16Volt

Photo by Adam Michaud

16volt is an industrial rock band featuring Eric Powell and Mike Peoples with various other performers added for live shows.^[1][2][3][4] The band is featured in the opening scene of the PlayStation 2 game Primal, and contributed twelve songs to the game's soundtrack.

History

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Powell became interested in music early on,^[when?] and formed 16volt in 1988. Several years later, Powell met a college radio music director while promoting his demos with record labels. The music director had recently formed the Re-Constriction label, on which Powell's first demo recordings were released.

In 1993, 16volt released their debut album, Wisdom, on which they worked with Skinny Puppy's Dave Ogilvie for production. One year later, 16volt released their second album, Skin. The project soon met Hate Dept. on the Remix Wars EP. 16volt's third album, LetDownCrush, signaled the end of Powell's relationship with Re-Constriction. In 1998, SuperCoolNothing was released by Slipdisc, an imprint of Mercury/PolyGram. The album Demography followed in late 2000.

Music

Primal (PlayStation game)

In 2003, 16volt made a cameo appearance in the opening scene of the PlayStation 2 game Primal, where they are depicted performing live in a club. The band made significant contributions to the in-game combat music, with songs such as "Happy Pill", "Suffering You", "And I Go", "Keep Sleeping", "At The End", and "Alkali". A sample CD of 16volt's contributions were bundled with the limited edition version of the game, and the songs were later included on an official CD release of the game soundtrack.^[5] These promotional efforts boosted interest in the band both within the U.S., and in other countries, where their work was not previously well-known.

Other soundtracks

16volt continued to gain exposure by contributing to various soundtracks, such as:

• The Rage: Carrie 2, the sequel to Stephen King's Carrie, featured 16volt's single "Keep Sleeping".
• The Band contributed to the soundtrack of cult musical film, Repo! The Genetic Opera.
• In 2008, 16volt helped remaster the soundtrack to Wizard of Gore for the director's cut release ^[6]

Comeback

In 2007, 16volt made a comeback with the release of FullBlackHabit; their first release of original material in nine years. The album featured a remake of "Suffering You", a song which initially appeared as a demo on SuperCoolNothing V2.0. This marked a revival of the band, and two more albums were released between 2009 and 2011. Their sixth major studio album American Porn Songs was released in 2009 and featured a remake of the song "Alkali" (included on the Primal soundtrack). Their seventh album, Beating Dead Horses, was released in May 2011 on Metropolis Records.

Discography

Albums

• Wisdom (1993)
• Skin (1994)
• LetDownCrush (1996)
• SuperCoolNothing (1998)
• Demography (2000) - This is a collection of early (pre-'Wisdom') demo work, including the entire 'Imitation' cassette (1991).
• SuperCoolNothing V2.0 (2002)
• The Best of Sixteen Volt (2005)
• FullBlackHabit (2007)
• American Porn Songs (2009)
• American Porn Songs:Remixed (2010 Metropolis)
• Beating Dead Horses (2011)

Singles / EPs

• The Dreams That Rot In Your Heart (1996)
• The Remix Wars: Strike 3 – 16 Volt vs. Hate Dept (21st Circuitry - 1996)

Compilation appearances

• "Shut Up Kitty" (1993)
• "The Dreams That Rot In Your Heart" (1996)
• "The Remix Wars: Strike 3 - 16 Volt vs. Hate Dept." (1996)
• Don't Blow Your Cover: A Tribute to KMFDM (2000)
• A Gothic-Industrial Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins (2001)
• Various Artists - Hordes of the Elite (Glitch Mode Recordings - 2006)
• "TPCM2: Judgement Day Remixing The Massacre" (2008)
• "Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music To Cure Cancer" - 2010

Associated acts

16volt have contributed to three side-projects, of which only one (h3llb3nt) has seen a commercial release.^[7]

H3llb3nt

16volt's first side-project, H3llb3nt, was a collaboration between Powell, Jared Louche, Bryan Black, and Charles Levi. The group released three albums and a 'best of' between 1996 and 2001.^{[citation needed]}

Ringer

Ringer was a rock group featuring several industrial artists. The primary lineup consisted of Powell on vocals, Kraig Tyler (Crazy Town), Carlton Bost (Deadsy) on guitar, Paige Haley (Orgy) on bass, and Mikey Cox (Coal Chamber) on drums. Before disbanding, the group released material available for download from their website, and played several gigs.^{[citation needed]}

Graphic

The third 16volt side-project, Graphic, is a collaboration between Powell and Bildeaux. The duo released one song, "The Things You Do", featured on the 2006 compilation album, Komposi003. As of 2008^[update], an album is in the works and will feature a female vocalist.^[8]

References

9. www.allmusic.com/artist/16-volt-p144323

External links

• Official website
• Official Myspace
• iTunes link to komposi003 (the album containing the Graphic track)