Band Line Up 2015
"It's a brand new jungle, shiny and tall. It's gonna eat you alive, until there's nothing at all”- Incinerator
The opening lines from CITY OF THIEVES debut single is as clear a statement of intent as you're going to get. This new heavy rock band from London, England have a banquet of music for your ears and 'Incinerator' is the appetiser.
Since making their live debut at Camden Rocks Festival in May, the buzz is spreading about City Of Thieves – no frills, no messin', no gimmicks – it's heavy rock in its purest form and will send you straight to the front of the stage with no nonsense sledgehammer riffs, hooks and melodies.
Working with acclaimed artist and producer Toby Jepson (Little Angels, The Answer, The Virginmarys) City Of Thieves frontman/bassist Jamie Lailey knew at an early stage the band wanted to take rock by the scruff of its neck and give it a good shake. "We knew what we wanted to do, we'd been devouring the songwriting and if we were inclined, we could have released a ton of material out of the gate. Toby took what we had and refined it. I'm glad we sat back and digested things with him, it was a major turning point for the band."
With producer Toby Jepson at the helm, Mike Fraser on mixing duties and mastering by Simon Francis (Kodaline, Kaiser Chiefs, Primal Scream) the vision of this new material was in the best of hands. When asked what he thought about City Of Thieves, Mike Fraser simply replied "Killer band...Killer songs". This is not a throwaway comment, this is from a true craftsman who's worked on albums for Metallica, AC/DC, Slipknot, Aerosmith and more.
So what about the songs? "The new material has bags of groove, shifting gears and attititude. We mix it up but keep it genuine and made sure everything flows. Why play something thats monotonous, I'm not saying we're reinventing the wheel but if you think your own music is boring, why inflict that on your audience?" says Will Richards (drums). "We can't wait to unleash the other tunes and get on the road to play live" chips in Lailey. It quickly became apparent the 3 members of the band needed a 2nd guitarist and after a lengthy audition process, the 4th member of City Of Thieves was confirmed. Enter Adam Wardle. Guitarist Ben Austwich explains "So Adam enters the rehearsal room and immediately he's got our attention. He plugged in, flicked the switch and kicked in with the opening riff of a new song. It was like he turned up to a party with a case of beer and a jukebox full of your favourite music. I couldn't wait to join in." And the band's newest member couldn't agree more "This is exactly what I wanted to do. It was obvious from the start how real these guys are. Just like me, they bleed music, its in their dna. I wanted to be a part of that”.
With Planet Rock Radio playlisting 'Incinerator' and festival & shows to be announced - City Of Thieves will release their debut EP in September 2015 and the 1st album scheduled to be unleashed in 2016.
These guys aren't just here to steal your soul for the love of rock n' roll...they're here to DEVOUR it. Tune in, turn it up...we'll see you down the front.
"We're truly honoured to be playing Bloodstock Festival 2015. It's an institution for rock and metal fans and we're humbled to be a part of it this year. Bring your A game everyone, it's party time and August can't come soon enough!" - City Of Thieves
City Of Thieves are:
Jamie Lailey - Vocals/Bass
Ben Austwick - Guitar
Adam Wardle - Guitar
Will Richards – Drums
