Balance of Power (band)

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Balance of Power
Img_capt = Balance of Power for the 2003 release of "Heathen Machine"
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = London, UK
Genre = Progressive metal
Power metal
Christian metal
Years_active = 1995 - Present
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.balance-of-power.com Balance-Of-Power.com]
Current_members = Corey Brown
Pete Southern
Tony Ritchie
Lionel Hicks
Past_members = Ivan Gunn
Bill Yates
Paul Curtis
Lance King
Chris Dale
John K

Balance of Power are a British melodic progressive metal group, started in 1995.

History

Balance of Power was started in 1995 by keyboardist Ivan Gunn by putting together a handful of well-known rockers from the London area. This batch included drummer Lionel Hicks, bassist Chris Dale, vocalist Tony Ritchie, and guitarists Bill Yates and Paul Curtis. In 1996, this line-up started working on what would be their first album, "When The World Falls Down". The album was picked up by the Japanese label "Pony Canyon", and was released in 1997. It received significant airplay on the Japanese radio, being on heavy rotation by famous Japanese radio personalities. The album's success put the band under a lot of pressure by their label to produce a follow-up.

About this time, Paul Curtis was becoming fed up with life in London, and decided to retire from music altogether. Lionel and Tony decided to bring childhood friend, Pete Southern, to fill the vacancy. Also, while the band was in the songwriting process, "Pony Canyon" heard the direction they were heading and pressured the band to replace Ritchie with a more dynamic vocalist. This was a huge blow to the band, but after much discussion and soul searching, they agreed to look around. Tony agreed to continue as the main songwriter, while the band held auditions for over 50 singers. However, they couldn't find a suitable replacement.

At that time, Ivan was working some deals with Lance King in the USA, so he asked him if he knew about a suitable singer. Lance told him of a few candidates, and also offered himself to fill the role. Ivan was immediately interested in King, and after hearing some demos, he was in. With King on board, the band released their second album, "Book of Secrets", in 1998. The album was a huge success all over Europe and Japan, receiving rave reviews even from Bruce Dickinson himself.

After the success of their second album, the band returned to the studio to work on the next follow-up: "Ten More Tales of Grand Illusion". At this time, and keyboardist Ivan Gunn was so busy working with his label, Anthem, that the band decided that he wouldn't be in the band anymore to work in his record company.

The band managed to strike successful deals with labels to distribute their albums in Europe and North America. While they were touring to promote their third album, Chris Dale left the band, and was replaced with perennial songwriter and former vocalist Tony Ritchie. The tour was deemed the most successful metal tour in Germany in recent years.

The band worked quickly with their fourth album and released "Perfect Balance" in 2001. With this album, the band started their first tour in the USA, opening for bands like Kamelot and Symphony X. During this time, the band started having some disagreements with Lance King, so in 2003, it was decided for everyone's best interest for them to part company. The band had already begun working in the follow-up to Perfect Balance, so they started looking for a new lead vocalist.

When time came for the band to audition new singers, the band had heard that John K (current singer of Biomechanical) was available. When John shared his ideas and the band listened to him, it was decided he was the perfect candidate. "Heathen Machine" was released in 2003, and turned out to be Balance of Power's best selling album to date. The band toured aggressively to support the album all over UK. Shortly after this, Jon K decided to leave the band and dedicate full-time to Biomechanical. This was an amicable decision, so the band kept on working in their next projects.

In 2005, the band released their first compilation of hits titled "Heathenology". This package includes a DVD with live footage of the band, plus a collection of hits from their previous albums.

On July 20, the band announced that their new vocalist would be Corey Brown (from Magnitude 9, Section 16, and Psyco Drama). He has already performed several shows with the band, and they're all working together for the band's sixth album, to be released next year.

Members

Current members

* Corey Brown - vocals (2005 - present)
* Pete Southern - guitars (1998 - present)
* Tony Ritchie - bass guitar (1999 - present)
* Lionel Hicks - drums

Former members

* Ivan Gunn - keyboard (1995 - 1998)
* Bill Yates - guitar (1995 - 2001)
* Paul Curtis - guitar (1995 - 1997)
* Tony Ritchie - vocals (1995 - 1997)
* Lance King - vocals (1997 - 2002)
* Chris Dale - bass guitar (1995 - 1998)
* John K - vocals (2003 - 2004)

Discography

*"When the World Falls Down" (1997)
*"Book of Secrets" (1998)
*"Ten More Tales of Grand Illusion" (1999)
*"Perfect Balance" (2001)
*"Heathen Machine" (2003)
*"Heathenology" (2005)

Touring

2000

German Tour 2000 - with "Pink Cream 69" and "Axxis"
14th April - Kaufbeuren
15th April - Bochum
16th April - Korbach
17th April - Ulm
18th April - Bremen
19th April - Schweinfurt
21st April - Offenbach
22nd April - Manheim
23rd April - Markneukirchen
24th April - Carlsruhe
26th April - Nurnberg
27th April - Hamburg
28th April - Braunschweig
29th April - Trossingen

2001

9th/10th November - PROGPOWER 02 Festival, Atlanta, USA

2002

31st August - Bloodstock Festival II - Derby, UK
30th August - Abracadabras, Burton-On-Trent, UK (warm-up gig)

2004

17th March - Alcatraz - Southsea (warm-up gig)

20th March - Buolding a Force Festival - Stadthalle Widdern (nr Heidelberg/Stuttgart, Germany)
2nd September - The Underworld, Camden, London (warm-up gig)
4th September - Bloodstock Festival - The Assembly Roms, Derby, UK

2005

6th August - Rock the Nations - Istanbul, Turkey
26th November - Firefest 2 - Nottingham Rock City, UK

External links

* [http://www.balance-of-power.com Balance of Power official website]