Acherontia Styx (band) edit
Acherontia Styx are a Blackened Death Metal band from Newcastle Upon Tyne in England. Since forming in 2007, the band released three singles. The singles Fallen Creation and Sinners were due to be released by Infest Records, however the label was ceased from operating and the band's material was never released. The new single Lecter was released in 2019.
Contents edit
History
Discography
Members
Links
History[edit] edit
Laceration formed in the summer of 2007 from the remains of a band called Death Certificate. The members of Death Certificate invited new guitarist Dinenthal to join the new band, and a number of names were suggested (including Acherontia Styx) before finally settling on Laceration. Paul's previous band Wrath Within had their logo designed by artist Christophe Szpajdel, and requested Szpajdel to design the Acherontia Styx logo based on Paul's idea that the words should make up the wings of the logo.
In 2008, Grant Crossan suffered a serious accident and damaged his shoulder which prevented him from playing and left the band. Bassman was replaced by bass guitarist Andy Robinson. It was around this time that professional issues caused tensions in the band, and Laceration ceased to be.
Within a few weeks, Kevin & Paul had started to talk about forming a new band, given that Christophe Szpajdel has already given the logo to Dinenthal, the band Acherontia Styx was officially formed with Kevin resuming his role on drums and Dinenthal taking over vocal duties as well as guitar, along with Andy Robinson back as bass guitarist. The band sent demos to a number of labels and were quickly signed by Infest Records. They entered the studio and recorded their first single Fallen Creation (which Paul had written while in Laceration) at Soundroom Studios in Gateshead. The single was debuted at The Borough Rock Bar in Sunderland and was well received by the patrons.The band resurrected another Laceration track that Paul & Grant had written - Skinners. It was reworked as Sinners (Time to Testify). Both singles were set to feature on Infest Records mixtape, and be released as independent singles through the label, however the label was under serious financial difficulty and went bankrupt. The band lost their material as a result.
The band continued working on tracks and had enough to enter the studio to record an album. Paul was unhappy continuing as vocalist and the band sought to find a suitable replacement so Dinenthal could focus on guitar duties. Danny joined the band as quickly started to impress the band with his range and abilities, however due to some professional issues, Danny was sacked. Waleed Akkad joined the band as Danny's replacement and started out as a promising vocalist. He changed the name of the band to Nihia and said that a new start was required. He refused to use some of the older tracks. Dinenthal left due to creative differences with Akkad, taking the name Acherontia Styx with him. Nihia split shortly after. With no other official members, Paul declared Acherontia Styx on hiatus.
In 2017, Grant contacted Paul regarding doing a music project, who immediately requested that Kevin be involved. The three agreed that Acherontia Styx needed to be resurrected with Kevin on Drums, Grant as lead vocalist and bass guitarist and Paul back on guitar and vocals. The single Lecter was written and recorded. With Dinenthal acting as studio engineer with Grant as sound engineer, the parts were completed at Erebor Studios. Due to family matters, the band didn't continue to record.
In 2018, Paul (Dinenthal) released the solo album Inaugural Repository of Desolation.
In January 2019 Acherontia Styx picked up the baton and signed to Dwarrowdelf Records. The single Lecter was officially released to digital media stores. The single Eyes of Glass followed and the EP Your Possible Pasts released in July. Kevin made the decision to leave the band as it was his decision. Adam Ashbridge replaced Kevin, taking over drum duties and also recording guitars with Jake Burden-Stokoe joining shortly after to permanently replace Kevin. During this time, Christophe Szpajdel contacted the band regarding the use of their logo in his book "Archaic Modernism" and sent the band a new version of the logo as a gift.
The album Shadow and Flame released on the 9th of September 2020 along with a view to performing live shows, however the Coronavirus pandemic ceased all gigs and tours. The band decided in 2022 to remain a recording only band as each of the members had other interests and responsibilities that would make touring difficult. The band are currently working on a second album, release date TBA.
Discography[edit] edit
Albums[edit] edit
Untitled (TBA)
Shadow and Flame (2020)
Your Possible Pasts EP (2019)
Singles[edit] edit
Fallen Creation (Unreleased)
Sinners (Unreleased)
Lecter (2019)
Eyes of Glass (2019)
Dressed In You (2019)
As Above, So Below (2019)
Blackened Serenade (2020)
Members[edit] edit
Current lineup[edit] edit
Grant Crossan - Lead Vocals (2007 - 2008, 2017 - To Date)
Paul Taylor(Dinenthal) - Bass, Guitars, Vocals (2007 - 2010, 2017 - To Date)
Jake Burden-Stokoe - Drums & Vocals (2019 to date)
Adam Ashbridge - Guitars (2019 - To Date)
Past members[edit] edit
Emma Donkin - Vocals (2007 - 2008)
Frank Whitford - Guitars (2007 - 2008)
Andy Robinson - Bass Guitar (2008 - 2010)
Danny - Vocals (2009)
Waleed Akkad - Vocals (2009 - 2010)
Kevin Clark - Drums & Percussion (2007 - 2010, 2017 - 2019)
