At the end of the Nineties the often fickle Heavy Metal scene in England was almost dead. It was time for the guitar duo Chris Allen and Nicki Robson to give the scene a transfusion. Together with the brilliant Belgian vocalist Rogue Marechel they formed Shadowkeep in 1999.

A short while later Shadowkeep took over the Thin Ice Studios in Surrey, in order to record their first self financed mini album with James Daley handling bass duties and Russel King initially on drums, later replaced by Dave Edwards. The result was a Mini CD of six songs produced by Karl Groom, guitarist of the British Progressive Metal band Threshold. He had already recognised the musicians' enormous potential and his feelings were right - they hit the scene like a bomb dropping.

Shadowkeep's song 'Dark Tower' rapidly became a download hit on www.mp3.com with its healthy blend of power and melody, influenced by bands such as Helstar, Crimson Glory, QueensrycheFates Warning. Rogue's tremendous voice, often compared with and reminiscent of heroes such as James Rivera and Geoff Tate, leads the charge powered by the guitar work of Chris and Nicki that is both complex and made of cast iron heaviness. and

Best English Newcomer Band. It was therefore a logical consequence, that Shadowkeep appeared at one of Britain's most important metal festival, 'Bloodstock' in June 2001 on the same billing as Saxon, Blaze and Glenn Hughes.
A short while later the band again entered the Thin Ice Studios under the guidance of Karl Groom in order to produce their second album, ' A Chaos Theory ' for which they enhanced their rhythm section yet again. Drummer Scott Higham, of Angel Witch, and New Zealand bassist Steve Scott were the new boys in the line-up.

Even before Shadowkeepwas released ' A Chaos Theory ' , Shadowkeep headlined the first day of the German 'Headbangers Open-Air' festival near Hamburg and crowned this with a great club show on the second day of the 'Bang Your Head' open-air festival in Balingen, southern Germany. Once again the reaction of fans and press alike was overwhelmingly positive. However, lineup concerns began to plague the band just as they verged on greater international success.

ShadowKeep also played Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles festival in Cleveland during June 2004 alongside such bands as Flotsam & Jetsam, Doro, Metal Church and more. SK were also joined by American bassist Stony Grantham for the festival & his first show with the band.

Members Biographies

Nikki was born in Guildford, Surrey, England and didn't start playing guitar until she was 20 years of age. She always had a desire to play guitar but never got around to it until her parents asked her what she wanted for her 21st birthday. She said a guitar and they gave her the birthday present early and never looked back. Nikki met Chris soon after and they started playing Maiden, Slayer and Sanctuary covers! Some years later they formed a cover band together covering such bands as Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Deep Purple etc. But for them, it wasn't enough so they quit the cover band and formed ShadowKeep! Nikki looks forward to seeing you on tour!

Influences: Crimson Glory, Leatherwolf, Vicious Rumors, Wasp, Fates Warning, Phantom Blue, Queensryche, Overkill , Whitesnake etc.

Born in New Jersey, USA, Chris was raised in England from an early age. At 15 he started playing guitar - and has barely stopped since! In fact one of the few times that he isn't carrying his guitar is when he is indulging in his other hobby - Real Beer (Weiss Bier and all good Real Ales)

Dedicated to his craft Chris rehearses and practices almost constantly and is one of the band's main songwriters. After several bands in the UK Chris and Nicki formed their ultimate sound.

Influences: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden Venom, Slayer, Warlord, Malmsteen, Vicious Rumors, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory etc.

United Kingdom Metal Music - Discography, Biography Metal Videos

United Kingdom Metal Music - Discography, Biography
Metal Videos