Perseverance and dedication are the two qualities that have made Germany's DEW-SCENTED one of the pre-eminent names on the thrash metal scene. Originally founded in 1992, at a time when heavy music was about to fall out of favor with the public at large, the odds were stacked against the band from the beginning. However, after the release of one demo tape (Symbolization) and self-organized live shows, Steamhammer/SPV released their debut album Immortelle in 1996. The band were still in a primitive form at this time, but quickly progressed and showed enough drive to earn the attention of Grind Syndicate Media/Nuclear Blast, who released the two follow-up albums Innoscent (1998) and Ill-Natured (1999). Although heavy music had a resurgence at the end of the ‘90s, it was generally other forms of music that quickly dominated, such as melodic death metal, black metal and power metal. Despite that, DEW-SCENTED never wavered in their unrelenting march forward, and never dabbled or experimented with different styles. The band kept a purity to their music that earned them enthusiastic fans around the world, allowing DEW-SCENTED to visit Japan for the first time, in addition to numerous live-shows and tours of Europe with the likes of Morbid Angel, Edge Of Sanity, Overkill, Six Feet Under, Deicide, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Immortal, Eucharist or also Death.
By this time, Nuclear Blast had noticed the bands upward momentum and brought the quintet to their mother label, releasing Inwards in 2002 to critical acclaim (earning Album Of The Month honors in German metal mags Rock Hard and Legacy). Seizing the chance, the band toured Europe several times with bands like Cannibal Corpse or No Return and won over fans at many of the large European summer festivals, also making it to North America for their first time. As a sign of ultimate respect, the band were invited to open a week&8217;s worth of shows for the year&8217;s top thrash metal package of Kreator, Destruction and Sodom. Barely stopping to catch a breath, 2003 saw the release of Impact, doing the rounds in Europe once more (this time with Nile and Misery Index, and then the X-Mass Festivals with Amon Amarth, Destruction and Deicide) before playing more major summer festivals and making a return trip to the USA. 2005 saw the release of Issue VI, and armed with a well-honed line-up, the group hit the world anew, first touring Japan with High On Fire and Misery Signals, then Europe in support of Nevermore, and finally a 4-week tour across the States with Vader and Decapitated. Undaunted, the band kept on the road in early 2006, playing a tour of 31 shows (in 31 days!) throughout Europe alongside a package that also featured Cryptopsy, Grave and Aborted.
Summer 2006 saw the band spend time on songwriting for what would be the band's next record, Incinerate, released in early 2007. Three separate European tours (The No Mercy festivals with Moonspell, Napalm Death and Behemoth, a run with Misery Index and Coldworker and finally a headlining tour with Severe Torture and Destinity) followed in close succession, and after an exhaustive stretch and much consideration, the band decided to make some significant line-up changes to ensure the band's longevity. Vocalist Leif Jensen and bassist Alexander Pahl brought in new drummer Marc-Andree Dieken (formerly of Obscenity), and a new guitar team in Michael Borchers and Martin Walczak. The new line-up kept in closed-door rehearsals for some time until they felt ready to tackle the stage anew. Shows throughout Europe followed, with a response that suggested that the band were in top shape. Once that was completed, the band took time to write songs for what would be their new album, knowing full well the attention they would be getting, to hear if the revamped DEW-SCENTED still had the fire and intensity burning within them. The results are plain to hear: Invocation, the band's new album, is a blistering assault that will have thrash metal fans everywhere jubilant that one of Germany's longest-running extreme metal bands is back with newfound vigor. Produced once more by Jörg Uken / Soundlodge Studios (God Dethroned, Sinister, Despondency, etc.), Invocation is the band's first for Metal Blade Records (Europe) / Prosthetic Records (North America), and the studio debut of the new DEW-SCENTED line-up. Packaged with impressive, insightful artwork from Björn Goosses / Killustrations, Invocation is the sound of a band who yield to no one, who play purely for themselves, and who show no sign of relenting.
Since no later than their 2002 mega-killer 'Inwards', DEW-SCENTED belong to the absolute forefront of European thrash metal. Since then, the friendly bunch led by frontman Leif Jensen has released great albums full of unrelenting riff power and unbound intensity with nice regularity, cementing the excellent reputation of this 'Ruhrpott' group. In 2010 DEW-SCENTED intend to go for broke with a new label and a new, as-yet-untitled album scheduled for May, and will utterly destroy SUMMER BREEZE Open Air in the process. We are happy to finally welcome this live wire called DEW-SCENTED again at our festival in 2010, after a dry spell which already lasts since 2003. Get thrashed!
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