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Bands rise to stardom

Infectious riffs, bright caps, big expectations and a stunning debut to match. This is modern rock and it’s exactly what Cardiff needs. Hannah Stanton meets a new band from the Welsh city…

SMOOTH, suave, sophisticated. Forget it. These three are out to make an impression and it’s not pretty. At the beginning of 2011, Silvertone were almost unheard of but within just a few short months they got in to the top two Cardiff rock charts. I delve back in to their short but very impressive journey which has left fans hovering on the edge of their seats.

I first saw them play back in the summer of 2011 at a small gig at Church Stretton Summer Fest, West Midlands. The atmosphere was electrifying.  Since then the three have played in pubs and bars across the country. So who are these fresh new faces of rock? Well we have: Rich Clarke on vocals/guitar, James Boyd on lead guitar/vocals and Callum ‘Legion’ Lee on bass. Rich cringes slightly when he reveals the band’s ritual.

 ‘Before every show we sit down and listen to Slow Poke by Pee Wee King, start to finish’.

When I asked him how they got together he said he met James at college and after leaving in late 2008, they decided to get together as a duet, where they played various covers and originals. They soon saw potential for their material and quickly recruited Callum, a talented musician from Cardiff, and long-time friend of James. The band was now complete and gigging could begin.

Debut album The Darkest Light captures the relentless and fast, upcoming talent they hold between them. They already have 4,360 fans on Facebook and counting. Their single Lies of an Angel saw them take number two on the Cardiff rock charts.

Their music has been played on BBC Merseyside numerous times, and a mini festival in Cardiff saw them play with big metal band Emmure. This along with playing with bands from across the country, from Liverpool to Plymouth and everywhere in between.

With such a bright future ahead I asked Rich where the band sees themselves in three years’ time. He said: ‘We would love to be touring America and Europe and would have liked to have released our third album by then and built up a valuable fan base and a list of valuable contacts.’

I asked him for a random fact about the three he said ‘We like to buy Kinder eggs; in fact we can’t get enough of them!’

I asked what they liked to do in their spare time Rich said ‘We love watching Harry Potter back to back, plus American Dad and the Batman quadrilogy.’

The biggest gig was to a couple of hundred fans, and the band soon gained interest from Deltasonic Records and Eagle Rock Records. With so much talent splurging out and their faces quickly becoming recognised and interest growing, I was eager to know what makes them tick. ‘Our inspiration mainly comes from Alterbridge, a modern American band which are mature yet honest, true to their roots whilst appealing to a younger audience.’

‘This is a career path for us’ added Rich. It seems Silvertone live and breathe music and need nothing else, the attitude for a successful young band you might say. Either way these guys are going to be around for a while yet.

Silvertone can be found on Facebook- facebook.com/silvertoneuk.

Download: Lies of an Angel (The Darkest Light) on iTunes now.