Twelvestep
Encyclopedia
Twelvestep is a Swedish
nu metal
/metalcore
band, formed in 2004 by members of other lesser known Swedish metal and punk rock bands. The band have released two EP
s, been featured on one compilation album
, and their debut album Worst Case Scenario, produced by well renowned heavy metal producer Rickard Bengtsson was released on February 21, 2008. The band is currently on hiatus as of January 9, 2010.
The first EP received great international reviews, which spurred the band to record a second one while starting to look for a label and management. The second EP was called No Tomorrow and featured four brand new tracks, and was also self-released and distributed by the band.
). The debut album Worst Case Scenario was released on February 21, 2008.
It was also at The Rock that they caught the attention of a band promoter from The Agency Group, who decided to put them on tour with U.K. based Bullet for my Valentine
, opening for them on all their Scandinavian gigs in December 2006.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
/metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band, formed in 2004 by members of other lesser known Swedish metal and punk rock bands. The band have released two EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s, been featured on one compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, and their debut album Worst Case Scenario, produced by well renowned heavy metal producer Rickard Bengtsson was released on February 21, 2008. The band is currently on hiatus as of January 9, 2010.
The beginning
Twelvestep was originally formed as a side project in 2004. Members Marco Kuru, Lennart Nilsson, Jonas Prahl and Kristoffer Anderson (who did not join Twelvestep until later) were all in the band Spine, who played the demo stage at well known Swedish music festival Hultsfredsfestivalen. Finding that they liked Twelvestep more than any of the other projects they were working on, their longtime friend Jimmy Paulsson was asked to join in on bass, and the band was not a side project any more. The band's first drummer was Melker Bengtsson, who was replaced with Kristoffer Anderson for the recording of their first EP, called Roots of Anger. It was self-released in 2005 and distributed by the band. The EP drew the interest of NLP Records, who decided to release one of their tracks on the compilation album Revolver: Hard rock and Metal edition vol. 2The first EP received great international reviews, which spurred the band to record a second one while starting to look for a label and management. The second EP was called No Tomorrow and featured four brand new tracks, and was also self-released and distributed by the band.
Signing with a label
Jimmy Paulsson found out that Sami Rusani (owner of Pure Rock Entertainment) lived in the same apartment building as himself, and decided to give him their two EPs and ask if he was interested in doing something with them. This resulted in the band being signed to sub-division Pure Rock Records and put in the studio with world famous producer Rickard Bengtsson (Arch Enemy, Mortis, Opeth, Spiritual BeggarsSpiritual Beggars
Spiritual Beggars is a hard rock/stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage.- Biography :...
). The debut album Worst Case Scenario was released on February 21, 2008.
Touring and Bullet for my Valentine
Twelvestep quickly gained a buzz for their energetic live shows. After being invited to play at a club called The Rock in Copenhagen, Denmark, the band came up with the idea to bring their own fanbuses instead of just inviting over fans to the neighboring country. On their first gig in Denmark, they brought a full sized bus with more than 50 fans, which impressed the clubowners to the point that they were immediately booked for another gig a couple of months later, where they repeated the process.It was also at The Rock that they caught the attention of a band promoter from The Agency Group, who decided to put them on tour with U.K. based Bullet for my Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
, opening for them on all their Scandinavian gigs in December 2006.
Recent events
The band is currently on hiatus due to three original band members leaving the band, and internal disagreement amongst the band.Line-up
- Lennart Nilsson - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(2004-) - Marco Kuru - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(2004-) - Jonas Prahl - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, (2004-) - Jimmy Paulsson - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2004-) - Kristoffer Andersson - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2005-)
Former members
- Melker Bengtsson - drums (2004–2005)
- Fredrik Svensson - Sampling/Keyboard(2004–2006)
Discography
| Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 2005 | Roots of Anger | Self-released | - | - |
| 20 August 2006 | No Tomorrow | - | - | |
| 21 February 2008 | Worst Case Scenario | Pure Rock Records | - | - |
External links
- Twelvestep's Official Site
- Twelvestep's Official MySpace
- Pure Rock Entertainment
- Interview with the band in Swedish newspaper Hallandsposten
- Review of Roots of anger at heavymetal.dk
- Review of Roots of Anger at metal-inside.de
- Review of Roots of Anger at metalfanatix.com
- Review of sold out live concert in Swedish newspaper Hallandsposten