Sevenchurch were formed in Oxford, England in 1991. On August 9th 1991 they played their first gig at Oxford's Jericho Tavern as a 4-piece with Ollie on lead vocals/bass. They supported local thrash heroes 'Madamadam' who featured Martin Spear on vocals. It was to be one of Madamadam's final gigs and Martin was soon asked to join Sevenchurch completing the classic line-up. After intense rehearsing and two days recording at Fleece Studio (R.I.P.) on October 19th they proudly emerged clutching the two track 'Nefarious' demo tape. The tracks featured were 'Circus Divine' and 'Twilight Of Evergreen'. The running time was 17 minutes and 58 seconds! On December 6th the demo was released and the new lineup was unveiled at a gig at 'The Tavern' supporting Carcass. It was an unforgettable night. Sevenchurch's unique musical vision was unleashed.
1992 saw the band building a fearsome reputation as a live band and the legend of Sevenchurch was spreading far and wide. It is a much used cliché these days but Sevenchurch truly are a band that people either love or hate and the reviews they were getting for the demo tape and the live shows went from one extreme to the other. One particular demo review in Metal Forces 'demo-lition' section (March 1992) opened many doors and soon record companies were taking an interest. On the 11th May 1993, a recording deal was agreed and signed with Noise International.
A remixed version of the demo track 'Circus Divine' was the first 'Church song to appear under the Noise banner. It was released in May '93 on the Noise compilation CD 'Louder Than Words' (N 0214-2) and in October '93 the CD 'Bleak Insight' (N 0222-2) was released. 'Bleak Insight' contained just 6 songs but had a running time of over 70 minutes. It may well have been the heaviest, slowest, doom-fest ever released!
Unfortunately, it was to be the final release by Sevenchurch and despite the fact that an EP had already been recorded at same time as 'Bleak Insight', it was never released. Within a year the band would be no more. There were many reasons, too many to explain here and though Sevenchurch may have gone it seems they have not been forgotten. So this is where the future starts. Here Sevenchurch live again, old friends can reacquaint themselves and new friends can discover...
Come and join our congregation.
Martin Spear - Vocals David Smart - Guitars Dave Capel - Guitars Ollie - Bass/Vocals Grahaeme Bastable - Drums
