Switchblade

There are three acts that go by the name of Switchblade: 1. In the cold winter of 1997 turning to 1998, Switchblade slowly took form as a quartet with 2 bassplayers who both screamed their lungs out. A 7" and a few extra songs for a split 7" were recorded with Fireside?s mastermind Pelle Gunnerfelt (Fireside, Hives, Breach) in the spring of 1998. In March 1999 Switchblade recorded their groundbreaking and very well received 10". This time with a newly recruited 2:nd bassplayer/singer. The 10" was recorded by Breach?s mastermind Anders Ekstr?m.

1.

In the cold winter of 1997 turning to 1998, Switchblade slowly took form as a quartet with 2 bassplayers who both screamed their lungs out. A 7" and a few extra songs for a split 7" were recorded with Fireside?s mastermind Pelle Gunnerfelt (Fireside, Hives, Breach) in the spring of 1998.

In March 1999 Switchblade recorded their groundbreaking and very well received 10". This time with a newly recruited 2:nd bassplayer/singer. The 10" was recorded by Breach?s mastermind Anders Ekstr?m. The 10" turned out very chaotic and fast in tempo. A few months later a few more songs were recorded by Anders Ekstr?m and those songs ended up as the split 7"?s with Cult of Luna and The Jam Session. Then in late 1999 Switchblade took the decision to go on as a three-piece.

During 2000 and 2001, switchblade recorded 2 albums together once again with Breach?s Anders Ekstr?m turning the knobs. Switchblade toured both Sweden (with Cult of Luna) and Europe (twice) in support of the albums.

Then in March 2003, Switchblade recorded their third selftitled full length album. The album was a 6 song, 47 minute sonic journey that ranged from subtle ambient soundscapes to monotonous, dark, instrumental passages to full on stoner flirting, yet epic heaviness. All with just sparse use of vocals. Previously having had some problems in truly capturing their sound and dynamics on tape, Switchblade turned to Carl Wikman at EAR Studios who is known for his big and true to nature sounding recordings. The album turned out to be the most powerful and focused material so far, and showcased a huge leap forward in the never ending evolution of Switchblade???s sound and songwriting. The album received great reveiws both in Europe and in the US, where the album was released by Jake Banon?s (CONVERGE) Deathwish/Icarus imprint. A 4 week European tour in support of the album took place in early 2004 and a shorter tour took place in the summer of 2004 based around an apperance at the legendary Ieper Festival in Belgium.

In May 2004 Switchblade wanted to try out some new song ideas and approaches so they packed the gear and headed down to the Mission Hall studio located in the countryside in the south of Sweden. The weekend worth of recording together with Mattias Old?n from LOGH resulted in a 2 track 7" with guestvocals and guitar, on one of the songs, by Mathias Friberg of LOGH. The 2 songs showed, by far, the most dynamic Switchblade material to that date.

Come late summer of 2005, Switchblade packed up their gear and headed down to Mission Hall Studio once again. Having felt so relaxed and enjoyed working with Mathias Old?n, the choice was easy when picking a studio for the recording of the fourth selftitled Switchblade album. The 43+ minutes album consists of 2 long tracks and sees the band more dynamic than ever before. Insted of a constant wall of sound and riffing, every riff and every tone get alot of space and time to "breathe". To add further bleakness, beauty and depth to the album there?s guestvocals by "E" of swedish blackmetal band WATAIN and once again, guestvocals and guitar by Mattias Friberg of LOGH.

The tempo of the songs has slowed down for each release and the vocals has taken a more subtle place in the music and more instrumental passages has been brought forward to create a very dark and almost instrumental soundtrack to the apocalypse.

Switchblade are currently working on their 5th seftitled album to be recorded in the autumn of 2008.

2.

Switchblade are a five-piece metal band from Sydney, Australia. They have played a range of styles in their past, including thrash and death metal, but have also made use of more melodic and technical styles.

After a few changes to the line-up over the years, the current band members are:

Adam Helmrich ? vocals
Andrew Najdek ? guitar
Mat Piccolotto ? drums
Anthony Delvecchio ? guitar
Gerard Dack - bass guitar

Switchblade formed in 2001, and have released two full-length albums to date.

'The End of All Once Known' was released in 2005 to critical acclaim. Their most recent album, 'Invictus Infinitum' was released in late April 2009, and notably guest stars Jeff Loomis from band Nevermore as lead guitarist in the song 'Reflective Curse'.

The album travelled to the USA to be mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Neil Kernon (Nevermore, Nile, Cannibal Corpse). Other big names that have appeared in the production of 'Invictus Infinitum' include recording and engineering by Darren "jENK" Jenkins (Cryogenic, Mortality) and Alan Douches (Dillinger Escape Plan, God Forbid, Hatebreed). 'Invictus Infinitum' has already received praise from numerous reviews including Kerrang! magazine and TheMetalForge.com.

Switchblade have also done considerable work supporting bands such as Machine Head, Trivium, Daysend and Nevermore. They also made a huge appearance at Australia's biggest metal festival, Metal For The Brain, in late 2006.

It is widely considered that, now holding a premier position in the Australian metal scene, Switchblade are set to break out into the international metal community. With a powerful back catalogue and a strong fan base, Switchblade will soon be seen as one of the world's key metal bands representing the Australian contribution to global metal.

3.

Switchblade is an alias for finnish techno producer Leo Laker. He has been releasing record since the late 90's.