Formed a little over three years ago, DISTORTED emerged from the ashes of Gallow, Zero Tolerance and Cowboys & Aliens. Original band members Peter Gaelens (ex-Cowboys & Aliens), Olivier Claeys (ex-Gallow and ex-Zero Tolerance) and Hans Vancouillie (ex-Gallow and ex-Zero Tolerance) decided to join their strengths in October 2003. The Belgian-based three-piece soon had a skilled guide in making the transition from trio to quartet with the arrival of Jürgen Elias only one month later.
DEE J, producer of such other bands as Belgian stoner kings Cowboys & Aliens and thrashers After All, has been with the group every step of the way watching the boys grow and transform their sound with each passing year.Their first EP “Devil To Pay†(March 2004) already showed a great deal of heavy, bewildering, staccato driven power rock and even convinced DEE J, who also recorded the 6-track, to release it through his own label WATT’S ON. The band soon got recognition from a dozen of other acts they got to play with, like Do Or Die, After All, In-Quest, Peter Pan Speedrock, Oceans Of Sadness, Morda, etc... In the end DISTORTED made their way into the heads of hardcore legends PRO-PAIN and got asked to support the Americans on their European “Prophets Of Doom†tour in November 2005.
Back home the band thinks it was time for a new member to amplify their sound with a power groove and righteous fury to eventually become the band they are now! “In order to grow, you should evolve…†soon became the right attitude for the five-piece, with Niek Devos (ex-Mindstab) as final member to conquer all your precious metal hearts. The boys of DISTORTED have once again re-invented themselves by letting Niek take care of the bonus sounds while Olivier’s murder riffs are still overwhelming you with groove led monstrous power.All ready DISTORTED got back into to studio to record their first full-album “DEMON INSIDEâ€, again with the fine help of DEE J and guest appearances by PRO-PAIN singer GARY MESKILL and DO DE VOS from Belgian rock freaks SOUTHERN VOODOO. Determined to explore the boundaries of a muscular musical statement the band decided to let “DEMON INSIDE†bang into your heads with the mastering hands of TUE MADSEN (The Haunted, Aborted, Sick Of It All, Sons Of Jonathas,…). The result is simply astonishing. APACHE PRODUCTIONS showed a great deal of interest to release “DEMON INSIDE†in Europe…
In May 2007 Pete left the band for personal reasons. New drummer Jethro joined in and in september Distorted played some great shows. After these shows Niek left the band also. He felt closer to his side project and made his decision. Christophe took his place and did very well in a very short period.
After some rehearsals with the new line up Hans and Olivier had to make a decision as well, invest more time and effort in the band - like the 2 new guys and Jurgen do, or quit. They decided to quit as wel. And give the new guys and Jurgen all the chances they deserve with their new side project. So Distorted is no more... We had our time and we loved every second of it. Nothing lasts forever. Thanks a lot to everyone who supported us through the years. We had a hell of a ride... Cheers.
