Zero Cipher

Zero Cipher
	Band logo
Active Years	1998 - 2009, 2022 - present
Origin	Farnham, Hampshire, England

Biography

2002 website biography:

""Hailing From Surrey, the spawning ground for such notables as Hundred Reasons, Vex Red and PDHM, four piece Zero Cipher grind out dark hardcore with a disturbing emo tinge that'll make you realise why they're a standout band from our previous year's Check 'Em Outs." Metal Hammer Magazine
They cite influences such as Nick Cave, Glassjaw, Raging Speedhorn, Tool, Haste, Earthtone9, and Vision of Disorder. Having recorded a couple of well received demo's, Zero Cipher began to make an impact on the UK underground, gigging with the likes of Vacant Stare, Snub, Brutal Deluxe, Descent, PDHM, Kilkus, Underule, Breed 77 and more
"Zero Cipher come crashing straight in with "Magic time" and quickly settle into a powerful and relentless set. Very heavy, very rhythmical, and rather strange, there is more than a hint of darkness to their music, and the sometimes maniacal vocals portray this well. Decks add an extra dimension too. Korn gone mad? Brilliant!" Neon Promotions
In February 2001 they recorded an eponymously titled 7 track demo EP, from which tracks have been featured on several compilation CD's, including the Metal Hammer "Class of 2002" CD (alongside bands like Nickelback, American Headcharge, and Slipknot), which shifted around 80,000 copies in the UK and Europe. The CD was received to great acclaim and sent the band on a gigging spree up and down the country. The CD also featured guest appearances by Paul Catten of Medulla Nocte/Murder One, and Choff of Snub
"Zero Cipher have some of the energy and indeed the flavours of Vacant Stare, they have an emotional edge in there with the stew of decks, samples and heavy riffs. They understand space and the need to step back - there's power in their restraint and when they let it all go and the intensity rages then they touch on the heights of the mighty Medulla Nocte... let me tell you that you NEED this demo..." Organ Zine
45rpm, Zero Cipher's latest 3 track demo, was self-produced in March 2002. Copro records have pressed 1,000 copies for the band, and it has already received radio and club play at venues like - The Electric Ballroom and The Mean Fiddler, London, Club Schism, TotalRock Radio and the like. More succesful UK shows followed. The band even earned endorsements from industry giants Marshall Amplification and Sims Custom LED. A four piece with endless drive, passion, and enthusiasm, Zero Cipher are garnering a formidable reputation, and are set to burst out of the underground in the coming months
"Zero Cipher are undoubtedly one of the best of the new breed of bands... with seriously impressive live performances... they rival the best bands of this ilk." Jesus Built My Talbot Samba
"Large chunky riffs, coming from distorted downtuned guitars, powered through overdriven amps. A mélange of murderous vocals that are psychopathically aggressive but are also shouting whispers and treacherous harmonies. A rhythm of barbaric drums, frequently off-beat, impart a gritty hardcore sound and turntables utilised with scratching and sampling, enchant an unfamiliarity to the foreboding walls of the genre." Transcripts From The Downtuned

"It's hard, its catchy, its heavy as fuck. Not a particularly pleasant listen but one that will have fans of how British bands do nu-metal having a fit in the pit. Zero Cipher are a name you should watch out for in the coming months." Graham Finney, Planet-Loud

2007 website biography:

"1998 - 2000: Born from the ashes of various bands in 1998. Zero Cipher began life in the quiet english town of Farnham, Surrey. 5 People with an agenda to make heavy music by throwing many different styles and influences in to the mix The early years were spent circulating round the local area where they built up a healthy reputation, line up changes and various demos followed which were met with positive reactions from the fans and local fanzine press alike.
2001 - 2004: Just as a new millenium dawned Zero Cipher stepped up a gear and recorded a 5 track self titled Demo which featured guest vocal appearences from Paul Catton (Murder One, Medulla Nocte, Barrabus) and Choff (Snub, You've Been Lied To) on a cover of the legendary motown classic 'Dancing in the Street'. This drew in some of the major press and led to the track 'She Loves Me Not' from this CD featuring on the cover mount of Metal Hammer magazine on the 'Class of 2002' Compilation feature with the likes of In Flames, Nickleback, Slipknot & American Headcharge. A year of toilet based toil later, they had attracted the attention of Copro Records, home of UK cult legends Earthtone9 - who even donated a song ('Vitriolic HSF') to their debut album, '45 Minutes of Fairy Tale Endings' released June 2003. A sordid mix of samples and downtuned angst, it gained rave reviews in the press (4/5 Kerrang! 8/10 Rocksound), and in turn landed them some serious shows accross the UK and supported such bands as One Minute Silence, Breed77, Vacant Stare, Sikth, Dragonforce, Skindred, Snub, Medulla Nocte & played the Uxfest for the first time. The record sold out of its limited double CD pressing, to become an eBay rarity. After a disastrous tour with 'One Minute Silence' the band were left mentally scarred after watching 'OMS' implode in front of them. They had cut down the amount of shows they were doing due to financial restraints bought on by this. During the down time the musical styles around them were changing, new genres were becoming "cool". Zero Cipher's original ethos was to never be ones to jump on the popular bandwagons but this view was no longer shared within the band and this came across when they sat down to write the follow up to '45 minutes of Fairy Tale Endings' dissention was growing within the ranks. It wasn't too long before gigs started to be cancelled at the last minute, practices missed, then after a tour of the UK in the early parts of 2004 it finally came to head the rhythm section decided to leave the band amid musical differences and formed a new band called 'Silo Zane'. Not put off by this the remaining 2 members of Zero Cipher were quick off the mark and recruited 2 temporary members to complete pending tour commitments.
2005 - 2006: With a settled line up they started work on a new batch of songs and soon after started touring the UK again armed with new material and a new found determination. Zero Cipher landed their 2nd spot on the Uxfest which put the band back in the press with an impressive batch of live reviews. Again the line up changed again the 2nd guitarist quit due to commitments other than the band but not to be deterred the production started for the next album. Zero Cipher toured around the UK and for the 1st time ventured into Europe touring Austria with .Spout. No sooner had they started to shop the album around they inked a deal with 'Anticulture Records' to release 'Diary of a Sadist' in the UK and Europe. The press again was kind to the band with Metal Hammer giving it 7/10, Rock Sound 8/10 and Kerrang 3K's. The future was looking bright but the drummer decided to up and leave. He was quickly replaced and the band continued about its business but 2006 turned out to be a very difficult year. Confidence in their new label was dropping as the positive press wasn't followed up with any haste leaving the bands profile and morale low. They had to take matters into their own hands once again but this proved time consuming and the band has little time to book shows and consequentially suffered because of this (Yep, you guessed it another drummer change). Finally it came to a head and the band simply had enough and bought out the remainder of their record deal with 'Anticulture Records'. They ended 2006 with a clean slate and started work on the follow up to 'Diary of a Sadist'.

2007: Zero Cipher decided to take some time out so they took a good 6 months off gigging but continued to work on a new album. During the studio time they unearthed a batch of tracks from reels of the 'Diary…' sessions and had the idea of re-releasing that album off their own backs. The re-release went through via iTunes and the press was taken care of with 4K's from Kerrang! And 8/10 from Metal Hammer. The recording process for the new album titled 'Juggernaut' is now complete and the band are now shopping it to various labels… The demo version of 'Fist of the North Star' was featured on Metal Hammer's (issue 171) 'Hard Rock Hell' cover CD. Watch this space..."