, finally constituted themselves in 1984 under a new name and, despite their long existence with line-up changes, only released three (regular) albums .

history

founding

Terry Alan Gorle, who worked in Seattle as a sound engineer and occasional guitarist, wanted to put together a band in 1983 to embark on a professional music career, and had Kim Harris at his side as a consultant. He was also involved in the construction of Queensrÿche . Sapien was the name of the first stage of development. Gorle also sang at first, with the entry of singer Cory Rivers and bassist Matt Bazemore in the fall of 1983, who had been with Queensrÿche's newcomer Geoff Tate at Babylon, the band changed their name to Nemesis. Bazemore moved behind the scenes, for example as a graphic designer , and remained Gorle's best friend through the 2000s. Rivers, on the other hand, did not feel that he was in good hands with the group and quit his job after four months of membership.

With the next new man recruited from a local cover band (the then current rhythm musicians had already played in one with Gorle) came the next new name, this time Heir Apparent. It was founded in the spring of 1984 by Terry Gorle (electric guitar), Paul Davidson (vocals), Derek Peace (electric bass) and Jim Kovach (drums).

First album

Since Queensrÿche got off to a flying start and management became a full-time job, Harris had to leave his friend Terry Gorle to himself. An LP production was actually planned in the Triad studios, which had already been booked for July 1984. However, Harris' withdrawal also created a funding gap. In order to meet the deadline and to avoid over-indebtedness , the project was reduced to a five-track demo . The demo was well received by the radio stations in Seattle and as a result of the airplay it made regional awareness.

A line-up change took place immediately afterwards, when Jim Kovach's departure in August was compensated for by the arrival of Raymond Schwartz in September. Two test appearances outside of Seattle in the sideline of another small band took place before the first real appearance was held on December 21, 1984. After the metal band was accepted by the audience, they toured the states of Washington and Idaho .

In early 1985, with privately borrowed money, preparations were made for an album recording, which was only interrupted by a television appearance in April. In the summer of 1985 the album was largely recorded and Heir Apparent was waiting for a record deal . Gorle sent a packet of demo tapes to Rock Hard in Germany , where what they heard met with enthusiasm, which in turn piqued the curiosity of the Paris- based label Black Dragon. The label contacted the band through a record dealer in Seattle. In October 1985 the contract with Black Dragon Records was negotiated. The label took over the previous recordings, laid off the production debts, finished the album and released it under the title Graceful Inheritance in January 1986. However, the band was not satisfied with the label because, according to Paul Davidson, it hardly did anything for the band and the tours were poorly organized. It also changed the band logo and the cover design. Davidson favored support through a major label .

The keyboardist Nathan McCoy had contributed musically to it. However, he was not allowed to become an official member of the band, as Black Dragon refused further expenses. He was associated for a while afterwards, but preferred the security of another permanent engagement. Since Cory Rivers had saved the songs Hands of Destiny and Tear Down the Walls from his time at Helm's Deep into the repertoire of Nemesis and added a text to one of the newly composed songs, he appears in the credits. Raymond Schwartz had just renamed himself Raymond Black and was printed on the album. His predecessor Jim Kovac, who had meanwhile pursued a civil profession as a teacher, had insisted on taking part again, even though his instrument was only the carillon . The already mentioned Tear Down the Walls had already been released for the sampler Pacific Metal Project before the album was released.

The band would have loved to work with a keyboardist again, but all financial circumstances spoke against it. The material support that the members received from family and friends could not cover the running costs on their own, so they also went to work on the side. Because only the European market was served (with the exception of a few imported copies, which have sold well) there was a desire for a major deal in the USA, whereby the album would be licensed. The management's work was also not considered to be optimal, as most of the work had to be done by yourself. Overall, in the opinion of the band, there was a problem with increased promotion efforts. In addition, they had bad luck with the time of the European tour with Savage Grace , which started in France on May 18, 1986 . In Germany, Heir Apparent performed in almost empty halls during the Metal Hammer Roadshow in June. The tour turned into a fiasco because the World Cup was taking place at the same time .

Having recently returned, bassist Derek Peace defected to Savage Grace. Keyboardist Michael Jackson was part of the band from September 1986 and was immediately involved in the songwriting . In addition, a report went public in which a certain Todd Pederson was introduced as the new bass player. Instead of him, Duane Bakke took over as bass player with effect from November / December 1986, who was replaced by Randy Nelson in January 1987. Bakke's only assignment was the 1986 New Year's Eve concert at Seattle's Paramount Theater . Nelson fared little better, because after the recordings of the songs Tomorrow Night and We, the People in the spring of 1987, Derek Peace coveted his place back. The decisive factor was, on the one hand, Savage Grace's stylistically restrictive commitment to speed metal , and, on the other hand, his friendship with Raymond Schwartz, who asked him to put an end to the confusion about the bassist position.

In April 1987 Paul Davidson resigned because of an addiction problem - and not, as the band's homepage benevolently indicates, because of uncertain future prospects. Later that year, a contract document was reached with Semaphore , but it did not come into effect or was simply not signed at all by the company, which was reluctant to bear production costs, as Gorle later stated. Steve Benito from Portland was signed in May 1987. A friend in the Triad studio had worked with Benito and passed his phone number on to Gorle. Gorle considered Benito's voice to be equivalent to that of Ronnie James Dio and Geoff Tate, which is why he exuded confidence. Shortly afterwards they were ready to perform live and have it recorded. The first of several other concerts with Benito took place on July 4th, 1987. A live album planned for autumn 1987 remained pure digital tape because of the disappointment of the semaphore.

Second album

In 1987, songwriting began for a regular album that only became a demo that was circulated as Recordings '88 . An ex-girlfriend contacted Metal Blade Records . The label led by Brian Slagel was convinced by the qualities of the band at the latest when he appeared as a Poison representative in the opening act of David Lee Roth in June 1988 . The contract was signed in October 1988. It provided for seven albums.

The album One Small Voice , recorded by Terry Gorle, Steve Benito, Derek Peace, Ray Black and Michael Jackson, was released in June 1989. The recordings had again taken place in the Triad premises in Redmond . Since the band had 18,000 dollars at their disposal, in addition to the inevitable costs too little for a professional producer, they had produced the sound carrier themselves with the help of sound engineer Tom Hall. Most of the songs had been written a long time ago, with the exception of the songs Cacophony of Anger and Decorated, which were specially tailored by Peace to the European audience . The recordings had ended with the mixing on February 18th. Giving in to tactical considerations about cross-generational awareness, it also contains a cover version of the Simon & Garfunkel evergreen The Sound of Silence . Gorle known this in an interview. Peace put forward as a reason that the lines of text fit the overall concept because it speaks of revolution and understanding for one another. In the German metal press the opinion sheet regarding the cover version ranged from “brilliant” to “silly” to “terrible” and “fagot”. In the first volume of his heavy metal lexicon, Matthias Herr could only shake his head about what he considered to be an unsuitable strategy of winning fans.

When the album was delivered, Terry Gorle had already fallen out with the band because of the limited financial resources and their use and had to leave. According to Derek Peace, this happened in March 1989. Gorle even continued the dispute in court, where it was now about the rights to the name and the song material. In an interview with Rock Hard , Derek Peace stated that Gorle broke up due to personal differences with the others, as he would not have agreed with the sound of the album. Due to the changed style, the focus would no longer have been so much on Gorle, which is why he might have had ego problems. In the same interview, Gorle explained his impression that the drums and the electric guitar were far too underproduced. The keyboard and the vocals, however, are too present. Some vocal parts were recorded 24 times. As a replacement, Peace brought in a German named Klaus Derendorf who lived in Los Angeles . This line-up went on a west coast tour with Crimson Glory in the fall . Ray Black then left and was replaced by Jeffrey McCormack. The band structure was gone, the members changed almost daily and consequently it was decided to dissolve.

The news reached Germany in the spring of 1991, where it was received with no surprise. After two years of litigation, Gorle stayed away from the music scene for the time being and concentrated on his learned profession as a marble and granite plumber.

New beginning

In 1998, equipped with all the necessary rights and a tried and tested bassist named Jay Wegener, the resurrection or the establishment of Heir Apparent failed because you could never find a suitable singer and an equally suitable drummer. On the occasion of the Wacken Open Air in 2000 Terry Gorle, Derek Peace and Ray Black, complemented by the singer Michael Flatters, got together again. Gorle had made up with Peace and Black. To characterize the new front man, he again had a comparison with Ronnie James Dio and a leading progressive metal singer - this time James LaBrie from Dream Theater . All three musicians left the band after the festival season. The drummer's post was always briefly filled: Bryce Stockton, Gary Stafford, Thomas Kelleners. Gorle convinced Paul Davidson to return.

In the meantime, thanks to the mediation of loyal German fans, the band had found a new label: Hellion Records from mail order company Jürgen Hegewald in Itzehoe . There Gorle brought out a compilation album with newly mixed and unreleased pieces in order to provide an official alternative to the live bootlegs in circulation with rougher, guitar-heavy versions of the songs published on One Small Voice . Paul Davidson didn't stay long. When it was no longer possible without a singer because of festivals and club appearances, Gorle signed the first singer, Bryan Hagan, which turned out to be a bad cast. Even after the split, the mutual accusations did not end. As would later become apparent, however, the sting in Gorle couldn't have been too deep. The next singer lived far away in New Jersey and was called Mike Blair (2003). In the summer of 2003 it was Peter Orullian, who held out longer.

The line-up for the end of 2003 was: Peter Orullian (vocals), Terry Gorle (electric guitar), Bobby Ferkovich (electric bass), Clint Clark (drums), Op Sakiya (keyboards). Finally another album should be produced. But it was only an album format demo. In 2004 Jeffrey McCormack returned to the drums. However, at the beginning of 2006 the entire workforce left the company again and left the boss alone. The latter had wanted to make his band members responsible, which was to rehearse five times a week and to actively participate in the songwriting process for a planned album. On the other hand, obligations in job and family required a closed waiver of those addressed. In 2006 the band was also seen on the Keep It True .

After some old recordings had been processed into CDs and DVDs and sold on the homepage (some were officially distributed as a media combination in 2010), Gorle devoted himself to putting together a live band again in 2011. Old friends agreed, namely Paul Davidson, the much-praised original singer who only stopped by in 2000, as well as the well-rehearsed rhythm duo Derek Peace and Ray Schwartz / Black. In mid-January 2012 in Würzburg the complete Graceful Inheritance album was presented as part of the Metal Assault II Festival . The downside for the fans was that Davidson couldn't be there and Jeff Carrell wasn't an adequate substitute. On the occasion of a memorial appearance on June 30, 2012 for Bryan Hagan, who died at the age of 39, Bobby Ferkovich played bass again and Clint Clark sat on drums again, while Heir Apparent newcomer Sean Aust, who has just replaced tour singer Jeff Carrell had acted as a singer. Mike Gorham joined as a permanent singer in January 2013.

style

In the Metal Hammer the style descriptions were (in chronological order): "US Metal with a slightly commercial touch", "Melodic Heavy Power", "Melodic Power Rock" that combines hardness and commercialism, "Fresh [r], straightforward [r] Power Rock ". Andreas Schöwe ​​recommended the band "for fans of early Queensrÿche or Crimson Glory in particular or fans of high-class US melodic metal". The same shortened the description to "Power Metal" two editions later. In this he agrees with Frank Göhringer from Mortal-Sin -Fanzine and Matthias Herr in his heavy metal dictionary .

The label “Progressive Metal” was attached to the following websites of the band: librariusmetallicus.com, tartareandesire.com, progarchives.com, metalstorm.net. Jesters-news.de refers the description "progressive-catchy Metal" to One Small Voice , which corresponds to the self-description on the Heir Apparent homepage. The Rock Hard Encyclopedia writes that Heir Apparent was already Queensrÿche-like on its debut .

In his book The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties , Martin Popoff wrote about graceful inheritance that there was a progressive post- NWoBHM style on it. The singing on One Small Voice reminds me of Geoff Tate.

Jan Michael Dix lamented the stylistic discrepancy between the two albums in Metal Star .

The band's homepage gives a rough look at the meanings of the text. It says that the main focus is on the effects of scientific and technical progress on our planet, taking into account differing political, religious and socially self-serving ideas.

The book US Metal Vol. 2 printed an interview excerpt from Adrenalin magazine , in which Paul Davidson commented on the song And… Dogro Lied On , which reads No Devil or God… DNA backwards and is on Graceful Inheritance . According to Davidson, this is meant to express that one should rely on one's own sanity and not emulate idols. The book also printed part of a Mortal Sin magazine review of the album One Small Voice , which described the music as keyboard-heavy and melodic hard rock .

Discography

  • 1984: Inception Day (demo)
  • 1986: Graceful Inheritance (Black Dragon Records)
  • 1987: Triad 333 (demo)
  • 1988: Recordings '88 (demo)
  • 1989: One Small Voice (Metal Blade Records)
  • 1999: Triad (compilation, Hellion Records)
  • 2003: Demo (demo)
  • 2010: One Small Voice ( re-release with bonus tracks and DVD , Arkeyn Steel Records)
  • 2018: The View from Below

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Sapien >> Nemesis >> Heir Apparent - USA. History. In: metallian.com. Accessed November 1, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Oliver Klemm: Heir Apparent . In: Metal Hammer . May 1986, p. 42 f .
  3. ↑ a b Wolfgang Volk: Heir Apparent. Comeback of the gods !? In: jesters-news.de. February 1, 2000, accessed November 1, 2014 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Heir Apparent. Biography. (No longer available online.) In: www.heirapparent.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.heirapparent.com
  5. ↑ a b c d e Anonymous: Heir Apparent . In: Metal Hammer . October 1985, Newcomer International, p. 26 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Anonymus: US Metal: Stryper - Vicious Rumors - Heir Apparent - Zoetrope . In: Metal Hammer . February 1986, p. 36 f .
  7. ↑ a b c d e Tery Gorle (Heir Apparent). In: geocities.ws. Accessed November 1, 2014 .
  8. ↑ a b c d Holger Stratmann (ed.): Rock Hard Encyclopedia. 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years . Rock Hard GmbH, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , Heir Apparent, p. 159 f .
  9. ↑ a b c Otger Jeske, Arno Hofmann, Sandra Eichner et al .: US Metal . 1st edition. Vol. 2. IP Verlag Jeske / Mader GbR, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-931624-05-6 , Heir Apparent, p. 92 ff .
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Frank [Göhringer]: Heir Apparent. Terry Gorle on one of the greatest bands that metal history has produced. In: mortalsin.de. August 4, 1999, accessed November 1, 2014 .
  11. ^ Metal Mike [Blim]: Heir Apparent, Savage Grace . Dynamo, Eindhoven, June 1, 1986. In: Metal Hammer . July 1986, Live on Stage, p. 96 .
  12. ^ A b c Matthias Herr: Matthias Herr's Heavy Metal Lexicon . Vol. 1. Verlag Matthias Herr, Berlin March 1993, Heir Apparent, p. 65 f . (New edition).
  13. ↑ Holger Stratmann: News from Savage Grace . In: Crash . June 1987, p. 30 .
  14. ^ Frank Trojan: Heir Apparent . Graceful inheritance. In: Crash . February 1987, p. 72 .
  15. ↑ a b c d e f Andre Verhuysen: Heir Apparent . In: Metal Hammer / Crash . November 1989, p. 84 f .
  16. ↑ a b c Frank Trojan: Heir Apparent . Trouble about the succession! In: Rock Hard . 32 (May / June), 1989, pp. 62 f .
  17. ↑ a b c Holger Andrae: Heir Apparent. In: underground-empire.com. March 21, 2009, S. Heir Apparent - Underground Empire 2 interview , archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; Retrieved on November 1, 2014 (the interview is originally from 1990, the date of the online feed is given, the update date was not taken into account).
  18. ^ Frank Trojan: Heir Apparent . In: Crash . September 1987, p. 52 .
  19. ↑ Finally another sign of life from Heir Apparent! In: Metal Hammer . September 1987, Overkill News, p. 126 .
  20. ↑ a b Umur: Heir Apparent biography. In: progarchives.com. Accessed November 1, 2014 .
  21. ↑ a b Jan Michael Dix: Heir Apparent. One Small Voice . In: Metal Star . Europe's Leading Hardrock Monthly. June 1989, p. 42 .
  22. ^ Frank Trojan: Her Apparent. One Small Voice . In: Rock Hard . No. 32 , October 1989, p. 47 .
  23. ↑ a b c d Chris Leibundgut: Terry Gorle (ex-Heir Apparent) . In: Rock Hard . No. 148 , September 1999, excavated. What is actually doing ... ?, p. 82 .
  24. ↑ Bad, but not unexpected, news reached us from Seattle . In: Rock Hard . No. 48 , March 1991, News, pp. 4 .
  25. ↑ After Metal Church, the reunion of another Seattle metal band is in store for 2000 . In: Rock Hard . No. 152 , January 2000, News, p. 10 .
  26. ^ [Stefan Glas]: Heir Apparent. (No longer available online.) In: underground-empire.com. January 10, 2002, S. News , archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.underground-empire.com
  27. ↑ Heir today, gone tomorrow . In: Rock Hard . No. 162 , November 2000, News, pp. 12 .
  28. ↑ a b Andreas Schöwe: Heir Apparent. Late harvest . In: Metal Hammer . July 2000, Hard Fax, pp. 11 .
  29. ^ [Stefan Glas]: Heir Apparent. (No longer available online.) In: underground-empire.com. October 10, 2003, S. News , archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.underground-empire.com
  30. ^ [Stefan Glas]: Heir Apparent. (No longer available online.) In: underground-empire.com. Jan. 5, 2007, S. News , archived from the original on Nov. 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / underground-empire.com
  31. ^ Philipp: KEEP IT TRUE VI / April 8, 2006 - Lauda-Königshofen, Tauberfrankenhalle. dremufuestias.de, accessed on November 1, 2014 .
  32. ^ Stefan Glas: "Metal Assault II" Festival. Würzburg, post hall. 01/14/2012. (No longer available online.) In: underground-empire.com. S. Heir Apparent - Online Empire 50 Living Underground article , archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.underground-empire.com
  33. ↑ 2002 Lineup of Heir Apparent to Reunite for Bryan Hagan Memorial Fundraiser. In: blabbermouth.net. June 7, 2012, S. News , accessed November 1, 2014 .
  34. ^ [Stefan Glas]: Heir Apparent. (No longer available online.) In: underground-empire.com. January 11, 2013, S. News , archived from the original on November 1, 2014 ; accessed on November 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.underground-empire.com
  35. ↑ Oliver Klemm: Heir Apparent . Graceful inheritance. In: Metal Hammer . February 1986, p. 96 .
  36. ↑ Andreas Schöwe: Heir Apparent. Triad . In: Metal Hammer . May 2000, p. 95 .
  37. ^ Frank [Göhringer]: Heir Apparent - the heir to the throne. In: mortalsin.de. October 22, 1998, accessed November 1, 2014 .
  38. ↑ Backlash: Band: Heir Apparent. In: liberariusmetallicus.com. June 30, 2006, accessed November 1, 2014 .
  39. ↑ Heir Apparent Band Page. In: tartareandesire.com. Accessed November 1, 2014 .
  40. ↑ Heir Apparent. In: metalstorm.net. See volume info , accessed on November 1, 2014 (English).
  41. ^ Wolfgang Volk: Heir Apparent - One Small Voice. In: jesters-news.de. January 23, 2001, S. Classic Reviews , accessed November 1, 2014 .
  42. ↑ Martin Popoff : The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2005, ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5 , pp. 154 .

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