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16volt began in 1991 with the mission to merge the raw guitars of early punk with the heavy beats and energy of industrial dance music. In1992, 16volt ’s founder and frontman, Eric Powell, signed with the Cargo Records industrial subsidiary and now infamous Re-ConstrictionRecords. 16volt’s debut, “Wisdom,” was co-produced by David Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy) and Keith “Fluffy” Auerbach (Ministry) andwas released in 1993. Met with worldwide acclaim from fans and press alike, “Wisdom” officially put 16volt on the map and, along with Powell,was credited with helping sp ...read more
16volt began in 1991 with the mission to merge the raw guitars of early punk with the heavy beats and energy of industrial dance music. In1992, 16volt ’s founder and frontman, Eric Powell, signed with the Cargo Records industrial subsidiary and now infamous Re-ConstrictionRecords. 16volt’s debut, “Wisdom,” was co-produced by David Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy) and Keith “Fluffy” Auerbach (Ministry) andwas released in 1993. Met with worldwide acclaim from fans and press alike, “Wisdom” officially put 16volt on the map and, along with Powell,was credited with helping spawn a genre of industrial known as “coldwave.” That same year, 16volt hit the road, playing shows to club crowds onthe West Coast of the United States.In 1994, 16volt skipped the industry-standard “sophomore jinx” and released the slightly more raw-sounding“Skin.” This release brought more praise and won features in Alternative Press, Kerrang!, CMJ, Industrial Nation, B-Side, and more. “Skin”reached the #2 slot on Rolling Stone’s alternative charts and charted everywhere from the United States (CMJ) to France, Germany, Ireland, andJapan. 16volt hit the road again for club shows and radio junkets and destroyed it everywhere they showed up.16volt’s third release came in1996 by the name of “LetDownCrush.” Co-produced by Jeff “Critter” Newell (Ministry, Filter) and featuring special guests Stella (Stella Soleil,Sister Soleil), William Tucker (Ministry), Marc LaCorte, and Bryan Black (Haloblack, Motor, Xlover), the release once again proved that 16volt wasa major force to be reckoned with. Interviews and features followed in huH, B-Side, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, CMJ, Industrial Nation, GuitarPlayer, and many more respected national rags. LDC charted again, this time at #1 on the Rolling Stone alternative charts and globally oncollege and commercial radio. This release also marked the debut of 16volt’s national touring career. Vowing to stay on the road for as long aspossible, Powell put together a lineup that would tour for over nine months straight in a custom van, making their way around the United Statesseveral times with the likes of Chemlab, Bile, Acumen Nation, and Korn.The touring paid off and interest in 16volt grew. The band returned hometo be wined and dined by much larger labels. In 1998, along with full-time members Mike Peoples on bass and Kraig Tyler (Chemlab, Crazytown)on guitar, 16volt signed with Slipdisc/Mercury/PolyGram and got to work on the band’s fourth release, “SuperCoolNothing.” Produced by BillKennedy (NIN, Megadeth, Sepultura) and Joseph Bishara (Drown, Danzig), SCN was the band’s most aggressive album to date. This time, Powelland Co. got a hand from special guest Chris Vrenna (NIN, Tweaker) on drums. Upon completion of the album and the most intense promotionschedule to date, they hit the road adding John “Servo” DeSalvo (KMFDM, Chemlab) on Drums, playing shows with the likes of Orgy, The Flys,and Candlebox. During the first two weeks of touring, however, Mercury/PolyGram was purchased by Seagram’s, creating a ripple that wouldsend 16volt back home and cause the firing of the entire Mercury team slated to work on the SCN record promotion.Two weeks after the chaos,SCN was released with no promotion, no touring, and no support. 16volt quickly began to search for another label to pick up the pieces, but itwas too late and the mess too large. After close to a year of fighting, lawsuits, and the inability to make something good come from the bad,Powell shut down operations and pulled the plug. Kraig moved on to join Crazytown and Mike and Servo carried on with their own sideprojects.After a long and well-deserved hiatus, the band convinced an investor to buy back SCN from the dead labels; they then re-released it ontheir own as “SCN2.0.” The double-disc set included remixes by Filter, Orgy, Deadsy, and Crazy Town, in addition to some demo tracks that theband had started working on. Powell gathered the troops sans Tyler and began to mount a comeback.Shortly after the re-release, 16volt wastapped by Sony to provide the soundtrack to a new PlayStation 2 game called “Primal.” At the end of production, 16volt had furnished 12 tracksand was actually digitized into the game as the opening-cinematics band.To celebrate the release of “Primal,” 16volt hit the road in 2002 withKMFDM for a North American whirlwind, completing 34 shows in 36 days. Most of the dates were sold out, and by KMFDM’s own admission thetour was one of the best packages they had ever put out. 16volt returned home on the tour bus and inked a deal with Capitol Records. The bandthen spent 11 months working on demos and being bombarded with pressure to compromise, which ultimately forced Powell to walk away andhead back underground.In 2005, Powell inked a one-off deal with Cleopatra Records to release 16volt’s first-ever “best of” collection. The double-disc set titled “The Best of Sixteen Volt™” features fan-picked tracks on one disc and the first-ever live release of 16volt on disc two. Powellcleaned house, went into isolation, and began working on the next phase of 16volt.In August of 2006, Powell had a new record under his beltcalled “FullBlackHabit” that he began shopping to indie labels. He found a new home at Metropolis Records and inked a worldwide multi-albumdeal. The new record, slated for release in early 2007, features guests appearances by Paul Raven (Ministry, Killing Joke, Prong); Steve White(KMFDM); Bildeaux (Necrofix, Ohn); Kraig Tyler (Chemlab, Virus23, Crazytown); Scott Robison (drøne); and Jason Bazinet (SMP).In the Springof 2008 16volt, with live members Steve White (KMFDM), Jason Bazinet (Chemlab, SMP), and the return of 16v veteran Mike Peoples hit the roadfor a highly successful U.S./Canada tour. Playing 28 shows in 30 days the band once again set it’s mark to a high level by playing to larger thanexpected crowds on all stops of the tour.Powell and crew are getting ready for the release of their next record, “American Porn Songs”, slated forrelease September 8, 2009 on Metropolis Records. It promises to be yet another solid record, featuring the band’s trademark layering of heavy,aggressive guitars over pummeling electronics and beats.Source: http://www.last.fm/music/16Volt/+wiki « hide |
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