BIOGRAPHY

Formed in 98' and based in Farnham, Hampshire, this dark alternative metal band are currently composed of:

Duncan Williams (Vocals/Guitar)
Will Pain (Vocals/Bass)
Barney Whattingham (Decks)
Mark Sanger (Drums)

Already boasting a strong local following, they create a solid heavy sound with some fine downtuned riffs but with a strangely individual feel.  The use of turntable effects nicely punctuates the enraged apocalyptic disorder and sometimes eerie, often angry vocals.

 Zero Cipher (l-r: Barney, Duncan and Will)
Zero Cipher were formed from the ashes of a very popular local thrash band called Demisery (who in their time had serious record company interests from Metal Blade and Peaceville among others).   Unfortunately, things didn't work out for that band and they split, but from misfortune often comes opportunity and Zero Cipher was born.

Both Will and Duncan originate from that era, which initially saw Duncan on Bass and Will on Drums.  After an initial period of finding their niche things needed to change with Will swapping to the preferred Guitar/Vocals and new members Ash (Drums) and Pat (Turntables) joining and adding a greater depth to the sound.

The band remained as a four piece for a while with Duncan sharing the Vocals while still playing Bass. This line-up seemed to work and went on for about 6 months during which time a demo was recorded with Barney Whattingham (Force10 Records) and gigs with Snub and Freekspert as memorable milestones.

But over Xmas of 1999, things changed again and Duncan moved onto Guitar (as he really didn't enjoy playing Bass) and in came Mason (bassist from the then departed local band Mr.44) and they became five:

Duncan (Vocals/Guitars), Will (Vocals/Guitars), Mason (Bass), Ash (Drums) and Pat (Turntables)

This was a strong line-up which produced some excellent gigs (including the massive show in Aldershot during Sept, 2000 again with Snub) and saw the release of the The Negative Bleeds Belief demo (see discography).
The demo was available on Greed Unlimited Records and included five tracks including Magic Time (which is one of their oldest songs).

However, as the autumn of 2000 was coming to a close, the drive for the band to achieve a goal of total commitment, together with a balance of talent and the correct chemistry amongst it's members, made further line-up changes inevitable. Unfortunately, this resulted in a series of scheduled live  appearances being   cancelled  and the  core of the band

Zero Cipher - The Negative Bleeds Belief EP Cover
retreating into the undergrowth to reassess the future of Zero Cipher.

The year 2001 was well on it's way and there was still little sign of any progress within the band.  It appears that many options had been tried, with auditions for drums, vocals, bass and guitars all giving possibilities and permutations.  However, it was clear that they were back to just Will (now on Vocals/Bass) and Duncan (on Vocals/Guitar), and with Barney as a full time member (on Turntables).

The new full line-up has now developed nicely and took shape for their first gig on the 22nd May, 2001.  Mark Sanger is the chap who's taken over the drumming stool and for the moment anyway, they will remain as a four piece.
Zero Cipher's new line-up (l-r: Barney, Mark, Duncan and Will)
Since Mark has joined, they have taken the opportunity to record a number of demo's.  A re-recorded version of their original demo (reviewed here), a seven track, self-titled EP during the autumn of 2001, the release of the 45 r.p.m EP (reviewed here) during spring 2002 and most recently the promise of a debut full length album entitled '45 Minutes Of Fairytale Endings' (reviewed here).  The band are currently looking for label interest with which to release the album during early 2003, the contents of which shows a nice progression in the bands sound and promises a whole lot more.

Rigsby (December, 2002)
Transcripts From The Downtuned.

Band official website: www.zerocipher.com
Band email: info@zerocipher.com

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