Morpheus Rising
| Morpheus Rising | |
|---|---|
| Origin | York, UK |
| Genres | Rock, heavy metal, NWOBHM |
| Years active | 2008-present |
| Labels | Melodic Revolution Records |
| Associated acts |
Mostly Autumn Saxon Oliver/Dawson Saxon |
| Website | http://www.morpheusrising.co.uk/ |
| Members | Si Wright Pete Harwood Mikey Walsh Andy Smith Ian Wright |
| Past members | Paul 'Gibbo' Gibbons Grae Tennick Damien James Sweeting Nigel Durham |
Morpheus Rising is a British rock band formed in 2008 producing music which is influenced heavily by the NWOBHM style of rock dominated by bands such as Iron Maiden, Saxon and UFO. The band also draw heavily from the style of bands like Thin Lizzy making use of twin guitar harmony parts throughout their compositions. The first album, Let The Sleeper Awake was released at the end of 2011.
Formed by Pete Harwood (formerly of Vixen) in April 2008 when Grae Tennick answered an online advert. Within weeks the two had written 6 tracks and were working on more. Additional members of the band were quickly lined up with Andy Smith (of Mostly Autumn) on bass guitar and Paul 'Gibbo' Gibbons (previously of The Bogus Brothers) on drums. A second guitarist, essential for the type of music the band were writing, proved harder to find with Rhys McPherson and Phil O'dea taking part in early rehearsals before Damien James Sweeting was recommended to the band by a mutual friend. Arriving at the studio knowing all 5 songs from the demo CD Damien's audition quickly became the first rehearsal of what would be the band's first lineup.
2010 saw the band embark on their first UK tour. Mixing a handful of support dates for The Reasoning on their Adverse Camber tour with several headline dates of their own, including a second bill slot on the inaugural Forces Festival in Bulford, England. Additional dates included another support for GUN and more headline performances before the band were forced into hiatus while Grae deployed on operations in Afghanistan from Aug 2010 - Feb 2011.
After his return from Afghanistan Grae announced that he would be leaving Morpheus Rising due to both work and family commitments. Two final performances were fulfilled prior to his departure, a return to the Forces Festival (this time supporting blues guitarist Gwyn Ashton) and a farewell gig at Fibbers in York. Despite having begun work on their debut album (already postponed for Grae's operational tour) this was delayed further until a replacement vocalist could be found.
Not resting on their laurels, Morpheus Rising announced Grae's replacement, Si Wright (of Burnwylde), at his farewell gig. The band had already confirmed a slot at the Cambridge Rock Festival, just 6 weeks away, and began rehearsing in earnest. Following a warm up show in York, Si was in thrown in at the deep end at the Classic Rock Society sponsored Stage 2 of the Cambridge Rock Festival on Friday 5 August 2011. The debut album, Let The Sleeper Awake, was released on 9 December 2011 with a supporting tour in January 2012.
...
Wikipedia