| Alex Hurst | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth Name | Alex Hurst |
| Born | 5 January 1980 |
| Occupation | Musician, Producer |
| Genres | Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Alternative Rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 2000s - Present |
| Labels | Ripple Music, APF Records, Holy Roar |
| Associated acts | Boss Keloid, Tronald, River Junkies, Lost Dogs, The Hicks |
Alex Hurst is a vocalist and engineer based out of Wigan, England. Active since the 2000s, Hurst is best known as the vocalist for the sludge/stoner band Boss Keloid. Along with releasing five albums with the Wigan-based sludge band, Hurst has also been involved with several other English hard rock and sludge bands, such as The Hicks and Tronald.
Hurst is also notably the owner of Owner and operator of Urbansound Rehearsal & Recording Studios.
Biography[]
Boss Keloid[]
- For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Boss Keloid.
Boss Keloid was formed in 2010 in Wigan, England by Paul Swarbrick. The band has seen various line-up changes since their formation and currently consists of Paul Swarbrick (guitar), Alex Hurst (vocals), Stephen Arands (drums) and Liam Pendlebury-Green (bass). The band play a mix of progressive metal, stoner, prog and doom.
Perhaps their most ambitious album yet, Family The Smiling Thrush demonstrates Boss Keloid's biggest transformation to date. Entering a new realm which leans more towards the soaring majesty of monumental prog-rock whilst still embracing their metal edge, the album is a true masterclass in versatility. Seven towering tracks of emotional energy, psychedelic grooves and riff-oriented guitar work combine with the signature melodic yet passionate style that vocalist Alex Hurst has been tweaking and perfecting since their debut, Angular Beef Lesson, in 2010.
Produced and mastered by Chris Fielding at the legendary Foel Studios in Wales, the band entered the studio with a focus on gaining a clearer, more open sounding recording than ever before. The end result is a typically Boss Keloid gargantuan soundscape, littered with spacious jams and sticky grooves which twist and turn in euphonic harmony. Family The Smiling Thrush is their most attention-grabbing effort to date and only further cements their status as one of this era's most interesting and vital bands.
Lyrically throughout Family The Smiling Thrush Boss Keloid explore the notion of the collective being greater than the individual, embracing all flaws and the strengths of each. Each song burrows deeply into areas such as community, communication, family, personal growth, mindfulness and positive inner reflection, inviting the listener to not only join but truly revel in the journey of being alive.
By continuing to experiment and incorporate new elements into their sound, Boss Keloid are a band driven by a burning need to move forward. Beginning with 2010’s Angular Beef Lesson and 2013’s Calming Influence Of Teeth, Boss Keloid made ripples in the stoner doom underground with their magnificently multi-layered music. In 2016 they gained worldwide critical acclaim with Herb Your Enthusiasm and their last album Melted On The Inch was released by Holy Roar Records in 2018 to worldwide critical acclaim from the music press, garnering significant support from Metal Hammer UK, Kerrang!, Prog Magazine, BBC Radio 1, The Guardian, Fuze Mag (DE), Rock Hard Mag (DE), MetalSucks, Metal Injection and many more. Total Guitar included guitarist Paul Swarbrick in their ‘best new guitarists in the world today’ feature and their previous albums having graced countless albums of the year lists, multiple times over.
In 2021 Boss Keloid would release Family The Smiling Thrush to further critical acclaim.[1]
Other Bands and Endeavors[]
- One of Hurst's earliest known band was with a band known as River Junkies, though information on the band is relatively scarce.[2]
- Hurst also performs guitar and vocals in The Hicks, a hard rock/reggae band founded in the 2000s. The band has largely performed in the UK and has released three studio albums: Plan B (Released 24 April 2007), Start A War? (Released 5 May 2009) and Vibration of Sound (Released 26 July 2014).
- Hurst notably played guitar and vocals in Lost Dogs, a UK based Pearl Jam tribute band.[3]
- Hurst would join Tronald in 2017 and not long after officially announcing their existence, would release their eponymous EP on 30 September 2017 to positive reception from The Sludgelord[4] and Outlaws of The Sun.[5] The band would play a handful of shows in Manchester through 2018, including an appearance at the inaugural APF Records Showcase.
- Hurst is also notably the owner of Owner and operator of Urbansound Rehearsal & Recording Studios, active since the late 2000s.[6]
Bands[]
- River Junkies - Vocals (Unknown Time Period)
- The Hicks - Guitar, Vocals (2005 - Present)
- Lost Dogs - Guitar, Vocals (2010 - Present)
- Boss Keloid - Vocals (2010 - Present)
- Tronald - Vocals (2017 - 2018)
Discography[]
With Boss Keloid[]
- Angular Beef Lesson (2011, Self-Released)
- The Calming Influence of Teeth (2013, Pipelord Records)
- Herb Your Enthusiasm (2016, Holy Roar Records)
- Melted on the Inch (2018, Holy Roar Records)
- Family The Smiling Thrush (2021, Ripple Music)
Other Releases[]
- The Hicks - Plan B (Studio Album) (2007, Self-Released)
- The Hicks - Start A War? (Studio Album) (2009, Self-Released)
- The Hicks - Vibration of Sound (Studio Album) (2014, Self-Released)
- Tronald - Tronald (EP) (2017, APF Records)
- Barbarian Hermit - Solitude and Savagery (Studio Album; Vocals on 1 and 7) (2018, APF Records)
External Links[]
- Personal Facebook
- Urbansound Studios Facebook
- Boss Keloid Facebook
- Boss Keloid Bandcamp
- River Junkies Myspace
- The Hicks Facebook
- The Hicks Bandcamp
- Tronald Facebook
- Tronald Bandcamp