Listen & Buy
WITH IT’S ROOTS PLANTED FIRMLY IN THE INDUSTRIAL ROCK/METAL GENRE, 16VOLT REMAINED A MAINSTAY OVER THE COURSE OF 20+ YEARS GROWING IT’S WORLDWIDE FAN BASE CROSSING OVER INTO MULTIPLE GENRES DESPITE THEIR LONGEVITY AND SORTED HISTORY.
16VOLT’S FOUNDER, LEAD VOCALIST AND RHYTHM GUITARIST ERIC POWELL SIGNED HIS FIRST RECORD DEAL IN 1991 FOR 16VOLT WITH THE INDIE LABEL RE-CONSTRICTION / CARGO RECORDS WHERE HE DELIVERED THREE ALBUMS; WISDOM (1993), SKIN (1994), AND LETDOWNCRUSH (1996). WORKING WITH CO-PRODUCERS; DAVID OGILVIE (NINE INCH NAILS), KEITH “FLUFFY” AUERBACH (MINISTRY), JEFF “CRITTER” NEWELL (ANGELS & AIRWAVES, BLINK-182) AND SPECIAL GUESTS WILLIAM TUCKER (MINISTRY), MARC LACORTE (SCHECTER GUITARS), AND BRYAN BLACK (MOTOR). THE THREE ALBUMS EARNED WORLDWIDE PRAISE AND CAUGHT FEATURES IN GUITAR PLAYER, ALTERNATIVE PRESS, B-SIDE, KERRANG!, CMJ, INDUSTRIAL NATION, B-SIDE, AND MORE. REACHING A #1 SLOT ON ROLLING STONE’S ALTERNATIVE CHARTS (LETDOWNCRUSH) AS WELL AS A #2 SLOT ON ROLLING STONE’S ALTERNATIVE CHARTS (SKIN), THE BAND MADE A HUGE MARK IN THE INDUSTRIAL SCENE AS THEY CONSISTENTLY CHARTED IN BOTH COLLEGE AND NATIONAL RADIO.
16VOLT’S NATIONAL TOURING CAREER WAS BORN DURING THESE YEARS MAKING THEIR WAY AROUND THE UNITED STATES SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE LIKES OF KORN, CHEMLAB, BILE, ACUMEN NATION, AS WELL AS MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL HEADLINING TOURS. 16VOLT MADE A SHIFT INTO THE ROCK GENRE SIGNING WITH MERCURY/POLYGRAM AND BROUGHT ON PRODUCER BILL KENNEDY (NIN, MEGADETH, SEPULTURA, MOTLEY CRUE) TO MAKE THE HIGHLY RECOGNIZED ALBUM “SUPERCOOLNOTING”. FEATURING GUESTS JOSEPH BISHARA (DROWN, DANZIG), CHRIS VRENNA (NIN, TWEAKER), MIKE PEOPLES (SKREW), AND KRAIG TYLER (CRAZYTOWN), SCN WAS THE BAND’S MOST AGGRESSIVE ALBUM TO DATE.
BEFORE THE ALBUMS RELEASE, 16VOLT HIT THE ROAD TOURING WITH THE LIKES OF ORGY, THE FLYS, AND CANDLEBOX. DURING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF TOURING, HOWEVER, MERCURY/POLYGRAM WAS PURCHASED BY SEAGRAM’S, WHICH CREATED A RIPPLE THAT WOULD SEND 16VOLT BACK HOME AND CAUSE THE RECORD TO END UP AS A CATALOG ITEM ON ISLAND RECORDS WITH NO PROMOTION, NO TOURING, AND NO SUPPORT.
THE BAND CONVINCED AN INVESTOR TO BUY BACK THE ALBUM AND SIGNED A DEAL WITH SONY ENTERTAINMENT TO PROVIDE THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE PLAYSTATION GAME “PRIMAL”. THE GAME MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR 16VOLT TO RELEASE THE “SUPERCOOLNOTHING” ALBUM BOTH IN-GAME AND AS IT’S OWN INDEPENDENT RELEASE. TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF “PRIMAL,” AND THE RE-BIRTH OF “SUPERCOOLNOTHING”, 16VOLT HIT THE ROAD WITH KMFDM FOR A MOSTLY SOLD-OUT NORTH AMERICAN TOUR. UPON RETURNING FROM THE ROAD 16VOLT INKED A NEW DEAL WITH CAPITOL RECORDS.
THE BAND SPENT 11 MONTHS WORKING ON DEMOS WITH CAPITOL BEING BOMBARDED WITH PRESSURE TO COMPROMISE AND CHANGE, WHICH ULTIMATELY FORCED THEM TO WALK AWAY. 16VOLT THEN SIGNED A MULTI-ALBUM DEAL WITH METROPOLIS RECORDS AND RELEASED “FULLBLACKHABIT” (2007), “AMERICAN PORN SONGS” (2009), AND “BEATING DEAD HORSES” (2012) TO A HUNGRY FAN BASE. WITH GUESTS SUCH AS PAUL RAVEN (MINISTRY, KILLING JOKE, PRONG); STEVE WHITE (KMFDM); BILDEAUX (LANCE HERBSTRONG) AND MIX ENGINEERS SUCH AS SHAUN THINGVOLD (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, LAMB OF GOD) THIS ERA OF THE BAND MARKED A GREAT AMOUNT OF RESISTANCE TO THE TRENDS AND FAILURES OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS. THE LABEL ALSO INKED A DEAL FOR THE ENTIRE BACK-CATALOG MAKING ALL 16VOLT ALBUMS AVAILABLE UNDER ONE ROOF.
IN 2014 WHILE WORKING ON A NEW ALBUM, 18 YEAR MEMBER MIKE PEOPLES RETIRED FROM MUSIC ALTOGETHER LEAVING A LARGE WOUND IN THE BANDS LINEUP, MORAL AND SPIRIT. ERIC POWELL AND 16VOLT DRUMMER KEITH HIRSCHMAN DECIDED THAT IT WAS TIME TO START A NEW CHAPTER. IN DOING SO IT MEANT PUTTING 16VOLT ON A PERMANENT HIATUS AND STARTING SOMETHING NEW. THIS MARKS THE END OF 16VOLT… 1991-2014
ERIC'S NEW PROJECT IS CALLED "BLACK DECEMBER". AND CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://BLACKDECEMBERMUSIC.COM
