Electric Wizard
Biographie Electric Wizard
Electric Wizard
are a doom metal band hailing from Bournemouth, UK who since their formation in 1993 have helped shaped the genre producing iconic releases such as “Come My Fanatics” and “Dopethrone”.
Rising from the ashes of former band Lord of Putrefaction- Justin Osborn (lead guitar, vocal), Tim Bagshaw (bass) and Mark Greening (drums) came together in 1993. Taking inspiration from two Black Sabbath tracks “Electric Funeral” and “The Wizard” and compounding the titles, the trio had found the their new name and thus Electric Wizard was born. Their debut track “Demon Lung” was released later that year as a split single alongside Our Haunted Kingdom (who would later be known as Orange Goblin).
In 1995 the trio signed London based independent label Rise Above Records where they released their debut self-titled album the following year. Falling comfortably into the doom metal genre, the band were able to make quite an impression with critics as they praised the fine quality of stoner metal showing incredible promise.
By the time the band had released their follow up album “Come My Fanatics” in 1997, their sound had greatly evolved incorporating more elements of grunge which assisted in creating Electric Wizard’s distinctive sound. The album not only showcased their new and improved sound but also acted as a defining moment in the band’s career as the album featured at number 37 in Terrorizer magazine’s top 50 definitive doom albums list.
After the release of the album, the band would find them plagued by a series of unfortunate events with everything ranging from: broken limbs, burst eardrums to various legal issues and battles. Despite these seemingly major setbacks, the band appeared unaffected as they released the “Supercoven” EP in 1998 followed the musical masterpiece “Dopethrone” in 2000. As a pivotal album in the doom metal genre with more intricate and aggressive tones and rhythms, Electric Wizard had carved their name in stone resulting in Terrorizer magazine naming it as Album of the Century.
In 2002, Electric Wizard released their fourth album “Let Us Prey” and on their North American tour to support its release, tension grew between band members which led them to announce their forthcoming split. However despite releasing the statement regarding the split, the band continued and parted ways with Greening and Bagshaw in 2003 who went on to form the band Ramesses. In their place, Electric Wizard welcomed Justin Greaves, Rob Al-Issa and Liz Buckingham to the line-up.
The band continued to tour the album in Australia and England releasing the album “We Live” in 2004. Electric Wizard’s sixth studio album “Witchcult Today” released in 2007 saw the band achieve similar success to the critically acclaimed “Dopethrone”. Using only vintage 70’s recording equipment the album featured the 11 minute instrumental "Black Magic Rituals & Perversions” taking audiences on a soundscape journey of varying elements of metal as the band really showcased their innate ability to create monumental and earth-shattering rhythms.
With a few more replacements along the way, the band line-up in 2014 included original member Jus Obsorn with Liz Buckingham, Clayton Burgess and Simon Poole as they released their eighth album “Time To Die” produced by Osborn.
In their lengthy career, the band have played festivals such as Roadburn, Roskilde, Reverence, Hellfest and Damnation providing their definitive infusion of grunge and doom metal and reaffirming their stature as an instrumental band in the genre’s development.
