The Semitones

The Semitones is a group that makes loud music on the border of metal, hard-core and alternative rock.

It was founded in Brussels in 1992 (first as "STS - Sexual Tempest of Sound"), and released its first material on CD in 1994 ("Body & Soul", on Alternative Mad Records). From the beginning, the band was making music in which genres as diverse as fusion, metal, hard-core, jazz, progressive rock and crossover clashed with each other.

In 1998, they joined the alternative and small Belgian label "What's On Records", a company that was founded by Dee J (one of the members of the famous metal/rock band la Muerte). Their first release for this company, the 6 track "Mr. Nice Guy", also provided the Semitones with their biggest "hit" (up to this day) : "Tada ... Tada", a track that has all the anger of hardcore and the melodic quality of say Living Colour united in one track. Radio 21, the rock-radiostation from the South picked it up and kept on playing it ever since.

In 1999 they ended up fourth in the talent-contest "Court-circuit", stood at the Dour-festival for the fourth time, and released their second full-CD : "Higher". As it was reviewed in "Charlie's Hardies" (Stage) "Influences from different genres ara artfully combined into an excellent blend that's dripping with enthusiasm. The chaps are young and want to be more than just a hardcore band. The violence of that music is combined with alternative sounds, which could be a recipe for getting up high on the Belgian rockladder".

The Dour-festival also gave a good description of the band in its programme-booklet of 1999 : "The Semitones offer an alternative to those who though hard music in Belgium was dead after the departure of Channel Zero. Contrary to the name of the band, their music doesn't contain any "semi-tones" at all. The music is ultra-melodic and powerful. The "death"-grunt is ideally combined with a more traditional rock-voice. The band has songs that combine both elements of the best hard music of the nineties (Sepultura of Machine Head) as that of American rock of the seventies. Belgium's not only big in pop, it also offers a lot in hard music!"

In 2001, The Semitones released their 6th album (the 3rd "real" full cd), this time called "Glitch". The album came about after yet another little change in the line-up (but as they say themselves : "Un nouveau line-up par album, sinon rien : pas d'bras, pas d'chocolat, pas d'album!"), and was self-produced by Alex Hendrickse. As rif-raf wrote about it : "Seven years after it's debut, this band from Brussels, is now well and truly one of the most respected bands in the European metal scene. And that does justice to the fact that they hit us again with an album that's even more convincing than "Higher", which already rightfull earned them some success. "Glitch" flows over with metal pearls, alternating murder-riffs with more melodic passages in which the vocals of Alexis Hendrickse work miracles". And the Dutch magazine Oor wrote even "The Semitones (for men from Brussels) often sound like their heroes Deftones, Faith No More and Tool, but thanks to the characteristic riffs, singular breaks and great vocals, this never gets irritating. On the contrary, these must be the most sincere and honest nu metal-band of all times. From now on, the perfect combination of hard and softaller comes from Belgium". A single from the album was "One Shot".

Band members:
- Alexis Hendrickse (guitar, vocals)
- Pierre Chambin (drums + 2nd vocal)
- Tony Volin - Olivier Van Loo - Samuel Volan - Tony Désir - David Fisicaro (guitars)
- Gal Aroch - Olivier Meuront (bass)

Buy CD's of this band at

Albums :
- Body & Soul (Alternative Mad Records, 1994)
- When (mini-cd, Alternative Mad Records,1995)
- Yaakov's quest (mini-cd, Alternative Mad Records, 1996)
- Mr. Nice Guy ? (EP, What's On Records, 1998)
- Higher (What's On Records, 1999)
- Glitch (Buzzville Records / Suburban)

Websites :
- Band concact : Alexis Hendrickse or fax : 0032-(0)2-2231021
- The Semitones by Pierre Royer (of the Belgian Band List)
- a short article on the Semitones at Netbeat.
- interview with metal-zine W-Fenec (french)
- Studio technician Philippe Chambin provides some inside info on the Semitones

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