We are SLaM an instrumental Metal band from South Wales in the UK, our Debut EP "Noblesse Oblige" was released on 1st December 2014 to approximately 95 Digital Distributors, including iTunes, Amazon MP3 & Spotify.
So whats our story?
We are 3 friends that have spent the last 2 decades in & out of different bands with different styles & never really being musically charged, so we decided to form an Instrumental Metal Band & attempt to be Unique in our approach.
Why Instrumental?
Well, we have all suffered at the hands of a Vocalist that does not feel appreciated & Vocals can pigeon hole your Music in a heartbeat. So we have agreed to do away with this element & we hope to transcend the majority of the Metal Sub Genre's & be accepted by nearly everyone.
In January 2014 we got together & jammed out a song that had been pre written with this new venture in mind & then every week from then on we met & practiced until we had the 5 tracks that we were all happy with. At this point we all agreed that the Music should speak for itself & so we adopted a mysterious approach from the off & we do not reveal either our faces or our names.
That is when things started to get interesting so we sought out a Studio (Sonic Forge, Cardiff, UK) a Studio Engineer (Tim Vincent of Woodcroft Audio) & booked a weekend in November where we could put our skills to the test, that weekend resulted in the first 5 track EP Noblesse Oblige. We hired a professional Photographer & Videographer to complete a Studio Diary of the recording and these guys have helped us portray a level of professionalism not normally associated with underground Bands. We uploaded 2 songs to Reverbnation & the response has been staggering with us being featured near the top of the Metal charts for South Wales & the UK within just a few days.
As a direct result we were approached by an online Gamer who wanted to use our Music when he was doing Walkthroughs & Online Gaming, so we agreed a partnership where he uses our Tracks & we get an increased fan base.
To try & include the fans we send out free stickers & badges free of charge & we have only 1 condition, they take a photo of where they have placed the sticker so we can upload the image to Facebook as a way of connecting with them.
In May of 2015 we went back into a new Studio (One Louder Studio's, Newport, UK) with Studio Engineer Phil Smith to record Plan Murder Mayhem EP. The 2nd EP was released on June 1st 2015 again to 95 digital distributors. Our sales exceeded what we achived with the first EP. After the EP release we again ramped up our Networking, did some interviews & was featured on many Internet & FM Radio Stations around the globe.
In December of 2015 SLaM suffered the loss of the Drummer & the Bass player both opting to leave & join other Bands, however Riff decided to carry on alone until suitable replacements could be sought.
Calling on old friends & fellow Musicians, Riff managed to get the 3rd EP's Drums recorded by a friend in the USA, these Drums were then sent onto One Louder Studios for Phil Smith to get the levels correct for the next recording. On the 25th May 2016 Riff headed back into One Louder Studios with Phil Smith to complete the recording of the 3rd EP 'In Hate I Trust'. 'In Hate I Trust' was released on the 1st August 2016 and has seen sales triple since the last release.
Riff always considers himself fortunate to have a really solid set of friends & Radio Stations that help him with his Networking. To date SLaM is played on approximately 45 Radio Stations & makes an effort to Share the love whenever possible.
Riff would like to recognise the following persons & Radio Stations..
Jerry Leckenby - Dirty Carpet Shelley Bricker - See The Bands & Crim Radio Craig Russel - fellow Metalhead Gary Appleby - 9xDead J.J. Marauder - 9xDead Andrew Balderson - Unisgned not Unheard Martin Broom - fellow Metalhead Sara - Sare's Invasion & Nuclear Rock Radio John Locket - Crim Radio Kat Braket - Obscure Chaos Zine XRP Radio TBFM Radio Medal Devastation Radio Exposed Vocals - DJ Struth Mate - 365 Radio Network Banks - Radio Australia - Stone Chrome Radio - IRN Radio - Lonely Oak Radio Melissa Ruiz - Music Networking & Promotion.
If there is anyone I have forgot then I apologise in advance.
Riff's plan for the future is a simple one, record a new EP every year & continue to make SLaM a force to be reckoned with.
Social Media links:
SOUNDCLOUD: http://www.soundcloud.com/slam_metal
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/slam_metal
REVERBNATION: http://www.reverbnation.com/slam_metal