Soulless
oozed from the battered corpse of Cleveland band "Bloodsick"
in late 1997. Bloodsick,
a band formed in the spirit of vintage 80's and 90's thrash metal
released one 7",
a split with Nunslaughter, in 1996. After major upheavals in the
lineup new direction was found and Soulless was born. Inspired by
the spirit of true thrash and with the ferocity of death metal the
band immediately began writing new material and in mid-'98 went into
the studio to record a demo. The demo received a strong response in
their native Cleveland and was eventually released as a CD entitled
the "The Darkening of Days" in August of 1999. The band
also appeared on the Dwell Records Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne
tribute CD's at about that same time .Soulless then concentrated on
playing shows, opening for such bands as Malevolent Creation, Incantation,
Nile, and Morbid Ange
l
in Cleveland, as well as local shows with bands like Descend, Nunslaughter
and From The Depths. With about 1000 copies in circulation "The
Darkening of Days" continued to get strong reviews both in print
and from Internet fanzines. Canadian 'zine "Brave Words and Bloody
Knuckles" called it the best demo of '99 in their January - February
issue.
In the fall of 2000 guitarist Jerry Kessler left
Soulless and was replaced by Jim Corrick on lead & rhythm guitar.
Soon after the band entered the infamous Mars Recording Compound to
record songs for the Dwell Records' Destruction, W.A.S.P., Twisted
Sister and Metallica II tributes, and to complete a new three song
promo. The new material was just as angry, heavy and brutal as Soulless'
earlier material, while reflecting the growth the band had experienced
since the release of the first disk.
The band finished and began distributing the three
song promo in summer of 2001. The promo was well received but failed
to land the band any solid recording deal.
In March of 2002 bassist Tony Daprano was replaced
by Cleveland metal journeyman Dave Johnson (Descension, Ascension).
With the lineup now solidified, the band decided to begin recording
a new album even though they had yet to secure a deal. In April of
2002 they returned to Mars and began work on the new full length.
Later that month upstart Japanese metal label World Chaos Production
decided to make Soulless the first American band on their roster.
The ten song opus, entitled "Agony's Lament", was released
November of 2002 on WorldChaos. The disc was later released by Crash
Music in the US in May of 2003.
Agony’s was well received, and the band began spreading the
mayhem regionally, condemning souls from Wisconsin to New York, playing
shows with the likes of Incantation, October 31 and Macabre and leaving
a trail of dazed and stunned metal casualties.
In 2004 the band released it’s first vinyl offerings:
The live “Scorn on the 4th of July” split 7” w/
the mighty Nunslaughter and the 4 song “Betray the Light”
7” ep. The band again terrorized the Eastern US, performing
with the likes of Deceased, Arch Enemy, Exodus, and many others while
writing songs and rehearsing material for their next full length.
In 2006 the band entered Spider Studios in Ohio
to begin work on their third full length with Producer Ben Schigel.
Progress was slow, with Schigel fitting the cash strapped thrashers
into his hectic schedule where he could over the next several months.
The group’s tenacity paid off, as the combination of skull crushing
song writing and ear shattering production delivered a 13 song thrash
metal masterpiece of near epic proportions. “Forever Defiant”
was released by WorldChaos Production in Japan in June of 2007 and
reaffirms Soulless’ status as one of America’s top underground
metal acts.
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Dave
Johnson - Bass |
Jim
Corrick - Guitar |
Jim
Lippucci - Vocals |
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Wayne Richards - Guitar
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Chris
Dora - Drums |
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