Arcane

Music:

Member Since: 01/07/2005
Band Members: Oscar Barbour: Vocals
Byron Hawk: Guitars
Kurt Joye: Bass
Anthony Smircic: Drums

Jim King: Drums
Doug Judah: Guitars
Kelly Sanford: Drums
Influences:

Watchtower, Helstar, Hades, Fates Warning, Sanctuary (Nevermore), Dream Theatre, Solitude Aeturnus, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Toxik, Candlemass, Anthrax, Megadeth, Realm, Mekong Delta, Death Angel, Forbidden, Nasty Savage.

Sounds Like:

Arcane started in 1986 with Byron Hawk (g) and Jim King (d) looking to start a new project off the heels of their previous band. In 1987, after trying out a number of guitarists, bassists, and singers, Doug Judah (g) returned from their previous project and Byron decided to sing. Finally the band added Kurt Joye (b) and started writing songs and playing live.

In 1988, they brought in Oscar Barbour (v) to provide a wider range for the style they were developing out of their early influences such as Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Metallica, Fates Warning, and King Diamond. The band went into the studio and recorded their intitial demo and started spreading it around the tape-trading underground.

After a positive response from the fanzines and tape-traders, the band decided to record newer material in 1989 and shop around for an indie label. Before they could find a deal, Jim left for personal reasons and they brought in Kelly Sanford from The Bang Gang after their lead singer/guitarist Doyle Bright joined Rigor Mortis.

In 1990 the band decided to release their album through Wild Rags records out of California and went into Sound Logic studios in Dallas to record Destination Unknown. With the release of DU, Arcane received strong reviews in magazines such as Metal Forces and Rock Hard and played extensively with national acts such as Fates Warning, Sanctuary, Death Agnel, Forbidden, Atrophy, and MOD as well as regional acts such as Watchtower, Helstar, Solitude Aeturnus, Gammacide, Talon/Sedition, Devastation, Dead Horse, Oliver Magnum, Annihilator, and many others.

In 1991 Kelly left and Anthony Smircic joined as the new drummer. Shortly afterward Doug left as well, but the band continued to play live and write new material and returned to Sound Logic to record a new demo. In 1992 they inked a deal with Decision records of Germany to release a new record but went their separate ways before additional new material could be recorded. Decision decided to release the demo material as the Ambiguity EP in 1994.

Currently, the band has struck a deal with Texas-based BrainTicket Records to re-release the albums with remixed demo material and live DVDs. The 80s and early 90s was a great time for underground music both in Texas and worldwide and the band hopes the new archives of their material strike a chord with the fans who haven't forgotten what that scene was all about.