South Wales is home to a scene containing a number of influential bands within the hardcore punk, post hardcore, alternative metal and emo musical genres. The towns and cities that these bands originated from are generally Cardiff, Pontypridd, Swansea, Newport, Merthyr Tydfil and the valleys to the north and west of a focal point of the scene based in Bridgend.
Scene history
The appearance of the scene has naturally, changed over time. It began in the mid 1970's with the then hotly tipped as the next Led Zeppelin, Lone Star. While they had a minor chart hit with their single 'The Bells of Berlin', they never took off. In the 80's rock band Kooga went the same way. The mid-1990s saw the local dominance of alternative metal bands such as Spurious, Noquenda and Revolva. These bands, although much loved within the local area, failed to capture the imagination of the national and international music community, as is common in local scenes.
It wasn't until the late nineties and early 21st century that the South Wales hardcore and alternative scene gained international prominence. One of the first widely-successful members of the scene during the period was Skindred (formed from members of the moderately-successful Dub War), fusing ragga, metal and hardcore. The band's sound was extremely unique at the time and garnered much success.
During this period, lostprophets was formed in Pontypridd in 1997 built upon previous hardcore and alternative metal acts. The band's debut album The Fake Sound of Progress in 2000 would strike the interest of the international alternative community and open up new possibilities for the local scene.
Just a few years after this success, the band Funeral for a Friend of Maesteg, Bridgend, originally called January Thirst, released their second EP Four Ways to Scream Your Name in 2003 and earned the admiration of the national, and later international alternative community.
In 2004, the metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine (formerly Jeff Killed John) of Bridgend released their debut EP Hand of Blood to much critical success leading the band to international recognition.
South Wales also has a rich underground scene which is arguably the best in the UK. Bands such as Dignity Dies First, Shaped By Fate, Johnny Mental Nochaa and BWP seemingly the most popular.
Notable Scene Bands *Lostprophets *Funeral for a Friend *Skindred *Hondo Maclean *When Reason Sleeps *Dopamine *My Favourite Pornstar *Shaped By Fate *Bullet for My Valentine *Zonderhoof *Midasuno *The Blackout *Through Solace *The Death Of Her Money *Carrion of Vigrid *The Threat *Dignity Dies First *Desecration *Kids In Glass Houses *Spider Kitten *The Kennedy Soundtrack *SDR *Boys with x ray eyes * U R MSHN
Links *Bridgend and South Wales Music Site and Forum *[http://www.southwalesmassive.com/ South Wales music forum *[http://www.dragonninja.co.uk.co.uk/ another South Wales music forum
A fairly simplistic overview of the period between the 70's and early 90's leaves a number of glaring omissions in your article. What about Budgie or even Sassafras? What about the numerous bands such as Preyer, Persian Risk, Samurai, Tigertailz amongst others as well as venues such as the Tonypandy Naval Club, Cardiff Bogies or Maesteg 7777's? So many more bands existed than you mention and perhaps it is also worth acknowledging bands such as the Partisans and Icons of Filth whom emerged in the second wave of punk in the early 80's and whom undoubtedly fed into the hardcore/punk/thrash scene that was also prevalent (although somewhat overlooked) throughout the 80's itself. Tut tut!
